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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I’m glad I didn’t read this book as a kid; it would have made me an absolute fucking menace
This is my favorite type of kids book. When you read between the lines there is rich social commentary and poignant truths. Harriet is hilarious. She is full of these brutally honest zingers about the people she observes. And I love a character that is so unapologetically and earnestly themself. My favorite line is when Harriet is spying on the Robinson's, an upper class couple obsessed with their possessions and social status, and says "I'm glad I'm not perfect- I'd be bored to death." I wish I'd read that as a middle school girl. Harriet is at the same time horribly unlikable and extremely endearing. Her vengeance is to be feared. After Ole Golly leaves (the only character that truly sees Harriet and meets her needs, I latched onto her real quick, even though she exits the storyline very early) and her notebook is unveiled to the not-so-receptive public, Harriet creates a personalized plan to specifically hurt each of her classmates. Is it bad that I was most horrified by her cutting Laura Peter's hair? TOO FAR.
My favorite scenes along Harriet's spy route were Mrs. Plumber, the old lady who wished she could just stay in bed all day until the doctor put her on bed rest, and the sweet old man with the ridiculous number of cats that sat and made bird cages. Sure, this is a cheeky little kid's book about a misfit smart kid in New York. But it's also about friendship, wanting to be understood, and figuring out how to grow up.
My favorite scenes along Harriet's spy route were Mrs. Plumber, the old lady who wished she could just stay in bed all day until the doctor put her on bed rest, and the sweet old man with the ridiculous number of cats that sat and made bird cages. Sure, this is a cheeky little kid's book about a misfit smart kid in New York. But it's also about friendship, wanting to be understood, and figuring out how to grow up.
I don't know why I was just thinking about this book, but I remember really loving it as a kid. I remember being super on edge when she snuck into a person's home and the had to hide or escape through a dumbwaiter; that's some super suspenseful stuff for a kid!
I LOVED this book as a child...was always in awe of Harriet and her spying adventures and her tomato sandwiches....still loved it.
I'm pretty sure I read this once, but I KNOW I read an excerpt many many times over and over again as a kid. I love her spirit. And her way of being in the world.
It's kinda cool how different you see the characters in the books you read as a child when you become an "adult". Harriet was an incredible bad-ass to me when I was a sheltered little girl living in a tiny town in Japan as a 10-year-old. She was glamorous, tough, and incredibly brave (breaking into a rich lady's house through the dumb-waiter and getting caught and going back?? MADNESS! AWESOME!!), and super misunderstood in her incredible cloak of badassery. Now I see her as an entitled little asshole of a kid with a brutal eye for bullshit and a deceptively vulnerable gooey inside. Also, it could be that she was translated funny into Japanese. I like both versions, and I love that she's grown with me. And that our mutual love of tomato-mayo sandwiches only grows stronger. Love this girl and so glad I took this little trip down memory lane.
funny
fast-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
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I never read this book growing up so perhaps some of it was lost on me. But I honestly found the protagonist to be irritating and annoying. She did not reflect any of my experiences as a child. The book also felt a lot older than it was; there were racist and fatphobic comments that I would expect from something written in the 1950s.