24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

By: J.K.Rowling

Well, no need to hide the fact that I'm a terrible geek with this crowd. Although, it doesn't help my case that I got a head start on this book from reading the first 100 pages or so online before its 'official' release. Yes. I went to pick up the book at midnight, at the little independent bookstore next to my sister's apartment in Brooklyn. The funny thing was, out of the 20 or so people in the store waiting in line for the books, or chatting with other Potter-fans over juice and cookies- there was not one kid. One 40 something fan was sitting in the mystery section flipping through the book with the biggest 6-year-old's grin on her face.

The final Potter book is the one worth waiting for. After the slightly disappointing Order of the Phoenix and the even more disappointing Half-Blood Prince (with the exception of their exciting cliff-hanger endings), HPaDH is the return to the exciting, page turning, books that made the Potter Franchise.

By the seventh book, kids who have grown up with Harry will not only find a more mature kid, but a more mature book. The kid gloves that normally come with protecting the sensitivities of children are long gone. Voldemort is now in power, and its a different world; a world of death, pain, and suffering. The Ministry of Magic is now being run by a power hungry, rights-stomping, racist cabal that keeps its constituents under its influence through a combination of misinformation and fear.

Can you say "New American Century"?

The Deathly Hallows reflects the world as its changed since Harry Potter first surfaced in the 90s. How much of this is intentional, how much unintentional... or how much do I read into it that isn't there? Who knows? It seems to me though, that it is the perfect fairy tale for its time. The 21st century political landscape whose absence i felt made Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town ring somewhat false, is there in Deathly Hallows. Perhaps this is part of what has set the series apart - Rowling has tapped into something that is resonating with people of all ages, and as the world has changed, so have the novels.