Another Harry Potter post.

So I have now begun the fifth HP book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is already proving to be darker than the first four, and I am very excited about that. One of my favorite things about the books is that the author doesn't write Harry to be a flat-out hero. She never forgets that he is also a teenage boy. We don't just watch Harry save the day, we also watch him struggle with who he is, get mad at his friends, lash out at the people who care about him. Things we all do, as teenagers and adults. It's frustrating sometimes, as the reader, because you can see how the things that make him so upset are actually protecting him. But at the same time, you can really feel how hard that would be. I liked the first two books, and really liked the third. But Goblet of Fire is the one that sucked me in for the long haul. You really feel like you are IN the scenes with the characters. In GoF, when Harry is waiting in the tent for his turn to take on the dragon, Rowling does such a great job of conveying his feelings that MY heart was racing and I was completely on edge. They have a hold on me, and I am completely drawn in. (Many thanks to Chelsea, for overnighting me Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince so I would be able to start it immediately after finishing OotP. You? Rule.)