The Long Secret (Harriet the Spy Adventures (Dell Yearling Book))
by Louise Fitzhugh
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Book Reviews of The Long Secret (Harriet the Spy Adventures (Dell Yearling Book))
Book Review: Dated Yet Timely
Summary: 5 Stars
The Long Secret is the sequel to Harriet The Spy. Published in 1965, it is primarily the story of Beth Ellen Hansen, Harriet's schoolmate and summertime best friend in Water Mill, on Long Island. The setting is rather exclusive: all the characters seem to be highly affluent (even Mama Jenkins drives a Maserati), living in a summer resort with a country club, large beach houses, and multitudes of servants. But the story is universal and even more applicable now than forty five years ago.
Beth Ellen's parents are divorced. Her father never appears, and her mother is a flighty Society lady who is constantly traveling and partying. Beth Ellen lives with her grandmother and leads a quiet, not very happy life with no aims or ambitions until one day when her mother shows up and starts taking her in hand. Beth Ellen, who is already starting to rebel as she begins to mature physically and emotionally, learns to stand up for herself and acquires new direction and focus.
Harriet M. Welsch is primarily an observer in this book, but she still keeps a notebook and continues to make some astute and often funny comments on the foibles of the adult world. Janie Gibbs also returns, plus there are several new characters, primarily the Jenkins family, eccentric Southerners who provide some comic relief.
The themes of friendship and growing maturity are well conceived and described here, as are some fine reflections on religious belief, and the lampooning of High Society is absolutely hilarious. It will appeal to children who are starting to recognize that the world they are growing into is less orderly than they might have once believed. Adults who read it again after many years will remember why they loved it as children and also recognize deeper insights they may not have fully understood before.
Book Review: Great Characters
Summary: 4 Stars
"Harriet the Spy" is undoubtedly one of the best children books ever...the sequel ""Sport" however was a disappointment and did not match HTS fine standards. I therefore hesitated before starting to read "the Long Secret", but this time I was not sorry (the right reading order should have been HTS, The Long Secret and then Sport). The long secret holds the same kind of eccentric, incredible characters as HTS. Especially lovable are Bible loving Jessie Mae, her fat brother Norman and their incredible Mama Jenkins (including their outstanding way of speech - supposedly Mississippi style). The Long Secret also gives us a special look on Harriet as she looks "from the side". Once you see Harriet through Beth Ellen eyes, you also see all her flaws, although she remains one of a kind ...; This "round look", the ability to portray a character as a real human person with qualities and flaws is one of the writer's remarkable abilities.
The heroine of this book is Beth Ellen, a shy timid person who does not talk or act a lot and is usually a very passive friend to Harriet. Beth Ellen undergoes an inner growth through this book and Harriet too learns to regard her friend in a different light.
Not all of my questions were answered at the end of The Long Secret and the ending seems a little too simplistic to accept, but all in all a fun read.
Book Review: hard hitting children's book
Summary: 5 Stars
this is a sequel to the acclaimed "harriet the spy" with the eternal characters of harriet m. welsch and co. though a bit dated (it was banned for some time because of some mentions of having periods and showing certain adults in an unkind light) it is still hard hitting, cynical, and forever immortalized. harriet's friend beth ellen is the main heroine, although harriet has a meaningful talk about religion (?!.) basically biblical notes are being given to people around town that really hit home, and when harriet finds out who it is, she is amazed. the book shows beth ellen's journey from "mouse" to an independant girl. it also showcases harriet from a side point of view (being both incredibly rude and lovable at the same time) and a new character, Jessie Mae Jenkins. The entire family is from missisippi and jessie mae has some relevations about her brand of religion from her mentor, the preacher. the book is cynical in some ways about grownups (like beth ellen's mother) but that's the whole point.Book Review: The Long Secret By : Louise Fitzhugh
Summary: 4 Stars
I liked this book; it had many interesting and complex parts. First, one of my opinions- I think that Harriet talks very rudely to her friends and to others. She really needs to tone down her emotions and act more like the sensible and polite girl that I know she can be.
Ok... now for the actual summary part of my review...
The book mostly focuses on Beth Ellen, Harriet's "summer" best friend when Sport and Jamie aren't around. Through out the story, Beth Ellen and Harriet make new friends (like Jessie Mae, a poor country girl), and Beth Ellen's long-lost mother comes back from Paris with her new husband, Wallace. By the end of the tale, together, Beth Ellen and Harriet have solved a huge mystery and become closer than they were before. Check out The Long Secret By Louise Fitzhugh to find out the rest of the story!
- A Happy Reader
Book Review: Beyond Harriet!
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember finding The Long Secret much more content-rich than HTS, and reading it a few times. I felt like Fitzhugh wasn't talking down to me as a young reader. She wasn't afraid to introduce disagreeable (Zeeny) and strange characters and situations, she wasn't afraid to show Harriet's less agreeable traits, and she wasn't afraid to showcase a character who's staunchly introverted. The mix held my attention for much longer than the (I found) forgettable HTS, whose nursemaid's name irked me (how do we pronounce "Ole"? Is it a first name? What kind? Scandanavian? I couldn't get past this).
And hooray for the publishers for not succumbing to the irritating practice of republishing young adult classics with photos on the cover, as opposed to the original drawings. Don't tell me how Davey / Deenie / Katherine looks!