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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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
Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.
2013: Loved Harriet and her refusal to conform (tomato sandwiches!), empathized with her, and yet, felt she was slow to learn her lesson, even after it was spelled out for her. An interesting snapshot of class, place, and time in NYC. somewhat less than satisfying that it didn't feel like it followed a natural arc of dawning self awareness.
2016: read aloud to 10 and 12yo boys. We all enjoyed, though winced at Harriet's casual cruelty. Ole Golly is very wise.
2016: read aloud to 10 and 12yo boys. We all enjoyed, though winced at Harriet's casual cruelty. Ole Golly is very wise.
adventurous
Mmmm... It's been a while since a middle grade book has left me with such conflicting feelings. I completely understand Harriet's need to explore her world and write everything down, but at the same time it was a little difficult to really connect with her. Something tells me 6th grade me would not have liked Harriet, curiosity might not be my best characteristic, but boundaries were and still are important. But Harriet learned about it in a very hard way, I would have been terrified.
One of those books I saw everywhere as a kid and despite adoring a lot of child protagonists at that age, I never picked it up. Harriet the Spy only got on my radar because everyone looking back on it seems to really adore it as a classic. I don't worry much about not enjoying children books if I discover classics at an an adult, because I find that I'm able to love them even more with added context.
This was absolutely one of those cases. Harriet is one sharp-shooting child, no doubt about it. I'm actually not sure that I would've liked her if I read this at the targeted age, to be honest, because I had a hard time handling truth bombs back then. Shyness and insecurity wasn't a pretty mix. A lot of her observations are quite hilarious but the others were quite mean-spirited, which surprised me because I expected more harmless, dry humour. As a kid, I would've focused more on those and the consequences Harriet had to face once her notebook got passed around; it brings back a lot of elementary school memories. Instead, now as an adult, I gravitated towards her notes about complete strangers. I loved how diligent she was about keeping tabs on all these people and even though most of the time she had absolutely no idea what was really going on in their lives, she has such poignant thoughts about life and happiness. Those were beautiful. For this I'm glad I'm reading it as an adult because I can see myself personally missing a lot of what Harriet was witnessing.
An apt comparison for me would be like Rear Window where I'm not as interested in the main plotline and would much rather spy on the strangers in the other building through their windows. I loved all the potential in their stories even if we do only get bits and pieces from Cary Grant's spying. It adds depth to the surroundings. In Harriet's case, I had a greater sense of that time period in Manhattan and of the people that she would interact with everyday.
Aside from the spying on strangers, my favourite part of this book were of the relationship between Harriet and Ole Golly, and to a lesser extent, with her parents. I had my own assumptions about the relationships that were shot down, which was just awesome. On the other hand, I didn't find the resolution with the notebook incident that satisfying, or have strong feelings about Harriet's friendships.
I can see why this is a classic! That said, I'm not curious enough to read the next book so Harriet's adventures will stop for me here.
This was absolutely one of those cases. Harriet is one sharp-shooting child, no doubt about it. I'm actually not sure that I would've liked her if I read this at the targeted age, to be honest, because I had a hard time handling truth bombs back then. Shyness and insecurity wasn't a pretty mix. A lot of her observations are quite hilarious but the others were quite mean-spirited, which surprised me because I expected more harmless, dry humour. As a kid, I would've focused more on those and the consequences Harriet had to face once her notebook got passed around; it brings back a lot of elementary school memories. Instead, now as an adult, I gravitated towards her notes about complete strangers. I loved how diligent she was about keeping tabs on all these people and even though most of the time she had absolutely no idea what was really going on in their lives, she has such poignant thoughts about life and happiness. Those were beautiful. For this I'm glad I'm reading it as an adult because I can see myself personally missing a lot of what Harriet was witnessing.
An apt comparison for me would be like Rear Window where I'm not as interested in the main plotline and would much rather spy on the strangers in the other building through their windows. I loved all the potential in their stories even if we do only get bits and pieces from Cary Grant's spying. It adds depth to the surroundings. In Harriet's case, I had a greater sense of that time period in Manhattan and of the people that she would interact with everyday.
Aside from the spying on strangers, my favourite part of this book were of the relationship between Harriet and Ole Golly, and to a lesser extent, with her parents. I had my own assumptions about the relationships that were shot down, which was just awesome. On the other hand, I didn't find the resolution with the notebook incident that satisfying, or have strong feelings about Harriet's friendships.
I can see why this is a classic! That said, I'm not curious enough to read the next book so Harriet's adventures will stop for me here.
Oh, Harriet!
I had forgotten 75% of the book, only remembering how dearly I adored it as a young girl. Our copy was a big fat paperback, and I remember reading it around age 9 and being impressed with myself (though, to put that in perspective, for years I thought Old Man & the Sea was a huge book because I had read it at 10 and it felt like it was longest book ever written, so it might have just been a normal paperback).
Sean, Nolan and I read this together, and Nolie was a little young to deal with a book that is so frank about anger, rejection, loneliness and depression. But it is also funny, and Harriet is endearing, though there were chapters when we all looked at each other and went, "Whoa"---Nolan often said, "I don't like Harriet."
But I love Harriet, and Ole Golly, and I'm sure, in retrospect, that this book is one of the reasons we have so many boxes of old notebooks from my childhood.
I had forgotten 75% of the book, only remembering how dearly I adored it as a young girl. Our copy was a big fat paperback, and I remember reading it around age 9 and being impressed with myself (though, to put that in perspective, for years I thought Old Man & the Sea was a huge book because I had read it at 10 and it felt like it was longest book ever written, so it might have just been a normal paperback).
Sean, Nolan and I read this together, and Nolie was a little young to deal with a book that is so frank about anger, rejection, loneliness and depression. But it is also funny, and Harriet is endearing, though there were chapters when we all looked at each other and went, "Whoa"---Nolan often said, "I don't like Harriet."
But I love Harriet, and Ole Golly, and I'm sure, in retrospect, that this book is one of the reasons we have so many boxes of old notebooks from my childhood.
I remember this book being very popular when I was a kid, but I had never read it. As it was with all those Beverly Cleary books, I just felt it was high time I read this one.
I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure, at first, if I would like Harriet. She was certainly precocious, but came across a little know-it-all-ish. Also, since her family is wealthy - they employ a cook as well as a nurse / nanny for Harriet - I wasn't sure if she'd be relatable. But, the more she wrote in her notebook, and the more she behaved like any other kid, the more I appreciated her.
Summaries of this book usually focus on how Harriet's notebook gets into the wrong hands, but she actually doesn't lose the notebook until a little more than half-way through the story. Mostly, I find this book is about people. Just people. As Ole Golly, Harriet's nurse, says, “There are as many ways to live as there are people.” And Harriet is keen on trying to understand all the people she encounters. Her astute observations and insights, the social commentary and self-reflection, all had quite a lot of depth, especially for someone who is supposed to be 11 years old.
I liked that this book takes place in Manhattan. When I sat down and thought about it, I don't think any of the other children's books I've read recently take place in a big city! It's always a suburb, or a farm, or a small town set in the old days. It was nice to have a setting with a bit more excitement.
What really impressed me about this book, though, was how it was able to depict, in a way accessible to children, the true horrors of bullying and the cycle of abuse. Certainly, when Harriet lost her notebook and all hell broke loose, there was plenty of blame to go around; Harriet was not blameless. However, there is no denying that Harriet was mercilessly bullied, and then what happened? Being bullied made Harriet angry, and made her lash out in retaliation, despite that type of behavior being entirely out of character for her. All too frequently, those who are abused will turn around to become abusers. Luckily, Harriet's parents did care about her (even if they did mostly outsource her upbringing), and Ole Golly came through with her spot on child-rearing expertise.
Truth be told, I would rate this book 4 1/2 stars if I could. There were just a few small things that didn't sit right with me. I mean, I understand that Harriet was practicing her spying in preparation for becoming a spy when she's older, but I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of her actually sneaking into other people's houses, and looking into the windows of strangers!
Also, this book was published in 1964, when there wasn't the hypersensitivity to gun violence and terrorism that there is today. I'm definitely a product of current times, because it did give me pause when guns were mentioned early on, even though it was mostly harmless, in the context of bad guys in a story Harriet was making up. But also, Harriet's friend Janie really gave me the creeps. Not only was she always talking about blowing things up - and doing dangerous chemistry experiments in her room to reach her goal! - but the illustrations of her really made her look disturbing. Oh, and, the word "stoned" was used twice, and that didn't seem appropriate for the lower end of the recommended age range for this book, which is grades 3-7.
I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure, at first, if I would like Harriet. She was certainly precocious, but came across a little know-it-all-ish. Also, since her family is wealthy - they employ a cook as well as a nurse / nanny for Harriet - I wasn't sure if she'd be relatable. But, the more she wrote in her notebook, and the more she behaved like any other kid, the more I appreciated her.
Summaries of this book usually focus on how Harriet's notebook gets into the wrong hands, but she actually doesn't lose the notebook until a little more than half-way through the story. Mostly, I find this book is about people. Just people. As Ole Golly, Harriet's nurse, says, “There are as many ways to live as there are people.” And Harriet is keen on trying to understand all the people she encounters. Her astute observations and insights, the social commentary and self-reflection, all had quite a lot of depth, especially for someone who is supposed to be 11 years old.
I liked that this book takes place in Manhattan. When I sat down and thought about it, I don't think any of the other children's books I've read recently take place in a big city! It's always a suburb, or a farm, or a small town set in the old days. It was nice to have a setting with a bit more excitement.
What really impressed me about this book, though, was how it was able to depict, in a way accessible to children, the true horrors of bullying and the cycle of abuse. Certainly, when Harriet lost her notebook and all hell broke loose, there was plenty of blame to go around; Harriet was not blameless. However, there is no denying that Harriet was mercilessly bullied, and then what happened? Being bullied made Harriet angry, and made her lash out in retaliation, despite that type of behavior being entirely out of character for her. All too frequently, those who are abused will turn around to become abusers. Luckily, Harriet's parents did care about her (even if they did mostly outsource her upbringing), and Ole Golly came through with her spot on child-rearing expertise.
Truth be told, I would rate this book 4 1/2 stars if I could. There were just a few small things that didn't sit right with me. I mean, I understand that Harriet was practicing her spying in preparation for becoming a spy when she's older, but I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of her actually sneaking into other people's houses, and looking into the windows of strangers!
Also, this book was published in 1964, when there wasn't the hypersensitivity to gun violence and terrorism that there is today. I'm definitely a product of current times, because it did give me pause when guns were mentioned early on, even though it was mostly harmless, in the context of bad guys in a story Harriet was making up. But also, Harriet's friend Janie really gave me the creeps. Not only was she always talking about blowing things up - and doing dangerous chemistry experiments in her room to reach her goal! - but the illustrations of her really made her look disturbing. Oh, and, the word "stoned" was used twice, and that didn't seem appropriate for the lower end of the recommended age range for this book, which is grades 3-7.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly I am way out of the target age range for this book but I still love it.