Harry Potter: a Thought

February 15, 2024

I have been reading through the series again, slowly, since early this autumn and I am just now through year three. I love the third book, and I guess the third movie. I have only seen through year 4 in the movies even though I have read all the books, but it is a good movie. Anyway, I love the third book because we end the book with Harry, Hermione and Ron feeling accomplished, happy and hopeful for the future. Then we get into book four and everything changes.

J.K Rowling, while she has done some quite questionable things, is a brilliant writer, and she has made these books to fit the age group that she is writing about. This is brilliant for many reason, but mostly that she is allowing the characters to mature with their reader. Once you hit books four through seven, you are now in the high school years, and a lot changes between thirteen and eighteen. There is a lot of growing up that happens. It is even a pretty large gap between thirteen and fourteen just due to the fact that you are now considered to be in high school. While this looks a little different at Hogwarts, this is the aging that happens in life outside the novels.

All of this to be said, book four really starts the downward spiral of sadness that fills the last four books in the series and I am nervous about it. I am nervous to be devastated by the losses and scared through the near misses. I may hold off until some happier months to read the remainder of the books. Until then, I may just focus on mysteries and soft and sweet books.