Book Report: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I had Harry Potter stress.

We'd just moved to Cali, the big day was drawing near, and I didn't have an order in for my book.

It didn't help that both our bank accounts were screwed for various reasons. So I didn't know which debit card to use. We were saving our precious cash for luxuries like food and gas, so I couldn't just drop $30 at the bookstore. The Amazon deadline had passed. I wasn't sure I had a permanent address.

What's a girl to do??

It all worked out, as these things tend to do. I did indeed have a home by Potter Day. I had a gift card from the nice people I worked with in Indiana. And miracle of miracles, the Borders in Los Gatos had copies of the book available on the afternoon of release day.

So I got my book, took it home, and entered what J calls my "Harry Potter Fugue State."

When I'm reading one of these books for the first time, I don't notice the world around me. People talk to me -- I don't hear them. Bombs land -- doesn't bother me. Climatic global change? Not an issue. I am reading my book, and it doesn't matter if you bother me, 'cause I won't notice anyway.

I started this 784-page monstrosity at about 4 p.m. on Potter Day. I finished it before I went to bed that night.

I'm not going to spoil it -- either you've read it, or you don't care. But my impression?

Spellbinding.

This was the epic capper that this series needed. I laughed, I cried a couple of times, I was struck by the strength, courage and nobility of these characters. I am thoroughly satisfied and can wish Harry, Hermione and Ron farewell without regret.

It was wonderful.

Is this the best series ever or some such drek like that? No. Rowling needs an editor, and she sometimes borrows so heavily from her influences that she can drift into the derivative.

But what she excels at is capturing the reader and transporting them into her world with a rip-roaring tale of adventure that's loaded with charm. And she loves these characters and this world, and her affection for them shines through. I'll read these books again and again.

You're never too old for magic.