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A review by coffeedragon
Sincerely, Harriet by Sarah Winifred Searle
2.0
I received an e-copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
I ended up downloading this title because I really liked the softness of the cover and the style of the character. I didn’t really look at what the book would be about so I was really confused once I started reading. I wasn’t really sure why Harriet was so suspicious of the people around her (and her surroundings), why she kept slipping (I figured it was important once her father asked if she was being clumsy), and what the purpose of the book was (where the story was taking us). Once it’s revealed that Harriet has multiple sclerosis I started to understand things a bit better and with the author’s note at the end, I started to appreciate this book more. Even though the author mentions their intent on covering an invisible disability like MS, I also think they did a really good job at portraying a character with anxiety. When Harriet finally talks to her parents I felt a connection with her feelings and even felt some jealousy at how close-knit her family was considering their situation (which I loved)
The reason I ended up giving this book a 2/5 is that the story lacked feeling to me. While there were moments where I could connect with Harriet, there were even more moments where I just felt disconnected. I have to wonder if maybe it’s an age thing (I mean, I’m not 13 anymore) or if maybe the author went about the presentation a bit too obscurely (or maybe both)
I also wasn’t a fan of how I got some racist vibes from Harriet but the author does mention in the A/N that there was still segregation happening so it makes sense Harriet would be mirroring some of society’s views (idk historical stuff, this is set in 1996). Although it makes me wonder about Harriet’s family. It’s pretty obvious Harriet is of Hispanic descent (father’s side) but I’m not sure about her mother. It seems rather ambiguous to me. This also makes me wonder if no Spanish dialogue is being used because Harriet is so far removed from the language (second, third generation) or if it’s a limitation of the author (according to GR, the author is from New England, non-Hispanic?). I’m a first generation kid so my house speaks mainly in Spanish, however, I have visited some more removed generations where the parents still speak Spanish and their kids don’t and some dialogue (though limited) is still used
I really wanted to 3-star like it, but I couldn’t
I ended up downloading this title because I really liked the softness of the cover and the style of the character. I didn’t really look at what the book would be about so I was really confused once I started reading. I wasn’t really sure why Harriet was so suspicious of the people around her (and her surroundings), why she kept slipping (I figured it was important once her father asked if she was being clumsy), and what the purpose of the book was (where the story was taking us). Once it’s revealed that Harriet has multiple sclerosis I started to understand things a bit better and with the author’s note at the end, I started to appreciate this book more. Even though the author mentions their intent on covering an invisible disability like MS, I also think they did a really good job at portraying a character with anxiety. When Harriet finally talks to her parents I felt a connection with her feelings and even felt some jealousy at how close-knit her family was considering their situation (which I loved)
The reason I ended up giving this book a 2/5 is that the story lacked feeling to me. While there were moments where I could connect with Harriet, there were even more moments where I just felt disconnected. I have to wonder if maybe it’s an age thing (I mean, I’m not 13 anymore) or if maybe the author went about the presentation a bit too obscurely (or maybe both)
I also wasn’t a fan of how I got some racist vibes from Harriet but the author does mention in the A/N that there was still segregation happening so it makes sense Harriet would be mirroring some of society’s views (idk historical stuff, this is set in 1996). Although it makes me wonder about Harriet’s family. It’s pretty obvious Harriet is of Hispanic descent (father’s side) but I’m not sure about her mother. It seems rather ambiguous to me. This also makes me wonder if no Spanish dialogue is being used because Harriet is so far removed from the language (second, third generation) or if it’s a limitation of the author (according to GR, the author is from New England, non-Hispanic?). I’m a first generation kid so my house speaks mainly in Spanish, however, I have visited some more removed generations where the parents still speak Spanish and their kids don’t and some dialogue (though limited) is still used
I really wanted to 3-star like it, but I couldn’t