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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I re-read this book for the Shelf Discovery challenge one blog is promoting. I hadn't read it in 30 years or so. I feel extremely old now.
This book definitely describes an environment that most readers would be unfamiliar with (living in Manhattan with a cook and a nanny and attending private school) but nonetheless there is much to find relatable about Harriet, an 11 year old with a caustic wit and curiousity that nonetheless still seems like an 11 year old. Ole Golly is a totally original character as well--whoever heard of writing a missive to a child saying "If you're missing me, I want you to know I'm not missing you." Yet somehow this letter and the fact it inspires Harriet speaks volumes about the both of them. Although I found resolution to Harriet's problem slightly unbelievable, I still love this story and I'm glad I re-read it. While I never sneaked into my neighbor's houses and spied on them, Harriet really inspired me as a child as she was and still is an intelligent, non-traditional heroine. I hope kids, especially girls, are still reading this today.
This book definitely describes an environment that most readers would be unfamiliar with (living in Manhattan with a cook and a nanny and attending private school) but nonetheless there is much to find relatable about Harriet, an 11 year old with a caustic wit and curiousity that nonetheless still seems like an 11 year old. Ole Golly is a totally original character as well--whoever heard of writing a missive to a child saying "If you're missing me, I want you to know I'm not missing you." Yet somehow this letter and the fact it inspires Harriet speaks volumes about the both of them. Although I found resolution to Harriet's problem slightly unbelievable, I still love this story and I'm glad I re-read it. While I never sneaked into my neighbor's houses and spied on them, Harriet really inspired me as a child as she was and still is an intelligent, non-traditional heroine. I hope kids, especially girls, are still reading this today.
medium-paced
I have read Harriet the Spy before, but as an adult, and probably before I had kids. I loved it then, but since listening to the audiobook with my granddaughter, I have downgraded to liking it very much. I love Harriet's spying and her writing, and her intelligence. I just have reservations about how very mean Harriet's spy notes and interactions with friends are, to the extent that I found the whole book rather negative. I know that kids can be mean, and there is a slight resolution at the very end, but the book doesn't really offer a good way through that thorny field. I wasn't looking for inspirational self-help advice, just something a little more positive. Still, witty and fun to listen to, and Harriet is a great character.
For everyone who kept a journal (and who suffered when said journal was discovered, its contents aired), was honest to a fault, and didn't always know why people did the things they did but wrote it all down anyone. Bloody brilliant.
Still feels totally fresh and unique, with a really honest voice and perspective.
This book is vivid, rich, funny, and wise… wiser even than Harriet herself, who is one sharp kid. I believe that every human in the world would benefit from reading it.
Hasn't aged well, didn't hold my attention
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
I loved this as a kid, and even remembered and could recite scenes as I listened to it on an audio recording, but holy crap, this book does NOT hold up. For one thing, there's so much that Harriet says just as a matter of course -- saying someone is so fat she shouldn't leave the house, saying that someone blushed so red she looked like "a hook-nosed old Indian" -- that are now out of fashion for good reason. It's jarring to read them. Also, Harriet is a freakin psycho and so is her friend Janie. I pretty much disliked everyone in the book, and though I can see that as a character, Harriet has spunk and goes through a very emotionally real transition, that's not enough to keep this book in the must-read files. Rather, it feels like a time capsule. If i were to give it to my daughter I'd discuss it ahead of time, as I would Huck Finn or other books that are well-written but have troubling leftover bullcrap from a previous age.
You know what's interesting about this book is that it came out in 1964, putting it squarely in the Mad Men era. Watching that show has been a heck of an eye-opener -- the attitudes toward women particularly: what was just normal then would be screamingly inappropriate now, thank effing God. So again, at the time Harriet was revolutionary and her journey was thoughtful and neato. But we've come so far that for the most part, it's also quaint and weirdly distant.
You know what's interesting about this book is that it came out in 1964, putting it squarely in the Mad Men era. Watching that show has been a heck of an eye-opener -- the attitudes toward women particularly: what was just normal then would be screamingly inappropriate now, thank effing God. So again, at the time Harriet was revolutionary and her journey was thoughtful and neato. But we've come so far that for the most part, it's also quaint and weirdly distant.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It seems like every time I read this, I like it less. Not totally sure why it’s such a classic. I can’t believe the language used in the early chapters. I was listening with my 7-year-old and we had to stop because of the bad word used several times. Overall I just didn’t like Harriet. And I’m not sure she really learned how bad/destructive her spying was. She kinda got it at the end but not really.
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
kids are horribly complex and do nasty things, even if they don't mean to be nasty