Harry Potter. I waited to write a review of this for a long time because I didn't know what I would write. There is just SO much to say! Most people already know the story in some way; a young boy finds out that he is a wizard and gets sent off to magic school for seven years. While at the school, he makes lifelong friends, battles dark wizards, and discovers his complicated past. You probably also already have an idea of whether or not you like it. If you haven't read the series yourself, you've no doubt heard remarks about it from friends or family. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about this series, so here is mine. AGE RANGE KIDS, INTERMEDIATES, TEENS
My adventures with Harry Potter began when I was about five or six. My family read the first book together, and then watched the first movie. Five or six may be a fine age to start reading the first book, but definitely not the second one and definitely not watching the movies. I had my eyes closed for about half of the movie at that age. When I was eleven, I began again. I got as far as the third book, and then stopped due to the violence and general creepiness. When I was thirteen, I finally read the entire series, and then watched all of the movies. Throughout that whole process of starting and re-starting, my friends were reading it, too. Some read the entire series at the age of six or seven, and some still refuse to read it because it is too scary or upsetting for them. Harry potter can be perfect for five year-olds and yet too upsetting for some adults. It really depends on what you can handle. THEMES Magic
Friends
Family
War
Mystery
Adventure
Equality
Humour OVERALL RATING 9.9/10 Harry Potter (in my opinion) is truly amazing. Even though it is a fantasy, the entire series seems believable. Due to harry not knowing about magic in the beginning, you discover it with him. Harry Potter is just an ordinary boy - and therefore he is relatable. The scenes are written beautifully and the dialogue is funny and realistic. I cannot give Harry Potter a ten out of ten rating because that is reserved for the one and only Night Circus, but it is a definite second.
PROS
Exciting
Funny
Believable characters
Good imagery
Captivating
Beautiful
Very detailed plot
Well thought out CONS : JK Rowling
Though Harry Potter is great and I love it with all my heart, JK Rowling has become the downfall of her own series. Many people don't like the books anymore because they don't like the author - I don't think that's necessary. Sure, don't go buying her books firsthand and paying her money if you don't want to support her, but that's bad for the environment, anyway. If you find a second hand copy for sale, or you have the series sitting around your house, by all means read it. JK Rowling did not do very well with representation in Harry Potter, but neither did most other authors at the time it was written. Any book that gets as famous as Harry Potter is going to face issues like that, and you can't boycott every book. JK Rowling was accused of not being inclusive, and she actually was pretty offensive in her other works (besides Harry Potter), so she got defensive. She stated that Dumbledore was gay and Hermione was black. Sure, maybe that was a bad move on her part. It would have gone over a lot better if she had just said "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll keep that in mind for my next series", but she said the wrong thing. The backlash from that far outweighs her own statements, though. There are countless social media accounts who's sole purpose is to make fun of JK Rowling, and people are photo shopping Nazi uniforms onto her left and right. This is not helping her to change her ways, all that this cruelty does is ruin her life.