How Young is Too Young? Plus, Half-Blood Prince.

I liked this story in our local Star Tribune (courtesy of Associated Press). It talks about how second-generation Harry Potter fans don’t get the chance to “grow up” alongside Harry. If you were 10 when Sorcerer’s Stone came out, then you were 20 when Deathly Hollows hit shelves. At 20, you’re prepared for the darkness of death and war that takes place in the seventh book.

However, if you’re a parent interested in starting your kids on Potter now, and if they really enjoy them, you could end up going from book one to book seven in as little as a year or two (or less). Would your 8-year-old be ready for Deathly Hollows? Your 10-year-old? And if not, how do you tell them, “I know you love Harry, but we have to wait until you’re older to keep going…”

But, as the article says, maybe that’s exactly what you have to do. I loved the story of the 9-year-old boy who was reading Half-Blood Prince before the movie came out this month. Before he gets to the end, he’s so upset he stops reading and tells his dad to sell his movie ticket; he’s not going.

I completely understand, kid. Half-Blood is brutal. I’m surprised he even got through Order of the Phoenix. That ending just about killed me. And I was 22 when I read it.

There are plenty of books like this out there, too—series that grow as their characters grow (Traveling Pants, Twilight). From innocent kisses to sex. From talking it through to major violence. So, if you’re lucky to be there at the beginning, the transition is usually seamless. But if you’re second-generation readers, or parents who can’t wait for your kids to love Harry or Carmen or Bella as much as you did, then you have some thinking to do.

What do you think? How do you rein in little readers if they’re diving into territory they shouldn’t be? What other books offer up this conundrum?

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I saw Half-Blood Prince over the weekend and I really enjoyed it. Big surprise, huh? I did think it was a touch too long. I can imagine how hard it is to cut down one of those books to fit a movie, but I think even if it were just 20 minutes shorter, that would've made a difference, and maybe left a little more time to make the ending a bit more impactful. Overall, the movies have come a long way. They keep getting more exciting, more humorous and more mature. It's probably because the kids keep growing up, but I like the movies more and more as the series goes on.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Now, this is a trailer! It shows all the intensity and scariness of the sixth book. I'm so excited for this movie to come out, but after watching this trailer, it makes me want to break out books six and seven again. I feel like I forgot what happened!

(The night we saw Harry Potter two summers ago, this happened, and I left the theater with a cell phone filled with messages. Let's hope for a much calmer day this summer; it's hard for me not to associate the two experiences.)

The Night Gardener

I don’t read too many crime novels. I used to drink in my mom’s Patricia Cornwell books like water back in high school, but that seemed to be a phase. I also read a few Carl Hiassen novels – but those are more humorous takes on crazy crimes (and not focused on one character like Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta). However, I read some good reviews of George Pelecanos’ The Night Gardener, and put it on my Amazon wish list. A couple of weeks ago I found the book on the discount table at B&N for $5.95 and picked it up.

Here’s the synopsis from the publisher:

When the body of a local teenager is found in a community garden, homicide detective Gus Ramone relives intense memories of a case he worked twenty years earlier. When he was still a rookie, Ramone and his partner Dan "Doc" Holiday assisted legendary detective T.C. Cook as he investigated a series of killings involving young victims left overnight in neighborhood parks. The killer, dubbed, "the Night Gardener," was never caught. Since then, Holiday has left the force under a cloud of morals charges; he now works as a bodyguard and driver, taunted by his dreams of what he might have been. Cook retired, but he has never stopped agonizing about the unsolved case. Ramone is "good police," working as a homicide detective for the city's violent-crime division. He is also a devoted husband and father, and his teenage son, Diego, was a friend of the most recent victim, a boy named Asa." Could the Night Gardener be on the prowl again? Asa's death draws the three men together on a mission to finish the work that has haunted them for years. For T.C. Cook, it means solving one of the few cases that eluded him in his distinguished career. For Doc Holiday, the Night Gardener case is one last chance to prove - to Cook, to Ramone, and to himself - what kind of police officer he once was. For Gus Ramone, catching the killer means not only doing his job but knowing that his son will not be the next victim. The regret, anger, and fierce sense of purpose that once burned between them come rushing back as they race to lay to rest the monster who has stalked their dreams.

Because it’s considered crime fiction, I expected the book to sweep me up and become one of those can’t-put-it-down-type books. 150 pages in I don’t have that feeling. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like the book, which is different for me. The book is very dark. It speaks of all the conflicts between races in Washington D.C., cops and parents and children. How do some of these kids keep it on the straight and narrow when there are so many forces pulling them to the dark side? How do parents help and hinder the situation? And what’s the role of law enforcement (or the local government)? Because all these questions and the sad, dark feeling the book gives me, I think that’s why it is taking me a little longer to digest.

There’s also the mystery. Those who know me know I like to try and figure it out before the big reveal. The mystery is good here, and there are so many characters in play, it’s definitely a challenge to try and place where they all fit in the end. This is the part that keeps me reading, for sure.

In a related note, we watched Gone Baby Gone this weekend. Another missing child-type mystery, filled with good cops and bad cops, race relations, and “right” and “wrong.” A very good, but very dark movie. Put that on top of reading The Night Gardener and it’s no wonder I had a bad dream last night.

What about you? What books did you like, but took a while to digest? Did a book ever give you nightmares?

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Last December, I mentioned J.K. Rowling's latest creation: the handwritten, personally illustrated, very limited edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which she gave out to six special someones and auctioned off the seventh for some $4 million (for charity).

Well, Harry fans rejoice! The compilation of fairy tales will be available on Amazon come Dec. 4, 2008, in both a collector's edition and a standard edition. The perfect holiday gift for any Harry fan.

[Side note: There are several The Half-Blood Prince trailers out there now. Check YouTube. Movie hits theaters this November. Looks like the creepiest and most emotional movie so far!]

The Lovely Bones

Since my good friend willikat made mention of it in her comment on my previous post, I thought I'd write about The Lovely Bones today. Willikat mentioned it was one of the books that gave her a powerful reaction - sadness. I couldn't agree more.

This is a haunting tale about a young girl, Susie Salmon, who is murdered, but her body is never found. She tells the story as she looks down from heaven, watching over her family. I enjoyed the image author Alice Sebold painted of what heaven may be like to a 14-year-old girl. In my heart of hearts, I imagine heaven is different for everyone - it's how you want it to be. Besides the fact that she was abducted and killed, the story was also sad on so many other levels: Susie's struggle with all the things she'll never experience (boyfriends, driving, high school, etc); watching her family grieve and her parents drift from each other; and wondering if her killer will ever be caught.

Not to spoil the story for others, but I have to tell of probably the most heartbreaking, but also heartwarming, part of the story for me. As a person who had a dog for 17 years of her childhood, I've often imagined what "doggie" heaven is like. Well, when Susie's childhood dog passes away, and she hears his chain jingling toward her in her heaven, and he jumps on her lap and licks her face... well, I have goose bumps and tears in my eyes right now. It really moved me. It still does.

Next year brings The Lovely Bones the movie, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Mark Walhberg and Rachel Weisz. I'm anxious to relive the story through the movie. I know not all movies live up to the books - and I'm sure this one won't either - but I have a good feeling about it.

I also read Sebold's first book - a memoir called Lucky. It tells of her own rape as a college student. If this type of violence is something you can stomach to read about - it's graphic - then I recommend the book. It was almost too much for me, but her process to get passed it and move on was interesting and worthwhile to read about. I'm still on the fence about The Almost Moon, her latest. The reviews haven't been stellar, and as I said in my Slam post, I hate to be disappointed. I read an interview with Sebold though, and she too knows how hard it is to live up to the popularity and praise that came with The Lovely Bones.