Introducting Panel Members For TROFEO 2.0 Event

Renee Heiss :  Renee Heiss is the award-winning author of seven books and hundreds of magazine stories and articles.  Most recently, her middle grade book, Woody's World, earned a silver medal in the 2013 International Children's Literary Awards. With a co-founder, she has started her own children's publishing company, Entelechy Education, LLC, featuring their signature characters, The EnteleTrons.  Find information about Renee, her blog, and her other books at Renee Heiss. 

Sandhya Renukamba : The books she reads define Sandhya Renukamba - they take her to places that can only be dreamt of. Between her and her daughter, who is also an avid reader, they have many adventures of the bibliophilic kind. She shares these on her blog, and at Saffron Tree, Zealot Readers, and at ArtsyCraftsyMom as a guest blogger. She also writes regularly for Women's Web.

Neha Kalra : An avid reader, a book lover, a reviewer, a blogger, a poetess and someone who is managing social media for a couple of companies. Her poems have been published in various online publications.

Mick...Send Me A Butterfly

pic courtesy kobobooks.com

Mick...Send Me A Butterfly
Written by Lorraine Grennan
Revised edition published by Love of Books Self Publishing.

Death is always disturbing.  Even if the person has passed away peacefully after a long and productive life. Even when it is of someone one knows only slightly. Even if it is the death of a loved fictional character. Even if it is someone one has never heard of before. What makes us react this way to a death? Why are we touched by the finger of sorrow even if we have not directly suffered this loss? Isn't it the realisation of our own mortality?

The everyday news items about deaths in the newpaper disturb me - I make it a point never to read these pages early in my day, especially if it is the death of a child or a violent death that is featured.

So when it is a dear one whose death we are dealing with, it can be devastating. And when it is a parent who has to deal with a child's death, it becomes doubly so. Somehow we expect to die before our children. It is, we feel, the natural order of things. After all, life goes on in a forward direction. Children are born of our bodies, and are our hope for the future. A way for nature to ensure that we do not disappear into nothingness. A way to keep a part of us alive on this beautiful earth. In a strange way, we become immortal through our children, and our children's children, and so on. So, it is terrible indeed, when things go the other way. When a parent has to see the suffering of a child, and the relentless descent into the big void of death. Whether it comes suddenly or after a long and debilitating illness.

Lorraine Grennan's book, 'Mick...Send Me A Butterfly' is a memoir of her son Michael Stewart Grennan's fight with Chronic Myloid Leukaemia. He was diagnosed with the disease on 29th August 1981, and passed away on 23rd March 1983 at just 20 years of age - a period of one year and seven months of facing the monster. Today, 23rd March 2013, would be the 30th anniversary of his death, and this is a tribute to his fighting spirit. One that has touched many lives that came in contact with his courage and forbearance.

At 18, Mick was your regular teenager, having a girlfriend and a job at a gas station, plenty of friends and a loving family. He had his whole life in front of him, when the disease crept up on him unbeknownst. It was diagnosed after a series of tests for symptoms that seemed like arthritis. It was a punch in the solar plexus, to put it mildly. Ms Grennan writes about how they all coped with the reality of impending death in their own ways. It was devastating, and something that they never could come to terms with. At such a time, Mick showed a maturity beyond his years and became the source of his family's strength, preparing them for his death and the time after it, in unusually thoughtful ways that Ms Grennan has put down with complete honesty of emotion. It does not fail to move, and I had to put the book away at times to bring my own emotions to order. She recounts the shock, the denial, the coping with the treatment (with its own consequences) and the bewilderment of a layperson thrust into the unending medical visits. She speaks of her faith and that of her family and friends, that gave them the strength to cope with the inevitable - both before and after Mick's passing away.

Ms Grennan also writes very honestly about the feelings of loss, guilt, and helplessness that overcame her and the other members of her family after Mick passed away. How every person grieves in a different way, a way very personal to that person, the way they perceive their loss, the way they deal with it. The way that coping with grief does not have a timeline, and that even after we learn to let go, the grief is still very real for the bereaved person. And that healing does come, in its own way to each person.

After his passing away, Ms Grennan was introduced to The Compassionate Friends, a group started by similarly bereaved parents, and it helped her deal with her feelings of grief. Intense feelings that she often wondered about- if they were normal. Ms Grennan has since worked extensively as a volunteer in its chapter in her hometown in New South Wales, Australia. Her work since has helped thousands of bereaved people come to terms with their loss.

This memoir, which is written in almost a diary-like fashion, draws the reader into their lives. A peek into the extraordinary courage of ordinary people. It has been a privilege.

Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French

pic courtesy flipkart

Hitler's Daughter
Written by Jackie French
Published by HarperCollins Children's Books
Ages 8-12

Mark, Anna, Tracey and Ben play a story game as they wait for their school bus every day. They have stories of fairies, of ball games and of horses. Until one day Anna decides to tell a story. It is an amazing story set on the fringes of a great war. It is the story of a child growing up tucked away from all the action, a privileged child who is kept safe despite not being the blue-eyed, blond, tall Aryan ideal, a child hungry for family and love, holding on to memories of the few-and-far between visits of her father. A father who obviously is somebody important. Important enough that people around her who have always taken care of her are in mortal fear of displeasing him. We are told early enough that the child, Heidi, is Hitler's daughter.

Anna's story focuses on the genocide from the outside in, raising many questions in Mark's mind. What if one's parent or child has done something really evil- how does one deal with such a parent/ child? Does one love them regardless? Do the sins of our parents taint us irrevocably, or is there redemption? Do the actions of someone dear reflect on us as individuals? How does society look upon those who stand in evil's shadow? Is a bad thing really a bad thing, or are we just victims of our convictions? Do we have a right to raise our hand against someone else's questionable behaviour if we, too, might be in the wrong in our own time?

These are very profound existential questions, and Jackie French, (interviewed here on Saffron Tree), in her inimitable chatty style, raises them through Mark's thoughts, without thrusting them at us. There are also references to Australia's own genocide-  the colonial actions against their Aborigine population.

It has been so realistically told that we are left wondering if Hitler indeed, did have a daughter that no-one knows about. Also, it is an unusual look at the Holocaust; a great book to introduce them to it, along with Number the Stars and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. There are no grisly portrayals of the deaths, as the point of view is of a privileged, though unfortunate girl.

This page-turner of a book was devoured by A in an afternoon. She has been, since, recommending it to many of her friends.

Cross-posted at Saffrontree.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

pic courtesy flipkart

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Written by Jacqueline Kelly
Published by Square Fish, an imprint of MacMillan
Ages 10+

It is the summer of 1899. The only girl in a family of seven siblings, Calpurnia Virginia Tate (Callie Vee, as she is called) is expected to apply herself to the task of crafting a lady out of herself. Her mother's sole dream for her only daughter is that she be tutored in the arts befitting a lady- music, drawing, dance, embroidery, cooking- so that she would make a stunning debut on their social circuit and land the most eligible bachelor before she becomes 'an old maid of twenty.'

There is a slight hitch in the plan, though. Callie Vee has not the slightest inclination towards these achievements, and is encouraged by her naturalist grandfather in her scientific forages. The only grandchild that matches his interests.

"The laws governing inheritance are quite unknown; no one can say why...the child often reverts in certain characters to its grandfather..." 

The Origin of Species plays a large part in the book. Each chapter begins with a fitting epigraph quoted from Darwin's book. Callie Vee knows of the book, but it is a banned book, and she has no chance absolutely of laying her hands on it. Until her formidable, cantankerous grandfather discovers her interest in, and keen observations of the strange case of large yellow and small green grasshoppers- that she dutifully notes down in her 'observations notebook.'

"He stared at me for a moment with an odd expression on his face- perhaps surprise, perhaps consternation- as if I were a species he'd never seen before...He extracted a book covered in rich green morocco leather handsomely tipped with gold. Ceremoniously, he bowed and offered it to me. I looked at it. The Origin of Species. Here, in my own house. I received it in both my hands. He smiled. Thus began my relationship with Granddaddy."

It was a beginning of a wondrous journey of scientific discovery. The beginning of a dream that showed her the path out of a possible life of drudgery like countless other girls like her. A life that she could not visualise herself enjoying, no matter what her parents and society at large expected of her. The beginning of an old man's dream of at least one among his heirs carrying the light of his discoveries into the future.

This refreshing debut book by the author, Jacqueline Kelly, was devoured and thoroughly enjoyed by the resident 11 year old, who has to often be-labour under expectations from her peers, and sometimes from elders, to conform to stereotyping by her gender. Be that in clothes, interests, behaviour, dreams or priviledge. She applauded with Granddaddy, when Callie Vee ensured that she is paid for her work during the harvest season, not just the boys, and when she stressed on her right to make a choice about her life.

My daughter A loved the book, and has been recommending it to all her friends. It makes a lot of sense to her since she has been doing evolution and taxonomy at school this year. She also identifies with Callie Vee on a more basic level - she has often been the butt of jokes among her peers for being different - more science and literature minded than the average 11 year old girl, not so interested in what is considered 'cool behaviour.'

Cross-posted here and here.

All Things Dahl

13th September was Roald Dahl's birthday, and we at Zealot Readers would like to pay him a tribute. Here are two books that are brimful with fun facts that are as wacky as his books.

pic courtesy flipkart.

Spotty Powder and other Splendiferous Secrets
Compiled and illustrated by Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin (Pocket Money Puffin series)
Ages 6+

The book begins with a quote from his book The Minpins: “Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most likely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” 

This should be the guiding light for all who associate themselves with children’s books. Or any books at all. Or anything that raises one above the mundane. As Dahl’s books certainly do. He was a keen observer of his surroundings, human or otherwise, and each of the twelve chapters begins with his essay on the month or season.

Do you know…

…that there were as many as ten naughty children to feature in his most famous book Charlie and the Chocolate factory? These were to have names like Bertie Upside and Herpes Trout. Or that the Oompa-Loompas were to be called Whipple-Scrumpets?

…that the Roald Dahl-Quentin Blake partnership began in 1976, quite late in Dahl’s career, and that initially Blake was nervous about illustrating for such a famous writer?

…that Dahl kept two notebooks in which he pinned down any stray idea that entered his head, and that almost all his books came from these years later?

…that strange though it may seem to his readers, his English teacher at boarding school had written him off? “This boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class.” “Vocabulary negligible, sentences malconstructed. Ideas limited.”

…that in the churchyard at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, big friendly giant footprints lead to Roald Dahl’s grave?

pic courtesy flipkart

D is for Dahl

A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl

Compiled by Wendy Cooling

Illustrations Quentin Blake

Publisher: Puffin books
Ages 8+

It begins with a smudged copy of the Dahl family tree on page 1. The next 149 pages are cram-filled with alphabetically arranged snippets that will warm the heart of even the most reluctant of readers. All things Dahl : personal life, his books, quirks, his literary associates, his working style, his opinions about everything he came across- it is all there, in bite-sizes, and embellished with the zany illustrations of his friend and long-time illustrator, Quentin Blake.

Some our favourites are the Random Roald Facts in boxes:

He wrote his first ever story at the age of 10, titled “Kumbak II” about a machine that could tune in to conversations from the past.

From an essay written by him at school, describing his teacher: “He’s a short man with a face like a fried elderberry, and a moustache which closely resembles the African jungle.” On his teacher's cane: “It wasn’t simply an instrument for beating you. It was a weapon for wounding.” Do you see Miss Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda?

No wonder his teachers were vexed with him!

Here is a review of a proper biography, Fantastic Mr Dahl, written by Michael Rosen, on Guardian Children's Books.

Crossposted at Saffrontree.

Book 7 - Some thoughts 1

Shouldn't it have been Harry Potter and the Seven (Eight?) Horcruxes? Why Deathly Hallows? Maybe this is Rowling's way of highlighting something that is not so obvious.

In the chapter King's Cross, there is a significant part of the conversation, where Dumbledore tells Harry about his trying to unite the Hallows to conquer death.

Dumbledore turned his whole body to face Harry, and tears still sparkled in the brilliantly blue eyes.
'Master of death, Harry, master of Death! Was I better, ultimately, than Voldemort?'
'Of course you were,' said Harry. 'Of course - how can you ask that? You never killed if you could avoid it!'
'True, true,' said Dumbledore, and he was like a child seeking reassurance. 'Yet, I, too, sought a way to conquer death, Harry.'
'Not the way he did,' said Harry. 'Hallows, not Horcruxes.'
'Hallows,' murmured Dumbledore, 'not Horcruxes. Precisely.'

This fits in well with their conversation about choices at the end of HP 2.

So we have here a triangle with Harry, Dumbledore and Voldemort at the three vertices. Both Dumbledore and Voldemort sought to conquer death. The paths they took, were, however, significantly different.

Voldemort chose to immortalize himself by making Horcruxes, living or non-living beings into which was incorporated a piece of his soul. He had to kill to be able to split his soul every time. Reminds me of an old fairy tale where a rakshasa (demon) could not be killed because he had lodged his soul in a bird, which was then kept under layers of security, and the protagonist had to breach each level of the protection to get to the bird, kill it, and so kill the rakshasa. The megalomania of the demon comes across in such a story, where there is complete disregard for the safety of or any pain suffered by anyone else. The deaths are deliberate.

Dumbledore, too, dreamt of conquering death. It was initially a nebulous wish, together with his teen-hood friend, Gellert Grindelwald. It begins with a common dream of conquering the world, of being the top-dog, so to say. Events that follow lead to a separating of ways for the two friends.

When Dumbledore defeats Grindelwald (now a feared dark wizard) much later, he wins the Elder wand, the first Hallow, from him. When he finds that James had the Invisibility Cloak, the third Hallow, he realizes that the legend of the Hallows is true. Consequently, he is tempted by the ring containing the second Hallow, the Resurrection Stone, and attempts to put it on. The ring is cursed by Voldemort, and it almost kills Dumbledore.

Note, here, that Voldemort had held in his hand a Hallow, and had turned it into a Horcrux. We realize that he had no knowledge of the Hallows, as he had been raised by muggles, and was later likely to be disdainful of 'mere children's stories' and anything to do with emotion.

Dumbledore, though, had never united the Hallows, though he possessed one or two of them at all times since obtaining the Elder wand. He had given the Invisibility Cloak away to Harry before he got the Resurrection Stone.

Harry, the third corner of the triangle, had never considered the possibility of doing either and conquering death. He, however, did possess all three Hallows after defeating Draco while escaping from Malfoy Manor. As Draco had overpowered Dumbledore on top of the Astronomy tower, he had won the allegiance of the Elder wand, and Harry won it on overpowering Draco.

So although Voldemort tried to kill him using the wand that he had forcibly removed from Dumbledore's grave, the wand gets snatched from his hand by Harry's signature Expelliarmus, and flies to its true owner, turning in an arc to hit Voldemort instead with his own killing curse.

The Invisibility Cloak belonged to him by rightful inheritance, and the Resurrection Stone had been bequeathed to him by Dumbledore. So, at the point where he walks into the Forbidden Forest, he has united all three, making him Master of Death.

The most important point to note here is that, he has not got any of these by killing or destruction. Even his overpowering of Draco had been an Expelliarmus in defence. He did not aspire to conquer death, and so he did, when he had all three Hallows.

Conquering death here could be looked at in two ways:
1) He had been frightened for his life until then, even until he finally walked into the forest. "He felt his heart pounding fiercely in his chest...Terror washed over him as he lay on the floor, with that funeral drum pounding inside him. Would it hurt to die?"

When he opened the Snitch and turned the Stone over, his dead loved ones appear and reassure him. This part is reminiscent of the end of Dickens' A Tale Of Two Cities where the poor seamstress requests Sydney Carton to hold her hand till the end.
"You'll stay with me?"
"Until the very end," said James.
Harry was no longer frightened of death and walked to face his death with a sense of detachment.

2) Now that he had the three Hallows together, he no longer could be killed. Voldemort's Avada Kedavra in the forest selectively destroys the Horcrux bit in Harry. That was the fussing mass of humanity in the bundle behind the bench at King's Cross. The killing curse sends Harry, too, to the place in transit, but he has the option of coming back, and lives.

Dumbledore had the right idea in HP 1 when he hid the Philosopher's Stone in the Mirror of Erised. "Only a person who wanted to find the Stone -- find it, but not use it -- would be able to get it. That is one of my more brilliant ideas. And between you and me, that is saying something."

Choosing the Hallows over the Horcruxes is the fork in the road taken. And that has made all the difference, to quote Robert Frost.

Book 7- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

pic courtesy amazon.co.uk

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Written by J K Rowling
Published by Bloomsbury

I have read several school stories. Each character behaves differently when they know it's their last year there. I wondered how Harry would react when he had to leave. True, he skips his last year at Hogwarts. I would have liked to know how he would have finished school, and thus, had to leave.
　
So, coming to the book, it starts with a death. Then the amazing idea of having 7 Harrys. Another death.
　
In Dumbledore's will, he left Harry the snitch he had caught in his first year at Hogwarts. He left Ron a Deluminator and Hermione, his copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard".
　
Hermione and Ron accompany Harry in his mission to find and destroy all the Horcruxes. Here's the list of Horcruxes already found- the ring and the diary. Only 2 out of 7! 5 to go.
　
The Book left for Hermione proves to be useful as she finds a strange sign in it. Xenophilius Lovegood (Luna Lovegood's father) explains to the three of them that it was the sign of the three Deathly Hallows. These were- the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak. Together they make one a master of Death.
　
They decide to live at Sirius' house. A trip to the ministry helps them find the locket. But how can it be destroyed?
　
Hermione realizes that the sword of Godric Gryffindor had basilisk venom in it and could thus destroy Horcruxes. So the locket is destroyed.
　
Later comes the search for and destroying of the rest of the Horcruxes and a huge battle. Deaths everywhere.
　
A dead Dumbledore tells Harry that he had tried to use the Hallows to become invincible. He points out to Harry how much like Voldemort that made him. Quoting from the book, "Hallows", murmured Dumbledore, "Not horcruxes". 
　
Harry almost dies. Voldemort is destroyed. Harry does not use Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. Then how does Harry kill him?
　
Voldemort casts a killing curse at Harry. An Expelliarmus from Harry's side. This causes Voldemort's wand to fly out of his hands, turning around to direct the killing curse at him.

Harry possessed all three hallows because-
1)He had his father's Invisibility Cloak
2)The snitch contained the Resurrection Stone
3)Dumbledore had gotten the Elder Wand by defeating his childhood friend. Then Draco Malfoy had  disarmed Dumbledore before Snape killed Dumbledore. Harry overpowers Draco.

Voldemort was under the impression that as Snape killed Dumbledore, he would be the true owner of the Elder Wand. Voldemort wanted the Elder Wand to kill Harry as it was the most powerful wand in the world.
So, he kills Snape to gain the Elder Wand.

That brings us to the end of these stories. I would like to share a poem with you:
There is a group of seven tomes
Of which I have read all
And when I finished reading them
I wished they weren't so small!
　
Really, I would have loved more!
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This review is by my 11 yr old daughter, A.

Book 6- Some thoughts 2

Time to speak of the Pensieve. A wordplay on
pen:- the instrument used normally for putting down one's thoughts
sieve:- a pan like vessel with holes through which things can fall --one literally 'falls' into the memories and can 'see' them happening
pensive:- contemplative, reflective, thoughtful. When a person's mind is brimming over with thoughts and memories, and it all becomes too much for them, one can literally 'siphon off' the troublesome thoughts, calm down, and examine them at leisure.

The Pensieve, which has featured in HP 4 & 5, is put to maximum use here, and is significant even in the last book. A way of giving a flashback, or avoiding having a direct narrative in the story.

All the Voldemort related memories are shown by Dumbledore to Harry, building up a comprehensive, more three-dimensional picture of Voldemort's persona, rather than the linear persona of a terrifying monster that we have till now. We see the lonesome, strange child that he had been, the quick-witted and manipulative teen and the sinister, ambitious, smooth-talking adult with his quest for immortality.

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The Horcruxes.

The Ring, the Diary, the Cup, the Locket, the Diadem, Nagini, Voldemort himself and Harry. That's 8, isn't it? So what was all that about 7 Horcruxes?

The first 5 were objects of consequence that Voldemort knowingly made into Horcruxes. Harry was made into a Horcrux by accident when Voldemort killed his parents, and Voldemort was completely unaware of that fact. The bit that remained in Voldemort was the 7th.

Since he was unaware of Harry becoming a Horcrux, and he had wanted to make 7, which is believed to be a magical number, Voldemort makes Nagini into one, after his resurrection. By that time, however, Harry had destroyed the diary unbeknownst of the existence of any such thing. So, at any one time till the beginning of HP 6, there had been 7 Horcruxes.

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Dumbledore's death was a shock to me. I was quite upset, and somehow worried for the trio, as he is the one person who seems omnipotent. It is as if Harry had been orphaned once more after Sirius' death.

Snape's actions are the ultimate betrayal, and half-blood prince or not, he has never seemed blacker to us than at the end of HP 6.    

Book 6- Some thoughts 1

A new school year. Prefect badges. Harry is Quidditch captain. Having done well in their OWL, the trio is all set to take subjects of their choice. A new Potions teacher who accepts 'Exceeds Expectations' in Potions leads Harry and Ron to return to Potions. Books? Well, they just pick up old books from the cupboards.

A master stroke by Rowling, which puts an unusual book into Harry's hands. Now Harry is not only 'the boy who lived', he is also a potions whiz! Making him the top candidate for Professor Slughorn's page 3 ...err... gallery of collectible stars.

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All seems well, though it apparently is not. What about the strange actions of Draco Malfoy? Has he really been inducted among the Death Eaters? The recruits certainly seem to be getting younger- a comment on terrorism and the way very young children get pushed into it. Pawns in a war not of their choice. Certainly it is cause for worry for Draco's mother, who ropes in Snape to protect and assist him.

What makes Snape take on this responsibility? Is he a double agent? Pretending to be loyal to Dumbledore and acting for Voldemort? There is also the fact of his having overheard the prophecy, that Harry comes to know of purely by chance. Doesn't that make him blacker than he is, since it would undoubtedly be he who went to Voldemort with that information?

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Romance. How can we have a story involving 16-17 year olds without it? It blossoms in every heart. Dark theme or not. There is love, longing, infatuation, kissing, jealousy, hatred- the full range. There is also love potion and the brewing of it-
Amortentia: It smells differently to different persons, based upon their individual likes. Quoting from the Harry Potter wikipedia:


"It has a different aroma for everyone who smells it, reminding each person of the things that they find most attractive, even if the person themselves don't acknowledge or are unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection e.g. Hermione Granger smells fresh cut grass, new parchment and spearmint toothpaste. Harry Potter smelled treacle tart, a broomstick, and 'something flowery that he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow' (which he later realized as the smell of Ginny Weasley's hair). Ron Weasley smelled his mother's cooking, bacon and the perfume he gave Hermione in their 5th year for Christmas."

A question to my readers- what would it smell of to you?

For me- New books, jasmine and the first rains on parched earth.

Book 6- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

pic courtesy amazon.co.uk

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Written by J K Rowling
Published by Bloomsbury

Harry knew that the wizarding world was getting more and more dangerous. He was still stuck with the Muggle Dursleys. He is desperate to meet his friends.

He, Ron and Hermione realize that Draco Malfoy is up to something. They try to investigate, without much success, at first. At Hogwarts, they find out a lot more.

A Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is needed. Snape (“Not Snape, Harry, Professor Snape!”) takes up that post while Professor Slughorn takes up his earlier post as Potions Master. He used to teach Voldemort.

Harry goes to Dumbledore’s office every now and then to help him with some important work. What important work? Finding out more about Voldemort and how to defeat him by watching memories in the Pensive.

Also, Harry has a second hand copy of the Potions textbook. It has tips for making better potions, strange spells, and other things scribbled throughout. This both helps and hinders Harry in many ways. It says-“THIS IS THE PROPERTY OF THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE”. Who is the Half-Blood Prince???

The memories reveal Voldemort’s secret to remain alive through everything: Horcruxes.

The word ‘Horcruxes’ always gave me that sense of disgusting, evil and strange. I remember opening this book somewhere in the middle when I had just finished reading the first one. I saw the word ‘Horcruxes’ and it had given me the same sense then, even when I didn't  know what it meant.

Finally, another death occurs. Everyone mourns for this much loved person. I had overheard some friends discussing this before I read it. I was absolutely horrified.

Still, a great story, to be read many times. Truly fantastic.

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A review written by my 11 yr old daughter, A.

Book 5- Some thoughts 2

Sirius Black.

Came from a long line of dark wizards, and was the first to be sorted into Gryffindor. His family disowned him after he broke away to stay with the Potters.

The animosity between him and Snape is an example of childhood resentments carried over into adulthood. Both strong personalities, both hot headed, sworn enemies. It was probably only their loyalty towards Dumbledore and his instructions, and a bit of Remus Lupin's levelheadedness that kept them at bay against each other.

Even after his death, some of his bequests to Harry were instrumental in keeping him safe. His London house, Kreacher, the 2-way mirror are some of those things.

Sirius is named after the brightest star seen from earth- the main star in the Canis Major constellation. It is also called the dog-star, and is characterised as sparkling and scorching. Fits well with our character who is brave, hot tempered but loyal to his friends, with a ferocious dog as his animagous.

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There are many old magical artefacts in the House of Black. Molly Weasley's efforts to clean and de-clutter the house, to make it more habitable after years of disuse throws up a lot of curious things. Among a long list that is recounted somewhere in the middle of page 108 is 'a heavy locket that none of them could open'. I had to open this chapter to re-read and locate it after reading the chapter in HP 7 where the trio are interrogating Kreacher about the locket Horcrux.

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Luna Lovegood. We encounter her for the first time in HP 5. The complete antithesis of the pragmatic, competant, logical, scientific tempered Hermione.

"She had straggly, waist-length, dirty blonde hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. Harry knew at once why Neville had chosen to pass this compartment by. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer caps, or that she was reading a magazine upside down."

Named after the moon goddess, Luna is airy, slightly incomprehensible with a tendency to go off on a tangent, Luna nevertheless had the uncanny ability to cut straight to the heart of the matter, and an eerie sixth sense about other people's perceptions. Considered uncool, she is often picked upon by people, but remains unfazed by it all.

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Harry's connection to Voldemort's mind gets stronger now, and even worse, Voldemort is now aware of it, and tries to use it to Harry's detriment. If only he had persisted at Occlumency, Voldemort would not have been able to lure him to the Department of Mysteries and Sirius would have been alive. If only Sirius had been kinder to Kreacher, he would not have acted against Sirius' interests, and Sirius would have been alive.

So many if onlys...

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Dumbledore's Army- In  the earlier war against Voldemort, the Order of the Phoenix had been formed. DA was the junior, students' version of it. Both are forms of underground resistance. It is finally the unfair sanctions put in place by Umbridge that spawn the DA.

Umbridge, her saccharine sweet unpleasantness, and the increasing sanctions are reminiscent, again, of the Holocaust, with its increasingly intolerable laws against the Jews, denying them their basic humanity. The connection Rowling has tried to make to the Holocaust is underlined by Hermione's comment in HP 7 on the statue in the ministry- the powerful witch and wizard sit on a throne which seem to have carvings on it. Only they are not a design. They are bodies, dead, dying, emaciated bodies of Muggles piled together.

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The battle at the ministry has one positive effect. Cornelius Fudge can no longer deny the existence of a resurrected Voldemort!

Book 5- Some thoughts 1

At 766 pages(first edition, 2003, Bloomsbury), this is the longest book in the series, followed by the next two books, both having 607 pages in their first editions. It is also a very complex and detail intensive book.
We see Rowling, too, growing as a writer as the language, plot and characters become more complex, and more suited to an older readership. A lot of people began reading the series as 6 to 10 year olds. Sometimes older. Themes from HP 4 onward are darker, and sometimes incomprehensible by younger children. A case can be made here about too much, too soon. With A, I let her acclimatize to the changes in tone and did not let her rush into the later books. In fact, we began at the age of 8, that too, read aloud by me. That way, we enjoyed savouring the experience together: I was re-reading. We took a necessary break after HP 4, and took it a bit easy from there, taking the time to let some things sink in and understood. The series are too wonderful to just 'finish reading for the sake of it'. There is so much to learn and appreciate.

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Right at the beginning, we encounter the vagaries of politics.

In HP 1, Harry had not yet made a mark beyond his history, so he was largely left alone by the powers that be.

In HP 2, he had been noticed as a possible adversary to the dark wizards, hence the 'plot'. After having proved his mettle at the end of that book, and restored Hogwarts' reputation as a safe place he had become 'someone to contend with'.

Hence, in HP 3, he got the full protection of the ministry to keep him safe from 'mass murderer Sirius Black'.

In HP 4, there is still a lingering protection from politicos and bureaucrats, camaraderie, even. Unfortunately, he appears at the end of the Triwizard tournament sobbing and injured, with the dead body of another student, and with an unlikely story of Voldemort having returned.

So, in HP 5, we see that those who know him well believe him. Hence the protection arranged for by Dumbledore. The ministry, however, goes into denial and makes things difficult for him. Political will also hoists someone from the ministry onto the school, Dolores Umbridge, the person more hated than even Voldemort.

Book 5- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

pic courtesy amazon.co.uk

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Written by J K Rowling
Published by Bloomsbury

When I first saw this book, I saw that it was the fattest among the seven. This made me a little uncomfortable, as I thought it would take me ages to finish it. I wanted to read it, but I was worried. I had this conversation with my mother:

Me: This book is very fat. Should I read it?
Mother: Why are you worried about its size?
Me: I might not be able to finish it soon.
Mother: The book is for enjoying, not just for finishing.
So, I started reading it.

Harry gets attacked by Dementors, and when he tries to protect himself, nearly gets expelled.Finally, he manages to reach the House of the Black family, which is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

At Hogwarts, he has a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Dolores Umbridge. Not Harry's favourite teacher. She works for the Ministry of Magic. Later in the book, she takes over the entire school.

Harry also has some strange dreams about the Department of Mysteries at the ministry. He does not know what they mean. He sees Sirius being tortured by Voldemort at this very place, in his dream. Thinking that it is a sign, he with his friends goes there to rescue Sirius.

This book ends with yet another death. Now the ministry is aware that Voldemort has risen again.

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Review written by my daughter A, who is 11. 

Book 4- Some thoughts 2

The logical mind of Hermione Granger. A scientific temperament that works on a deduction based on observation and knowledge, and requiring proof. She cannot thus abide by Trelawney's star-gazing techniques.

In HP 1, it was the poisons puzzle. "This isn't magic, this is logic."

In HP 2, it was the solving of the mystery of the attacker's identity. "that faraway look in her eyes"

In HP 3, it was the decoding of the mystery of Lupin's condition, based on observation and the study of werewolves set by a malicious Snape.

In HP 4, it was her getting to the bottom of the bugging Rita Skeeter mystery. On an aside, this is another example of an interesting use of words by Rowling. A Skeeter is a mosquito. Rita Skeeter is as irritating as a buzzing mosquito, and the animagus form used by her is the beetle. And Hermione gets to the bottom of the mystery on the use of the word 'bug' by Harry in the context of an electronic eavesdropping device, which obviously does not work in Hogwarts.

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Harry's scar, and the role played by it in the connection with Voldemort's mind, becomes a big thing in this book. We had a brief taste of it in HP 1 itself, when it would burn whenever Voldemort/Quirell were near. It plays a significant role in the subsequent books, and shapes much of the narrative. We shall look at it again later.

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The Hermione-Ron relationship. A time when feelings are still not crystallized or expressed. There is the classic 'taking for granted' scenario. And Hermione standing up for herself- 

"Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean that no one else has spotted I'm a girl."

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Three more things that are significant. 

Voldemort takes in a bit of Harry's blood to cut across the protection his mother's sacrifice has provided. This has another, unexpected (by Voldemort) consequence, which would be significant in the last chapters of the last book.

The Death Eaters. The masks are off. Or, in the Death Eaters' case, the masks are on. We, and Harry, face Voldemort and the possibility of mortality.

Priori Incantatum and the phenomenon of the twin cores. These will play a larger role later.   

Book 4- Some thoughts 1

We've begun the story. Established the area of conflict. Established the major characters. The story is going ahead full steam.

In HP 4, Rowling takes a bit of a detour in the first few chapters, and treats us to a normal event in the wizarding world. A full scale, international sports meet: the Quidditch World Cup. Complete with a look behind the organizing scenes with the good, the bad and the ugly of bureaucracy, and an acid tongued (acid quilled) reporter.

Which leads us up to a sudden shock when things turn hostile unexpectedly. In a way, this mirrors the sudden turn of events in the last few chapters, when Harry is transported to Little Hangleton bang in the middle of a tournament.

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After going the detective fiction and thriller way in books 2 & 3, HP 4 becomes a school story again, sandwiched between the aforementioned dark parts. We have classes, Harry and Ron breaking a few rules, comic relief by the Weasley twins, one-upman-ships between different students, various classes, arguments, triumphs and trials.

A few things to mention:
Ron has to confront his monsters of jealousy as far as Harry is concerned, something that he never masters completely, and which plays a large role in the last book. There are also the yet unspoken feelings between him and Hermione that give rise to many misunderstandings.

The thread about discrimination and exploitation is picked up again. Hermione's championing for the rights of house elves leads her to start S.P.E.W., which has only 3 members- the trio. This disregard for the house-elves' feelings, wants, likes and dislikes; the generally held belief (even by the better people among the magical brethren) that 'they are happy with their lot' is somehow reminiscent of discrimination on the basis of gender. This is also somehow linked to the 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' attitude of Kreacher in the next book towards Sirius.

Being honourable: a British behaviour code where there is always fair play is highlighted in HP 4. It was expected, of course, as this is a book mostly about sports and tournaments. Cricket is supposed to be gentleman's game, and a real gentleman would rather give up an advantage than behave in an unfair manner. So also in the book. Harry is always given an advantage over the other contestants for whatever reasons, but he refuses to use it to his sole advantage. As Ron puts it- "You weren't being thick at after all- you were showing moral fibre!"

This characteristic, however, leads to the completely avoidable tragedy of Cedric Diggory's death. If Harry hadn't tried to be fair and encouraged Cedric to get hold of the Triwizard Cup along with him, he wouldn't have been killed senselessly. 

Book 4- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Pic courtesy amazon.co.uk

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Written by J K Rowling
Published by Bloomsbury

Contests or tournaments always have some sort of age limits. The contest in the wizarding world are no different. The Triwizard tournament was one in which Harry was forced to compete. Why?

The Goblet of Fire is a magical object in which one must only drop a chit with their name and school’s name to stand for the tournament.

Harry couldn’t remember putting his name in, but he is chosen by the Goblet to be the fourth (!) Triwizard contestant.

What with dragons, underwater trips and mazes, Harry’s year is packed full of exciting, interesting and scary incidents.

At the end, Harry meets his worst enemy. Again, Voldemort fails to destroy Harry, but a good friend of Harry’s is killed.

What is more, the next three books are darker because Voldemort comes to power in this book. The first death after the ones of Harry’s parents is in this books.

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This review is by my 11 year old, A.

Book 3- Some thoughts 2

Friendship in its various forms is the mainstay of the HP books. Here, we are confronted with what happens when there is betrayal in friendship. The tentacles of a betrayal can reach out far and ensnare the innocent bystanders along with the guilty. These things can destroy lives. It is brought to us keenly in the destinies of the four erstwhile friends: James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.

Here is a prequel J K Rowling wrote, for a short story competition, and she chose to highlight the camaraderie between the teenage James and Sirius. Click on the link to read it in Rowling's own handwriting, followed by a typewritten copy.

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In my opinion, HP 3 is the second best book in the series, the first being HP 7. The last few chapters, after Professor Trelawney's prediction, are a masterpiece. I am speaking of the whole Time-turner sequence, beginning with the trio going down to Hagrid's hut.It is wonderful how Rowling has crafted the whole sequence, where two separate time zones intersect, and she has to follow the rule of not being noticed by anyone.

"Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen...Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time- loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake."

We are entering here into the realm of science fiction. We claim that time is immutable. There have been studies, though, on alternate universes, that incorporate the idea of the fourth dimension, time, the bending of time and the concept of wormholes, kind of portals through which we can travel across time. Sci-fi books like The Time Machine and L'engle's Wrinkle in Time Series have tried to explore this concept.

This is also one of those portions of the series that have been filmed so wonderfully.

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Sirius Black. One of the main characters, but very under-explored. Black's character comes forth more because of all that is unsaid about him, than what is said. Something like the negative of a photograph. He is also that tragic figure- a promising life gone wrong. We shall speak more about him in HP 5.

Book 3- Some thoughts 1

Owl post. We have encountered only Harry's owl, Hedwig, till now. The various other owls that populated books 1 & 2 were anonymous. Here, in HP 3, we suddenly realize that they are just as dis-similar as human beings. Hedwig with her maternal, proprietary air. Errol, the old owl near retirement who just goes about his work because he has to. And at the end of the book, Pidgewigeon, or Pig for short, the highly excitable, obviously just into teenage owl who adopts Ron. Fittingly, the book begins with a chapter titled Owl Post. And ends with one titled Owl Post Again.

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Dementors. They provide a step up in dark themes in the HP series. Dementors 'suck out one's soul and leave an empty shell.'  Rowling, here, is alluding to and has derived the word from actual dementia. A person suffering from it becomes a shell of the person they were. All feelings, emotions and memories are lost when kissed by a Dementor. Rowling could also be alluding to depression, the severe, clinical kind, that destroys the person one is. She should know, as her mother was a victim of Multiple Sclerosis, and had passed away before Rowling became the literary phenomenon that she is.

So Rowling's counter-action or antidote to the Dementors? A powerful spell originating in a happy memory. Happy memories can keep depression at bay. The spell used, 'Expecto Patronum' is Latin for 'I await a patron'. A patron in ancient Rome was someone rich and influential who protected and mentored you.

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We take another journey to the past in this book, and learn more about Harry's parents and their student days. We learn about the 'cool gang' of students comprising James(Harry's father), Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, their escapades through Transfiguration and their biggest invention, the Marauder's  Map. We are reminded of what Ollivander had said about James' wand: "Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration."     

Book 3- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

pic courtesy amazon.co.uk

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Written by J K Rowling.
Published by Bloomsbury.

In this book, Harry finds out about a new individual: "escaped mass murderer Sirius Black".

According to what he hears, Black was the one who betrayed his parents and told Voldemort where they were living, so that he could kill them. Sirius Black was also the first person to escape from Azkaban, the wizarding prison.

Harry also gets a new Defence Against Dark Arts teacher. Professor Lupin.

A map is given to him by the Weasley twins. It gives information about who is where as well as what is where.

I was very confused as to how these loose ends would get tied up. It made me very curious.

The end is very surprising, as one person is thought to be a villain in most of the book and then he happens to be innocent! A person thought to be dead was found to be alive!

I suppose that is just the way Rowling writes! I loved it!

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This review is written by my daughter A, who is 11 years old. 

Book 2- Some thoughts 2

Just as HP 1 was more of a school adventure, HP 2 is a whodunit. What's a whodunit? A detective story.

Most of what I write now will sound like a lot of gobbledygook to those who haven't read the book. Then again, it might compel them to pick it up!

It has all the ingredients of detective fiction. There is a plot. The protagonist is in danger. Someone in the know warns the protagonist, but to no avail. There are strange, unexplained sinister things that happen. The culprit is unknown, but there is a theory about them. As always, the culprit cannot resist leaving a cryptic message. There are several bodies left at the scene of the crime. Not dead bodies here, but petrified. That, of course, is even more inexplicable, though one smart detective gets to the explanation. Hot on the trail, the detective too becomes a victim. More red herrings, as the suspicion falls on the most obvious person, who, of course turns out in the end to be innocent. Lots more action and drama, before the mystery is solved.

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In HP 2, Rowling introduces a few things that will be significant later.

One- Tom Riddle as a 16 year old preserved in the diary. He disappears when Harry stabs the diary with the Basilisk fang. "There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream." Obviously, there was something alive in the diary, which had just been destroyed. Moreover, a Basilisk fang could destroy it.

Two- Harry drew the sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat just as the Basilisk was attacking him and he had to do something to kill it! Only under conditions of need and valour could the sword be drawn from it.

Three- A wand that is broken may be repaired, but it does not gain back its power, and may not work as earlier. Sometimes, in fact, spells may even rebound! Also, another's wand may not really work for someone, though spells could be cast.

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There is are distinct similarities between Harry and Voldemort. "There are strange likenesses between us, Harry Potter. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself." (Wonder what that says of Slytherin's bloodline until Tom Riddle. They clearly were Parselmouths, but equally clearly weren't tutored at Hogwarts!) "We even look something alike-" 

Other than their wands sharing the same core, surprisingly from Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes' tail, they were poles apart! "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."