By Katie Potzick
The seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” was the most awaited literary debut of the year, not to mention the most pre-ordered book in history. This phenomenon was fueled by a two-year wait, secret last minute edits to the book, covert shipping by the publishers and extreme legal prosecution threatened for any plot spoilers. Potter fans throughout the country flocked to grab their copies and devour all 749 pages. But now that most have read the last page, the question is, was it worth the hype?
The answer on the University of Louisville campus seems to be a resounding yes! Many students had eagerly counted down the days till the release and celebrated the launch date by partying with other “muggles,” Rowling’s term for non-magical people, at midnight bookstore parties. Several students even attended the gatherings dressed in homemade wizard garb. When the clock struck 12:01 a.m., these hard core fans raced home impatiently to crack the spine.
According to most of the students polled, the book got off to a slow start, but picked up steam half way through.
This was blamed on an overall lack of comic relief and the usual setting of Hogwarts which are both present in the former books, but not in the seventh. Freshman anthropology major Michael Lonneman mirrored the opinion of many with the statement, “The last 100 pages were terrific.”
However, most students were satisfied with the overall book and especially the ending. Sophomore Lauren Watkins, a psychology major, was surprised.
“I thought the book was awesome, and I actually wasn’t planning on reading it right away,” she said. “I was disappointed with the fifth movie so I figured I would get around to reading it eventually. Once I started it I couldn’t put it down.”
Many students interviewed agreed that this was their favorite of the seven books.
