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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Classism
One of the great books of my childhood. I wanted to be Harriet. And living in a Midwestern suburb, I found the world of New York apartment dwellers exotic and fascinating.
bro when i say i literally hated almost every second of this book, i'm not lying.
Harriet is so insufferable and she does not change one lick throughout the whole story, she just learns she has to apologize and lie to make things better. She can't even sincerely do it. It's disgusting. I don't give a shit if she's 11 years old, I am so angry at her and this goddamn book. Nothing is actually resolved, she's just a bitch, but can lie about it now I guess?
The only character I remotely liked was Ole Golly, she is a queen (and queer coded too). Also, every adult other than her is so incapable of doing anything - they just act so erratic for no reason.
Wouldn't recommend it to adults or children (for that matter), but a child may have an easier time getting through it.
Harriet is so insufferable and she does not change one lick throughout the whole story, she just learns she has to apologize and lie to make things better. She can't even sincerely do it. It's disgusting. I don't give a shit if she's 11 years old, I am so angry at her and this goddamn book. Nothing is actually resolved, she's just a bitch, but can lie about it now I guess?
The only character I remotely liked was Ole Golly, she is a queen (and queer coded too). Also, every adult other than her is so incapable of doing anything - they just act so erratic for no reason.
Wouldn't recommend it to adults or children (for that matter), but a child may have an easier time getting through it.
I never read this book as a kid, so I don’t have any sort of nostalgia towards it at all.
That being said, as an adult, this book is... not good. Not because it’s a children’s novel or anything, but because Harriet is a sociopath that learns absolutely NOTHING in the end. It’s not charming, it’s not even funny. It was painful and somewhat horrifying to read.
So, Harriet is an eleven year old girl that wants to grow up to be a spy/writer. Sure, that’s cool. She carries around a notebook with her to document things she sees around her— a common thing for spies/writers to do. However, instead of using these findings to write stories with, or even attempting to write literally anything, she simple uses this notebook to write the most horrible nasty things about people. Friends, enemies, even Ole Golly, who is Harriet’s favorite person in the whole world, isn’t safe from Harriet’s written criticisms.
When her book is read by her classmates and everyone starts to hate her, she has absolutely no idea why. Seriously? You said shitty things about literally everyone in your book and you don’t think that’s bad?
However, instead of apologizing, or God forbid, having her parents (who are also shitty and don’t know a damn thing about their child) intervene at some point, Harriet turns into even more of a monster: she cuts a girl’s hair, hurts kids, and simply walks out of school on numerous occasions with literally NO PUNISHMENT from anyone.
After a little while, she goes to see a shrink (just one time though, as if that’s enough to fix the problems), and he decides, along with her parents, her teachers, and the principal, that Harriet should be the editor of the six grade news page.... sure, let the girl who we have evidence of writing terrible things control this thing that is seen by the whole school. So she writes about people who don’t go to the school (and once again says not very nice things at all about them) and it’s ok because we don’t know them so she can call them fat or whatever.
Then in the end she does some half-hearted bullshit apology through the newspaper and in the end... continues to be a monster by writing shitty things in her notebook and spying on people.
I just have absolutely no idea what the point of this book was... what was Louise Fitzhugh trying to say through Harriet? She has no redeeming qualities and in the end all she really learns is “it’s ok to say shitty things about people you just have to hide it a lot better.” Seriously, what the crap?
That being said, as an adult, this book is... not good. Not because it’s a children’s novel or anything, but because Harriet is a sociopath that learns absolutely NOTHING in the end. It’s not charming, it’s not even funny. It was painful and somewhat horrifying to read.
So, Harriet is an eleven year old girl that wants to grow up to be a spy/writer. Sure, that’s cool. She carries around a notebook with her to document things she sees around her— a common thing for spies/writers to do. However, instead of using these findings to write stories with, or even attempting to write literally anything, she simple uses this notebook to write the most horrible nasty things about people. Friends, enemies, even Ole Golly, who is Harriet’s favorite person in the whole world, isn’t safe from Harriet’s written criticisms.
When her book is read by her classmates and everyone starts to hate her, she has absolutely no idea why. Seriously? You said shitty things about literally everyone in your book and you don’t think that’s bad?
However, instead of apologizing, or God forbid, having her parents (who are also shitty and don’t know a damn thing about their child) intervene at some point, Harriet turns into even more of a monster: she cuts a girl’s hair, hurts kids, and simply walks out of school on numerous occasions with literally NO PUNISHMENT from anyone.
After a little while, she goes to see a shrink (just one time though, as if that’s enough to fix the problems), and he decides, along with her parents, her teachers, and the principal, that Harriet should be the editor of the six grade news page.... sure, let the girl who we have evidence of writing terrible things control this thing that is seen by the whole school. So she writes about people who don’t go to the school (and once again says not very nice things at all about them) and it’s ok because we don’t know them so she can call them fat or whatever.
Then in the end she does some half-hearted bullshit apology through the newspaper and in the end... continues to be a monster by writing shitty things in her notebook and spying on people.
I just have absolutely no idea what the point of this book was... what was Louise Fitzhugh trying to say through Harriet? She has no redeeming qualities and in the end all she really learns is “it’s ok to say shitty things about people you just have to hide it a lot better.” Seriously, what the crap?
From the start and until the very end, Harriet is not a great person. Her spy notes are all really mean insults, and I don't blame anyone for their reaction to them. I don't believe she learned any lessons by the end, and just continues being a mean person.
Beautifully written and handles some of the experiences of being a kid really well.
Not gonna lie - Harriet's kind of annoying but she was spitting facts when talking about how dumb math is