Frances Hodgson Burnett has written two classics, "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden". Not a huge fan of "The Secret Garden," I was hesitant to read this one. One of my littles read Classic Starts adaptation of "A Little Princess," so never having read it, I needed to keep up. 
 I read the Classic Starts adaptation first. I was short on time. Then, after a winter of health relative to my friends and neighbors, I got the head cold of the century. The short work being a pleasant experience, long form original was now in order... 
 This is a delightful story about how one girl's determination to "always act like a princess" is tested through trials. As she perseveres in trying to bear up under difficult circumstances and do what is right, others around her are lifted up by her actions. The benefits of her diligence are not fully rewarded until her fortunes, and position as a virtual princess, are restored. With her ascension to her "rightful place", her friend and co-laborer, Becky, and the beggar, Anna, are also raised up. This story arc raised in my mind the erroneous connection between righteousness and temporal wealth/ security/ reward often embraced by western Christianity (theologically, we would call this the "health and wealth" gospel). 
 The themes of righteousness and perseverance in the midst of suffering are strongly developed. The relationship between Sara and her dear father is touching, as well as Sara's love for others, even those others might not notice. The theme of imagination and how the mind can aide in overcoming difficult physical realities is also well done. 
 However, the theme of 'magic' once again emerges as it does in "The Secret Garden." From page 185, 
 "Somehow, something always happens... just before things get to the very worst. It is as if the Magic did it. If I could only just remember that always. The worst thing never *quite* comes." 
 To connect the "Magic" with the person of God creates a question of accountability to God, relationship or rebellion and humanity's obligation to our Creator. Disconnecting God's gracious power from His person by referring to an act of grace as "Magic" tries to create a sense in which there are forces or powers in our universe acting for our good apart from a personal God to whom we will give an accounting. 
 It struck me that Burnett wants to have it both ways. She wants the motivation to be righteous and good. She wants the grace of an All-Powerful God who intervenes on our behalf (and these gracious powers are ascribed to Sara's benefactors, but not to the God from whom they flow). She wants care for the poor and the oppressed. She wants imagination and story and wonder in which good triumphs and all the faithful are loved and accepted and raised up. But the manner of her writing illustrates either a concealment or rejection of the God from whom these things flow, and His Son Jesus who makes these aspirations a reality for the sons of men. 
 So, should a young girl read it? Yes, I think I would recommend this work of Burnett's, but I would want to use it for as opportunity to correctly position the story as an illustration, instead of an obfuscation, of these spiritual realities.