We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(3) Base Camp
The Secret Garden is a fast-paced novel with just a few characters to follow, so it's not too difficult to read. The biggest challenge is getting through Dickon and the Sowerbys' thick Yorkshire accents, which Frances Hodgson Burnett spells out with lots of weird apostrophes and unfamiliar (to American readers, at least) slang. If you run into trouble understanding what the heck Dickon is talking about at any given time, try reading his lines aloud.