Harriet the Spy in 101 Books to Read Before You Die

Sep 02, 2008 Kressel Housman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorite, fiction, writing, young-adult

When I was in fourth grade, I would have named Harriet the Spy as my very favorite book, even though I only read the first half of it. I re-read that first half so many times though, it was practically an obsession. First of all, Harriet's commentary in her notebook in hilariously funny. But more than that, I wanted to be a writer just like Harriet, so I was going to do things her way. I even went so far as to look in one of my neighbor's windows for material, but I got caught on the first try. ...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Alana rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: books-to-film, children-youth, in-a-series, 1001-children-s-books

I know people, good friends, in fact, who really love this book. I don't know if it's because they read it as a child and now it's a fond memory, or if they would have liked it reading it as an adult anyway. I do not dislike it, per se, but I found many aspects very troubling.

Harriet's character and spying in themselves are not all that troublesome to me. They are aspects of her personality and as she gets older could truly be skills honed into something very helpful to society and to herself. I I know people, good friends, in fact, who really love this book. I don't know if it's because they read it as a child and now it's a fond memory, or if they would have liked it reading it as an adult anyway. I do not dislike it, per se, but I found many aspects very troubling.

Harriet's character and spying in themselves are not all that troublesome to me. They are aspects of her personality and as she gets older could truly be skills honed into something very helpful to society and to herself. I also, by the end, was happy with the way her parents handled the situation. Yes, there were times they argued with her instead of just putting their collective feet down and saying "because I said so" and gave in a little, but for the most part, they did not let her sass them as I was afraid was going to happen. This is a good example to children.

However, it deeply concerns me that some of the negative aspects of her spying and treatment of others are never met with any consequences. She is only once caught sneaking into a woman's house, and all her other escapades go unnoticed. She publishes other people's stories that, while very true, certainly had no right being in a school newspaper. Where, I wonder, was the adult editor telling her that it was NOT acceptable to say that her friend's father was sloshed at a bar the other night, something she only overheard from her father? She publishes some very nasty things, and people enjoy reading them, instead of her facing consequences for them. She does eventually write a retraction for the things she said in her notebook, but she never actually faces the individuals she hurt and make an honest apology. Her nurse even tells her to tell little while lies instead of hurting people's feelings, instead of just learning when to not say anything at all.

These troubling aspects, while certainly something I can handle as an adult, I would not want my child to be reading in a book without any guidance. The fact that consequences of actions is so obviously skirted in a book aimed at children is nothing short of shameful. ...more

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