by Louise Fitzhugh/Read by Anne Bobby
ages: 8-12
First sentence: “
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We took this audiobook on our recent vacation to Kansas City. I had remembered liking it — nay, loving it — while I was a kid, and I wondered how it would hold up. That, and I figured C needed to read it, since we own it and she’s shown no interest in cracking the actual book.

It started out as just Hubby — who had never read it — and I listening to it. He was astounded, and kept making remarks like, “These people are horrible!” and “They’re all insane!” By the end, we were all listening, the girls were begging for the next tape, and yet they couldn’t believe what a brat Harriet was. And, you know: while it was a decent story, and it held together on its own terms, they were all right.

To refresh your memory: Harriet is an only child living in a Manhattan house. It’s probably the 1960s (when the book was written), and she has both a nurse and a cook, because her parents are too busy working or doing whatever uppity Manhattan socialites do to actually, y’know, parent. The nurse is Ole Golly who encourages Harriet in her precociousness, most particularly in her desire to become a spy (she sneaks around the neighborhood spying in on a few particular families) and her copious observing and note-taking. Of everything and everybody.

If this is not weird enough — Hubby was saying that Harriet was a bit pathological and OCD about her notebooks — Ole Golly falls in love, gets married (after getting fired) and leaves. Which sends Harriet into an emotional tailspin. On top of that, her classmates find her notebook and read it. All the nasty, yet honest, observations that Harriet has made about each one of them, which were never meant for anyone’s eyes. They all declare war on Harriet, even her two best friends Sport and Janie. No one will talk to her, they ostracize her from their doings, they essentially leave her alone. Which (of course), makes matters worse. Now, to be fair: they shouldn’t have read Harriet’s notebook. But then again, Harriet doesn’t take it well: she retaliates full-force. And to be fair, again: her parents are a piece of work. They eventually take her to a shrink, who’s one of the only sane adults (nay, characters) in the book, and he gives them a plan of action. Which, thankfully, solves the day.

I’m split about this one, honestly. I did like it: it was funny, it was interesting, and Anne Bobby did a terrific job narrating the book. But. I didn’t like Harriet; no one liked Harriet. I didn’t like most of the characters in the book. In fact, it almost had that awful “oh, no what’s going to happen next” feel to it. What horrible thing is Harriet going to see? What horrible thing is Harriet going to do? What horrible thing are they going to do back? It never quite crossed over into the too much camp, but the vibe was there.

But, it was entertaining. Everyone was interested in the story, and that has to count for something.

Doesn’t it?