The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

What a guilty pleasure to sit down and read through the entire series of seven books, one after the other. I do think Rowling has a very dark side to her but I’m thinking that’s part of the attraction. Speaking critically though, there’s not much to say about these books except that they are about story, not about wonderful writing, that they are repetitive in plot structure AND that one Hermione does not resolve the gender equality problem. Indeed Hermione is a stereotyped bossy boots know it all. The sexism, the stereotyping of family, and the patriarchal values all bother me. So while the stories were fun, I did find myself skipping large tracts of them, and I don’t think these books add anything to kidlit other than cheap thrills.