The Harry Potter series is pretty controversial I guess. I figure I am probably not supposed to like them as much as I do (especially since I'm all grown up). The thing is that I find J.K. Rowling's story captivating. She just got her pacing right. There are a few times in the series where I feel like it's dragging, but for a story that is 4175 pages long that's pretty good.
The series starts out written for kids who are 11is (the same age as Harry and his friends), then the 2nd books is for 12 year olds, the 3rd is for 13 year old, etc. Which makes sense since Rowling published the books a year apart and so her audience kept getting a year older and needed the books to be more challenging. Therefore, when you read the first 2 books you feel like you are reading a dumbed down book, however the story is fast paced and you kinda love the characters. Then the older books get darker
I don't know if I have low standards, but I like the characters in Harry Potter. They feel like friends, which is probably why I keep reading them over and over.
Part of my love for this series might just be the history. It brings back memories of when I was younger and reading them for the first time. I remember when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out. I got it out of the library at school and started reading it in school when I was finished my work in class. Went home, read, did my chores, read, had supper, read, went to bed where I read at first by the light from the bathroom that shone into my room and then by flashlight. It was a school night, but I read that book until I finished it at 4:30 in the morning, then went to sleep and was VERY tired the next morning, and had to wait another year for the next one to come out.
I know people don't like Harry Potter because of the whole magic thing, or because it's such a trendy thing.
So, I'd recommend them to you. You don't have to read them, I get it. It is just escape, but it's fun and sometimes, you just need a good escape.
Of all the things I missed in London, one of the ones that made me the saddest was not finding Platform 9 and 3/4's at Kings Cross. I just wanted to see it lol.
I didn't want to give too much away plot wise...and think I have managed to give away no plot whatsoever, so if you do want more plot, I can give you some before you test out the books for yourself.
