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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
This is one of the books I enjoyed as a kid, and I still enjoy it. Harriet is precocious the way I was precocious, and so I have a soft place in my heart for her. I kept a journal also, though mine was slightly more introspective and less focused on the world around me. (Mine also focused more on the broader world - things like wars and foreign policy, for example - but this is off topic anyway.)
The idea of a spy route appealed to me particularly when I first read this book, so I tried it out. Unfortunately, spying in suburban New Mexico is _very_ different from spying in NYC. It was a shame they changed the setting for the movie; I think the setting was part of the ultimate charm of the whole thing. I particularly enjoyed Ole Golly, with her truisms and no-nonsense manner. She guided us all into growing up in her straightforward way.
I could do without the racism in this book (e.g. the mention of things like "big red Indians"), but ya know. That was pretty standard in '64. That doesn't excuse it. _Anyway_. What I'm most impressed by is the fact that this book is almost 50 years old and it still is completely relatable. It doesn't read like an old book at all. I love a timeless coming of age story.
The idea of a spy route appealed to me particularly when I first read this book, so I tried it out. Unfortunately, spying in suburban New Mexico is _very_ different from spying in NYC. It was a shame they changed the setting for the movie; I think the setting was part of the ultimate charm of the whole thing. I particularly enjoyed Ole Golly, with her truisms and no-nonsense manner. She guided us all into growing up in her straightforward way.
I could do without the racism in this book (e.g. the mention of things like "big red Indians"), but ya know. That was pretty standard in '64. That doesn't excuse it. _Anyway_. What I'm most impressed by is the fact that this book is almost 50 years old and it still is completely relatable. It doesn't read like an old book at all. I love a timeless coming of age story.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
My mum read this book to me when I was younger and then I read by myself a bit later, but this book had a big influence on me and I loved the whole idea of Harriet's "Spy routes" and it inspired me to start writing my own journal, which I continue to do until this day. Now I can't remember to much about this book, as I was quite young but I do remember that I really enjoyed the story and Harriet's character and I can still remember certain bits about it. I should definitely read it again sometime when I'm older and see if it speaks to me in a different way and maybe bring back some memories. Thumbs up from me and I'd definitely recommend.
Harriet is a privileged, yet neglected child growing up in the sixties (although that has no real meaning for the story). She writes everything down in her notebook, including her thoughts about people she spies on and her friends. When her schoolmates get ahold of that notebook, Harriet has to deal with the consequences of being mean.
Horrible book. Probably the worst one I've read this year. Harriet does not even apologize for treating her friends HORRIBLY, she throws screaming tantrums, yet she is praised for being smart and is not punished for her wrong doings.
Horrible book. Probably the worst one I've read this year. Harriet does not even apologize for treating her friends HORRIBLY, she throws screaming tantrums, yet she is praised for being smart and is not punished for her wrong doings.
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I just read this again with my son and it still holds up. What a great female character. I love that she doesn't really change in the book.
I'm glad I finally read this book but only because it's the sort of thing I feel I ought to have read when I was actually in the target age group. There are far more things about it that I had a problem with than there were that I liked.
There was no development. Harriet is the same brat at the end that she was in the beginning, only she's learned the wonderful lesson "You have to lie." Fantastic message! I mean, I'm all for little white lies. But isn't "You have to have tact" a better way to phrase that? That's really what Harriet needs to learn. One of the most frustrating scenes for me is when she's taken to the psychologist and, in her head, makes some very astute observations about how the doctor's Monopoly performance is affected by the way he's writing in his notebook and not paying attention. A supposedly intelligent girl like Harriet ought to make the connection to how her own notebook obsession affects her entire life but she doesn't. She just gets annoyed with him and learns nothing.
Another major problem for me was ... there was not a single character in the whole book that I could identify with and I flat-out disliked most of them, including (maybe especially) Harriet. I realize that I'm 15+ years older than the main group, but this wasn't a case of simply not identifying with them now; I genuinely can't remember ever thinking/feeling/doing anything that Harriet and her peers do. There weren't even any characters that I could look at and think "I knew someone just like that when I was in school." They're all tedious, petty little brats, and I didn't get a sense of anything close to a real friendship between any of them.
And the adults are just... Well, they're even worse than the kids. They remind me of the Drapers and their various acquaintances on Mad Men, which I suppose makes sense, since the book was written around the time that Mad Men takes place. But this is supposed to be children's literature, not heavy social commentary... Even Ole Golly, who I think is supposed to be the wise and understanding grown-up, wraps the book up with poorly-worded advice in a letter that's so harsh I would have cried if I'd gotten it. Harriet thinks it's wonderful, though, which makes me terribly sad for her. How misunderstood and neglected do you have to be to take pleasure from receiving a letter from someone, saying "I don't miss you"? Jeez.
There was no development. Harriet is the same brat at the end that she was in the beginning, only she's learned the wonderful lesson "You have to lie." Fantastic message! I mean, I'm all for little white lies. But isn't "You have to have tact" a better way to phrase that? That's really what Harriet needs to learn. One of the most frustrating scenes for me is when she's taken to the psychologist and, in her head, makes some very astute observations about how the doctor's Monopoly performance is affected by the way he's writing in his notebook and not paying attention. A supposedly intelligent girl like Harriet ought to make the connection to how her own notebook obsession affects her entire life but she doesn't. She just gets annoyed with him and learns nothing.
Another major problem for me was ... there was not a single character in the whole book that I could identify with and I flat-out disliked most of them, including (maybe especially) Harriet. I realize that I'm 15+ years older than the main group, but this wasn't a case of simply not identifying with them now; I genuinely can't remember ever thinking/feeling/doing anything that Harriet and her peers do. There weren't even any characters that I could look at and think "I knew someone just like that when I was in school." They're all tedious, petty little brats, and I didn't get a sense of anything close to a real friendship between any of them.
And the adults are just... Well, they're even worse than the kids. They remind me of the Drapers and their various acquaintances on Mad Men, which I suppose makes sense, since the book was written around the time that Mad Men takes place. But this is supposed to be children's literature, not heavy social commentary... Even Ole Golly, who I think is supposed to be the wise and understanding grown-up, wraps the book up with poorly-worded advice in a letter that's so harsh I would have cried if I'd gotten it. Harriet thinks it's wonderful, though, which makes me terribly sad for her. How misunderstood and neglected do you have to be to take pleasure from receiving a letter from someone, saying "I don't miss you"? Jeez.
Enjoyable in a different way from when I was a child, but I still love this story. Reread to fill a bingo square on my summer reading board from the library: A childhood favorite. I’m glad I picked this one.
To be frank, the ending was truly anti-climatic. I was hoping for more, but I did like the author's voice - very wry and New-York.