A counterculture children's novel that may be an acquired taste for some, like, for example, the Catcher in the Rye, but nonetheless unique and potentially avant-garde for its time. Its rebellious kookiness fits in perfectly with the estranged youth of the 60s, paving the way for kaleidoscopic Beatlemania, and Harriet's cocky stride on the iconic cover is the perfect bookend to Abbey Road. I didn't enjoy this novel much at first and thought its humour tasteless and crude, but when everything started to unravel about halfway through, after Harriet loses her notebook, I was forced to reassess my initial opinion. You don't really know the real Harriet till she hits rock bottom, and then you get to see just how emotionally blunted she has become as a result of her buried intelligence. Without a facet through which to express herself, Harriet becomes nothing but a vegetable (literally, an onion), and it takes Ole Golly's alternative methods to bring her back to herself. ( )

A re-read after many years. Good characterisation - the children are realistically flawed and the protagonist has difficulties relating to others and understanding why they are offended by the comments made about them in her notebook. In some respects, it is the portrayal of a privileged child who is neglected by her parents and has received her rather amoral values from her nurse/nanny. Crisis occurs when said nurse leaves and Harriet's notebook is read by her classmates. I did find the resolution a bit glib where she is rehabilitated by being given the class news page to edit. I'm sure parents wouldn't be pleased by the suggestion in her ex-nurse's letter that she should either apologise or lie - which Harriet does by placing a formal statement on the class paper that anything people read that upset them was a lie and is apologised for, when this apology is of course a lie in itself. ( )

Eleven-year-old Harriet M. Welsch knows exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. A spy. She’s already practicing, wearing spy clothes and carrying a notebook on her spy route. The adult she listens to is Ole Golly, her nurse. Ole Golly told Harriet that she needs to get out in the world and see lots of people, because there are as many ways to live as there are people, and Harriet needs to decide how she wants to live. I don’t think Ole Golly meant for Harriet to break into people’s homes and businesses, but that’s what Harriet does. Harriet’s world falls apart when Ole Golly leaves and, shortly afterward, Harriet’s lost notebook is found and read by her classmates.

I didn’t read this book as a child, and I don’t think it would have appealed to me then. I was not a snooper as a child, and I avoided the children who were. Harriet’s breaking and entering bothered me. The bullying Harriet experienced after her classmates read her lost notebook was even more troubling, as were Harriet’s payback fantasies. It’s obvious to the reader that Harriet is a budding writer. It takes a child psychiatrist to point out the obvious to Harriet’s parents, who then enlighten Harriet’s teachers and Ole Golly. ( )

If I’d read this as a kid I would have struggled with the incessant meanness and how this bully of a main character never really changes her behavior or shows any sort of remorse, and in fact, she’s rewarded for being horrible. I doubt my child self would have been cool with any of that, especially since I could totally have seen myself as a Harriet target.

Reading this an adult however, I guess I was able to take this less seriously or personally than I likely would have as a sensitive kid, and while plenty of Harriet’s actions had me cringing and I did wish to see more of a comeuppance for her than she received, admittedly, I found Harriet entertaining.

Harriet’s obsession with tomato sandwiches was so odd that it couldn’t help feeling funny. Equally odd is reading something that’s considered a children’s classic constantly thinking okay here’s the moment when Harriet’s going to understand how hurtful she is and become apologetic, only this girl continuously doubles-down with her awfulness, her answer to everything seems to be I’ll do worse, that’ll teach them. It’s so unexpected to read a children’s book where basically no lessons are learned, combine that with Harriet’s brazen persistence in being horrible and you get something a little amusing and a bit dark, with an entirely unique feel to it. If you can get on board with the villain winning then this is a twisted sort of enjoyable, just, you know, don’t dwell on how miserable it would be to tangle with someone like Harriet in real life. ( )

Harriet the Spy is an interesting read. The idea of a child who spends her time spying on people is strange. Harriet has some friends but not many, probably due to her standoffish nature. Her parents are there but hardly around so this might contribute to her behaviors. Harriet keeps a journal where she talks about many people, including her friends. I was somewhat happy that it was found and read by her friends, however, she didn't receive any punishment and did not feel sorry for hurting her friend's feelings. This was a point in the book that I definitely disagreed with. ( )