Hiya, everyone! Noreen here with a book review on The “Harry Potter” Series by J.K. Rowling.
This review is long overdo. As a huge Potterhead, I’m surprised it wasn’t my first review. I’m reviewing the series as a whole for this week because of the fact that I want to try and convince every single person who reads this, to read the books that got me and many others to start loving fandoms.
I could tell you why Harry is an amazing character, but there are better character designs than him. In book 5, “The Order of the Phoenix” you meet the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge. She is, by far, one of the most hated character in the series and one of the best. When I say best, I mean for getting a reaction from readers. None of us really have had any personal problems with a “Dark Lord” but a lot of us have had either a teacher, counselor, principal, or any authority figure in our lives like Umbridge. We feel more hatred toward
s the character because we can relate to the ones she hurts. There are reasons that people hate her more than Voldemort, this just so happens to be the main reason of them all.
Other characters in the series are not very “extraordinary” but they’re lovable. Rowling knew how to make a wide range of characters, so that at least one of them would related to the reader. Whether you feel a connection to the free-spirited and weird Luna Lovegood, or the misunderstood Severus Snape, you’ll always have a character that you can relate to. That helps you feel emotional connections to the world around that character and the friends they make. Characters are a major part of books for a reason. The emotions you feel towards them, hate or love, makes a huge difference in how you enjoy the book. This is why when I read a boring character, it makes the whole story go down as a whole. You could have the most amazing plot in the world and I still will slump through the book if your character is a snore.
There are certain metaphors in the series that require some notice. What I’m talking about, is the idea that the Dementors are a metaphor for depression. The Dementors suck out all your happiness and leave you as just a empty shell of who you once were. I don’t know if this is exactly what Rowling was going for, but it’s definitely what I got from it. Considering what fights the Dementors is a Patronus, and Patronuses are made from remembering your happiest memory. It feels like a whole fight between happiness and depression.
When I think about it, really think about it, the whole plot is nothing too special. Yes, its got amazing qualities and that’s why its gotten so far, but the base of it is really just a long tale of good vs. evil. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s actually a very good route to go, considering Rowling knew how to make the world come to life. She took an overused base plot and formed it into the most fantastical book series of our generation. That’s pretty impressive, don’t you think?
As you might know, “Harry Potter” is one of the biggest fandoms in the world of literature. I’d like to say that I don’t think that the series would have gotten that far without the Hogwarts Houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. The fact that we can be sorted by our personalities. There’s something about being able to take a quiz on what house you would be in that’s just fun to do. It’s the whole “you can be apart of the story” thing. For Pete’s sake, I can’t even begin to tell you how much money I’ve spent on Gryffindor items. The fans of the series want to have the magical adventures that Harry does. We all want to be the hero. It seems like a small thing but the houses are extremely important.
Everything in the series ties together. It was the first book series I truly read for myself. My first fandom, as well. It really might be the nostalgia talking, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Overall, the “Harry Potter” series is maybe just a little overrated but definitely is worth reading. Sure it may seem dumb to you or that it’s just not worth your time. But trust me, the whole series is a magical and and absolutely brilliant read. I bet that if you just read the first few chapters of “The Sorcerer’s Stone”, you’ll be hooked. So seriously, try the books out. I promise you that they’ll be worthy of a read.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s book review. If you’ve read the books or you just have something to say, comment it down below (just be sure to mark your spoilers). Thanks for reading!