About a month ago, I finished the Harry Potter series (for the first time!). I really liked the HP characters that Rowling created, almost too much, because when there were deaths, I was sorely disappointed. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to those characters, and some of the deaths seemed wholly unnecessary and excessive.
Overall, I enjoyed the first four books much more than the last three. Part of the reason is probably that the last three books were much darker than the first books of the series. Another reason, though, was that, at times, I felt conscious that I was reading a book, whereas with the first books I was too wrapped up in the story to notice. I wasn’t enamored with the last two books at all, probably due to the demise of too many characters. By that time, though, I was invested in the story and unable to resist finding out how the series ended.
I would love to know how others would rank the books in the series. I’ve heard some say that The Chamber of Secrets is the weakest book, but it happens to be my favorite (followed very closely by The Goblet of Fire). I guess I prefer the (relative) innocence of the first few books compared to the last in the series. If you’ve read the entire series, I’d love to know your ranking of the 7 books, even if it differs greatly with mine!
My ranking follows:
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
