Harry Potter

I knew I couldn't stay away from talking about Harry for very long. :) This is by far my favorite young adult book series ever, judging by how much I've read them - I am rereading them right now, for about the 70-hundredth time. Seriously, I read them all about every 3 or 4 months and they never get old. I'm so impressed with Rowlings' abilities as an author and really hope she writes something just as amazing in the future - though I can't see how she would do it. It would be like telling Tolkien to please write something better than LOTR - asking a bit much, really.

The main complaint I've heard from parents who won't let their children read HP is the fact that it's about witches and wizards, which are of the occult. I can see how you would come to that objection, but the fact is that no kids are going to go join a coven because of reading these books. In Rowlings' world, you must be born a wizard - it is not something you can learn. It's like being born Jewish or Scandinavian, there's nothing you can do to change that. Before I read the books, I was also told that there was human sacrifice in them and all kinds of other horrible stuff, which is blatantly untrue. There are a couple of kisses, some British swearing, a classic battle between good and evil, and an incredibly intricate plot-line for a series aimed at young teens.

The things I love about these books are too numerous to mention, but I think the biggest draw for me is that the characters are so funny and real. I was depressed for a week after reading book 6, and cried so hard during the last book that I couldn't see to read it. And that was the second time through. I still laugh out loud and am prone to bursting into tears even though I've read them at least a dozen times and know exactly what is going to happen. I've never met a book series that I still reacted to so strongly after reading it so many times. Maybe I've been bewitched, and if so I hope it never changes.

I personally will probably not let Luke read them until he is a teenager, but that is simply because I don't think he'll be mature enough to understand it until then. On the other hand, maybe I'll let him read the first book when he turns eleven, the second when he turns twelve...and just let him grow up with Harry. He could have worse friends.