Blog Post #1 Response

My expectations of Harry Potter, after the first two books were a little disjointed. My initial experience with Harry Potter is probably different from most. I did not want to read Harry Potter. My best friend at the time did not like to read, and as a young girl I pretty much did what she wanted. In a much less malicious was I was the Crabbe to her Malfoy. Not many kids in my grade school read Harry Potter, and only a select group that I knew of brought them to school to read. My mom traveled a lot on business, and she always brought us back something. Even though she knew I had not read Harry Potter, for some reason her gift to me after one of her business trips was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Not wanting to be ungrateful I read the first chapter. I had intended to quietly put the book on the bottom shelf, but I didn't want to stop reading. I stayed up all night and finished The Goblet of Fire. I then went to the school library and checked out The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, and finally The Sorcerer's Stone, in that order because that was the order they were available and I was too impatient to wait. So my initial experience with Mr. Potter was a little out of sequence.

To address Wolfgang Iser's comments the expectations that Rowling sets up for us and the expectations for me as a reader are not quite the same. It is hard to separate knowledge we know from pieces of information that is presented to us. I agree that Rowling modifies our expectations throughout the series. She is wonderful at plot and character development. She leads us down many paths and while we think we are headed south, only she knows that we are actually wandering east. After the first two books we expect to see development between Ron, Harry, and Hermione. We expect Voldemort to return. We don't know how or when, but after two failed attempts we expect him to try again in the next book. We think that we have figured Rowling out. She has presented to us two very different but fantastical ways for him to return. First through the Sorcerer's Stone, and then through Riddle's Diary. To me as a reader this was the first time I had ever seen this potential. I still can't name a time that I know of where a character has literally used a lecherous book to return to power and strength. We don't know what she will present to us next, but we think that whatever it is we as a reader will figure it out.

I feel that some expectations that she raises are fulfilled much later in the series, while some are addressed more immediately. We expect the relationship with the Dursley's to change, and it does, but we also expect to see Voldemort again in the next book and we don't quite. His presence is always felt, but he does not try to return to power in the third book. I think Rowling gives us some failed expectations, though we don't quite realize it yet, to let us interpret Harry Potter on our own level. I think this is important because it helps us as a reader try to figure things out on our own and it also draws us in closer to the story, and helps to engage us more as readers.

Blog Post #1 Response

In response to the argument posed by Wolfgang Iser, this could be applied to the first two books in a way. After reading the boks various times as a youth, I always found it easy in envelop myself in the stories. I felt as if I was one of Harry's friends, right there with him. I think this was due in part to my age. As we get older, we are taught how to analyze almost everything we encounter, whereas as a child, we don't know any different, and have a euphoric effect to what we read. We feel like it can be real, and do not separate the story or the author from what is going on. The characters are so easy to identify because we either know or have encountered someone like them: the nerdy bookworm, the courageous friend, the bully, the teacher we feel is family, etc. The characters feel like family or pretty damn close. J.K. Rowling did an excellent job with character identity, and effectively hooked her audience. I almost wonder what it would have been like if I had read them later in life. As an adult in my 30's, I'm not sure if I would be able to appreciate it as well as I did as a child. This also depends on the person, but I do not feel it would have been the same. I feel reading was almost ruined for me by the constant studying of literature, and with the introduction of video games. I feel with the evolution of E-Readers, it has brought back an inspiration to reading. It's electronic, but also reestablishing the connection between reading and technology. I feel an older generation may not see the appeal or phenomenon the way children or young adults do. However, Harry Potter has defied this, and continues to grow. With the hurdle of schools banning the books due to witchcraft only increased their reading and craze. Therefore, I believe that Harry Potter are harmless books that have been able to reach across all generations successfully and still do based on the amazing story and complex, yet identifiable characters.

Response to Silly Expectations

I never read the series growing up because my parents were religious and the magic was considered to be a bad thing. I guess the fact that witches and wizards were also in these books didn't help their chances, as my family and their friends believed that reading this sort of thing as a child would influence our behavior in some way. Even though Lord of the Rings is supposed to be based on Christian beliefs, my parents responded to those books the same way.

Other than book 7, this is my second time reading through the series. I never read book 7 because I only read the series for the first time last year and ran out of time. So... except for the events which will take place in book 7, I am aware of my own "silly expectations" for the series. I love rereading the books and seeing how Rowling foreshadows events. I also love how it is so easy to think the wrong thing about a character, like Sirius. The first time I read book 3, I had already watched many of the movies so I knew he was a "good guy." I didn't remember any details because it had been so long since I watched it and as I read the novel, I kept wondering how in the WORLD Rowling was ever going to make me believe he was a good guy. As I read the scene in the Shrieking Shack, I still had my doubts and was HIGHLY disappointed with Lupin for falling for his "lies." I discovered I was wrong towards the end of the book, but didn't like that I had been tricked so badly.

Another character which I have trouble with is Snape. As many people seem to really like him, I am positive he redeems himself in one way or another in book 7, but his habitual bullying and rudeness is irritating and I never understand why Dumbledore finds him to be trustworthy.

One of the things I appreciate the most about Rowling's characters is that she definitely gives them depth. Even the horrible Dursleys have more that one side. There are people they are trying to impress (Aunt Marge, the neighbors) and they seem to cower before these people. Draco Malfoy also fits into this category. He is a bully at school and has a bunch of little minions who do whatever he wants, but we catch a glimpse of what his home life is like in his interactions with his father at Borgin and Burkes. We are able to see, for the first time, why Draco is so prejudiced and entitled. Though is is still a very unlikeable character, he has more than one side. He, too, has a story of how he became the way he did, just like Harry.

Blog Post #1: Removing the Object/Subject

Reading the Harry Potter books doesn’t feel like reading. I have never been so hooked by a book/series. Often when reading I get distracted or pulled out of the action that is going on by reminding myself that it is “just a book”. But for some reason that doesn’t seem to happen for me with the Harry Potter books. I feel like I am walking through Hogwarts with them not floating in a bubble watching them go on all of these adventures. I have found some sort of a connection with most of the characters in the books but I have a strong connection to Rons character. Ron and I both come from large families. I am one of 5 kids (so technically not as many as Ron) but I can totally relate to the whole “wanting to stand out” complex that Ron has going on. It’s hard having so many siblings who you feel like you have to compete with and stand out against to be “special”. I also felt a strong connection to Ginny. First being in a family FULL of boys and always being “the girl”. All of J.K. Rowling’s characters are just so real and relatable. There is really a character for everyone. Because even though I come a very large family and can therefore relate to Ron someone else may have come from a fairly small family and relate to Hermione or Neville in that way. Even the adults are given a plethora of characters to draw connections with. And even if you don’t directly relate to a character everyone knows someone like Hermione or Neville or Malfoy or even Snape. Even though these books are set in a make believe world the characters don’t feel made up. They feel like my brother or my professor or my best friend. That is why it is so easy to turn the page because I care about those people in my life making me care about the characters similar to them in these books.

Blog Post #1: Expectations of the Future.

I can identify well with Harry Ron and Hermione because I feel like they all have different traits that I can find in myself. I also have a more personal attraction to them because I have grown up with them. The three of them all experienced the exact same things I was experiencing at the time (though on a grander scale) as I was because I was exactly their age as the books were released. When Ron was doing bad in a class I could relate, when Hermione was made fun of I could relate, and when Harry needed to be courageous I took note and applied what he thought me into my real life.
Also in the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling uses the audiences assumptions of certain situations against them and often throws them for a complete loop. As early as The Prisoner of Azkaban Harry believes he must kill  that he will be able to leave Privit Drive forever and live with his godfather but is soon denied that. The most recurring theme up until this point of the books seems to be that people are not at all what they seem. It is some thing  that keeps you on the edge of your seat while reading these books. I personally love it because I enjoy that she is demonstrating that things aren't always as they seem. I think we are often too quick to judge someone's character that it is necessary for her to do this and I thank her.

Blog Post #1: Not Your Ordinary Children's Book

In response to the first prompt, I think that empathy plays a key role in the reader's experience of any book. It is the reader's empathy that allows him to not just witness events as they occur, like a neutral bystander, but to experience them with the characters and to take in the character's thoughts as if they were the reader's own. Without enough empathy, the reader may continue reading for the sake of resolving the storyline, but he may not care what happens to characters along the way. It would be much more difficult to feel the characters' fear when in peril or the characters' joy upon triumphing over hardships. And for many, this is an integral part of the reading experience: the magical ability of a book to transport the reader into the lives of a book's characters without the reader ever having to leave a comfy chair.

Ability to identify with the characters allows the reader to empathize more easily. When the reader relates to a character's situation, not just in terms of setting, but also a character's psychological and emotional state, the reader can subconsciously recall his own reaction to the situation and feel what the character is feeling much more deeply than someone unfamiliar the character's situation.

Personally, I have always identified the most with Hermione's character and her determination to succeed at everything, often just for the sake of succeeding. As a result, I empathize with her character much more than the others, and this differentiates my perspective on the novels from other readers, because I anticipate her reactions to events and follow her thoughts quite clearly despite the fact that the narrator gives us the most insight into Harry's mind rather than hers. In the Chamber of Secrets, when she becomes petrified, I was appropriately shocked, as if my avatar in the Harry Potter world had just been put out of commission. Even worse, the fact that she is holding a mirror around a corner indicated to me she almost definitely had solved the entire mystery on her own but became incapable of revealing her discovery. I can relate to working tirelessly to figure something out, only to discover all my hard work was for naught. Fortunately for me, seeing that this is a children's book and she was one of the main characters, I was reasonably confident that she would at the, very least, not die. Also, it occurred near enough to the end of the book that I had double the resolve to plow through to the end of the book all in one go.

One of the genious moves on J.K. Rowling's part was to offer three strong lead characters that complement each other in such a way that it is very easy for readers to identify closely with at least one of them. Those with broken or dysfunctional families probably can relate to Harry on a much deeper level than I can. Those who are undermined by a multitude of siblings and struggle to find their own niche probably can identify strongly with Ron. And just to balance everything out, Hermione is an only child with muggle parents, meaning she must learn herself how to make it in the wizarding world and thus relies heavily on the friends she makes in Ron in Harry. She of course struggled with being something of a social outcast for five chapters of "The Sorcerer's Stone" before the incident with the troll on Halloween unites the three of them.

I can imagine those that associate with the more traumatic elements of the first two books find them much more emotionally jarring than I do. I often want the characters to succeed because I would want to succeed in this world and not as much because I feel their pain. However, I imagine, for those that do relate to Harry's pain, his triumphs are that much more sweet and joyful.

I wish to give a brief response to the second prompt as well. I find it interesting how J.K. Rowling constructs the first novel in many ways like a generic children's fantasy tale, with a main character thrust from a simple life into the center of some dark plot in magical world and managing to overcome great obstacles to save the day for everyone. But in "The Sorcerer's Stone" she immediately hangs a pall over the books with the revelation of the not just James and Lily's deaths, but their murder. It's as if J.K. Rowling wishes to warn the reader that this is no ordinary children's story, that expectations may not be fulfilled, that characters will die. Death is often considered taboo in children's literature, since many parents wish to motivate their children with "and they lived happily ever after" scenarios and avoid anything that might be remotely traumatic for a child not yet psychologically mature.

The first book mostly avoids failing the reader's expectations, apart from revealing that the character set up as the villain (Snape) in fact has redeeming qualities. I actually think this is good message to send to children about judging people too strongly and jumping to conclusions. For those who didn't read the book when it originally came out, it may be surprising that Voldemort plays a key role so early, but that was not as surprising for those of us who read it before the second book existed. The second book is notable for Rowling's lack of restraint in petrifying anyone and everyone. Even Hermione is not spared. For a while the reader is led to believe someone will die, and by the end the reader has no reason to believe that Ginny hasn't. It is quite brilliant on Rowling's part how she slowly builds up from simple shocks like Mrs. Norris being petrified to Draco not being the heir of Slytherin and finally to the petrification and disappearance of Hermione and Ginny respectively, so that by the end of the book the reader can just throw out all expectations because Rowling is clearly taking the integrity of her books very seriously. The climax and resolution are all the more engaging because of it.

Blog Post #1: Expectations

I would say that one of the earliest expectations in the Harry Potter series would be for Harry to become a great wizard. In the first chapter, aside from meeting the Dursley's, we are introduced to "The Boy who Lived." When Harry is first introduced to the wizarding world, it comes as a surprise to him the everyone wants to shake his hand. Everyone knows his name and what he has done. Yet, he hasn't really done much up until this point in his life. This expectation is shown better with Harry's encounter with Mr. Olivander. Harry gets his wand and Mr. Olivander says that we can expect great things from Harry. If Harry wasn't going to be a great wizard, then this series would be rather short...

I think that one of the fulfilled expectations within the two books if that Harry can fend off Voldemort. At the end of the first book, they wonder why Dumbledore wasn't there to save Harry and fight himself. Harry thinks that Dumbledore wanted to give Harry the chance to fight against Voldemort himself, kinda prove that he is a capable wizard. Harry does this again in the second book when he stop Tom Riddle from releasing the Basilisk and destroys the diary for good. So we come to know that Harry isn't just "The Boy who Lived" anymore.

I think it is sometimes important to raise an expectation within books then have them fail. For example, when Harry first tries to do the Patronus charm, nothing happens except for fainting. When Harry continues in his training, he can only make a silver mist appear. It is at first discouraging, but how else would he learn?

Blog Plost #1: Expectations and Reversals

         One of my favorite creative writing device is the reversal. Shakespeare used them in both Macbeth and Othello, and they are even found in children’s stories like Hansel and Gretel. Every narrative needs a reversal of some sort, but none more than the mystery. Having read the both books before, and having come to the understanding that they do indeed fit into the mystery genre, my expectations for a good mystery are fulfilled. When I think back to my first read through, though, all that I can remember thinking was, “Were you surprised? I was surprised?”

           

     I was eight for my first read through, and the plot rarely indulged my expectations. In my mind, Snape was undeniably guilty. Skulking about, muttering curses, and being a right git made him a really dislikable character. My young self empathized with Harry and a small part of me wanted Snape to be the bad guy because if there was ever a thing true to most children’s stories is that the bad guy never wins. The expectations that I had for the ending is that Snape would be found out and punished however wizards are punished and then Harry would live on (less miserable than before). Rowling knocked those thoughts right out of my head. The fact that it was Quirrell who was the bad guy was actually less surprising to me than how dark that scene was. I hadn’t expected the book to be that dark. The end of the first book prepared me for the darkening themes of the second book, though I was still caught off guard at the time. 

     The second book also had many more reversals than the first; the biggest being for me was the initial discovery of Hagrid and the subsequent reversal of finding out that he was framed. Despite the fact that I knew to respect a red-herring, it is a testament to Rowling’s ability to craft a narrative that I was just continually thrown off guard through the novel. How many people were suspected by both the reader and the characters throughout the book to be the heir of Slytherin: Draco, Harry, Hagrid. At those points in the book, I believed each possibility to be true even because Rowling set scenario to be entirely possible.

             

     Reversals are a necessary device for a writer to keep readers on their toes, and to keep their expectations in a perpetual state of evolution. Rowling does a wonderful job of continuously changing Harry’s road map so that neither he nor the reader how he’ll get to his final destination.

Blog Post #1 Response: Influences on Perception

Each individual’s journey while reading a book is slightly different. The way a person perceives the story depends on the thinking process and experience he or she has acquired. Wolfgang Iser’s argument that ”reading removes the subject-object division that constitutes all perception” explains why people become enveloped in a story because a different picture is painted in every mind. The view a reader forms about Harry Potter and about magic in general is greatly influenced by childhood memories of the morals and values that were presented as acceptable or righteous. My interests and personal connections with various characters can be drawn back to the household and society I was raised in.

I grew up in a Christian household and attended a Christian elementary school, so to say that Harry Potter was unaccepted would be an extreme understatement. Harry Potter was forbidden in my house as well as my school. This environment could have been the energy that fueled my interest and desire to absorb literature in science fiction and fantasy genres. My dad was the first to expose me to Harry Potter. When I was finally introduced to the series five books were written, and two movies had been produced. I honestly think that my dad bought me the first two movies out of spite because of my parents’ separation at the time…

I immediately became obsessed with the series and found myself longing for an escape from the dry monotony of my religious education that forbade everything I found fascinating. I wanted to research the sources that J.K. Rowling drew some of her ideas from, and I was ecstatic when I found a few books in the library outlining mythical origins of the series. As soon as my mom saw me with those books, I’m pretty sure she pleaded with God to purify my soul and bring back her little girl that had been corrupted with witchcraft and the devil. It’s needless to say that I was forced to return the books without reading them. I find it easy to relate to Harry in a slight way because neither of us could find satisfaction in the reality we lived. Harry obviously had to live in a much worse situation than I, but the relation, no matter how farfetched, is there. Similar to Harry’s reaction when he found out what he truly is, when I discovered something to satisfy the hunger I had because this life was uninteresting and mundane, I was elated and developed a compulsion close to something unhealthy to discover everything I could about his world. That was put quickly to a stop by my mom, similar to the confiscation of Harry’s school supplies by the Dursleys between his first and second year at Hogwarts.

Someone who has experienced many of the traumas and neglect Harry was forced to acknowledge as a child could easily use the series as a clarification that they aren’t alone, even though they are using a fictional source to reassure them. A reader with this perspective would probably be more emotionally connected with the series than someone who reads just for pleasure.

Everyone has met a person who has the shadow of a sibling or the expectation of perfection sitting on his or her shoulders. Others who have risen out of a family that is considered loathsome or inferior feel the need to prove their worth. If a reader falls into either of these descriptions, it would be easy to empathize with Ron and Hermione. My financial support and approval from my family depends on my GPA and success compared to my mom’s achievements and habits, regardless of my extracurricular situations, so I can empathize with Ron in this circumstance.

I pity anyone who cannot enjoy Harry Potter because of a moral or religious guilt that is associated with secular magic. No matter how many times I have explained to religious acquaintances that the series honestly is based on a battle of good and evil and that magic is used to repel dark forces, in their eyes, this magic does not come from God, so it is demonic. Oh, it breaks my heart!

Blog Post #1 Response: Identifying with Wizards

This is my second time reading the first four Harry Potter books. I was about eleven years old when Harry Potter and the Scorcer’s Stone was published, making it easier for me to identify with Harry, Ron, and Hermione because we were the same age and growing up simultaneously. I was never the bookworm type, but was always captivated into the wizardry world whenever I picked up the Harry Potter books because it stretched my imagination. I agree with Iser’s statement that “the division takes places within the reader himself” because Rowling achieved great success by entrancing people of all ages into this mystical world. I wanted to explore Diagon Alley, eat treats at Honeydukes, play Quidditch, use an owl as my postal service, and sneak out of my house with an invisibility cloak after reading the books. As an adult rereading the books, I lost my rampant sense of imagination, but I have a deeper appreciation for the mystery and unexpected events Rowling incorporates.

I think everyone can relate to at least one of the characters. I find myself relating to a watered down Hermione in the sense that I try to do well in all my classes and manage a busy schedule, which would be easier with a Time-Tuner! I also share the same sense of loyalty with my close friends that Ron, Harry, and Hermione possess where they would make sacrifices to save their friends from harm or punishment. For example, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Ron sacrifices himself by allowing himself to take a beating by the monstrous chess queen, proving his selflessness.

Whether one is shy and forgetful like Neville Longbottom, brave and courageous like Harry, or sinister and snobbish like Draco Malfoy, anyone can relate to the various types of characters in the Harry Potter books.

Blog Post #1: Expectations

The Harry Potter series is based on several small mysteries within a larger mystery. And with mystery comes misconceptions. A lot of what Harry perceives tends to be inaccurate until he puts all of the pieces together at the end. I believe this has a lot to do with Rowling’s style of writing. However, I think it is also characteristic of the young adolescent mind. Adolescents are still trying to figure out the world they live in, a world where many things are not as they seem. In Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry believes that Snape is the bad guy. This is because Snape seems to have a grudge against Harry, which is because Snape and James Potter didn’t get along when they were at Hogwarts. Also, Harry walks into situations where Snape and Quirrell were talking about the stone. Harry continually misinterprets the context of these conversations. This is probably because he was biased, and truly believed that Snape was up to no good. Of course, in the end, it is Professor Quirrell that broke into the third floor corridor in hopes of stealing the stone for Voldemort. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry has false expectations for Tom Riddle. He believes that Riddle is a nice guy, based on many clues. Riddle was head boy, received an award for special services for the school, and seemed friendly. Harry learns to trust Riddle by writing to him in an old diary. However, after entering the chamber of secrets, Harry is confused when he sees Tom Riddle waiting for him. Harry even asks for Tom’s help without realizing that Tom was indeed the heir of Slytherin. Harry also didn’t expect to find out that Tom Riddle was to become the most dangerous wizard in the world Lord Voldemort. Harry believed that the heir of Slytherin was Draco Malfoy. In the first two novels, Harry chooses the wrong person as his suspect. But, he finds out the truth at the end of each book.

Blog Post #1 Response: From Knowing the Ending to Figuring It Out

I never intended to read Harry Potter. Ever. Four days after I started my internship at Walt Disney World (which, as far as I was concerned, was going to be the only theme park in Orlando that I visited), the wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened its doors to guests. My eventual visit (and purchasing of a Florida Resident Annual Pass just so I could continue visiting) led to me seeing all of the movies, so I went into the book series with countless spoilers floating around in my mind, which obviously alters the way I read the books now.

The interesting thing, though, is finding all of the tiny little details that my mind dropped somewhere. I completely forgot how Harry had interacted with Voldemort, and the drama between Ginny and Tom Riddle made more sense in the books than it did in the movie. (But that also might have been because I started watching the second movie, stupidly, after I got home from a shift that lasted until 1 in the morning.) I think that Wolfgang had a solid point in that the reader’s expectations are always changing. It definitely relates to my own reading experience because I know that, had I not seen the movies prior to reading the books, I would have constantly been changing my opinions about things. A prime example is the situation with the Heir of Slytherin. I knew all along it was Tom Riddle/Voldemort, but even reading the book I had a feeling it might have been Harry or even Draco. I was expecting for Draco to ultimately be the one in the Chamber of Secrets that had apparently died, and I never expected the Sorting Hat to tell Harry that he belonged in Gryffindor. I think it’s important to have these expectations continually changing because simply put, it keeps the entire series interesting. If things really went like they were supposed to go, the whole series would be boring (and, perhaps, nonexistent). Before the story even began, an expectation was put into place that Voldemort successfully kill Harry Potter, and he failed that expectation entirely, which started this whole series of events and completely altered an individual’s life.

Events in the series are constantly changing, and all of these events get tangled and become really complicated, and Rowling really did a great job of doing this. Yes, there are a lot of events, but they all kind of overlap in some way, and they aren’t as complicated to follow as one might think that they are. I think though, in a way, there’s something really universal in that because life can kind of be the same way, which I think helps out in the division between the reader and the writer when it comes to the story. On the first day of class, we discussed that there’s something really relatable about Harry and some of the other characters, and the way that Rowling has written the book, this assumed third person perspective kind of disappears. The whole focus goes from being someone kind of observing these events to the reader really getting a first-hand look into Harry’s thoughts and his world all while having it continue to be written in third person, which is definitely alluring in the book. The reader can easily feel what not only Harry, but Rowling's other seemingly protagonists are feeling, which goes back to the point that Wolfgang Iser makes about the reader dissolving the line between reader, writer, and the work of fiction. The reader is truly submersed into the story.

Blog Post #1

An expectation by definition is a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future. This certainly happens throughout Harry Potter. In the first book many of the characters are not what they seem, case in point the villain in the story. It is led to believe that Professor Snape is the one trying to steal the sorcerer's stone. This is done by the way that the character behaves in the book. He is a mean and horrible person having the reader believe that he is indeed the one trying to steal the stone. It is not revealed until the climax of the story that in fact Professor Quirrell the nervous stuttering cowardly character who seems harmless. I find it easy to believe that Snape is the villain because of the way it is written. Even the main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione believe it to be Snape and I find it easy to agree with them since we are sort of reading the story through their perspectives. If the story was through Dumbledore’s perspective who knows which character would be seen as the so called villain. This same sort of character development is seen in the next book as well. It is made to believe that Gilderoy Lockhart is a great and powerful wizard and it is only revealed in the end that he is a liar. I believe what Rowling is trying to do is make the read understand that things are not always what they appear. Being as how this is a book about witchcraft and wizardry its easy to see why she wants the reader to keep an open mind about what is going on because in this make believe world anything and everything is possible. It is also great to have expectations raised and then crushed because one it makes for a great story. Predictability is boring and unimaginative. The novels are very good at having the reader on the edge of their seat. With these plot twists and characters revealed it makes it so that we understand how people can lie and even if you are a wizard or a witch you still are susceptible to this basic human behavior.