4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An irresistible tale that stays true to the original, July 16, 2007
This review is from: Harriet the Spy, Double Agent (Harriet the Spy Adventures (Dell Yearling Book)) (Paperback)
Spying is a solitary activity. No one knows that better than twelve-year-old Harriet M. Welsch. Harriet has been spying on people and taking notes since she could write. Egged on by her old caretaker, Ole Golly, she has filled dozens and dozens of notebooks over the years; and has no plans to stop her spy route anytime soon. In fact, lately she has begun to add new people to her spy route; one of those people being Annie Smith. New to the neighborhood, Annie is living with her aunt and uncle, the Drs. Feigenbaum, and she has more secrets than Harriet can even believe. For one, Annie Smith is not just Annie Smith. She is also Yolanda Montezuma, Rosarita Sauvage, Zoe Carpaccio, and, as of late, Cassandra D'Amore. And two, Sport, one of Harriet's best friends since forever, has fallen head over heels in love with Yolanda Montezuma, the victim of seeing her wearing a particularly dashing pair of green shoes the first day they met. Harriet quickly becomes obsessed with Annie, and the fact that she was booted out of Sport's school, and enrolled in the Gregory School, alongside Harriet. She also can't get Annie's penchant for creating various characters and names for herself, and decides that learning all of Annie's secrets is her new mission. Unfortunately, Annie isn't very interested in revealing secrets about herself. So Harriet decides to go where no spy has ever gone before. She takes Annie on as a partner, and together they begin spying on various people throughout the neighborhood. It is Harriet's hope that with all of this spying, Annie will begin revealing some secrets of her own. So is not the case. While Harriet loves the fact that she has a new friend, she can't help but wonder why Annie is so determined to keep so many secrets from her. While Harriet is stewing over this new predicament, she begins to realize that Annie has been untruthful regarding where she goes on weekends, and who, exactly, she has been meeting up with. Harriet knows that it's wrong to spy on friends, but she can't deny her curiosity. So, she begins to follow Annie when she leaves the house for secret outings and trysts with two older men. Unfortunately, Sport's crush; Janie's obsession with a pop star who is way out of her league; the constant kissing between Fabio and Naima - two people on her spy route; Annie's reports of being in love with an older man; and Ole Golly's sudden departure after meeting and marrying George Waldenstein; Harriet finds herself obsessed with love and crushes. She can't seem to figure out why they happen. And why, suddenly, every girl in her grade has become possessed with finding a boyfriend, and proclaiming their love to one another. Of course, she also can't quite put her finger on why, exactly, she hasn't been bitten by the crush bug. In a way, Harriet feels left out of the loop. But, at the same time, she's glad to still have her sanity. Too bad she can't say the same for Annie.
I fell in love with Louise Fitzhugh's HARRIET THE SPY over a decade ago, and I still haven't forgotten the wonderful character she created, who managed to lead me on a wild goose chase of years on my own spy route. THE LONG SECRET brought Harriet back in full-force with a new, and completely unexpected sidekick. However, after that, Harriet seemed to have disappeared from sight. Now, however, she has been revived by Maya Gold in the form of HARRIET THE SPY, DOUBLE AGENT. I never thought that someone could pick up where Fitzhugh had left off, but I was wrong. Gold manages to breathe life into Harriet M. Welsch once more, giving readers the opportunity to re-embrace the illustrious spy one more. While characters such as Beth Ellen Hansen, Janie Gibbs, and even the wonder-chef, Sport, are not nearly as prevalent as they were in Fitzhugh's additions to the series; Gold has introduced a new character in the form of Annie Smith - aka Rosarita Sauvage, Yolanda Montezuma, Cassandra D'Amore, and Zoe Carpaccio. Annie is an interesting, and extremely dimensional character, who brings quirkiness to a new level. While she is full of secrets, it's quite obvious that Annie creates different personalities to help her cope with the turmoil in her life, and her family. Each of these characters seems to embody a whole new person who garners their own likes and dislikes. Luckily, the one we see most with Harriet is just plain Annie Smith. Annie is kind, quirky, defensive, quiet, loud, and all-around interesting. It's hard to resist her personality; and the turmoil that results between her and Harriet on a fairly frequent basis brings quite a bit to the story. Harriet, of course, is her usual curious self, who poses many questions to the various adults in her life, that even make the reader think. Her interactions with Cook, and a handful of people on her spy route are humorous and thought-provoking; while the sparsely placed letters from Ole Golly that appear throughout the story give die-hard HARRIET THE SPY fans the chance to see what, exactly, Ole Golly has been up to as of late. An irresistible tale that stays true to the original.
Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer
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