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Harriet the Spy Adventure Series #2
Harriet the Spy, Double Agent
Harriet is impressed to learn that the girl she has befriended, now called Annie Smith, is the person who not only created three names–Rosarita Sauvage, Yolanda Montezuma, and Zoe Carpaccio–but also three distinct personalities to match. This girl has potential. Being a spy has always been rather solitary, so Harriet is glad to have a new friend and spy partner. But then Harriet realizes that Annie reveals very little about herself, and indeed, is not telling the truth about where she goes and who she meets on the weekend. Sport says he’s in love with the girl, but Annie lets drop she’s in love with an older man. Harriet can’t understand anything at all about this thing called love–even when she asks Ole Golly for advice, she still wonders. But as Harriet unravels Annie’s mystery, she comes to appreciate the many different kinds of love there are.Praise for Harriet the Spy® and Her Friends Harriet the Spy®“Harriet is . . . wholly relatable whether you’re eleven or several times that age.”—EW.com Harriet Spies Again By Louise Fitzhugh and Helen Ericson Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Novel“Ericson has perfectly captured the voice and pacing of Fitzhugh’s original novel in a seamless rendering of a fresh, enjoyable story for today’s readers.” —School Library Journal Harriet the Spy, Double Agent By Louise Fitzhugh and Maya Gold“Harriet the Spy is back, and Gold does a credible job of maintaining the special character and her crusty charm.” —Booklist The Long Secret[STAR] “Written with subtlety, compassion, and [Louise Fitzhugh’s] remarkable ability to see inside the minds of children.” —School Library Journal, Starred Sport [STAR] “A worthy successor to Harriet the Spy—and that is high tribute.” —Booklist, Starred
Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2005
40 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Maya Gold
22 books72 followersMaya Gold grew up in New Jersey, a few towns north of Diana’s home in Weehawken. Now she lives in upstate New York with her fashion–forward teenage daughter and a very friendly dog. Maya writes books and magazine articles, and in her spare time, she coaches a high school drama club. Cinderella Cleaners is her first series for young readers.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 21, 2020
This is the second in the reboots of Harriet The Spy, after Harriet Spies Again. I would definitely recommend reading Harriet the Spy first (obviously) but I would also recommend reading Spies Again, as some things in this book won't make sense otherwise.
This is also shorter than Spies Again, so it does finish quite abruptly. Despite being published in 2007, there have been no further spin offs or follow ups to this and Spies Again, which is quite disappointing. Perhaps the sales were not what they'd hoped for. They are good, but as I mentioned in my Spies Again review, I don't think they quite captured the magic (or the verging on fanatical note taking.)
This also starts to show the characters growing up, which was previously touched upon in Spies Again (for reference, I have not read The Long Secret as yet, and i know that deals with more puberty issues) with Sport growing hair. His voice is mentioned by Harriet as changing and even Janie reappears in this book. Her character has been completely changed, from the wanting-to-blow-up-the-world-science-crazy-girl, to a popstar obsessed tweenager. I do think Janie was a sadly forgotten about character in the previous book, and I don't particularly like the severe change of her personality and her attitude towards Harriet at times. However, Sport is still floating around, but Harriet is experiencing the changes of her peers, and wondering/fearing if the same will happen to her.
I have found that Spies Again and Double Agent do tend the miss the most important point of what made the original book so popular - Harriet spends less and less time writing in her notebooks, and even less time spying on her regulars. (Although she does tend to unlock the "toy box" that they're kept in and stroke the spines/re-read some of them.) I miss the stories of her adventures in the dumbwaiter and sneaking up on people, to snatch part of their lives/conversations to include in her notebooks. She does still write in her notebook in this, but it was too few and far between for my liking.
Ole Golly is also sadly missing from this, apart from a couple of letters sent from Montreal, and Cook is also missing from the majority of the book. These were big characters in the original book and Spies Again, I just felt like Double Agent could have been longer, or spent less time on Annie.
Most of the book is taken up of the mystery of Annie/Yolanda/Rosarita/Zoe/Cassandra and who she's sneaking off to see. It is good that the authors of these spin off books feel confident to introduce new characters into Harriet's world, but Annie annoyed me a little bit, and just rubbed me (and Harriet) up the wrong way. If I had been Harriet, I would have gone back to Sport in a heartbeat.
There's also a slight will-they-won't-they between Harriet and Sport, again, showing the passage of time, and how they're starting to develop feelings. Not much is made of it though, and I'm not sure if Louise Fitzhugh would be spinning in her grave at this thought or not.
It will be interesting to see how The Long Secret compares to these spin offs, especially as that was a direct sequel by Fitzhugh. As much as I grew up loving Harriet The Spy, I just don't feel like the spark is there for these two books. Bring back the notebooks!
This is also shorter than Spies Again, so it does finish quite abruptly. Despite being published in 2007, there have been no further spin offs or follow ups to this and Spies Again, which is quite disappointing. Perhaps the sales were not what they'd hoped for. They are good, but as I mentioned in my Spies Again review, I don't think they quite captured the magic (or the verging on fanatical note taking.)
This also starts to show the characters growing up, which was previously touched upon in Spies Again (for reference, I have not read The Long Secret as yet, and i know that deals with more puberty issues) with Sport growing hair. His voice is mentioned by Harriet as changing and even Janie reappears in this book. Her character has been completely changed, from the wanting-to-blow-up-the-world-science-crazy-girl, to a popstar obsessed tweenager. I do think Janie was a sadly forgotten about character in the previous book, and I don't particularly like the severe change of her personality and her attitude towards Harriet at times. However, Sport is still floating around, but Harriet is experiencing the changes of her peers, and wondering/fearing if the same will happen to her.
I have found that Spies Again and Double Agent do tend the miss the most important point of what made the original book so popular - Harriet spends less and less time writing in her notebooks, and even less time spying on her regulars. (Although she does tend to unlock the "toy box" that they're kept in and stroke the spines/re-read some of them.) I miss the stories of her adventures in the dumbwaiter and sneaking up on people, to snatch part of their lives/conversations to include in her notebooks. She does still write in her notebook in this, but it was too few and far between for my liking.
Ole Golly is also sadly missing from this, apart from a couple of letters sent from Montreal, and Cook is also missing from the majority of the book. These were big characters in the original book and Spies Again, I just felt like Double Agent could have been longer, or spent less time on Annie.
Most of the book is taken up of the mystery of Annie/Yolanda/Rosarita/Zoe/Cassandra and who she's sneaking off to see. It is good that the authors of these spin off books feel confident to introduce new characters into Harriet's world, but Annie annoyed me a little bit, and just rubbed me (and Harriet) up the wrong way. If I had been Harriet, I would have gone back to Sport in a heartbeat.
There's also a slight will-they-won't-they between Harriet and Sport, again, showing the passage of time, and how they're starting to develop feelings. Not much is made of it though, and I'm not sure if Louise Fitzhugh would be spinning in her grave at this thought or not.
It will be interesting to see how The Long Secret compares to these spin offs, especially as that was a direct sequel by Fitzhugh. As much as I grew up loving Harriet The Spy, I just don't feel like the spark is there for these two books. Bring back the notebooks!
January 10, 2013
I feel a certain loyalty to Harriet, since the original Harriet the Spy was one of my favorite books as a kid. I had my doubts about the two sequels, each written by different authors after Louis Fitzhugh's too-soon death, but both did a fairly good job of staying true to the spirit of Harriet.
Harriet Spies Again feels a little empty, as there is very little spying, note taking or interaction with Harriet's friends, and the whole Ole Golly reunion falls kind of flat. Also, it may have been less obvious what was going on with Ole Golly to a younger reader, but to me it was pretty predictable.
The other sequel, Harriet the Spy Double Agent, is a bit better than Spies Again, because Harriet is more her old note-taking self and spends more time talking to Sport, who himself is going through his own turmoil what with his dad's new wife, being in love, and sprouting a few facial hairs. Double Agent also hints (maybe as a tribute to Fitzhugh?) at Harriet's budding sexuality as she discovers and ruminates about her own feelings about Sport, Ole Golly, and her new intriguing friend and spy partner, Annie Smith, who has created three names and personalities for herself and has a few secrets of her own.
Missing from both books is Fitzhugh's wry wit, but these sequels are worth a read if, as a now-grown adult fan, you can ignore that feeling that you're visiting a ghost. It's nice, but leaves you feeling a tiny bit empty.
Harriet Spies Again feels a little empty, as there is very little spying, note taking or interaction with Harriet's friends, and the whole Ole Golly reunion falls kind of flat. Also, it may have been less obvious what was going on with Ole Golly to a younger reader, but to me it was pretty predictable.
The other sequel, Harriet the Spy Double Agent, is a bit better than Spies Again, because Harriet is more her old note-taking self and spends more time talking to Sport, who himself is going through his own turmoil what with his dad's new wife, being in love, and sprouting a few facial hairs. Double Agent also hints (maybe as a tribute to Fitzhugh?) at Harriet's budding sexuality as she discovers and ruminates about her own feelings about Sport, Ole Golly, and her new intriguing friend and spy partner, Annie Smith, who has created three names and personalities for herself and has a few secrets of her own.
Missing from both books is Fitzhugh's wry wit, but these sequels are worth a read if, as a now-grown adult fan, you can ignore that feeling that you're visiting a ghost. It's nice, but leaves you feeling a tiny bit empty.
May 23, 2011
I thought that this book was really good. Also by reading this book you can pick up some spy skills.
August 23, 2023
I was unaware of the existence of these books till a week ago when I went to reread the original after rereading The Long Secret. Shocked to realize I didn’t have it among my small collection of favorite books from my childhood, I promptly got it from the library.
After reading the reviews, my expectations were quite low. What sort of ghastly modern spin would this new writer put on a setting far removed in time, not to mention “relatable social class”?
In my day, a significant portion of young reader books were set in amongst upper-middle class New Yorkers.
I was pleasantly charmed to find that the setting was the same without being too anachronistic. Harriet’s family had simply been bumped up a class level or two in order to justify a household replete with cook, maid and governess. Although, Ole Golly was never called that!
I felt the author captured Harriet’s voice quite well, although her character made a number of choices I don’t believe she would have made.
The storyline was adequate in both books, although I deeply question the wisdom of introducing Annie Smith as a character at all. She overshadowed Harriet’s own character and turned Harriet into something of a follower, which was unpleasant to watch. This led to the almost total exclusion of Janie from these two books, something I found utterly unrealistic and puzzling! Why? Why exclude Janie? Interactions between Janie and Annie would have been hilarious.
Sport, however, made plenty of appearances.
There was a problem with the timeline involving Sport, as well. The book Sport took place the year after Harriet The Spy, in which he started his new school. The Long Secret would have been the summer in between. In Harriet Spies Again, the author has Sport entering the new school. But she references events from it in Harriet Double Agent.
I don’t like that. Don’t do that.
I did, however, enjoy a further fleshing out of Harriet’s parents and her relationship with them.
I had long felt there was a disconnect in how they were portrayed in the original book and in The Long Secret. They barely feature as distracted socialites flummoxed by their odd child in the original, but conventionally affectionate and involved in The Long Secret. These books bridge that gap quite nicely. I come from a similar background and recognize that parents with an active social life will, by necessity, relegate family life to weirdly formalized snippets of time but this changes when on vacations.
The plots of both books unnecessarily revolved around “a mystery”. This felt forced and did not adequately drive the “action”, as it were.
The point of the original was not what happened but Harriet’s interior growth. They were all quite subtle books.
Despite my comments, I quite enjoyed these and feel the author did a pretty good job, given the daunting task of writing sequels to another writers famous and beloved books! That’s an incredible amount of pressure!
After reading the reviews, my expectations were quite low. What sort of ghastly modern spin would this new writer put on a setting far removed in time, not to mention “relatable social class”?
In my day, a significant portion of young reader books were set in amongst upper-middle class New Yorkers.
I was pleasantly charmed to find that the setting was the same without being too anachronistic. Harriet’s family had simply been bumped up a class level or two in order to justify a household replete with cook, maid and governess. Although, Ole Golly was never called that!
I felt the author captured Harriet’s voice quite well, although her character made a number of choices I don’t believe she would have made.
The storyline was adequate in both books, although I deeply question the wisdom of introducing Annie Smith as a character at all. She overshadowed Harriet’s own character and turned Harriet into something of a follower, which was unpleasant to watch. This led to the almost total exclusion of Janie from these two books, something I found utterly unrealistic and puzzling! Why? Why exclude Janie? Interactions between Janie and Annie would have been hilarious.
Sport, however, made plenty of appearances.
There was a problem with the timeline involving Sport, as well. The book Sport took place the year after Harriet The Spy, in which he started his new school. The Long Secret would have been the summer in between. In Harriet Spies Again, the author has Sport entering the new school. But she references events from it in Harriet Double Agent.
I don’t like that. Don’t do that.
I did, however, enjoy a further fleshing out of Harriet’s parents and her relationship with them.
I had long felt there was a disconnect in how they were portrayed in the original book and in The Long Secret. They barely feature as distracted socialites flummoxed by their odd child in the original, but conventionally affectionate and involved in The Long Secret. These books bridge that gap quite nicely. I come from a similar background and recognize that parents with an active social life will, by necessity, relegate family life to weirdly formalized snippets of time but this changes when on vacations.
The plots of both books unnecessarily revolved around “a mystery”. This felt forced and did not adequately drive the “action”, as it were.
The point of the original was not what happened but Harriet’s interior growth. They were all quite subtle books.
Despite my comments, I quite enjoyed these and feel the author did a pretty good job, given the daunting task of writing sequels to another writers famous and beloved books! That’s an incredible amount of pressure!
February 1, 2025
This book was super cute. It is about Harriet the Spy, and the new girl Annie who moves in across the street with her Aunt and Uncle and starts at Harriet's school mid-year.
Being the spy that Harriet is, she follows Annie around to try to figure out why Annie is staying with her Aunt and Uncle.
Annie goes and visits with an older gentleman and Harriet isn't sure who he is and knows that Annie is too young to have a boyfriend but isn't sure what to think.
Annie finds out that Harriet is spying on her and gets mad and won't tell her what is going on. Harriet gets scared and thinks that Annie is getting kidnapped when Annie goes off with the older gentleman so she tells Annie's Aunt and Uncle who call the police.
As it turns out, Annie was seeing her father. Annie wasn't supposed to see her father until her parent's divorce was finalized which is why she was currently living with her Aunt and Uncle.
Harriet got humbled and found out the hard way that not everything is what it looks like in the end.
Being the spy that Harriet is, she follows Annie around to try to figure out why Annie is staying with her Aunt and Uncle.
Annie goes and visits with an older gentleman and Harriet isn't sure who he is and knows that Annie is too young to have a boyfriend but isn't sure what to think.
Annie finds out that Harriet is spying on her and gets mad and won't tell her what is going on. Harriet gets scared and thinks that Annie is getting kidnapped when Annie goes off with the older gentleman so she tells Annie's Aunt and Uncle who call the police.
As it turns out, Annie was seeing her father. Annie wasn't supposed to see her father until her parent's divorce was finalized which is why she was currently living with her Aunt and Uncle.
Harriet got humbled and found out the hard way that not everything is what it looks like in the end.
January 4, 2018
I don't think it was as mysterious as the first book Harriet the Spy which was written by Louise Fitzhugh. I read where they had been the reading of here it's the Spy the first edition because of the belief that it encouraged children to lie. But the nature of kids is to be in adults which term as lies foot to a child it's more Make-Believe. I read Harriet the Spy as a young girl and it really inspired me to write and to be authentic. Fact is Harriet is growing older so the story fits as it describes Harriet and she is maturing and making friends.
January 8, 2022
This book was horrid, nothing really happens, and Harriet has no problem spying on her 'friends' and distrusting them. I couldn't figure out where the 'double agent' came in, until I realized that it was her spying on her friend. Not a good read. A waste of time. Don't bother with it. Read something else, anything else. The only good thing that I can say about it, is that it took me less than two hours to read.
January 27, 2022
I abolutely LOVED this book SO 100x SO much!
1st of all the story was amazing and great!
2nd of all: WOW! Just wow! This book was so good and I would read it a thousand hundred million times more!
3rd of all: I defeintly reccomend this bokt o anyone who likes a good spy story with freinds/sidekicks and MUCH more.
The only thing that was a little meh was the big words and sophisticated beggening of the story.
1st of all the story was amazing and great!
2nd of all: WOW! Just wow! This book was so good and I would read it a thousand hundred million times more!
3rd of all: I defeintly reccomend this bokt o anyone who likes a good spy story with freinds/sidekicks and MUCH more.
The only thing that was a little meh was the big words and sophisticated beggening of the story.
September 7, 2025
Awesome story. It also meshed well with the original book Harriet the spy. Hats off to this wonderful author who extended our favorite spy's timeline. I read this book for the prompt read a book that is the bottom of your to be read list. (booklist queen 2025)
April 18, 2020
Cute reimagining of a favorite childhood character
September 3, 2020
This is my first experience with Harriet the spy and it's not a real positive one
December 2, 2024
This book is about mysteries. In this book Harriet is not so sure that her friend is telling the truth so she begins to spy.
November 6, 2025
I enjoyed it. It was a great book and I always wanted to read a long to another ones of Harriet's adventures.
February 15, 2010
Continuing with my read of this series...a trip down memory lane. Quick read that stayed true to the original, even though it was written by a different author that had permission from the original author's estate to write the book. One left to go in the series.
July 25, 2016
Reading with Brooklyn, we decided that starting with Harriet the Spy itself might be a better idea, but this book moved right along, with mystery, intrigue, and a good amount of fun and things to ponder about life.
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November 27, 2008this is sad but good if you like adventures
November 8, 2009
Nothing compared to what Louise Fitzhugh would have written...but I suppose it's cute for what it is.
December 13, 2009
i liked it .
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September 17, 2010Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (?)
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August 11, 2011How Funny! I was adding W.E.B. Griffin spy books and this recommendation came up for Harriet The Spy!!!!!! Which I of course read - like 35 years ago!!!
September 4, 2011
She again keeps the easy reading fun! Good to see she has a new friend and reunites with another.
December 2, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. I couldnt put it down. I just feel like Maya gold didnt capture Harriets personality like Fitzhugh did.
March 9, 2015
I enjoyed reading this sequel!
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February 14, 2019This one was as good as the others!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews