I was never a Harry Potter kid. I honestly harshly judged Harry Potter readers my entire life. I was a Series of Unfortunate Event's weirdo. I was a Lemony Snicket child. I was a member of VFD and I knew how to write acrostic poems.

Harry Potter was too popular. It was too cool. It was too massively praised. JK Rowling made too much ******* money (still does). It was TOO MAINSTREAM and edgy middle school me didn't want to be LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

But I am so ******* old now. I pay taxes. I am a married woman. I get home from work at 6 pm and I change into my pajamas, complain about the government, rant about gen zer's, mention how different things were back in my day and fall asleep after a glass of wine.

I am too ******* tired of this world, I am too ******* tired of being angry at everything. I am too ******* tired of thinking about global warming, cancel culture, and the inability of my generation to afford housing. I just want to escape.

I am still a romance reader and romance lover. But I am not gonna lie, I am also so tired of the oversaturation this booktok market caused. Romance books have had the same rinse/repeat for a few months now. I read so many romance books in the last few years that it became almost impossible to find something that hasn't been done before. I have to read 20+ books just to find a new one I actually like. That might be my own fault. Or the market's fault. Or tiktok's fault. Where only the popular/same old ever sells. But I digress.

I decided to pick up Harry Potter for the first time in my life at the age of 27. Because of the culmination of these reasons. And because most of my best friends are Harry Potter ******* fanatics and they forced me to. And you know what? I am glad they did.

Listen, say whatever you want.

You can like this author, you can hate this author. You can think of Harry Potter as the most boring children's fiction that could ever exist in this world. You can think of her writing as simplistic, unremarkable, overrated... I mean, the woman is British and I can't even tell. And yet...

You cannot sit here, look me in the eyes, and tell me that what she has created here is not worthy of praise. The level of creativity, the characters, the world building by itself... All her controversy aside...

There is a reason why these books got movies. Hell, there is a reason these books got two entire amusement parks that make billions daily, and will continue to do so for years. HARRY POTTER IS ******* MAGICAL .

There, I said it.

Don't tell me that you would not even set foot in an Universal Park if you didn't get a chance. I myself have been twice and even without reading the books, or watching all the movies, that **** was emotional.

Separating the craft from the creator, and even if I don't - as an editor - I'd never be able to sit here and tell you this world building isn't the most fantastic thing I have read in my life.

So, you know what? Politics aside, do ******* read Harry Potter. Do love this series. Do talk about it to this day and to pass it along to your children, because I for sure will.

Some things will exist and live on despite of their makers. And I can't for the life of me hear another one of my friends tell me: oh god, I feel so guilty about loving Harry Potter still. God, I am afraid to talk about it online.

Well, I am ******* not.

I sat on my couch with this book at the age of 27 and all of a sudden I was inside of that train with Harry. I was touching that letter, I was hugging Ron after my Quidditch match. I was scared for my life when Hermione got stuck in that bathroom with the stupid dumb troll and for a few hours, I was a kid again. I had fun. I was immersed. I couldn't put the book down.

If that's not a good book, I don't know what is.

So yeah, I am too old to be wasting my time trying to prove strangers on the internet I am a good person. I know what I stand for, I make a difference in political matters when voting. I actually care about things that count. I am active in ways that will make a difference for the people I want to protect.

And I am also too ******* old to be burning Harry Potter books at the stake because it's author has opinions I disagree with.

So here I stand before you, good reads community, and I absolve the child in you. I give you permission to love and appreciate Harry Potter like you always have.

The child in you never had ill intentions, the child in you didn't have all that prejudice talk instilled into you. The child in you just wanted to escape. So do. Do escape to Hogwarts. Allow yourself to keep all the magnificent things this series has brought to the world. And do support your local library while you're at it for your September yearly reread.

I know who I am.

I am a ******* Gryffindor. (I took the test lol)

Onto the next book. Can't wait to read Dramione fanfic.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Likewise Book Reviews

113 Reviews