Review: Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli

Posted February 7, 2009 by shooting in Uncategorized / 12 Comments


Harry, a History by Melissa Anelli
Review by: Lauren
http://www.harryahistory.com/

Harry, a History is Melissa’s, the webmistress of The Leaky Caudron, story. It’s not just hers however. It’s ours: the ones who read the books, see the movies, make bands based on the world of Harry Potter, and more. Throughout this book, you learn more about Melissa and how she became a part of the The Leaky Cauldron, which led her to meeting Jamie Waylett (Crabbe), Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and even J.K. Rowling herself, just to name a few. This regular girl from New York began like most of us did: she read a book and fell in love. With that love, she began to research and write about Harry Potter, eventually becoming a central figure in the world of all things HP.

As a fan of Harry Potter, from the age of 8 to 18, I was very excited to read this novel that gave words to the life that many of us have been living. I never formed my own band nor did I start a Harry Potter website, but I could relate to a lot of the pheneomenon from the books to the movies (and I love both!), to reading and even writing fan fiction, to listening and rocking out to Wizard Rock, and above all, being a part of this huge fandom. My sister and I always say how it’s great to have lived through the “Harry Potter years”. As we get older, those that read the books for the first time will have them all laid out on a shelf. They won’t know the thrill of waiting and guessing! And yes, it was a thrill. It was fun and exciting, and Melissa does a great job writing this all out for those of us that get it and for those that have yet have too understand.

Harry, a History is a must-read for any Harry Potter fan, of course, but it’s also a great look into a world that maybe you weren’t taking part in. Though all seven books are now out, Harry Potter hasn’t died out and everyone is welcome to join in the celebration with others of different ages, races, and languages. It’s a world-wide event, so have fun!

Recommended? HELL YES!

And guess what? J.K. Rowling likes the book as well! In fact, as the book cover above states, she wrote the foreword. I don’t know anyone better to put their stamp of approval on this novel. 🙂

12 responses to “Review: Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli

  1. Thought I never took part in the world of Harry Potter fandom, this sounds like something I’d really enjoy. Actually, I remember this great message board of Harry Potter fans where I used to post…I got some great reading recommendations there in my pre-blogging days.

  2. That sounds really neat. Hopefully JKR won’t sue this girl like she did the guy who was planning to write his own wizarding encyclopedia.

  3. Nymeth: I think you might enjoy it as well. It’s like like a biography of a certain time period, if you will. I mean, technically, it’s Melissa’s autobiography anyway. I used to get a lot of book ideas on message boards as well.

    Genevieve: Wasn’t it? I’m glad you thought so!

    Steph Su: Thank you, and you should read it!! 🙂

    Taren: Yep! And no, she won’t. A lot of people have written about HP. JKR, I GUESS just didn’t like the guy’s book b/c it was more of just her info and not his own writing, so why should he benefit from her info or whatever. At any rate, she’s met Melissa, read the book, and wrote the book’s foreword so she likes it.

    -Lauren

  4. This book sounds pretty cool, I have never even heard of it before! I’m adding it to my tbr list for sure 🙂

    the girl she used to be is an ARC, comes out next month 😀

  5. Robin: Oh you should! Yay!!
    Thanks for letting me know about the girl she used to be as well. Sounds awesome.

    Alea: It is! It is! 🙂 You’ll have to tell me what you think whenever you DO get to it.

    -Lauren

  6. This is a wonderful book! I got it from my sister-in-law for Christmas and read it back in January. I’m an extreme HP geek, though I didn’t begin reading the series until after book 6 came out. I missed out completely by refusing to for so long. Sigh. Anyway, I’m glad to find someone else who’s reviewed it, too!

  7. Amanda: Thanks for the comment! I’m so glad you liked this book too. It was great, especially for all the mega HP fans. And it might have taken you awhile to read them, but you did and that’s great. 🙂

    -lauren

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