Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I don’t know if I would have liked Harriet if I’d read this book the year it came out; I was then almost the same age as Harriet (I can’t call her a “heroine”) but I had never heard of this series. She writes such mean things about everyone in her notebooks, but she is a child. Perhaps all children judge others this way; she just happens to take copious notes. The author clearly thinks Harriet is brilliant; I found her idiotic. Perhaps it was the times — the early 1960s — that made the story popular enough to spawn a series and Harriet raging against her parents was radical.
I was totally blown away by this one. Such high-quality work. You sincerely feel for Harriet. I did feel she was written a bit young for a believable twelve-year-old, but maybe times were different. She's extremely likeable regardless. Hot take but Ole Golly is high-key cruel, and the solution at the ending is kind of bad. Otherwise really good.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If Harriet lived in the age of social media she would be an unholy terror (and probably end up with criminal charges).
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's a good book to read in your formative years as a kid, but it didn't blow my socks off nor did it ever push my emotional strings. It's fairly simple in it's writing and there's not a lot that happens throughout. With that said, I do like the creativity of this book and the character as it's a unique wrinkle to have in what is a book primarily aimed for a younger audience.
I suspect this book was very formative. Read multiple times as a kid and am still charmed and entertained by this character as a grown-up.
The game where she eavesdrops on people at a diner and tries to guess what they look like? I love it.
I think the other readers who have deemed Harriet a sociopath are being a bit harsh. Most of us didn't have beautifully honed empathy when we were eleven, and she DOES care about the people around her (despite her extremely judgmental notebook) and grieves them whenever she loses them/they're on bad terms.
Did anybody else veto watching the movie because Michelle Trachtenberg looks nothing like the Harriet illustrations..? Ha. May have to watch now.
The game where she eavesdrops on people at a diner and tries to guess what they look like? I love it.
I think the other readers who have deemed Harriet a sociopath are being a bit harsh. Most of us didn't have beautifully honed empathy when we were eleven, and she DOES care about the people around her (despite her extremely judgmental notebook) and grieves them whenever she loses them/they're on bad terms.
Did anybody else veto watching the movie because Michelle Trachtenberg looks nothing like the Harriet illustrations..? Ha. May have to watch now.
Re-read started 7/17/11, finished 7/19.
Ah, an old favorite. Still loved it as an adult, though not as much as when I was a child. I'll probably still share this book with my kids. Harriet is fun and outgoing, a tad disobedient, but teachable. Now I want to spy on my neighbors... if I didn't know any better!
Ah, an old favorite. Still loved it as an adult, though not as much as when I was a child. I'll probably still share this book with my kids. Harriet is fun and outgoing, a tad disobedient, but teachable. Now I want to spy on my neighbors... if I didn't know any better!
medium-paced
Reread this book after not having read it since I was roughly Harriet's age. I had trouble deciding between 4 & 5 stars for this one. I really enjoyed reading it, and loved the descriptions of the children, but there were small parts of the story that didn't sit as well with me.