Need to Read: Harry Potter

These books will change your life... like seriously. If they don't, then you aren't reading them right.

I am proud to say that I am part of the Harry Potter generation. We grew up with Harry, we made mistakes and held victories, we saw the great evil in the world, but also the good. Sometimes I think the Wizarding World is more of a home to me than anything. The world is so tangible and real that I can't imagine that there will ever again be a story as celebrated or intensely followed.

What I loved most about J.K. Rowling's story is that it got kids reading again! When a new book or movie was about to be release, people lined up for hours, sometimes days, to be one the the first to know the story and immerse themselves in that world once more.

Read them. Read them all.

First is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: I am actually just about to re-read this one for like the sixth time. Since the last movie came out I wanted to remember Hogwarts as it was meant to be, a wonder, a home to welcome you.

 

 

 

Second is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Harry, realizes that his life will forever be a perilous journey and the Lord Voldemort will return more ferocious and vengeful than before. Also, we meet Dobby the house elf, an unlikely but terribly lovable little hero.

 

 

 

Third is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Here we realize that Hogwarts is no longer safe. The Wizarding World, for all its magical glory, is a dangerous place especially for the young boy, Harry Potter. Dementors, Animagi, and prophecies, OH MY! One teacher's terrifying secret and the escape of the mass murderer Sirius Black leads Harry on a discovery of how his parents died and who should feel his vengence.

 

 

 

Fourth is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Harry is entered (without his knowledge) in the extremely perilous Triwizard Tournament. People die in the tournament and it is a serious burden for the possibility of eternal glory. Harry, the youngest and least experienced of the champions must battle dragons, grindylows, dizzying mazes, and eventually You-Know-Who himself. The Wizarding World is about to enter a very dark time indeed, history is made and tingles with the beginnings of war.

 

 

 

Fifth is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Harry is labeled as a liar and the Ministry of Magic is taking control of Hogwarts. Delores Umbridre, a toad of a woman, is determined to see that the Ministry has full control and that the students don't listen to Harry's account of the Dark Lord's return. Harry, Ron and Hermione organize Dumbledore's Army to spite her efforts to control the school and, due to something sinister in the Department of Mysteries, break in to the Ministry of Magic, a battle that is only the beginning.

 

 

Sixth is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Headmaster Dumbledore seeks to prepare Harry for battling Voldemort. They uncover a memory that is a key to Voldemort's past and his demented quest for immortality. Voldemort is has a chink in his armor, and Harry learns of a way to defeat the greatest evil the world has ever known. However, an unbreakable vow and a bitter betrayal are on the horizon. Hogwarts has never witnessed a loss so great since the incident on the Astronomy Tower.

 

 

  Seventh is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Harry, Ron and Hermione are on a mission to destroy    Voldemort. They leave, Hogwarts, the place they have called home for so many years, to follow their quest, risking capture, torture, and death. The fate of the Wizarding World lies with them in the Tales of Beedle the Bard and in Harry himself. Battles rage, and the boy who lived, must accept death. This is a truly chilling book. Until the very end.

 

 

When I am old, I will still read Harry Potter with as much enthusiasm and tears as I do now and my family will ask me:

"Still? After all this time?"

and I will reply

"Always."