nancy@enmasse.UUCP (Nancy Werlin) (07/31/85)
In response to the question about Harriet_the_Spy:
the author (now unfortunately deceased) is Louise Fitzhugh;
her other books include the Harriet sequels The_Long_Secret
and _Sport_, as well as a singular book called
Nobody's_Family_Is_Going_To_Change.
Yes indeed, the _Harriet_ sequels are good. The_Long_Secret
takes place the summer after _Harriet_, on Long Island, where
Harriet and Beth Ellen Hansen (a character from the previous
book) spend the summer with their respective families.
The book is told from the perspective of timid little Beth Ellen
(it's interesting to see how she perceives the decidedly-odd Harriet),
who spends her summer trailing Harriet around as Harriet attempts
to spy on the local residents and find our just who is
leaving nasty "biblical" messages all over the quiet town
of Mill River (things like JESUS HATES YOU).
Harriet becomes peripheral, though,
when Beth Ellen's spoiled, rich mother descends upon
Beth Ellen and her grandmother, threatening
to take Beth Ellen off to Biarritz with her.
Janie Gibb (the mad scientist child from _Harriet_) makes an
entertaining brief appearance, during which she explains
menstruation to Beth Ellen and Harriet and then adds darkly:
"I'm working on a cure."
_Sport_ is about Harriet's friend Sport (Simon) and his
adventures when his grandfather dies and leaves him millions.
This causes the descent of Sport's spoiled rich mother (do you
begin to perceive a pattern?), who kidnaps him away from his
vague, writer father and keeps him prisoner in the Ritz Carlton.
This book is less substantial than either Harriet_the_Spy or
The_Long_Secret, but it's got some very special moments.
One of them is a lunch party which Sport holds to freak out
his mother (before she actually has him kidnapped); Harriet
attends as do some other weird children. Another great scene
is the shopping trip that Sport's mother takes him on; they
go to an exclusive shop where Mummy refuses to buy Sport a
light gray suit ("too Jewish"). Beth Ellen and Janie make
brief appearances.
Nobody's_Family_Is_Going_To_Change is far less vivid in my
mind; as I recall it's about an upper middle class black family
in New York City. The father, a successful lawyer, is
extremely unresponsive to the needs to his two children: a
brilliant, overweight 11 year old daughter who spends her time
reading college-level law texts and fantasizing about being
in court; and a talented dancer son whose chance to appear
on Broadway is thwarted by the father's belief that entertaining
is a degrading way for a black man to make a living.
I think that the son's plot has been turned into a Broadway
play, but I'm not sure. Anyway, the daughter joins a secret
organization of rebellious children, and eventually comes up
with a plan to change her home life.
I think that's everything that Fitzhugh has published, if I've
missed something, please let me know. In all events, I recommend
that Harret_the_Spy fans rush out to their local libraries,
find the children's room, and check out other Fitzhugh books
immediately. Or even buy them. Heck, I buy Fitzhugh books in
hardcover.
Nancy Werlin
EnMasse Computer Corp.
Acton, MA