I loved these books. I never got into them at the same time the world went into its "Harry Potter Rage", but I couldn't help but give then a once over before I judged those people. They were right, in the end. The author gives us a parallel world where, once again, you can't help but hope it is as real as you or me. Set mostly in a school that, dare I say, every person who read the books wished their parents had sent them when they were little, the story seems to captivate with mysterious spells, strange people, and all around "what happens next!?-ness). The main cast is made up of 3 characters who bounce information, hilarity, and small jabs of honesty and cruelty at each other. What makes it more interesting is the fact that these kids go to school while doing the exact things that could get them kicked out in order to progress the story. I am not a Harry Potter fanatic, however. I do not wear "Muggle" shirts or have a wand. And yet, the depth of the story is very obliging to what I really wanted in a book. For a small while, it made me a child again. You will not regret this read.