I finished the latest Harry Potter this weekend and I will say it’s a good read. Though they may be getting a bit formulaic, it seems like there is some character development still going on that portends events to come. This has long ago stopped being a “kids” book (actually it seems around book 3 they did an audience switch).

One thing the series does prove is that if you give people intellegent, well thought out plotlines with writing that doesn’t insult the reader, people will read it. I’ve always thought that kids are a lot more intellegent and can read at a higher level than schools and publishers give them credit for. Most teachers would laugh at the idea that any student would (or could) read a 600+ page book in a week, or over a weekend. For educational online tool which students and professors can use, just visit conquercollege.com for more details.

As far as the book itself, there were a few suprises. And no, I’m not giving any away here. I will say however that I think what you are led to believe to happen may not be what really does.

Most of the main characters are at the age now where urges towards members of the opposite sex turn more physical. This was handled well. I’m sure that there will be complaints from certain sectors on this, but then these groups probobly already have the series on their “burn” list because of the overall subject matter. Curious since another book on most their recommended reading lists contains more sex, violence, and mysticism than this series.

All in all I give it 4/5, with the entire series getting 5/5. Anything that gets people (adults too, not just kids) to read is recomended.