There is something magical about discovering a wonderful novel for the first time. It's like meeting a kindred spirit; you know the friendship will lead to something special.
I had felt a bit sorry for children who were too young to have read the Harry Potter novels as they were being released. There was a sense of discovery for that first generation. Fans of all ages lurked in chat rooms discussing theories such as how Harry Potter would defeat Voldemort, or if Harry would ever think of Jenny Weasley as more than his best friend's sister. Yes, I was one of those fans. My sister and I would meet for dinner once a week and discuss our theories. At the time, my husband was deployed in Iraq and this was a way to distract myself from it. When the last novel was published, we bought our books at midnight and read them together. Some of our theories were correct, while others were proven wrong. It didn't matter, though. We loved the journey.
I read today in the PW Children's Bookshelf newsletter that Scholastic is going to promote the Harry Potter books to a new generation of readers. They have set up a website with a sweepstakes. I think it's a great idea to add some excitement for children who were too young to have experienced the fun the first time around. Still, it won't quite be the same. There was always at least a year of waiting between Harry Potter books when they were being released, which gave readers time to formulate opinions. Now that all of the books are in print, there is no reason to wait and ponder what might be in the next novel.
Regardless, there is something special about discovering a new novel, even if it's only new to you.
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