Harry Potter Hype by a Non-fan

What is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 like if you aren’t a fan? This is the blog of a woman on a mission.  A mission to see the show after not having seen any of the films or read any of the books since the first of each.

Disclaimer: This was my third stop of the evening and I had a huge tanker of beer sitting between me and my incredibly attractive date.

While my earlier Harry Potter post may lead you to believe I’m one of you trendy Harry Potter-loving nerds, I’m not; the truth is that I’m just a big admirer of J.K. Rowling’s business acumen. I’m not not a fan, mind you – I just read the first book, said, “It’s cute,” and shelved the thing. I didn’t think the movie was cute at all. I thought it was downright disappointing after the vibrant world that I’d imagined, chalked it up to the way of things, and moved on.

Well, here’s what I thought of the movie: It was flashy, visually mesmerizing, and it really ticked me off because I just found out that Ron and Hermoine are together. Um, excuse me? Emma Watson is much, much too cute for Ron or Rupert Grint (apologies to Rupert and all of his cult followers), and I hope that in some of the upcoming releases, she realizes this and kicks him to the curb. Hermoine is obviously meant to be with Harry. (Ginny who? He doesn’t even hang out with Ginny, she just makes random appearances when nothing important is going on.) Harry and Hermoine, now- power with depth, and a much shorter attractiveness gap to bridge.

As a standalone movie, this really wasn’t half bad, but I guess the other pieces of the puzzle might enrich it further. Here’s my conundrum: I didn’t like the first movie (though the book was alright) but I liked the last a lot. Do I read the books or watch the movies, or leave it alone now that it’s over and the Libran-o-meter has tipped towards “like”?

By the way…. do these make anyone else anywhere on this whole planet think of Narnia?

Reading Material for the Season

I loved reading ‎the Hunger Games. I picked it up on the recommendation of a friend and took to it in ‎keeping part of my current favorite genre -preteen fiction. As novels go, I do love me some ‎good Tom Clancy and Charles Dickins is peerless, but I have really come to enjoy the lightness ‎and ease of kids’ books. ‎

As Summer reading goes, this one is a real stand out piece that will satisfy your thirst for ‎action, tension, interpersonal drama, a little bit of romance and science fiction. What it won’t ‎do is last for more than a few days.

It’s a lightning fast read, so once you’ve devoured this set, ‎here are a few comparably enjoyable works of the genre:‎

‎We Have Always Lived in the Castle‎

Written by Shirley Jackson 1962‎

This is a disturbing tale of two sisters and their uncle who live holed up in their house, rarely ‎leaving for fear of the other inhabitants of their ordinary-seeming neighborhood. The backstory ‎is that some years before the story, their family had several other members murdered over ‎dinner one night. The prime suspect was the elder sister, but she got off on some lack of ‎evidence. The town never believed in her innocence, and deep animosity developed between ‎the surviving trio and their neighbors, a problem which is augmented by the psychosis of the ‎younger sister who narrates the book. ‎

‎A Single Shard‎

Linda Sue Park 2001‎

If personality studies and local color appeal to you, then you should check out some Linda Sue ‎Park. A Single Shard is the story of an orphan boy in ancient Korea who takes on work assisting ‎a potter in his village. Of all Ms. Parks’ excellent books, this one stands out especially to me ‎because of the endearing lead character. Orphan stories are hit or miss; they can be very sappy ‎or charming, and this one is well written.‎

‎The Thief of Always‎
Clive Barker 1992‎

If you like a story with a little of the creepy factor, Clive Barker has penned some decently dark ‎material. The Thief of Always is a monster that lures bored children in and devours them. ‎Reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, there is no explanation for the creature, except that it ‎seemingly exists to feed off little boys and girls who aren’t satisfied with what they have. It’s ‎unsettling like Pinnochio.‎

‎The Boy Who Reversed Himself‎
William Sleator 1986‎

Ignore the hideous cover. This is science fiction about a suburban girl named Laura. She ‎reluctantly befriends a neighbor boy whom, she learns, is somehow entrusted with ‎communication with the fourth dimension. Yes indeed. Alien creatures and strange landscapes ‎in tow, the fourth dimension is described as a set of directions which are so inaccessible to ‎common 3D humans that they can exist around us like a whole other world without our even ‎noticing. It’s creative and a fun read.‎

Catching Fire – More Hunger Games!

Katniss Everdeen lives in a dangerous world. Her district is one of twelve that is punished yearly for a previous uprising against the imperialism of the City of Panem by a perverse lottery which lands those teens whose names are drawn in a televised fight to the death, and for the impoverished families of the districts to gain further coal and grain allotments to survive, the children must enter must enter multiple times.

Spoiler Alert! If you don’t want the details from me, just buy the book, already, and read it yourself! I know many bookstores are sold out, but you can download it!

Katniss has already survived the Hunger Games once, along with Peeta Mellark, the good-hearted young man from her district that confessed to being madly in love with her before the games. Instead of being free to survive in peace with her extra supply of food, fuel and acclaim as they expected, the Capitol is furious that they have made the government appear foolish by humanizing the contestants with their refusal to kill one another, and neither of them are safe. Will they be thrown back into the arena again?

And what of Gale, her lifelong friend and hunting partner, who also has feelings for Katniss?

This book is equally as fascinating as the first, and even more fraught with tension and intrigue. Read it, read it!

Harry Potter Returns?

Are you sitting down for this? Good. J. K. Rowling has announced [insert dramatic pause here] that her new site, Pottermore will open to the public at large in October with new DRM-free ebooks, downloadable to any digital device. You just fell off your broom, didn’t you?

And, the twist- there’s a “chance” to get in early. I guess we’ll all wait for the golden ticket. Meanwhile, brace yourself for another couple months of internet fan-fic.

African Cats

While you may not infer it from the title, African Cats offers a unique view of mothers and their offspring, allowing vieweris a glimpse into the lives of feline families in the wilds of Kenya: the River Pride of lions and their archenemies across the river, and Sita the lone Cheetah and her secret litter of cubs. Chock-full of touching moments of family intimacy and mother-cub interaction, the film offers some surprising insights.

Viewers follow the families through several changes, many of which are not easy. Don’t think that means this movie is smarmy- it’s anything but. You’ll get to watch hunting, though not in gory detail- once the pounce has happened, the view graciously changes.

Beginning with a strong focus on Layla, one of the mother lions of the River Pride (thankfully, I managed to escape the polygamy question) and her cub, Mara, her six-month-old cub. Layla is aging rapidly, but still struggling to contribute to the survival of her large family and ensure that her cub is provided for. She is badly injured while hunting, and her daughter attempts to nurse her back to health. Meanwhile, the food supply is in flux, and Mara faces a tough decision: should she leave her mother and go with the rest of her family in search of food, or should she stay and risk her own survival to help her?

Sita is in rather a different situation; instead of an abundance of family, she has very few members- only a litter of blind and helpless cubs that she is single-handedly trying to raise against all odds, struggling with the elements and a variety of predators, including others of her own kind. Her spunk and determination win out initially, but will her luck hold?

There is some content that is hard for younger children to handle. I tried taking my four-year-old and while he enthusiastically watched most of the first half, at a particularly heart-wrenching revelation in the film he began fidgeting and asking to leave. He ended up contentedly playing apps on my phone and intermittently watching the happy parts. I’d suggest this film as appropriate for ages seven and up, because of the death factor and the hard questions that are potentially associated with that.

Is it worth the price of seeing in the theater? Yes. Yes, it is. The photography is breathtaking and in the theater you are completely immersed in experiencing the majesty of Africa and its beautiful feline families, making an educational experience appealing and entertaining.

Mars Needs Moms

Milo is a pretty ordinary boy, with a pretty ordinary family- until Martians decide they need his mom’s child-rearing skills to raise their own little hatchlings. When she is abducted, Milo chases after her and is whisked off to Mars on an adventure any boy would be fascinated by. On his quest to rescue his mom, he finds a couple of good friends and helps the Martian society rediscover their roots and social structure, as well as “the crazy love thing”.

The story is a complex one that left my little guy with one a few questions: “Mom, why did those aliens take the fat guy’s mom? What are nanny-bots? How did they get the moms brains with the sun?” The story was extremely well-written despite some of those hard questions. It’s sort of a cross between E.T. and Star Wars for little ones. 

There’s an undeniable cool factor attached to all things Outer Space, but what’s even better is that this story truly made my child think about his relationship with me. We cried together at a couple of parts of the movie, and on the way out he apologized for making some poor choices a couple of days ago. I really can’t say enough good things about this movie.

 

To be honest, we’d never even heard of the book before this movie came out, but having seen the movie we’ll be checking the library for it this week!