There, did that grab your attention?
That title's worthy of an essay, isn't it? Or at least a really long, well-thought out, annotated post. Alas, I won't be serving one of those up; just some scattered thoughts. I wanted to write something short on Deathly Hallows, and then with Pansy's post....
First, Pansy's post. I'm not getting into the Harry = Evil Witchcraft!!!!! thing because there are plenty of other people who have responded to those concerns -- for example, Nancy Brown.
I read the first three books back in 2000. I didn't think they were The Greatest Thing Ever, but I thought they were clever and diverting and I could see why kids liked them. For myself, I enjoyed the funny stuff -- the dog-Latin, the details of the Wizarding word, the outrageous names -- and the satire. I was pleased to read a new book for kids in which evil was evil, good was good, and heroism was celebrated and not sneered at. And I enjoyed the mysteries, with the twists at the end.
My sister encouraged me to pick the series back up again, and I read Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix in 2005. This time, I was hooked by the increasing complexity of the story -- and the increasing complexity of the characters.
And I think the characters are what I like best about the books. Good guys who act like bad guys; bad guys who act like good guys; bad guys who think they're good guys; good guys who are loving and giving and brave and still have very serious faults. I think it would be so much fun to read the books with a pre-teen or a teen -- what great discussions you could get into! "Was Harry being fair in that situation?" "Why do you think so-and-so's acting this way?"
Rowling has also laid her clues carefully. I'm rereading the books now with an eye toward all the clues I'd missed, the little details that seemed insignificant the first time around but have new meaning now that the series is complete. Again, I think you could have a lot of fun reading these books with teenagers and teaching them to read closely, paying attention to recurring phrases and themes and allusions. ("What do you think Argus Filch's name tells us about him? And the name of his cat?")
And yes, I'm very happy to read books aimed at teens in which dating couples sleep in separate bedrooms, in which babies are blessings, in which being open to life is presented as a sign of generosity.
So that's why I like the Potter books: clever puzzles, interesting characters, lots to talk about, and a world view that values duty, generosity, self-sacrifice.
Now for the other stuff, which will go in the extended entry because it's full of Deathly Hallows spoilers:
