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July 24, 2007

Bewitched

J.K. Rowling enchants readers for the seventh and final time

Story by: Diana Golobay

The Shorthorn staff

The Shorthorn: Robert Rodriguez

Fans wait in line Friday in front of Barnes and Noble Booksellers on Cooper Street for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Some people had been waiting in line since that morning.

A few minutes past midnight Saturday, history junior Shifa Bhatti declared her affection for a children’s literature hero to everyone within earshot.

“Harry’s coming home this weekend!” she shouted to the world outside Barnes and Noble Booksellers on Cooper Street.

She and her cousin attended the store’s release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Though hundreds of people gathered around the side of the store awaiting their chance to buy a copy, Bhatti was one of the first inside to lay hands on the book.

Several musical groups performed songs about romantic angst between teenage characters in the book while customers enjoyed java chip frappuccinos. The festivities were tempered but not stifled by patrolling Arlington police.

“We saw a couple kids dressed up as the Weasley twins and took a picture with them,” Bhatti said.

Not all Harry Potter enthusiasts lined up in Barnes and Noble cafés to be the first to read the book. English senior lecturer Joanna Johnson pre-ordered her copy on Amazon.com. She has read the other books in the series and plans to read Deathly Hallows soon, although the book was still sitting on her coffee table Sunday.

The Shorthorn: Robert Rodriguez

From left, Alumni Laura and Devlin DeCutter, education junior Heather Simpson, and speech junior Barret DeCutter wait in line Friday at Barnes and Noble Booksellers on Cooper Street. Many people dressed up like characters from the Harry Potter series for the release of Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows.

Even though she was not present at the wizardly festivities Saturday, Johnson understands and even fosters the book’s fanatic following. The series’ first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, is required reading in her young adult literature class. Johnson found that in the years she has taught the class, the majority of her students had either read all the books before taking her class or had not read any.

In class, Johnson sets out to answer the question of why the series is so appealing to both young and old readers. She encourages student discussion about the story of a child hero who embarks on an action-adventure quest and the drudgery of going to classes. Johnson said the themes are fun for all levels of readers and have grown more complex as author J.K. Rowling’s series has unfolded.

“I think [Rowling] is not afraid to have the characters grow and change with each book,” she said. “They’ve not stayed the same. They’ve evolved, and we’ve changed with them.”

Shifa Bhatti was careful not to turn on her television Saturday for fear of hearing spoilers about the final evolution of the book’s characters. It took her a total of seven and a half hours to read through the book. Bhatti recalled finishing it Sunday morning, at which time she rolled over on her bed and went to sleep.

Management senior Henna Bhatti, Shifa Bhatti’s cousin, also finished reading her copy early Sunday morning. Looking back over the series, Henna said she found the details of the Harry Potter universe most enchanting. She appreciates the magical world spawning a whole school, a unique wizard sport and a governmental agency.

“That’s what made it so exciting,” she said. “It made it so believable as a kid. [Rowling] has a great sense of imagination.”