The Reader Who Lived

My Hogwarts letter came at age 25.

A couple days ago, I began my story of my first venture into reading and experiencing the Harry Potter series, starting with why I never read the books in the first place. Today, the story continues with my reactions to the actual reading experience. My “coming out of the cupboard,” if you will.

This is the part where I read the books, remained a Christian, and lived to tell about it. I am…

The Reader Who Lived

Warning: There will be a lot of spoilers regarding the Harry Potter series. I’ll do a blanket spoiler warning here, because I don’t want to have to do one every time I say something about the books. So, if you care to not have the books spoiled, consider yourself warned.

Now, where shall I begin? I’m just going to walk through each of the books and leave my general thoughts about the reading experience, including both what I liked and what I disliked.

[For more in-depth reactions, you can also read my Goodreads reviews of each of the books.]

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

I’m going to be honest: It took me awhile to get into this one. It was my very first Harry Potter experience, and I thought I knew what to expect, but I really didn’t. It was hard for me to get into the plot because there really wasn’t one for a large bulk of the story. The episodic nature of the story made it hard for me to tell where it was going. Also, I didn’t (and still don’t) like the Dursleys. I know they’re meant to be cruel and unlikable, but their cruelty actually felt very cartoonish to me, and therefore unbelievable. I had to remind myself that it is, technically, a kids’ book. Also, I don’t want to be mean to Rowling, especially because it was her first book, but the quality of the writing wasn’t amazing all the way through.

But, I was also incredibly intrigued. I’d say one of the book’s biggest strengths is the imaginative details. Rowling truly makes Hogwarts look magical. The magical world is so full of wonder I couldn’t help but want to keep reading. For much of the first book, I thought, I get why people like it, but it’s not THAT great…

Then I got to the ending.

I was in shock! THAT’s why the books are so popular! Though parts of the first book were predictable, the ending caught me completely off guard.

I didn’t suspect Quirrel in the slightest, and Voldemort’s creepy face underneath Quirrel’s turban was also great. I was convinced from the beginning that Snape was a villain, but he was actually protecting Harry? And Harry beats Voldemort through the protection of the same magic that protected him on his first birthday when his parents died—THE MAGIC OF HIS MOTHER’S LOVE?

I almost cried.

And I got it. I understood, and I, a doubting muggle, became a fan.

It didn’t feel evil. It was fun, adventurous, creative, and clever, but evil? I wasn’t sure anymore. But I knew I needed to keep reading. I needed the whole story, the whole experience before I could make those judgements. So I continued with…

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Another fun adventure. There were several things here that I didn’t initially like. I thought Dobby was annoying (though, I admit, he grew on me). Gilderoy Lockhart was obnoxious, and contributed surprisingly little to the overall story. The kind-of-alive flying car didn’t really work for me, either.

But it had more imagination! More crazy creatures! More mystery!

I really liked Ginny in this book, as well. Of course, before reading I already knew the relationship spoilers (that Harry winds up with Ginny and Ron with Hermione), so it was interesting to see her young character interact with Harry this early in the series.

I still didn’t the Dursleys and slow-build momentum of the story, which I began to realize would be a trend through all the books, especially as they all stretch over the course of a year.

But. That. Ending!

Rowling did it to me again. I loved that we were able to see more of Voldemort’s backstory as well as Hagrid’s backstory. Though initially rocky, Chamber of Secrets left me excited for year three.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Great continuation of the story. I loved the addition of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Better written and paced than the first two books.

The ending wasn’t quite as good to me. Though the twists delivered, and the Time Turner was a cool addition, I’m a sucker for big confrontations between hero and villain, and I didn’t really get that this time around with the lack of Voldemort.

Plus, though I liked it, the Time Turner is far too powerful of a device to exist in this world, let alone for a thirteen year old Hermione to be in possession of it for an entire school year.

All things considered, this is my favorite book of the first three.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Another uneven start. Though the Quidditch World Cup was interesting, the beginning pre-Hogwarts section of the book went on for too long. Once the school year got rolling, everything clicked for me. Best book yet. I loved the teenage drama, loved the ending, loved the twists, loved almost everything about it. I’m still sad about Cedric Diggory, though.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I’m not going to lie, this one was intimidating. After how the beginning of Goblet of Fire dragged, I was unsure how much I was going to enjoy the infamous longest book in the series. Once I got into it, however, I think I may have read Order of the Phoenix faster than I read all the others!

Umbridge was a fantastically terrible, but my favorite part was the character development of the heroes. Harry, though angsty and arguably annoying, felt real and relatable. I could really feel his struggle and frustration through the whole book. I’d say it’s the most emotional of the seven. I also loved the development of the side characters through Dumbledore’s Army. I already loved Neville, but he grew to be a favorite. I was happy to see more Ginny this time around, as she had remained pretty much in the background since Chamber of Secrets.

I even saw more development for the adult characters. I loved seeing more of Snape’s backstory through the occlumency lessons. Also, Dumbledore in his imperfections showed the reader a much more humanized, imperfect picture of the legendary wizard. Of the first five books, this was easily my favorite.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Book six was good overall, but actually disappointing to me. Part of it was my own expectations. I’d heard people say this was their favorite. Also, after the absolute insanity of Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince felt like a regular school year. It lost the tension that year five had. Plus, with the lack of Dumbledore’s Army, the roles of Neville, Luna, and Ginny were terribly minimized.

The being said, it wasn’t bad. I liked the furthering of the story through Harry and Dumbledore’s journey through Voldemort’s memories, giving the villain more depth. And the ending was shocking and heartbreaking. I kept expecting it to be a trick, and somehow, some way, Dumbledore would still be alive. It left so many unanswered questions and so little resolution. Which also was the perfect way to set up the finale.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Finally, the end. But when I got there, I was sad that it was over so soon. I absolutely loved this book. Aside from a few minor criticisms, this was a perfect series ending. I loved how all of the stories were wrapped up.

The character development was on-point, as usual, but in some ways even better. I’d say this is especially true for Ron, who probably matured least of the other main characters through the first six entries.

I like the Horcrux subplot and the legend of the Hallows. I also liked that the majority of the story took place outside of Hogwarts. Besides Harry, Ron, and Hermione, other characters had great stand-out moments—especially Neville and Molly Weasley.

[I could keep going on, but like I said before, you can find my full reviews/reactions for the individual books on Goodreads.]

From Rival to Fan—A Muggle’s Journey

I am the Reader Who Lived! Or, I guess, just a reader who lived. Not only did I live through the books, but I immensely enjoyed the entire experience. And through the experience, I had a few immediate reflections:

One: I GET it.

Before, I didn’t understand the hype. How could one book series be so popular? How could a series have so much hype before each book release and each movie release? What other book series do you know maintained hype long enough to make eight movie adaptations? Not even Narnia has achieved that feat yet, and it’s been classic for much longer than Harry Potter’s been in existence!

But I get it. The stories are fun, but more importantly they engage the imagination. The readers get to see a magical, whimsical world. Yes, much of it is very dark, but the stories are actually full of hope, love, and optimism.

Two: I have an opinion on some of the long-asked questions of the Harry Potter fandom.

What’s your ranking of the books in the series? For me, it’s 7, 5, 4, 3, 1, 6, 2.

Should Ron and Hermione really have ended up together? No, absolutely not. That could be a blog post by itself, but I think the topic’s been talked to death by now. But for the record, I would have preferred Ron to end up with Luna, Ginny with Neville, and Harry with Hermoine.

What house would you be sorted in? I’d say most likely Hufflepuff, though I could see myself in Ravenclaw as well. I think I’m clever enough for Slytherin, but not sly enough. I do like the idea of being a good guy in Slytherin. The treatment and presentations of the houses is another thing I could go on and on about.

Three: I wish the books were longer to include more characters’ perspectives.

Except for a handful of scenes, the entire series is told from the third person limited point of view of Harry. But so much happens without Harry being present!

I would’ve liked some scenes with Ron and Hermione without Harry. That might’ve made their romantic development feel more natural. At the very least, the scene with Ron and Hermione returning to the Chamber of Secrets to destroy the horcrux deserved more than just a quick reference explaining why Harry couldn’t find them.

Also, I need Neville’s perspective, especially on the events in book seven. If Rowling wrote a new Year 7 book from Neville’s perspective, I know a lot of people would say it’s a cheap cash grab, but I would read it in a heartbeat. Also, I’d love a spinoff book or movie about Hagrid’s school time with Tom Riddle and his subsequent expulsion. But I digress.

Four: The Harry Potter books are not inherently evil.

I can hear the gasps now. I want to talk about the themes of the book at length and compare my experience with the books directly to my preconceived notions I held during middle school.

For that analysis, you’ll have to wait for blog post part three.