Is There a Harry Potter Support Group? I'm Asking for a Friend.

To know Alexis is to know that she doesn't do anything halfway. She can't just read a book; she has to alter the orbit of her universe so that it revolves around that book.

She received the entire Harry Potter series for Christmas. From the second she turned the first page, she was all in. The kid has dedicated all of her spare hours to Harry's story, with brief distractions for food, sleep, dance, and school. Which, school. That created quite the distraction because she couldn't count any of the Harry Potter books towards her monthly reading goals. If you want to see how hard I can roll my eyes, ask me how I feel about the fact that books above a kid's reading level don't count for reading goals.

::ouch::

(It hurts to roll your eyes that hard.)

Even with the need to stop reading Harry Potter to read other (easier)(OMG IT HURTS WHEN I ROLL MY EYES THAT HARD) books and all of the other things that got in the way, Alexis managed to devour the wizard's story pretty quickly.

So quickly, in fact, that yesterday she declared she had 200 pages left in the series. In that moment, I knew I was in trouble. The ugly thing that happens when people finish those books was on its way.

And it was travelling full speed.

It happens to be PSSA week, so it happens to be a week when Alexis has all of the time in the world while at school. She tends to finish the tests quickly and is then left to sit and read quietly. So, if she had 200 pages left at 8:00pm last night, she should finish the book ... tonight. She finished the book tonight.

I told you she has too much free time at school.

The thing is that I was paying a lot of attention as she neared the end. While I haven't read the books myself (they just don't do it for me), I have heard story after story about people who have sobbed uncontrollably after finishing the 7th book. Alexis is the soft-hearted empathy queen, so surely everything was going to fall apart in those last pages.

I was ready.

When Alexis said at 8:00 that she had 39 pages left to go, I dropped everything. I ran for the hills. Not literally, I suppose, but I did grab Mila and take her for a walk through our neighborhood. It's very hilly, so I came close to "running for the hills." Because OMG THE UGLY. IT WAS ON THE WAY.

I love that kid with the fire of 135913041 suns, but I didn't want to be there when she lost her mind. Go ahead and judge me for it. I don't mind AT ALL. Because tears. And drama. It was going to be UGLY.

When Mila and I returned to the house, I tread very lightly. I tiptoed into the family room, absolutely ready to run for cover. "Hi," I whispered to Alexis.

"HI! I finished the book!" Alexis gleefully replied.

No tears.

Just happiness.

"That was the best book ending EVER!" she exclaimed. WITHOUT TEARS.

I'm not entirely sure that Alexis is human. I am, however, entirely sure that she and her sister are made of the same brand of crazy.

Comments

[Kathleen]

Okay, next series for her? pendragon...or septimus heap...both very good

[JustOneL]

Has she read the Chronicles of Narnia yet? They might keep her occupied for a while! There's also a series by E.G. Foley that starts with the Lost Heir. She might enjoy those as well...or the Percy Jackson series!