I know I might make some enemies with this review, but I have to tell it like I see it. Or, in this case, read it.
I was told this was a classic.
I’m inclined to like older books, and I had seen Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh on multiple book lists.
I will not join in recommending it.
While this book is undoubtedly well written and Harriet is a strong and sympathetic character, I can’t help but wanting to slap her half of the time. We listened to Harriet the Spy as an audio book. The narrator was excellent, and frankly that is the only thing that kept me going to the end (and my hope that Harriet would learn some redeeming lesson about life and friendship).
Harriet longs to by a Spy. She spies on friends and neighbors and writes everything in her journal. Her commentary is cruel and critical. Even about her best friends. Unsurprisingly, her friends find her journal, read her hurtful words, and shun her. Finally, Harriet decides to lie an apology to her friends so she won’t be so alone.
What really irks me is that she never learns her lesson! She never really grows as a character, at least, not the way she needs to.
Here are the main issues I had with Harriet the Spy:
1) She curses at her parents. She yells at her parents (twice), “I’ll be damned if I go to dance class!” Harriet has a strange and distant relationship with her parents that frankly disturbs me for a book aimed at elementary schoolers. She was raised by a nanny (Ole Golly), who leaves about midway through the book. That’s when Harriet begins to fall apart.
2) Harriet writes nasty things about people in her journals and thinks (almost only) mean thoughts about everyone. Including her best friends. And she never sees anything wrong with it! Even in the end! I’ve seen reviews that praise Harriet’s character growth in learning how to lie to spare other people’s feelings. Honestly, I have a problem with the idea that it is ok, even good, for Harriet to nurse her horrible ideas of people. There is an ugliness in her heart that is never dealt with. In the end, she lies not to spare the feelings of others, but so that she won’t have to be alone.
3) Relationships aren’t that simple. Harriet apologises to her friends (which is a lie since she is not sorry nor does she intend to change). The book ends with her friends accepting her again. But all of us who have hurt someone or been hurt before know that relationships are not that simple. If the author wants to be raw and honest about human nature (as she is about Harriet), she should tell this truth as well to her young readers. People may forgive you, but they won’t forget, and it will never be the same.
I would have liked this book if Harriet could have come to some self-realization that she was the problem. Her urge to observe and write wasn’t bad, but her selfish disregard of other people and their feelings is the tragedy of this book.
Is Harriet the Spy a classic? Not in my opinion.
Do you have a different opinion of this book? Is there a “classic” book you just can’t stand? I’d love to hear about it!
Thank you for such an honest review with each point so clear. When raising children, the example given by others can play such an enormous part in a child’s life. Book characters do that so easily. Taking a book like this one and talking about why Harriet is not a good example can guide kids in good ways, but they need the guidance. Left on their own to figure those things out often does not happen rightly. I can think of many a current book that is leading kids astray today.
Thanks for visiting me and commenting too!
Thanks, Linda! I was very glad we listened to this one together as an audiobook so we had a chance to talk about Harriet’s choices and perspective. We were able to separate her urge to write from how she chose to view other people. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
This is so interesting because I loved her books when I was younger. I wanted to be just like her. Looking back in some of my first journals, I am ashamed at some of the things I wrote about classmates. I certainly did sound like Harriet, but I didn’t realize at the time how awful it was. I’m glad she inspired me to write everything down, but I wish she would have inspired me to write kind words that could help people. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Kristin! I love your perspective since I didn’t actually read these books as a child. I listened to it as an audiobook with my kids and was very glad I had the chance to talk with them about the good and bad parts instead of having them experience this book on their own. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
While Harriet may not be a character to emulate, she may be a character to pity or to help. Discussions about why it is not effective to behave the way she does, how could she change for the better, how would you approach such a person, how would you react if this happened in your group of friends, etc. Sometimes it is valuable to see how NOT to behave to help learn how to behave. Of course, applying what scripture says about the way we treat others is perfect for this discussion, too. An older student might write a persuasive essay using the issue whether Harriet should have kept the diary or some other issue from the book.
I would say that this book would be best read together when the student is “old” enough to have a talk about the issues.
Yes, I agree it is a good book to talk about with an older child. I don’t think it’s a good book for a child to read without guidance. Thanks for your opinion, Ellen! 🙂
That being said, Carolyn, there are so many books to be read, this one could be skipped altogether! There’s only so much time!
So true!
Thanks for the warning. There are so many great books out there I don’t think I need to waste my time on this one. I can move on to the next great book!
You’re welcome! That’s exactly why I posted this review. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I’m not sure I ever actually read this book. I remember watching the movie while babysitting and not be overly impressed. I actually feel this way about a lot of classics. I haven’t actually figured out what makes a book a classic, so we are just careful about everything we read and let our kids read and make sure we are talking about what does and doesn’t please the Lord.
Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday! I’m excited to have you as part of our community!
Tina
Hi Tina! It is hard to tell what makes a classic, and often, the worldview of the people making those lists can be vastly different than our own! That’s actually why I started this blog (and probably why you started yours!). Thanks for stopping by and for the chance to link up! 🙂
Have you read The Great Gilly Hopkins? I wonder if you might find that one more satisfying and appropriate for young audiences. Like Harriet, Gilly has a mean streak, but there is some character development/growth and redemption to her story at the end.
I haven’t, but I’ll definitely put it on my to-read list! Thanks so much for the suggestion! 🙂
Thanks so much for your helpful commentary. It is so refreshing to read a thoughtful review of a book with a biblical worldview in mind. I’ve checked out books from the library that were highly recommended for young readers only to be disappointed so many times and shocked that any adult would think such content is helpful in building strong character.
Thanks so much, Christy! I’m glad the review was valuable to you 🙂
I LOVED this book as a kid…. in fact it was my favorite for years. As an adult, I couldn’t remember anything about it except that she was a spy, and that I loved it. I started reading it to my son last year (when he was 6). I was so disgusted with the language and was thankful he wasn’t really into it. We ditched it after the second or third chapter. Now I really have no idea what I saw in it. I may read it through again in the future and decide if it’s ok to read aloud, but it’s definitely not going to be among my top or even middle choices.
It’s so interesting how our perspective changes as a parent! Glad to hear I wasn’t the only one with that reaction! 🙂
This was one of my favorites from childhood, and it was sitting on my shelf, unread, when I came across your review. “Ah!” I thought, “I can skim that one right off our shelves to make room for better books!”
But I’ve been talking with my oldest daughter about what makes a good story good (so many things, of course, but one of the key points we discussed was a character’s eventual transformation by the end of the book), and as we talked I realized that she hadn’t actually read any stories that didn’t meet that criteria. Enter Harriet the Spy 🙂
We had a great conversation after she read it. We contrasted it with other books she’d read recently in which the characters went through similar ordeals as a result of their own sin and yet showed genuine growth and repentance. So, thank you for the great review! It got me to take another look at this book and got my daughter and me talking about all kinds of interesting themes 🙂
That is a great use of this book! You are right, it can be a good conversation starter, but I’d hate to hand it off to a kid and never talk about it. And I think our tendency with lists of “classics” is to do just that. Thanks for your input, Thea! 🙂
Oh, absolutely! I should make it clear that I did NOT enjoy this book when I reread it and would definitely not have felt comfortable with handing it to her without discussion. I was grateful that your review inspired me to take another look at it before I did exactly that 🙂