From: Connie Rockman <connie.rock>
Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 18:19:51 -0400

I thought the opening chapter was brilliant. I bought my copy at the airport before embarking on a cross-country flight. It was all I could do to keep from guffawing out loud while everyone around me was politely watching their movie. The humor of that portrait announcing the imminent arrival from the Ministry of Magic was priceless, and the revelation that it wasn't the first time. . . Tony Blair always looks to me like a deer caught in the headlights . . . now I know why!

Seriously, though, it's just one example of hundreds of places in these books where Rowling's humor works on many levels and why her fans span such a wide age range. A 14 year old nephew who finished the book before I did called my cell phone to assure me I could call him anytime I needed to. There would be places in the book, he told me, where I would need to talk to somebody right away (he was right) . . . He was at camp on the 16th and, like others in his group, spent several days reading in every spare minute. As soon as he was finished, he started over again, so he'd read it twice by the end of the week. By the time the next book comes out, he will almost have caught up with Harry in age, and the suspense and delight are only growing for him with every book.

I thought the pacing of Book 6 was perfect - the flashbacks, the memories, and the growing revelations about character development, were all superb - and all the while the kids are acting like adolescents with the intensity of feeling, rash judgments, false moves, and flashes of brilliance that make adolescence so maddening and wonderful. Connie Rockman
Received on Thu 04 Aug 2005 05:19:51 PM CDT