What is it about Harry Potter?

The reason for the big break in posts is Harry Potter. With the new book out, I wanted to reread (or in some cases, listen to) the previous five books. It had been years since I'd read them and I just couldn't remember what was going on. Not a good state in which to begin a new Potter book. Though each book has it's main plot, the series is one big plot. In a way, you could view each book as a chapter in one big story. So the fresher the storylines and characters from the previous books are in your mind, the smoother the reading of the latest book. Granted you could do without the review as Rowling does a pretty good job of retelling the major pieces that you really need to know. However, you'll miss out on a lot that way. I can't believe the things I picked up on (in four and five in particular) that I had just completely missed the first time around.

I'm now working on finishing up book six, which is always a good and bad thing. Good because the ends just never disappoint (and get better each time); bad because I'm never ready for a really good book to end (and because I know this one will end darkly as we are approaching the climax of the entire series). I don't have another book in the series to move on to (yet), so how will I get my Harry fix?

And now onto my actual point in posting...

What is it about Harry Potter? What can I possibly say to those who think that these are just silly kids' books to attempt to explain the attraction?

I've tried to keep those questions in mind as I've been going back through these books and reading the new one. And for those of you who remember my long "essays" on Buffy, the two have a lot in common. Yes, the boy wizard and the vampire slayer both get to me for some of the same reasons.

Remember Buffy's gift? Love was her gift, remember? Her ability to love others was her gift. It's what made her different from (and better than) your average slayer and from all those she fought. Well, Harry's greatest strength and protection is love. Even though he is supposed to be a particularly talented wizard, his greatest strength is that despite everything he's had to endure, he is still able to love. That turns out to be what gives him his greatest strength and his greatest protection. And given all they have in common, it is what truly distinguishes him from his greatest enemy.

Friends. Though different demons over the years made fun of Buffy's little Scooby gang, it is her friends that kept her alive, kept her going. Her determination to save the world was in large part because that was how she could save her friends. Well, that's Harry, too. He has these friends that he would do anything to protect. He teaches them (remember those training sessions with Buffy and Dawn? Well, Harry taught a whole class of his fellow students) in order to help them help themselves. He loves them and wants them to survive, and so he does what he can to give them the tools to both protect themselves and help him with the war.

Also, those friends love him, too. They help him and support him. They plan with him, they study with him, they research new evils with him. They're very much his Scooby Gang. They would not betray him and they have his back no matter what.

Good vs. Evil. We all know there is good and evil in the world. What makes one win over the other? How does one side triumph? Will good always win in the end? Or does it just depend on who's fighting on which side? Do wins last forever or is it a constantly re-emerging fight? Is everything predetermined or do we have true choices, can we affect the outcome? Buffy and Harry both deal with every one of these questions, and what's more, they both answer them pretty much the same way.

Isms. I think Buffy did deal with different stereotypes over the years. Racism, sexism, etc. Harry does, too. There is a lot on racism in Harry. Between muggle-borns and half bloods and mixed species (there's a half giant and a werewolf fighting on the good side), the message is pretty loud and clear: it's not your ancestry that matters, it's what you do in life that makes you who you are. You can absolutely rise above the stereotypes.

Family. Buffy and Harry both show us that you don't have to have blood ties in order to have a family, and that often it's our families of creation that are more "family-like" and special to us than our families of birth. Being born to a lousy family or having a lousy childhood is no excuse for anything. You can create a strong, loving, supporting family from the special friends you make in life. [And there's your Rent tie in, too!]

Guts and brains. Buffy and Harry both show us that a huge part of the equation is our willingness and ability to stand up. Having the guts to act. Knowing enough to trust our instincts (and learning to hone those instincts). It's not all book smarts. Willow and Hermione are the academic stars, but neither is the star of the show. Why? Because it's not all about the brainwork. What's the saying? No guts, no glory. Rules are a good thing. They keep order, they guide us, they make things predictable. But sometimes, you have to be willing to break the rules. Sometimes because the end justifies the means and sometimes because the rules are just wrong. Buffy and Harry are the rule breakers. Oftentimes they do what they have to do to get the job done. You need the brains in your Scooby gang, but the one with the guts is going to be the leader of that group every time.

On top of all of this (and much more, but I don't want this post to turn into a book all its own), Rowling is a good writer. There aren't time gaps between books. One book will leave Harry at the end of summer term in June and the next book will pick up with Harry over summer break. The kids were 10/11 when the books started and are now (in book 6) 16/17. As you read through the books, you really see them growing up. And what I've found fairly impressive is that the writing itself seems to grow with the characters.

There is a lot of detail in these books. And through it all Rowling has kept her stuff straight. Her characters and settings don't sloppily alter as we go, they stay true to themselves throughout. It's really quite impressive.

There are more specifics, more details, from the six books that could further explain my enjoyment of these books, but between spoilers and space, I'll skip that for now. As much as I want the seventh book now in order to see what happens next with Harry et al., in a way I'm okay with a delay because I've really enjoyed this series and will be sad to see it end with the next book.. I can't remember the last time I read a series that got better, stronger, more intriguing with each new book. That is a rare thing in the book world today and another reason that I am so drawn to this series.

For those who have seen the movies and have enjoyed them, trust me when I say that they've got nothing on the books. As good as I think the movies are (and how often do you say that about a beloved book turned movie??), the books are head and shoulders above them. The books are just so much more.