Both of us have, of course, read all the Harry Potter books. But we were both wondering if our grades had changed at all - if after the rush of fad and popularity we still enjoyed them. In the case of the later books, we wondered if we'd read them too fast and so had given them a lower grade than they deserved...either way we've both reread them these past couple of months in between our other books, and this is what we've decided:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Raspberry: This has always been an A for me. I was hesitant to start the series when they came out because of the absolute rage it caused, but once I did I was hooked.
Trackgeek: An A, and my favorite.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Raspberry: This one is an A- for me, because it feels so very similar to the first book. I enjoyed it emmensely but felt Rowling hadn't created an entirely new plot.
Trackgeek: B+.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Raspberry: An A. Fabulous, and a tie for my favorite with the first.
Trackgeek: I liked it - an A-.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Raspberry: I enjoyed this one immensely as well, but was shocked with the death which Rowling said was to demonstrate exactly just how horrible the Voldemort problem was. I understand, and that definitely made the point, but I preferred the simpler plots where they were resolved in one book instead. However it still gets a B+, which is actually a change from the original A- that it had before.
Trackgeek: A-; the grade hasn't changed.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Raspberry: For me this has always been the worst of the series. I gave it a C+ the first time and nearly stopped reading the series, except that I had gotten that far and wanted to know what happened without finding out 'hearsay'. I still give it a C+, and really the movie didn't make it any more palatable.
Trackgeek: Graded a C. I didn't bother reading it again.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Raspberry: The first time I read this I was a) glad it was better than 5, and b) still disappointed. My first grade was a B-, but a second read made me like it better. I'm still anti the over-arching Voldemort plot and wished there was at the very least a subplot to make it more enjoyable, but this time it gets a B.
Trackgeek: B+; it's the first time romance actually develops, and I enjoyed that.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Raspberry: I know I can be harsh when I grade sometimes, but after I read this I felt that while number 5 was a huge let down, this one was the worst written. It felt unedited, rushed, and confusing. This time I read it much slower and still found myself rereading pages trying to figure out what had just been said. Just goes to show no matter how good of a writer you are, you should always be edited! I graded it a C+ before, and I'm sorry but it doesn't change.
Trackgeek: Reading it the second time you see more of the depth of the characters and what they're going through. It still felt disjointed and drawn-out, though. Graded a B- first, but this time it gets a B.
What do you guys think? Any rereads and grade changes?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Raspberry: This has always been an A for me. I was hesitant to start the series when they came out because of the absolute rage it caused, but once I did I was hooked.
Trackgeek: An A, and my favorite.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Raspberry: This one is an A- for me, because it feels so very similar to the first book. I enjoyed it emmensely but felt Rowling hadn't created an entirely new plot.
Trackgeek: B+.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Raspberry: An A. Fabulous, and a tie for my favorite with the first.
Trackgeek: I liked it - an A-.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Raspberry: I enjoyed this one immensely as well, but was shocked with the death which Rowling said was to demonstrate exactly just how horrible the Voldemort problem was. I understand, and that definitely made the point, but I preferred the simpler plots where they were resolved in one book instead. However it still gets a B+, which is actually a change from the original A- that it had before.
Trackgeek: A-; the grade hasn't changed.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Raspberry: For me this has always been the worst of the series. I gave it a C+ the first time and nearly stopped reading the series, except that I had gotten that far and wanted to know what happened without finding out 'hearsay'. I still give it a C+, and really the movie didn't make it any more palatable.
Trackgeek: Graded a C. I didn't bother reading it again.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Raspberry: The first time I read this I was a) glad it was better than 5, and b) still disappointed. My first grade was a B-, but a second read made me like it better. I'm still anti the over-arching Voldemort plot and wished there was at the very least a subplot to make it more enjoyable, but this time it gets a B.
Trackgeek: B+; it's the first time romance actually develops, and I enjoyed that.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Raspberry: I know I can be harsh when I grade sometimes, but after I read this I felt that while number 5 was a huge let down, this one was the worst written. It felt unedited, rushed, and confusing. This time I read it much slower and still found myself rereading pages trying to figure out what had just been said. Just goes to show no matter how good of a writer you are, you should always be edited! I graded it a C+ before, and I'm sorry but it doesn't change.
Trackgeek: Reading it the second time you see more of the depth of the characters and what they're going through. It still felt disjointed and drawn-out, though. Graded a B- first, but this time it gets a B.
What do you guys think? Any rereads and grade changes?
1 comments:
I am actually about to reread these to see where I will let my 8 year old read to. I wonder how things will go. I agree though, 5 and 7 could have been so much better.
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