HP just keeps getting better and better with every read!

Wow.  Just Wow.

I can't help wondering if Rowling had all these connections figured out before she ever started Book 1 or if they just kinda, sorta happened in a natural way.  Those of you who have read the series, you know what I'm talking about.  So many things come full circle from the beginning to the closing of the series.  It's actually overwhelming.

I have always been someone who remembers a LOT of details from the books I read.  I'm not bragging; it's the simple truth.  It's why Reading and teaching literature is my gift and I know I'm doing what I'm meant to do.  Just like some people can remember stats from football/baseball/basketball/soccer/etc. games even from 50 years ago, I can remember specific details about books I read even 20 years ago.  That doesn't keep me from re-reading my favorite books, I must say!

With that being said, I still found myself in awe of the details that Rowling brings full circle in Book 7--things I'd completely forgotten about or hadn't paid much attention to when I read the first 6 books.  It's INCREDIBLE how well she remembers every tiny detail and makes them all fit together so neatly.

I can't help but wonder how she was able to keep everything straight....how she remembered so many details.  I know she wrote the series and that makes her THE ABSOLUTE authority on the series, but it's still so incredible to imagine that she was able to remember even the minutest of details and she brings them up at the right moment and connects the dots.....Although, it appears that Harry and Voldemort are distantly related, but Harry never seems to make that connection.  I find that a bit odd.  It seems to be an important point--at least it does to me.

Wow.

Quickly, why I love Book 7 (and/or the series):

1.  See what I stated above.  Just so incredible!!!  As a writer-wanna-be, I'm in awe!!!

2.  Rowling definitely pulls from mythology, many previous stories, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS series.  There are many great connections and similar plot devices, yet at the same time, the STORY itself is unique.  It's not a re-telling of older stories; it's a unique story that uses older stories woven throughout.  Genius.  Absolutely genius.

3.  So many "secrets" are revealed in Book 7.  What makes that even more incredible is that there are secrets revealed that we, the readers, didn't even realize were secrets that needed to be revealed!  LOL!

4.  The story CAN BE SEEN as a Christian allegory focused especially on the theme of love (sacrificial love).  Whether Rowling meant for that to be true or not,--(I know Tolkien absolutely hated that people said he intended to write an allegory--he admitted that allegory CAN BE SEEN in THE LORD OF THE RINGS series, but he in no way wrote the story with that particular intention)--it's definitely there.

5.  One feature that makes a great book great, is that we fall in love with the characters--we CARE about the characters--we become so much a part of the story that we feel as if they are OUR best friends, too--but especially that when the story is over, we just want more!  Rowling is successful in each area to the nth degree!  I bawled like a baby when my favorite characters died.  At times, I was in such shock at certain deaths that tears wouldn't come even though I was terrible horrified.  What was so great about this read is that even though it's my third time (I think) reading book 7, I still cried, I still felt each and every part of the story as if I was reading it for the first time.  Awesome.

6.  That Samuel has read the whole series, too, and he loves it, too.  I love that we share this!  He'll talk to me about things he learned from the story!  I've even been able to use examples from the story to help Samuel in certain situations in his life.  I know when I use the examples from the series that he GETS IT.  (Don't get me wrong, now.  I use the Bible when I'm helping Samuel with life lessons, but it can't be denied that the HP series has great life examples that those of us who have read it can easily connect with.)

7.  The whole story focuses on the anti-hero theme.  Harry is not a great wizard, he doesn't have any especially powers, he's not the best in his class, and he even has physical flaws--something no true hero has in much of the early British Literature.  Hermoine would have been a better hero, but even she has physical flaws what with her bushy hair, overly large teeth, and know-it-all-ness.  Even Neville, the most anit-heroic character ever, shines and helps save the day in Book 7!  It's difficult not to shout for joy at Neville's incredible bravery in Book 7!!!!  I love that the heroes in the HP series aren't perfect.  Beowulf and other perfect characters like him make me want to punch them in the throat.  But these flawed, imperfect characters are relatable, and--it makes me feel if these flawed characters can be heroes, maybe I can be one, too!!!!

8.  It's just plain and simply a GREAT series!!!!

*Read on the Nook.*

Started:  August 4, 2012
Finished:  August 10, 2012

Started again:  March 31 (?), 2013
Finished again:  April 8, 2013
Started (again):  Friday, August 22, 2014
Finished (again):  Saturday, September 13, 2014

My favorite of the HP books

I was reading a few of the other comments about Book 5 of the HARRY POTTER series, ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, and they aren't very positive.  I don't get it.  I LOVE this one!  This is the book where we learn that Neville could have been the one in Harry's place if Voldemort had CHOSEN Neville instead of Harry--which means that Harry and Neville share a birthday!  It also means that it's a given that we'll see much more of Neville and that Neville will prove to be much more than the bumbling idiot he was in years past.  We see Neville improve as part of the D.A. We see him stand his ground and go with Harry to the Department of Mysteries.  And he fights!  It's not his fault that his nose was broken and it affected his speech so he couldn't cast any more spells.  He did the best he could, staying close to Harry as much as possible.

I LOVE that we get to see Neville move into more of a heroic spot!!!  And, as I've said before, I LOVE Ginny, and we get a LOT more of Ginny in this book!  I wish they could have been part of Harry's inner circle rather than on the periphery.  They are all definitely friends, and Luna, too, but I just think Harry, Ron, and Hermoine should include Neville, Ginny, and Luna in their daily activities more....

This is also the book where Harry becomes more of a leader and begins to realize that he does have leadership qualities.  He needs some refining, but the more he leads the D.A., the more he gains confidence in his ability to lead.

But the ABSOLUTE BEST part of this book is how everyone stands together.  Harry thinks he has to do everything by himself, yet he also realizes his need for his friends as he's stuck at the Dursley's for weeks on end without any REAL word from his friends.  None of his friends will let him do anything on his own.  When he says he wants to speak to Sirius, look at how quickly all of his friends rushed to help him without a second thought to it--they didn't ask him why or what was going on; they just jumped right in and helped him.

The bonds of friendships are forged even deeper and solidifed to be stronger in ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.  Of course, I cry at most of the sad parts throughout the series, but the one thing that made me cry the hardest each time I've read the series is in the last book when Harry, Ron, and Hermonie visit Xenophilius Lovegood and go to Luna's room---where Luna has painted the images of herself, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Ginny, and Neville on her ceiling with FRIENDS painted across their images.  That's SOOOO beautiful......

This is truly a turning point book in the series.  THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX is necessary in order to get to the plot and subplots of the last two books.

*Did you notice that I don't even bring up Umbridge?  I don't like talking about her because sadly, I think if I were to do a see-who-you-are-most-like-in-the-HARRY POTTER-series quiz, it would show that I'm most like her.  I don't want to think that could be true.  So I'm not bringing her up in this post at all!!!  ;)