In reading a series, I find myself comparing one against the other. Which is the best? Which is my least favorite? I feel differently about the books this time around.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling feels different from the series' previous books. Harry is an angry teen, and his problems and concerns are more mature. The dangers are more significant, and the difficulties more complex. In past readings of the series, I enjoyed book five less than the others. Harry loses his optimism, becoming cynical and angry. Considering what he's faced, it feels authentic.
As I read through the series this time, I realized that each book ends with the death of a character. In book one, it is Professor Quirrell; in book two, it is Tom Riddle's diary--not a person--but definitely a character; in book three, it's Buckbeak; in book four, it's Cedric Diggery; and in book five it's Sirius Black. There are many more deaths to come.
I've read criticism of Rowling's choice to have characters die in a young adult series. For me, it gives the series gravitas and tension as the possibility of the death of a beloved character exists. A mark of good writing to me is causing me to care about a character. I remember reading Sounder by William H. Armstrong and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls and being devasted by the dogs' deaths. I didn't regret reading them; I still remember them fifty years later. Children's books can be a way to talk about life's painful events before they happen and can be a source of solace.
🪄🧙♂️😵
No comments:
Post a Comment