[csense]

I read the book as a young'un in the target demographic.

My review: Harriet the Spy was a very stupid story.

It's a bait-and-switch. The title gets you really excited to read about a female grade-school James Bond.

"Harriet the Spy" is a title that promises stealth and deception and disguises and gadgets and explosions and international intrigue. I fully expected to see a cackling maniacal supervillain mastermind capturing and taunting the protagonist, then when all hope seems lost she somehow gets free, leading to a heart-pounding escape sequence culminating in an action-packed blowout ending that totally wrecks the bad guys' diabolical world domination plan and brings them to justice. All while maintaining her cover identity as an ordinary sixth grader.

Instead it's just a girl writing about her classmates' personalities in a notebook.

I still remember how disappointing it was, all these years later.

[dang]

I loved the book as a kid, but your comment does a lovely job of doing justice to your point of view back then. Funny how it left a memorable impression in both cases.