Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh
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Book Summary Information
Author: Louise FitzhughEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-05-08
ISBN: 0440416795
Number of pages: 320
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Yearling
Book Reviews of Harriet the Spy
Book Review: No Fun from Beginning to End
Summary: 1 Stars
I had high hopes for Harriet, but how can anyone like, let alone want to spend 300 hundred pages with, such a wretched little brat. She's so boring and self-centered and just writes in her pathetic little spy book all day; where's the action? Action? Sorry, not with this book.
For those stuck in a temporarily selfish rut in their lives (hey all of us fall into it from time to time), or for those who feel like they are currently doing everything for everyone else and nothing for themselves, perhaps this book has some worth. For they may be able to relate to Harriet's anger and resentment at the whole world. But a hero? Hardly; Harriet has more of the qualities of a villain. Please look at the other 1 and 2 star reviews for other reasons to avoid this train wreck.
For those looking for a kids book with a female heroine that got it right, try Matilda by Roald Dahl, From the Mixed Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler by Konisburg or Inkheart by Funke. All heroines with some anger issues, but dealt with by much more talented authors.
Summary of Harriet the Spy
Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she's written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?Ages 8-12. Thirty-two years before it was made into a movie, Harriet the Spy was a groundbreaking book: its unflinchingly honest portrayal of childhood problems and emotions changed children's literature forever. Happily, it has neither dated nor become obsolete and remains one of the best children's novels ever written. The fascinating story is about an intensely curious and intelligent girl, who literally spies on people and writes about them in her secret notebook, trying to make sense of life's absurdities. When her classmates find her notebook and read her painfully blunt comments about them, Harriet finds herself a lonely outcast. Fitzhugh's writing is astonishingly vivid, real and engaging, and Harriet, by no means a typical, loveable heroine, is one of literature's most unforgettable characters. School Library Journal wrote, "a tour de force... bursts with life." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books called it "a very, very funny story." And The Chicago Tribune raved, "brilliantly written... a superb portrait of an extraordinary child."
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