Book #249 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #7) And so my Harry Potter reread comes to an end with what I consider the weakest volume of the series (not counting oddities like the Cursed Child screenplay or the flimsy textbook tie-ins). The major problem in this …
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Book #236 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #6) I love plenty of individual moments in this penultimate Harry Potter book, but if I’m being truly objective, its flashback-heavy narrative arc is a bit of a step down for the series. As usual author J. K. Rowling …
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Book #222 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #5) The Harry Potter books are well-known for getting darker and deeper as they go along, aging up in target audience along with their main characters, but the hero’s surly teenage angst in this novel actually bothered …
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Book #213 of 2018: Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (Cormoran Strike #4) I love the characters in J. K. Rowling’s pseudonymous detective novels, but I’m often disappointed by their plots, and this one feels particularly aimless. The investigation shifts from a cryptic remark about a disturbed man’s childhood memory to a case of political blackmail …
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Book 210 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #4) This middle volume marks a major shift in the Harry Potter series in a number of ways. It’s much longer than the previous novels, but it’s also significantly darker and more mature. The title wizard and his …
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Book #195 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #3) This has always been my favorite book in the Harry Potter series, and it is no less excellent even now that I’m closer in age to the second title character than the first. Harry and his friends …
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Book #174 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #2) The first Harry Potter book was a tremendous debut, but this sequel surpasses it on just about every level. The plot, the characters, and the setting are all delivered far more confidently this time around, and author …
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Book #162 of 2018: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #1) It’s a little hard for me to be objectively critical about the Harry Potter books, which, although not my first introduction to children’s fantasy literature, were nevertheless a formative and beloved part of my childhood. Still, I’ve always …
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Book #214 of 2019: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne On both a plot and a writing level, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child falls far below the previous Potter books — perhaps reflecting the fact that J. K. Rowling was not involved in the actual writing process. (She’s merely one of …
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