JK Rowling is my HERO!

Okay -- warning!!!! If you have NOT finished reading Book 7, DO NOT PROCEED with reading this blog entry!!!

I just finished reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- LOVED IT!! I hated to see it end, but it was a great way for it to end, and I love the very end, where the author gives us a peek at 19 years later. I cried . . . and I am not afraid to admit it!

I love the verbal tapestry of the good vs. evil saga that is the Harry Potter series. So many times, while reading these books, I felt what Harry was feeling, or remembered having the same feelings, as far as teenage anger, rebellion and questioning of authority. On the other hand, I sometimes felt frustration that parents must feel, with pubescent actions and more importantly, reactions.

JK Rowling has been criticised by some for her mimicking Tolkein, (can't you see how Harry Potter is EXACTLY like "The Lord of the Rings"?) and also Star Wars -- okay, whatever!! But, I think that her clever wizardly inventions and names for spells and tools, etc tells us how very imaginative, creative and original she is. And, excuse me, but the conflict between good and evil has been around since the world began, (See The Holy Bible, First Book, Cain vs. Able) so how can people claim that Lucas or Tolkein have a claim on that "original" idea???

I don't know about all of you, but I as SHOCKED that Snape turned out to be a good guy!!! In retrospect, I can see, and almost feel the things that he must've felt, considering who Harry was. I was pleasently shocked, though! It's interesting how the author reiterates the lesson that people are what we perceive them to be; not only in the words that Dumbledore uses to say that to Snape, but also that she demonstrates it, all through the books, to us as readers.

I'm sad, that the series is over! But, the beauty of books is that we can read and re-read them over and over! And, hopefully, remember more details as we revisit the first volumes.

I am very grateful for my mother's great example of reading. She always read to me, as a child, and she was always reading something, as I was growing up. Now, when she can be seen reading something, it is usually a health magazine or Reader's Digest (well, she IS 65 years young!), but she still loves to read, and has passed that love on to me. Thanks, Mom!