For those of you who are interested, I’m going to follow through on why we ended up loving the Harry Potter series so much. For the rest of you, class is dismissed.
First: Objections Answered (I really want to use the phrase “Mischief Managed” here)
Dark. Another way of expressing this would be to say that as the books progress along with Harry’s age (one year per book), the stakes get raised in terms of the manifestation of evil and its consequences. In a sense, when the books were first released, children grew up apace with Harry. The bad things that happen in the first few books are more in the realm of bullies, mean teachers and mysterious disappearances. As Harry grows, the threat of evil grows, finally emerging as a truly dark thing with the killing of a classmate in book 4 (or maybe book 5 – I can’t remember). But the darkness is never glorified, nor is it treated in comic book fashion – it is real and it is frightening, but it is always in its proper context. I think Rowling did really well with building this throughout the series so that by the time Harry and his friends begin to meet it head-on, they are becoming mature enough to handle it. I’m not sure that the whole series should be galloped through by a young reader, but it probably depends on the maturity level of the reader.
Lies. There’s no getting around it – Harry tells lies in the early books to get out of trouble. And he doesn’t always get caught and punished for it. But again, these books were meant to show the story arc of a young boy who is growing up and maturing as he grapples with increasing threats against him and those whom he loves. In the last book, Harry tells one last big lie, but it is to his friends in order to save their lives by giving his life for theirs. It is a beautiful redemption of this early weakness of his.
Witchcraft. Harry attends a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Within that milieu everyone learns spells and has a wand for casting spells, but it’s really more about learning to use weapons for good, along with strong discouragements and restrictions on their possible uses for evil. The context is very clear. I don’t think one need worry that their children are being drawn into the real practice of witchcraft – we certainly didn’t. It’s clearly very fanciful and, to be honest, quite fun.
Line Between Good and Evil. A common complaint after the first book came out was that the line between good and evil wasn’t clearly enough drawn. To this I can only say “Nonsense.” That’s not to say that there wasn’t some nuance to the characters. Sometimes “good” characters did foolish or bad things. Sometimes you learn that those who seem evil aren’t as “bad to the bone” as they appear at first. But the ultimate line between good and evil is never really in doubt.
I think that sums up the objections. Now to some of the elements that I found commendable.
Story. This is really a well-crafted story. I read once that it took Rowling 5 years to plot it all out before she started writing. That might not be true, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. There are minor details included in earlier books that take on huge significance that surprise the reader in later books – that had to take some major planning ahead.
Characters. I could go on and on with this one. Rowling assembled a huge cast of characters for these books exploring a large range of the human condition: funny, tragic, wise, buffoonish, sweet, cruel, misunderstood, evil, earnest, phony…
Creativity. I love the whole world that Rowling created. It is interesting and fantastically creative without requiring you to learn an entirely new vocabulary.
Depth. There are back-stories, there are stories within stories, there are characters that seem minor, but are surprisingly important. You get the impression that these were almost real people to Rowling, she so generously endowed them with real histories and heart.
Themes. Rowling explored some major themes throughout the books, including father hunger, sin and redemption, fear and courage, love and sacrifice. If you don’t get choked up at least one time per book, you’re made of stronger stuff than I am (which may not be saying much).
Marriage and Family. It may be a small thing, but I appreciated the fact that couples did not live together – there was a strong culture of marriage and the expectation of marriage. The Weasley family was a wonderful depiction of a good, strong marriage and a large family where everyone was loved and valued. You could say that they were the core family in the series.
I’m going to quit here because I don’t want this to get too long. I’ve tried to tell you about why we loved the books without giving too much away. If you haven’t read them before, I hope you’ll give them a try, but I recognize that this genre isn’t everyone’s “cup of tea.” I’ll be reading them again this year!
I’ll probably delete this…but maybe not. It took me too long to write it.
Lynniebeemuseoday 
You make me want to read it all again. It has been awhile. I will look for the “minor details included in earlier books that take on huge significance that surprise the reader in later books.”
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