Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected, but amazing!
Review: Unlike all the other reviewers, I have not yet read "The Secret History." After reading "The Little Friend," though, I plan on buying it as soon as possible. Donna Tartt's characters are colorful and three dimensional. Their interactions are captivating. Socioeconomic boundaries are constantly being crossed-in scenes with every character from the family maid, to the trailer inhabiting drug dealer-by the story's main character, Harriet. It is a lovely depiction of a child's dilemma in realizing that world is not right. Not everyone sees her beloved caretaker as a loving, nurturing woman. Instead, she is a disposable employee. This is one of the hardest lessons Harriet learns during her journey of discovery. In order to keep my review from sounding like an essay-as so many seem to do-I simply would like to make the point that this book is so much more than a caper. I was under the impression that the novel was about a young girl trying to find the person who murdered her brother. Although Harriet's sleuthing was the backbone for "The Little Friend", the characters themselves were the story. The character's and story's development was, although too thorough at times, spellbinding. I was completely rapt with every turn of the page. Donna Tartt is, marginally, one of the best authors I have read to date.
Rating: 
Summary: Half Hearted Effort. I want my money back!
Review: This book is an insult to its readers. I want my money back!!!Donna Tart is wonderful with words, but there's no plot here, no message, and even no ending that I could see. I loved her first book but this book has a rambling, go-nowhere style that is shocking for an author of her abilities. I am a published writer myself and I think if this had not been Donna Tart's book it would have seen one rejection letter after another. And HOLY COW where was the editor!!!??? Was she locked in a closet until after the book was printed? This isn't even a passable first draft of a book. Shame on you Donna for not applying your considerable talent to make this the book it could have been.
Rating: 
Summary: Close to perfect
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The characters took over the relatively minor plot points and made them come alive. I couldn't put the book down, but your enjoyment will entirely depend on the style of writing that you enjoy. I found it a pleasing mix of character development and plot, and I personally LOVED the Ratliffs, especially "Gum." What an embodiment of true evil in the character of somebody's grandmother. I think I've known people like her: so ignorant it hurts, passive aggressive and so cruel she destroys everyone in her path. The Ratliffs were trash, no doubt about it, and preordained to stay that way because of their parents and grandparent, so there was a lot of pathos about lives that could have gone another way. (None of this was actually stated. You could read it between the lines.) If you like books with high action and a conclusive ending, you may be disappointed. I almost was, but the book was such a pleasure to read I give it four stars. Close to perfect.
Rating:
Summary: A good second novel -- but it could have much better
Review: It's 1969, and the small town of Alexandria, Mississippi, is not a great place to grow up. The town itself is dying, the families who used to have money have it no longer, and 11-year-old Harriet Cleve Dufresnes has decided to solve the mystery of who murdered her brother a decade before when he was the same age she is now -- and to punish the killer. I read Tartt's first novel, _The Secret History_, when it first appeared a decade ago. Bits and pieces of its scenes and characters have stuck with me -- always the sign of a good book -- so I was looking forward to this one . . . and it was largely worth the wait, but the slow pace can make it rather hard going in places. Again, her characterization is flawless, especially as regards the criminal Ratliff clan, with their drug-dealing and snake-handling. Actually, my only complaint, except for the book's snail-like pace, is Tartt's tendency to have Harriett behave in ways that seem more appropriate to a seven- or eight-year old than an adolescent. She often seems even younger than her 10-year-old male buddy, Hely, who idolizes her. Finally, I would be interested to see what Hollywood might so with this; it seems made for the silver screen.
Rating:
Summary: The Little Fiend
Review: Looking over a lot of the other reviews here, I think there are a lot of readers who wanted this book to be another "The Secret History." And with good reason. "The Secret History" is a great book. But, it's not perfect, which it seems a lot of reviewers have forgotten. But neither is this one. What this book is, is dense. But whollly enjoyable. I didn't find the middle to be too slow or too descriptive. And I didn't think this novel was missing a plot. In fact, I think there is a very complex plot here, and I think Donna Tartt handles it beautifully. With the constantly shifting narrator moving from family to family, from character to character, always in a new perspective, the tension keeps building towards the exciting, unpredictable climax. And this book also isn't a standard thriller. Where "The Secret History" was much more of a mystery, this novel is much more concerned with morality and consequences and all those old themes of good and evil. There are many rich, believable characters to enjoy and a lot funny touching moments, and as many tense and frightening moments. I appreciate how different this book is from "The Secret History" and I appreciate the challenge Donna Tartt took in on in writing The Little Friend. If I wanted to read that book now, ten years later, I would.
Rating: 
Summary: Occasional brilliance lights up an otherwise tedious novel.
Review: Having read much of the hype surrounding Donna Tartt's long awaited book, "The Little Friend," I plunged into this 555 page novel, hoping to be at least mildly entertained. However, although I admire Tartt's attention to detail, her insightful character studies and her occasionally inventive and colorful prose, the plot is too thin to sustain such a long book. "The Little Friend" is set in a small Mississippi town. Harriet Cleve Dufresnes was a baby when her nine-year-old brother, Robin, was found hanging dead from a tree in his front yard. Twelve years later, Harriet's mother, Charlotte, is a wreck who sits at home most of the time in a grief-stricken stupor. Harriet's father long ago left home to start a new life. Harriet's role models are her nanny, Ida, her overbearing grandmother, Edie, and her Aunts Tat, Libby and Adelaide. Harriet is both a tomboy and an avid reader with a vivid imagination. She has decided that she will find Robin's killer and bring him to justice. Together with her pal, Hely, Harriet embarks on a plan to set things right. Harriet's actions put her into mortal danger, and the results of her deeds are entirely unexpected. Tartt can be brilliant and some of her writing hits just the right notes. She describes every character to perfection, from the sarcastic and bossy Edie to the slick car salesman, Roy Dial, to the paranoid drug dealer, Farish Ratliff. Her eye for scenic detail is marvelous and she has a flair for the dramatic. Where Tartt goes terribly wrong is in her plotting. The book is far too long and repetitious. Not enough happens to keep the reader hooked for so many pages and there is little payoff to reward the patient reader. The main character, Harriet, is a lively individual whose tough exterior hides deep feeling, but even her character eventually becomes tedious. Tartt's themes seem to be that justice and truth are elusive and that a child's innocence is precious and easily destroyed. However, Tartt does not come up with enough narrative juice to make these themes resonate and come alive. What a shame that such a talented writer should expend so much effort for so little result. "The Little Friend" is a real disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Where were the facts checkers?
Review: This author can write words, but words do not a good book make. Too many bits and pieces with only occasional good writing and plot development. Too many errors. The biggest one being that few meth labs were found east of the Mississippi River until 1980s! (First one found in Mississippi was in 1985.) Now if I can find that one fact, why couldn't this author--or at least her editor? The dead brother with red hair is supposed to look like his grandmother, then by the end of the book, Harriet, with black hair, is the image of the same grandmother. I could go on. I think Ms. Tartt is living the good life on the success of her first book and never got around to putting this story together until time ran out. Wish I had read these reviews first!
Rating:
Summary: On the Contrary, a Fine Book
Review: Call it 3 1/2 stars. I honestly can't see what all the complaints are about, except that many of my fellow reviewers seemed to expect a nice, neatly packaged murder mystery with a Hollywood ending and a bad guy in a black hat getting gunned down in the end. Tartt has crafted a rich tale of life and death in the small town South of the early 1970s. This is not a murder mystery, despite what many of you want to believe about this book. It's an exploration of angst and sorrow in a child whose life has been shattered by a tragedy she doesn't even remember. The characters are colorfully drawn and well developed; before long they are as vivid in your imagination as your own family. Harriet, drawn in brooding and disaffected strokes, is nevertheless a dynamic, vibrant character: one who should be well remembered among pre-pubescent protagonists. If you need a simply constructed Grisham-esque page turner, this is not the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Author's conceit
Review: The Little Friend was one of the least pleasurable reading experiences I've had in years. Tartt did a terrific job on her first book, The Secret History. That book was magical AND suspenseful. With this new one, Tartt strains to achieve an even higher level of magic, but that is NOT a quality that can be forced onto the page. Instead, she offers up is page after page of over-heated, meaningless description and contrived character development that simply does not achieve significance. It is almost as if she, in her inflated self-belief, has tried to trick readers into thinking that The Little Friend is some sort of literary masterpiece. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Little Friend is a desperate work of artifice that falls short of mystery and poetry. Her first book had both qualities, effortlessly. This time she has tried too hard, and the result is hard to get through.
Rating:
Summary: It's not THAT bad...
Review: ...but I'm amazed more readers haven't noticed the similarities between this book and Suzanne Cleminshaw's earlier "The Great Ideas." A young girl in a small town haunted by the memory of a dead sibling...even the character's names are similar.
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