Harry Potter

A long time ago, in a sticky third grade classroom, there began a so-called era. (Truthfully, I don't care what they call it. It was amazing.)

It was a warm day. The windows were open to create some cool air flow, given the fact that the air conditioning in the building was faulty. My third grade teacher called all twenty-six of us students over to the reading rug - a special area of the classroom, where the teach sat on a stool and all of us students gathered around to listen to her read.

Usually, reading time was relatively uneventful. We enjoyed it, but we rarely asked for more. That day was different. On that afternoon, she opened a book with a colorful - almost jewel looking - cover that had a boy on it. All of us were intrigued. As if the cover wasn't interesting enough, then she started to read. And, for the first time in a while, nobody wanted to stop reading.

That book was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone.

And on that day, I fell in love with a story.

If I am completely honest, the Harry Potter series was a great influence on my life. It is part of the reason that I am writing today. The story wove its way into my head and I began to daydream of magic and fantasy blended with everyday life. I began to wish that I was the one attending Hogwarts, so that I could have my own magical adventures. Harry Potter made me realize that I could reach into my imagination and create.

I couldn't make a toy wand light up or fly on a broomstick.* But J. K. Rowling made magic out of words, and if she could do it, then I could make magic, too.

Today, I bring sad news...

Harry Potter is ending.

The last movie is currently in theaters. I'm going to see it on Monday. And, after I return home from the film, that will be the end. Sure, I own all of the books and all of the movies thus far, but the last movie is really the close. 

Harry Potter is not going on any more adventures - and, if he is, we, as fans, are not invited. 

It's true that Pottermore is coming out in the fall, but even that will not be quite the same.

So, today, I wrote this post as a final toast to something great. 

Dear J. K. Rowling,

Thank you. 

My cousin and I bought every single one of your books past the first two on the day it came out. We usually read them within the next three days, sometimes a week if we were trying to make it last. 

Your words have made me laugh, smile, and cry. 

You have changed my outlook on certain aspects of life. I and many others will miss the magical world that you have created. But, I'm twenty years old now and I suppose it is about time that I, and all of your other fans, start branching out and making our own magic in whatever ways we can.

Cheers and best wishes!

Sincerely,

K. L. Stevens**

*My cousin and I made wands out of wooden dolls, ribbons, sparkly wire, and metallic paints. We bought brooms from the cleaning aisle in the grocery store. My aunt made us invisibility cloaks, which very nearly work. Our cats were carted around as 'familiars' on more than one occasion (much to their chagrin). We bought spell books, which were much more like arts and craft books. We had wizard hats and potion bottles. And we probably had other things, but I cannot quite remember.

**A fan who may or may not have made a parachute out of garbage bags and sticks, taped it to a small branch, tied more twigs to the end of the branch to make a broom, and tried to jump off the roof...

Book Review: Who Will Run The Frog Hospital?

Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore

"In a Paris bistro, Berie Carr, a middle-aged American woman, sits across from her husband, whom she realizes she no longer loves. Her thoughts return to a small town in upstate New York, to a time when life was as thrilling as it was ordinary, as sweet as it was bitter.What she remembers most, though, is a deep friendship she shared with a captivating girl named Sils - Sils who was always a little older, a little faster..." (Cover blurb on book)

Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore was loaned to me by a professor I had during Winter Semester. I feel my reading experience was impacted by the amount of notes in the margins and the sticky notes tagging many of the pages, but even without the temptation to think further into this, I found this book to be thought provoking. (In fact, I went so far as to write an essay on it... except it wasn't required and I didn't submit it).

The main character, as is stated in the summary, is actually a middle-aged woman looking back on her teenage years. For that reason, I am unsure of how to classify this, but I think this would fall under the category of coming-of-age fiction. On a surface level, I think that's what it is, but I also feel that it goes much deeper than just coming-of-age or the teenage years. 

As Berie looks back, we see her and Sils engaging in many typical (although, I hesitate to use that terminology) teen behaviors - dropping into bars with fake ids, dating, drinking, etc. However, what we're really seeing isn't Berie and Sils together, it's Berrie in comparison to Sils. Sils is prettier. Sils is a little older. Sils hit puberty first, while Berie was a late bloomer. Sils and Berie worked in the local theme park, but Sils was Cinderella and Berie was a cashier dressed in a non-becoming costume. 

In short, this book looks at self-esteem, the longing to be in the spotlight, the habit of placing others on pedestals, feelings of rejection, and social maladjustment. And, even if the reader was never any semblance of these characters, I feel that this is a book most everyone can relate to on some level.  

And, if you can't, then just enjoy it for the wording and the craft itself. The story feels a bit disjointed at times, but I think that was intentional and it was a detail that I think added a lot to the story.

This book is a quick read, but it is hardly a light one.  

While I was reading it, the book was droll, bitter, hopeful, and melancholy. Many times throughout the novella, I caught myself smiling at details and twists of humor. I also kept a notebook beside me, taking down  some particularly poignant lines that I liked.

On the overall, though, I honestly found the book to be quite disturbing. It left me depressed for couple of weeks and, thinking back on it, the same feelings return with just as much strength. This is, probably for obvious reasons, not a book I can see myself reading twice. But I am impressed that it has stuck with me so well, and in such a distinct way.

I think I can safely recommend this without going back on my feelings about it later. 

This book can be found in bookstores and online:

Who Will Run The Frog Hospital?

Happy reading! (Well... sort of.)