Harry Potter is growing up

Harry Potter is growing up, Nina Muslim realises with a pang. A death in the latest book is not the only disturbing element. It is also the beginning of the end.

She had sent me a text message. Clearly upset, she was threatening to boycott the next and final instalment of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

The reason for her hysterics stemmed from the developments within Rowling's latest effort.

The author had killed off a central character in the series, which would definitely distress the millions of Potter fans around the globe.

Call me clairvoyant, but I'm sure a few nutters have already composed death threats and hate mail bound for Rowling's desk.

I won't lie. I knew what my cousin was talking about, having read the book myself. And I was upset when I read the crucial pages when the character, one of the most beloved in the whole series, died in a dramatic twist.

Maintaining her form

Regardless of that, I thought the book was good and maintained Rowling's standard as an excellent children's book author.

My only concern was that by killing off the character, many parents would have to reassure and explain certain things about life to the children, probably a few years before they planned to have "the talk".

"Harry Potter teaches children that the world is an awful place. It's a good way to let kids know that there is evil in the world," he said.

Death, he added, was a part of life and these books help children learn about death and how to deal with it.

Growing pains

As for adults, Harry's story is just a good yarn.

And being adults, it is wonderful to trace the development of Harry's character as it grows and matures.

The books have matured along with the characters and the readers, providing them with an insight to children's minds and reminding them of 'growing pains'.

And in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we see Potter growing up and at his most mature.

The book is a real coming-of-age tale with which anyone above the age of 15 will identify.

Rave reviews have been pouring in from all around the world, calling Rowling's latest fare the most moving and mature offering of the lot.

It has been compared to The Lord of the Rings classic fantasy trilogy by the New York Times and to the children's beloved classic, Charlotte's Web, by the Los Angeles Times.

The book starts off quite light, reminiscent of the light-hearted fun that ran through the first two volumes in the series.

There are hints of dark deeds brewing in the outside world, but Harry and his friends, being safely cocooned in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, are lulled into a sense of false security along with the reader, which makes the climatic death of one of Harry's favourite people all the more shocking and upsetting.

Rowling successfully blasts apart the often-destructive but well-intentioned instinct to protect children from harm, to the point of not providing them with the adequate protections they need in life.

The book is a roller coaster for fans, who have followed the tale from the start, giving them a satisfying albeit distressing ending.

More importantly, it has whetted their appetite for the seventh and final Harry Potter book, with many fans already looking to the future, some with trepidation, others with sadness.

What's in store?

"I'm worried about the seventh book," said Sharini Ekhsan, a 30-something Potter fan.

"What if it's not as good? I don't want the story to end on a flat note," she told Tabloid.

Some fans are sad as the story moves inexorably towards the end. It is a dichotomy for many of them.

On the one hand, it would be the end of a journey that started in 1997 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

But on the other hand, there will no longer be "dear old Harry" to look forward to after Harry Potter 7, which can take a while to come out.

"It'll be very sad when Rowling finishes writing the books," Agnes Jang, a 16-year-old Australian fan, told AP.

"But Harry has to move on."

For me, it is the end of an era when Harry turns 17. No more late nights reading the boy wizard's latest exploits; no more laughing with my nose buried in a Potter book while people around me just stare and wonder over the fact that a book can make anyone laugh out loud; no more waiting for the latest Potter