Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Harriet the Spy
Book Review: Disappointed , VERY!
Summary: 1 Stars
We have four children, the first and only one to start reading this book is ten years old and brought it to us the first evening and asked us to review it for bad words. Pointing specifically to a part early in the book where the main character, a young girl, shouts profanity at the dinner table because she is expected to do something she does not want to do. After we reviewed the book further we found another area that discredited the importance of reading the Bible, and of holding to family taught morals and principles. this book is NOT for children of any age. We did not read the entire book, nor do we intend to, it went into the fire. If your Child wants books to read, check a local Christian Book Store.Book Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
This book reminds me of the days when I used to work for good old fidel, destabilizing governments, and being an all around bad guy.Great book, I know that Trotsky and Lenin are also big fans of this highly intellectual and insightful book.
Book Review: Excellent for the precocious child in your life
Summary: 4 Stars
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Harper & Row, 1964
298 pages
MG; Contemporary
4/5 stars
Summary: Harriet M Welsch maintains a notebook in which she keeps notes of all the people she observes because she wants to be a spy when she grows up. But problems erupt when her schoolmates discover the novel and the things she wrote about them.
Thoughts: I had attitude about this book due to the movie which I didn't think looked interesting (I've never seen the film-just trailers) and the fact that Mallory Pike of the BSC once wanted to act like her and I hated Mallory.
The first part of the story is actually more focused on Harriet's nanny Ole Golly and just setting the stage. I actually preferred the story once Ole Golly leaves but Harriet suffers a bit seeing the person who understands her leave. Her parents don't understand her writing but Ole Golly told her about spies and encouraged her to write.
The second part of the story revolves around the classmates discovering Harriet's novel where she wrote a lot of mean-spirited observations, such as why a friend doesn't have a dad and how another friend couldn't become a scientist, who was she fooling, etc. I had little sympathy for Harriet at this part; she couldn't understand why they were hurt and angry and retaliated. For someone who is so smart, she had a serious lack of understanding here.
Luckily, the book resolves with a hopeful ending. Harriet learns to think more critically about her writing and receives a new opportunity to practice it. She also becomes reconciled with her two best friends and the future looks more hopeful.
[I agree with her classmates that a tomato and mayo sandwich sounds awful but Harriet loves them; I do admire her routine of having it every day for about six years though.]
Overall: Okay story; maybe I would identify more if I was a writer? As it is, I'm only a reader but a voracious one at that.
Book Review: First read it at 12, still love it at 42
Summary: 5 Stars
Harriet the Spy is an old friend who I come back to even now, so many years later. Harriet helped shape my world. She wanted to be a writer, so did I (and I might add, I succeeded, and I hope that she did too, wherever the "grown up" Harriet might be in literature land). She felt estranged from her classmates, so did I. Harriet and her perceptions on life taught me that it was okay to question what I saw around me, that it was okay to look at life differently. I'll always thank Louise Fitzhugh for writing a book that changed my life in so many ways, and that still holds up as a wonderful, funny and poignant story years after the fact.Book Review: Fun reading for those who like spys
Summary: 4 Stars
Harriet the Spy is about a girl named Harriet, who likes to take notes on everyone and also likes to spy. One day, the kids in her class get a hold of the notebook that she writes in and they read all the notes in it. I really liked the beginning when Harriet is spying, but the book peters off.