A review by bookspinesandwine
Harry, a History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon by Melissa Anelli

4.0

I refused to read Harry Potter for years (yes, I admit this with shame). When I finally broke down and read them in 2008, all seven books were already released. Since I was a part of the rising Twilight fandom at the time, I knew how exciting it could be and was really sad I missed out on the Harry Potter glory days. (At least the books, I still get to meet fellow fans waiting in line for the movies :) So when I saw Harry, a History on the shelves, I saw an opportunity to read about what I had excluded myself from.

The book did not disappoint. I learned that there were “ship” wars between fans who thought Hermione and Harry would end up together vs. fans in favor of Hermione and Ron. Its funny to read this after the fact since it never once occurred to me that Hermione and Harry would form a romantic relationship. I learned that fans had to wait 3 years between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. Holy crap I would have died waiting that long!

Anelli took me on a journey to Harry Potter conferences, to an interview with a lady who thought HP was evil, and not to mention interviews with J.K Rowling herself. This book made me feel a little less left out of the excitement. If you are a fan of Harry Potter go ahead and read this book, especially if you missed out on HP conferences and other events like I did.