Harry Potter

This 7 book series was an amazing read. I began reading this series when I was in 7th grade. Now, 8 years later, the series is over. Well it actually ended last summer. I truly enjoyed reading these books over the past 8 years. I know there was a lot of controversy over who should read these books, or if anyone should read them. But I honestly never saw a problem with someone reading Harry Potter. To me they were always a fun fiction series. They contained all the elements of a good story. The only thing was that it was set in a magical school with wizards.

I guess I can see where so many people were coming from in regards to these books. I understand that they might have been afraid of the negative impact that the books could have had on their children. But if that is the case, Harry Potter is not the only books that should be banned for children. There are countless others that parents would have to keep out of their children's reach. So I do not think that there was a very strong argument against Harry Potter. Even so, I would suggest that children should probably be in upper elementary or middle school before they ever cracked the pages of these books. I say this for 2 reasons. One, there are elements to the story that parents could have great concern over. So this would allow the children to be a bit more mature before they read the books. Two, for the child to get a good grasp on the story, they would need to be older. There are many fictional elements to any story that kids do not begin understanding until they grow up. But I do not believe that these books should be banned from children.

But what did I think of the books? I enjoyed them! They had all the elements of a good story. The plot was always convincing. One has to understand that it is a fictional story, and that these events are not real but from the author's own imagination. But even if it is a made up world, it is made up well. A reader can begin to feel as if they are actually a part of Hogwarts. The school comes to life through the words on the pages. This is due mostly to the events that occur throughout the 7 novels. There is quite a bit of action. Every story seems to be centered around a new mission for Harry and his friends. There are always surprises and well-crafted plot twists to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. These books are not easy to put down. Rowling keeps her readers guessing all the way to the end of the series. Also, it contains emotions that we all deal with every day. There are love stories and stories of death weaved through and through. It is a fantasy world, but at the same time they do not live in a Utopia. There were real life challenges that constantly hit the main characters' lives.

There is so much more to these stories than what I was able to mention in this brief post. But to mention them would give away parts of the story (for those of you who have sadly missed out on reading these books). However, let me say this. One of the best suspenseful story lines of this series (if not the best), is the character of Snape. Those of you have read them know what I am talking about. I have read many books in my lifetime, and I have read through many plot twists. I have had authors fool with my mind over and over again. But when I think of the best story lines with plot twists I am always drawn to 2 main stories:

1. Harry Potter and the character of Snape
2. Ted Dekker's Thr3e

Those are the two that I always think of, and if you notice Harry Potter is one of the 2. So I definitely encourage you to read these books if you never have. You will truly enjoy this good read.

Matt