Exactly. Same for some Agatha Christie books where a character says something kinda racist and is later revealed to be the murderer. People will accuse Agatha of racism, and I’m just like bro, it’s a clue that this character is the bad guy. She’s reinforcing that racism = bad.

This doesn’t answer your question, but I’d keep reading The Secret Garden. The main character’s growth is one of the main points of the book.

Also, think about whether the racism is portrayed is a positive light or not. In a lot of books that I see criticized, the whole point was that the racist character was an awful person. I have zero problems reading those books.