Hello followers! I have decided that every book I finish, I will review on here!
Today I just finished Harriet the Spy by Louise
Fitzhugh. You've probably read it since it was published in 1964. Anyway, it's split up into 3 parts. Here they are:
- Part 1: This part is about getting to know Harriet and what she does(spy on people). She loves to write and since her family is very rich, she goes to private school. Her nanny, Ole Golly(This is just what Harriet calls her. Her real name is Catherine Golly.), takes care of here very well, as proved in one chapter where Harriet's mother wants her to go to dancing school, but Harriet hates the mere thought of it. Then Ole Golly talks to her and says that girl spies have to know how to dance in order to disguise themselves at parties they're spying at. Harriet comes back into the dining room where her parents are and says something like, "I'd LOVE to go!" and Mr. Welsh(Harriet's father) says "That Miss Golly works wonders!" At the end of this part Ole Golly has to leave because as Harriet knows she has a boyfriend who is now her fiance. She wants to move to Montreal with him and thinks that since Harriet is eleven, she doesn't need a nanny.
- Part 2: I just want warn you ahead of time that this part is good, but is VERY DEPRESSING!!! If you don't think you can handle it, just put the book down and walk away. At the beginning of this part Harriet feels sad Ole Golly is gone. Then she loses her notebook that her class finds and reads. The notebook has lots of mean things about them, they stop being friends with her. They even steal her tomato sandwich she was going to eat at lunch. Later Harriet spies on them and realizes they've started a club against her. She suddenly feels very lonely and skips school for a while. She is forced to come back, but since she doesn't have any friends, she constantly writes in her notebook and doesn't do any work. Mrs. Welsh realizes that she is doing horribly in school(even English!) so she takes her notebook away from her. Harriet doesn't have anyway to express herself, so she becomes a very dull person. Suddenly, all that dullness turns to meanness. She insults people, pinches and trips them, and she even cuts a chuck of one girls hair out! She has to see a psychologist. But he doesn't really act like one. He dresses like a clown and plays Monopoly with Harriet. He likes to take notes like Harriet and gives her a notebook to write in and Harriet gets so immersed in it that before long she has to go. Mrs. Welsh takes the notebook away, but Harriet still feels better.
- Part 3: Harriet visits her ex-friends to try to make up. Janie still hates her, but Sport(real name: Simon) kind of wants to be her friend. When she spys on the club, which Harriet's rival Marion Hawthorne ruins by making everyone play Bridge, Sport and Janie quit which makes most everyone quit. The rest you'll have to read to find out!
I really liked this book, except Part 2 was a little too sad, but I really liked how the author told us something about the characters at the beginning and mentions it throughout the book, but doesn't take the time to explain every time. I think if you like stories about friendship or like to hear about the main character's thoughts, this is the book for you!
