Et cetera : Connie's Book Review: The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

We here at the library have started a new book club designed with the young reader in mind. This club is for patrons 7 to 12 years of age, and an older teammate. This can be a parent, grandparent, caregiver, etc. The Club is called 'Joined Forces' and meets on the last Thursday of the month at 5:00PM in the Juvenile Fiction section of the library. Both members of the team will read the same book, then come to the Club to discuss likes, dislikes, and other opinions. This will hopefully provide socialization, as well as fostering a love of reading, and the ability to communicate recommendations.

I wrote all of that to give a review of the well-known Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Believe it or not, I had not read a single book in this series, nor seen any of the movies! A nine-year-old young lady in Joined Forces recommended it to me, and here we are!

I began reading rather reluctantly, thinking that I wouldn't enjoy the book, but was pleasantly surprised! Yes, the storyline is all about young people in a private school for young wizards. However, the main theme is the mistreatment and loneliness of a young orphan boy who doesn't even remember his parents. He is dropped off at the doorstep of an unloving aunt, uncle, and cousin and endures much mistreatment at their hands. He is forced to live in a closet, has nothing of his own, and is constantly mocked about his dead parents. However, at the age of eleven, Harry receives a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (delivered by an owl!), inviting him to enroll. His relatives are more than happy to send him away (anywhere!) just to be rid of him.

Harry has serious doubts about his abilities but is overjoyed to find that he can make friends, and is truly accepted, and treated with kindness. Soon, he is excelling at nearly everything and has everyone's attention. The 'fly in the ointment' turns out to be a few jealous students, and some of the teachers who knew and hated Harry's father when they were students together.

I am now finishing Book Four of the series and am fully invested in finishing ALL of them. A word of warning: the books may be too intense for younger readers as the books progress, but if they realize it is a fantasy, and is all make-believe, they can probably read and enjoy this series.

The Vinton Public Library has books one through seven, as well as the entire series on DVD. The books and DVDs are in our Children's Library. I am reading the books electronically, and that is working splendidly. All titles are available on Libby and Hoopla. I highly recommend this series. Thumbs Up!

Photo Credit: Afton Marie Photography