Reviews - Harriet The Spy | The StoryGraph

684 reviews for:

A counterculture children's novel that may be an acquired taste for some, like, for example, the Catcher in the Rye, but nonetheless unique and potentially avant-garde for its time. Its rebellious kookiness fits in perfectly with the estranged youth of the 60s, paving the way for kaleidoscopic Beatlemania, and Harriet's cocky stride on the iconic cover is the perfect bookend to Abbey Road. I didn't enjoy this novel much at first and thought its humour tasteless and crude, but when everything started to unravel about halfway through, after Harriet loses her notebook, I was forced to reassess my initial opinion. You don't really know the real Harriet till she hits rock bottom, and then you get to see just how emotionally blunted she has become as a result of her buried intelligence. Without a facet through which to express herself, Harriet becomes nothing but a vegetable (literally, an onion), and it takes Ole Golly's alternative methods to bring her back to herself.

amycam's review against another edition

medium-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

File this one under "Books that didn't age well." It's so bad that my 11-year-old asked me to stop reading it. I finished it on my own, but she definitely made the right call.

Harriet is mean spirited and completely self-centered. She cares not a whit about other people's feelings until the fallout begins. There is no reckoning, no growth, and the very end of the book finds Harriet

publishing malicious gossip about her neighbors (complete with full names and addresses!) in her school newspaper.

And apparently everyone is okay with it. This is one book that could definitely use an update.

feliciaclark's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted

Harriet M. Welsch is an 11-year-old aspiring writer and spy who practices her craft by peeking in on her neighbors and documenting everything she can about the world in her PRIVATE notebooks.

In the first book of the series, Harriet says goodbye to her long-time nanny and friend, Ole Golly, who moves onto a new path in life, leaving Harriet to fend for herself with the knowledge Golly gave her. After her classmates find and read her journal, they turn to bullying her. Despite the invasion of privacy, Harriet eventually takes the opportunity to rebuild herself as the sixth grade editor of the student newsletter.

This book was similar to the storyline of the Nickelodeon movie with Michelle Trachtenberg as Harriet. I honestly loved the movie more. You cannot beat the perfection that is the 1996 film. I felt the book lacked following the mood/experiences of Harriet along her spy route vs. what was happening in her personal life.