Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Yes, I read Harry Potter. Here recently people seemed to be surprised to learn that, but I do. I resisted reading the books for a while, but decided to read them because kids I knew were reading them, and I was hooked. I have never been one to run out and purchase the book the moment it goes on sale, and with the first four, I actually waited until they were in paperback before purchasing them. However, I knew that this book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7), would be different if I wanted to be surprised by the ending, and I purchased it a little over two days after it went on sale. Additionally, I read to the end of it as quickly as I could (bought on Monday, finished Thursday ... I thought it would be excessive to read too much more than 200 pages a day) so that I could discover the end for myself.

I have to say that J.K. Rowlings is an extremely gifted author. I am impressed by her ability to keep the attention of the reader page after page. I was also relieved in the final book to find that she didn't overwhelm her readers, but seem to schedule informative but less intense chapters when it seemed that the tension was building to an unbearable point. Plus her ability to start a story in book 1, complete that story in book 7, and seem to make every little detail in each of the seven books matter is outstanding. I am also impressed at her ability to write the books so that they grow up with Harry and the reader. The first starts out as a fun fantasy filled with adventure and friendship. By the 7th book as Harry has grown up, it is still a fantasy, with a lot less fun, but still filled with adventure and friendship. We follow Harry on a journey that keeps you in suspense until the end. The way that she makes everything come together in the last few chapters is nothing short of genious.

Don't worry -- I am not going to compare Harry Potter to Jesus (although, naturally, the comparisons can be made since it is a hero who is willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of others), and I am not going to suggest that kids should read the series just to be exposed to the concepts. What I will say is that if you have children who want to read the series, I would suggest that you read the first book, see what you think, then either allow or keep your children from reading the books. Also, if you work with kids, I would suggest reading the books because you can pretty much guarantee that the kids are and you should be informed about what is being read so that you can have a proper conversation about the books. I do think that this series will become a classic because of the abilities of the author. The series is one of the best series that I have read by far. In some ways I am sad to see it end, but I also hope that she ends this series for good, and starts with a clean slate of characters if she should ever decide to revisit Hogwarts again. I would love for her to set another adventure at one of the European schools or create a new school. All in all, she is a gifted author whose imagination seems to be limitless.