Harry Potter Last book casts spell over cherubs
Asia Mayfield, a cherub from Las Vegas, thought she was being smart by pre-ordering “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” from Amazon.com before she came to National High School Institute. But after sitting by her mailbox for more than four hours the day it was released without the book being delivered, she realized it might have been a mistake. |
Cherubs show off their lightning scars at the midnight Harry Potter party at the Evanston Barnes & Noble. |
| “I was angry, to say the least,” Mayfield said. “That was the one thing I didn’t like about Cherubs. It was irritating that I was sitting there, while all around the world, people were reading ‘Harry Potter.’” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was the seventh and final novel in J.K. Rowling’s acclaimed series. The novel was released the last weekend of the program and, despite the fact that the trend story deadline was the next day, several cherubs settled down to read the final book in the beloved series. Gabriel Debenedetti, a cherub from Princeton, N.J., was seven years old when he began reading “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Now, six books and ten years later, his “Harry Potter” journey has finally come to an end. “This is the end of an era,” Debenedetti said. “It really is the end of my childhood. I was happy with the end, but now I’m empty inside. I was pretty sure I was Harry Potter for a while, so now that the book’s over, it’s confirmation that I’m not.” Debenedetti, like most Cherubs, got the book early Saturday, and read straight through the day until he finished. “I forfeited lunch,” Debenedetti said. “I only had a pack of M&M’s that I won from a spelling bee.” Mayfield had been hoping to attend the midnight release party at Barnes and Noble to get the book, but she was disappointed when she learned about Evanston’s midnight curfew for those under 18. “There’s nothing like going to the midnight release party and feeling all of the tension and waiting until midnight and then the books is in your hand and then rushing home and staying up all night reading it,” Mayfield said. When cherubs were told they could only go to the midnight party with a relative, Katie Tang, of East Amherst, NY, immediately got permission to stay with her cousin, who would take her to the party. Her scheme made her the only cherub who was allowed to attend the party. “The party was amazing,” Tang said. “There were so many people there and everyone was excited to be there. It was just one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done with ‘Harry Potter.’” After she got the book at 12:40 a.m., Tang stayed up until 4:30 a.m. reading the book, before finally deciding to get some sleep and finish the book the next day. “By 4:30, I was pretty much just flipping through the pages,” Tang said. “I was not doing ‘Harry Potter’ justice, so I went to sleep and woke up at 9 a.m. then read the book from then until 9:45 p.m.” Not even the looming Sunday deadline for the five-page trend story deterred cherubs from spending that Saturday reading the book. “It did get in the way of doing my trend story, but I didn’t care,” Tang said. “I chose Harry Potter over my trend story because I knew that I could still work on the trend story when I went back home, but I really had to know what happened to Harry Potter.” Although he doesn’t consider himself a “‘Harry Potter’ fanatic,” Eric Mayo, a cherub from Little Neck, NY, said that he finished his trend story in advance so that he could spend the entire day reading the book. “I had this feeling that someone would give away the ending if I didn’t read it,” Mayo said. There were also some cherubs who do not read ‘Harry Potter’ and spent the weekend working while everyone else read. Alex Katz, a cherub from Boston, said that he thinks the people who still read “Harry Potter” are “ridiculous.” “I worked on my trend story because I’m a hard worker,” Katz said. “There’s one kid on my floor who locked himself in his room for ten straight hours and just read. Maybe if you have the personality of a six-year-old, you’re entertained by ‘Harry Potter,’ but it doesn’t have any good morals. I think it’s all crap.” In interviews, Rowling has admitted herself that some fans will not like the seventh book, and reviews were certainly mixed for the final book. “There were so many disappointments in the book,” Mayfield said. “I was mad that I’ve been waiting years and years for this and she knew that and this is what she gave us. I think it could’ve been a lot better.” While Tang agreed there were “shaky” parts, she liked it overall. “I was happy, I was sad, I was heartbroken, I was frustrated, I was ecstatic, I was relieved,” she said. “I was just full of emotions.” Debenedetti agreed, saying that he enjoyed the book but is also happy he doesn’t “have ‘Harry Potter’ looming over my head anymore.” “One day, after I retire, I’ll read all of the books in a row and it will be a glorious experience,” he said. “But, for now, Harry, on the behalf of the Muggle world, I’ll miss you, buddy.” |
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