Bit of a cheat cos I’m doing the whole series here, rather than just one book.
I stumbled across Harry by accident. At my father’s for the holidays I’d already read all the books I’d taken with me. I wandered into my sister’s room to see if there was anything, expecting not to find anything reading. Plan B was to see what my stepmum had…..
I picked up HP And The Philosphers Stone because it was a semi-thick book that was all one story. A page in and I was hooked. I spent the day with the book in front of my face, including making tea, weeing, and eating.
I love HP on so many levels. On the face, they’re just good stories. But it goes far deeper than that. Each book is self contained. There’s a clear beginning, middle, and end. You could read them independently and know everything you needed. But together they tell a bigger story.
And what a story. Forget that it’s about magic and teenagers. The characters are real, with flaws and failings. They let their emotions rule them. They act in anger and seek revenge. And not just the ‘baddies’. The heroes, the three main characters are the same.
These books teach. They show how our differences are strengths, and how we can all learn from each other. They teach us not to listen to gossip, or take things at face value. They teach us that even the most evil people are still people.
These books are, in my opinion, a work of art.
st4rcur1 