6/10, I didn't feel that connected to the story. The art was nice, the story was intriguing but fell flat at times. I didn't think the ghost part was really necessary, it's just Harriet going off into a secret room only to find nothing much there, except some things that the old owner of the house left behind. I did like the main character though, her friends essentially isolated her, and if it weren't for her family, she would've been all alone, she spends her holidays trying to write to her friends, but they didn't want to respond. She tries to get into reading some classic books, some she liked, like Beetlejuice, while others she did not like, like The Secret Garden. In the end, she just goes back to school, and the story just ends? I would've liked to see Harriet make some new and better friends had the story not ended so quickly and abruptly. If you like short and sweet graphic novels, this is the book for you. ( )

Harriet and her parents have moved from Indiana to Chicago, most likely to be closer to medical specialists for Harriet's multiple sclerosis (MS). Harriet writes postcards to camp friends Hannah and Ashley, but it's revealed partway through that they aren't really friends with her. She then switches to writing letters to Nicholas, her downstairs neighbor Pearl's son, who spent several months on the third floor of their building as a child recovering from polio. Nicholas is gone now, but Harriet feels they have something in common. Pearl, who is Black and a retired librarian, helps Harriet find books to escape into while her parents are at work. Ultimately, Harriet realizes that writing thoughts, feelings, and stories down isn't enough, and she talks to her parents. The story ends on a hopeful note when she attends a writing workshop for teens at the local library. Harriet's fear that she won't be able to make friends, or find her people, will resonate with readers, even those who haven't been homeschooled for two years due to a chronic medical condition or disability. The full-color art features lots of blue (the striped wallpaper), warm tan, some pink, and purple (the couch).

I think I lie to myself more than anyone else. (p. 111, Harriet to Nicholas) ( )

Sincerely Harriet follows Harriet, a young bored girl who is stuck inside through the summer. She writes to summer camp friends and tries to read books recommended to her. She struggles with living with her MS and feeling like she is not able to make friends.

Sincerely, Harriet is the sort of book I would have loved to read as a teen. The story follows Harriet Flores, a thirteen year old white Latinx girl who begins the book by writing postcards to her friends at camp. She isn't at camp, for reasons that become clear as the story progresses. Instead, she's essentially trapped in the two-family home her family shares with an older Black woman, who lives on the first floor. Harriet's journey is subtle but nuanced, and I adored this book. (Even though it made me cry.)

Some of what follows is a bit spoilery, so if you wish to avoid spoilers, please head off to read it now and don't finish this review.

Harriet lives mostly in her head. She struggles to complete her summer reading because she doesn't see herself in the books she's been assigned, like The Great Gatsby. We eventually learn that she's been home-schooled for the last two years and that she's entering public school in just a few weeks. It's a time of pre-transition, that anxious, but boring inbetween. Searle captures it beautifully with her soft and emotional style.

Harriet's loneliness is a character in this book. She has largely fictionalized her relationships with the girls to whom she's writing. She has a crush on one of them, and considers the other a friend. (This is not the case, as we learn later in a heartbreaking scene.) Her parents are gone all day and into the night, working. And she hears strange sounds from the empty floor above the apartment.

The story that unfolds is one of invisible disabilities, generational healing, and friendship in unexpected places. It's one of loneliness and comfort, of abandonment and family. It's about a queer, disabled girl figuring out who she is and how her relationships can harm or heal her. She hurts and hurts others, but she learns and grows, gives and receives love. It's absolutely lovely.

I received a digital copy of this book for review purposes via NetGalley. ( )

For 2 years Harriet has been homeschooled (since she was diagnosed with MS). Now her family (punk rock mom & dad) have relocated to Chicago & she is killing time over the summer till she can start school. She starts by writing letters to her camp friends who it turns out arent really friends, then she ends up spending time with the landlady downstairs neighbor who she thinks may have murdered someone. The neighbor tries to expand harriets limited world by finding books that will intrigue her & she has limited success.

Not the greatest book but I was glad to read something about a middle school kid dealing with a chronic (& frightening) illness. ( )