As a former librarian myself, I'm glad to see that others don't idolize the Harry Potter books. I actually read one once, for I was crossing the Atlantic and was desperate for something to pass the time. I found it hackneyed, filmi, and much too violent. Its happy ending was simply wrenched into place, for the author had apparently written herself into a cul-de-sac, then decided the book was long enough.

Parents, there are a lot better books of magic and fantasy down at your public library.

NB: "Filmi" is a wonderful new word I got from a book set in India. It means that something in real life slavishly imitates something in the movies. Spread it around, would you?