Harry Potter

Despite the fact that I did not discover these books until I was an adult, my favorite children's book series of all time is the Harry Potter series. My wife introduced them to me as we were leading up to the release of the 7th movie. I read the first one, and was absolutely hooked. I then read the next books in quick succession so that I was able to watch the movie while having the knowledge derived from the books.

There is perhaps no fandom as rabidly passionate and knowledgeable in the internet age than the Harry Potter fanbase, and for very good reason. As such, there's only so much I can add to the brilliance of these books, so I'll try to focus on why I love them so much.

First, the Harry Potter books are the very pinnacle of the "rags to riches" archetype of the modern era, although the better term for the genre is "zero to hero". In the modern west, very few truly grow up in rags, making the tale of growing up with nothing to becoming wealthy and successful, a la Dickens, slightly less compelling. In an era where everyone is rich, wealth is less appealing. Heroism and importance, however, are as mesmerizing as ever, and Rowling does a superb job of creating a believable zero to hero narrative set in the modern era. Harry is the definition of a zero at the beginning of the book. He is a nobody, an orphan who isn't loved by anyone. He's bullied by his cousin and cruel aunt and uncle. His school life isn't much better. But then comes the letter from Hogwarts, and Harry's life changes forever. It turns out that Harry isn't, in fact, a zero. He's a highly gifted wizard who is known the world over.

This is why the tale works so well. Harry does absolutely nothing to become someone. Becoming a hero is simply thrust upon him. Even at Hogwarts, his grades are not particularly special. By his own admission, the only thing at which he is naturally good is Quidditch. And yet, despite all of his own self-doubt and loathing, he turns into the hero who conquered the Dark Lord. He evades danger time and time again through the love of people who he had not known before. The modern reader can read it and truly escape their own self-doubt, imagining a time in which they were truly special and remarkable. Rowling crafts this narrative so skillfully that she creates a character who reminds the reader of himself, while also allowing the reader to escape to an alternate reality in which greatness is, in fact possible. And this greatness actually requires little effort. Only bravery is required in the Harry Potter universe!

I also love these books because of the degree of detail and "long burn" which Rowling places into the book. By a "long burn", I refer to the immensely challenging work of placing seeds of future plot points, sometimes several books ahead of time. For example, Sirius Black is mentioned in the first book, only to become one of the central figures of the third book. Similarly, Ron's pet rat Scabbers is featured heavily in book 1, and the reader only discovers Scabbers' true identity in book 3. The entire Snape-hates-Harry subplot is teased and played with from book 1 to book 6, when it is seemingly resolved. But lo and behold, Rowling completely, and convincingly, reverses course in book 7, bringing back to life a storyline long thought completed. Little details throughout the books end up becoming huge plot points, like Winky appearing to drag an invisible figure at the beginning of book 4, which seems like a throw away, and is never mentioned until the end of book 4, where it ends up being a vitally important plot twist. Little touches like this give the books a huge amount of rereadability, and show the deftness with which Rowling was capable of writing, but also planning, a huge universe of seemingly unconnected occurrences, only to draw them all together at the end.

While I could go on about these books all day, I'll leave it at one more point. Unfortunately, this is one of the things which I missed out on the books, but am capable of identifying it today. These books age so well with the reader, and the readers taste. The reader is capable of aging along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and finds it easy to relate with the characters because they grow alongside with them. A typical 11 year old thinks little of romance, ethical gray area, or the more complicated elements of the later books. They want to read a fantastic adventure novel! And the first two books are two of the best kids adventure books around. Discovering mysteries, facing down bullying adults, saving the day, and adjusting to a new school...these are all things to which kids either relate, or deeply desire in their inmost being. With book 3, however, things start to take on a more emotional tone, dealing with the loss of death, desire for justice, and the pain of betrayal. With book 5 comes more of the romantic issues dealt with by many teenagers, discussing broken hearts, crushes, romantic manipulation, and the terror of initiating any attempt at romance. Then book 7 resolves all of the plot threads brought together in books 1-6, a true masterstroke and deliverance of an unquestionably ambitious and complex undertaking. Despite these many shifts and twists in tone, genre, and subject matter, however, all 7 books feel like a true series, a testament to Rowling's huge creative talent.

Anyway, if you're like me and have never read these books, do it now. I promise you won't regret it. I'd give them a 10/10.

-TRO