Age: 3rd-5th grade

Plot: As an upper class child, Harriet has a relatively comfortable existence. She has two friends: Sport, a writer's son trying to hold down the house; and Janie, the incipient chemist. But her favorite person is her honest and wise nurse, Ole Golly. It is Ole Golly that gives Harriet the advice and understanding nature that she needs. When Ole Golly leaves to get married, Harriet tries to understand her world with little success. She expresses all her observations of the world in her treasured notebooks. Oftentimes, these are harsh and belittling observations of which Harriet feels no shame. When her classmates and two best friends find the notebook, they form a club to stop and embarrass Harriet. Without her notebook to vent her thoughts, she turns to evil and cruel actions.

I didn't like this book because Harriet carries on as if her cruel and judgmental outlook on the world is perfectly fine. She has no regrets for constantly thinking mean thoughts and, in the end, she receives a glorious prize when she becomes the newspaper editor. The book is written well and the theme of 'writing to avoid devious action' is interesting; but I felt like the book encourages readers to think spite-filled things about other people without a hint of remorse or sympathy.