Recent content by Carica

I would not stop my kids from reading anything they chose: but of course if a 12 yr old picked up American Psycho, I'd stop them. Re children's books generally, the only ones I would hesitate and hold back would be a couple of Melvyn Burgess's - Lady: My Life as a Bitch and Doing It. I think the...

Fanfiction is fine, so long as people realise that most of it is not very good. There are authors I would rate as pretty much professional writers but without asking them, I'm not going to name them.

Neville will not die - he will be Herbology professor eventually. A Weasley will die (at least one) - one of the twins would be angsty enough. but not Percy. He doesn't need to die to redeem himself, just say sorry. Snape will likely die - a shame but the demands of his role suggest it...

Stephanie Meyer is writing a third book which looks at the events of the first book but through Edward's eyes: it is called Edward's Book, I think.

I don't know exactly the context in which your son spoke of 'dark skin', Concetta, but I don't think you have to a) worry or b) hurry to get the next best racially diverse book for 5 yr olds. Just talking with your son about the racial mix of the world/your area is the most important thing...

Fred and George are there to add humour to the series as much as anything but as characters I find them unpleasant and nasty in a way that we are meant to smile indulgently at. They get away with instances of nasty bullying that the bookreader judges evil when the Slytherins do it, but not when...

You can get to the second level of the WOMBAT exams. Light the candle, dip the pen in the ink. Close the open exam paper; pick up the clover leaf which will turn into a key; put the key in the drawer and it will open to reveal an exam paper. Click on the brown circular thing (a Time-Turner...

I am reading them - On the Banks of Plum Creek, Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War; and Wuthering Heights. They are reading: Junk - Melvyn Burgess; Abhorsen - Garth Nix; Candy - Kevin Brooks, amongst others.

Where is the 'fact' displayed that Book 7 is being released on 7.7.07? Nothing I've seen on Mugglenet or Leaky Cauldron or from HPANA suggests this or even claims it as fact.

As far as I can tell, Jane Yolen is one of 'the' names in States-side children's literature, esp. in writing forkloric/magical tales. Like various other writers, she wrote about orphans going to wizard school and making friends and having adventures, long before HP came into the world. I have...

Howl's Moving Castle is a fantastic read at any age, and can take any amount of re-reading too. Of course the film is not quite like but it is sufficiently close to the spirit of DWJ's book that both can be enjoyed separately. Where it lacks particular coherence in the film, is at the end but a...

Yes, if Harry keeps being told it's all about love, it's not going to make much sense or look very good if the story ends with Harry a) still hating Snape and b) killing Voldemort (rather than giving him a merciful release).

Re love: it's no good going around killing other people to save other people you love (well, obviously in self-defence but Harry's situation is something more grand and representative). The point about love that I would hope Dumbledore is making is that you have to love those who are not...

Re a student becoming a teacher at Hogwarts, JKR said in an interview in 1999 - Re who will die - obviously the two she's talking about (who will die) are not the primary figures of Harry or Voldemort - these are deaths that are close to the centre but not periphery characters, since she...

JKR said which doesn't mean Harry or Voldemort, I reckon. It means side-characters like Hermione or Lupin or Hagrid. And one character got a reprieve. Well, sadly I don't hold out much hope for Snape surviving; a Weasley will likely die - but I hope it's not Ron or Percy; probably a...