Hollister
– To prepare for the release of the seventh and final Harry
Potter book, 13-year-old McKenna Bernosky set out re-reading the
six books leading up to it.
Hollister – To prepare for the release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book, 13-year-old McKenna Bernosky set out re-reading the six books leading up to it.
All 3,400 pages.
“I wanted to re-read them so I remembered what was going on,” she said on Thursday, taking a brief break from finishing up “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth in the series.
McKenna is just one of many Hollisterite Harry fans counting down to tonight’s much-anticipated midnight release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
It’s been more than a decade since the first book was released, but the Harry mania that ensued has hardly died down. San Benito County residents young and old are waiting to get their hands on a copy and find out what’s to come of their bespectacled hero.
Some have plans to pick up their copies just after midnight, when the books first go on sale.
Barbara Penney, 32, is planning on picking up her copy, which she has on hold at Kelly’s Gift Place in downtown Hollister, at 12:05am Saturday. Unlike some die-hard fans, however, Penney said she does not plan on reading the entire book the same night.
“I’ll probably start reading the first chapter that night, but we’re taking a trip down to L.A., so I’m going to wait until the car ride down to read most of it,” she said.
Around 100 people have pre-ordered “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at Kelly’s. Co-owner Todd Owczarzak said the store ordered 200 copies of the book and owners were hoping to sell out all of them before the end of the week.
The gift shop sells Christian books but will be making its first foray into more mainstream book selling with the popular Potter book. The shop will celebrate the release of the seventh book with a Potter-themed party, starting at 11 tonight.
“We’re hoping people will choose us over Barnes and Noble and going to Gilroy,” Owczarzak said.
Potter fan Alison Piccoli, 13, said she plans to pick up her copy as soon as it’s available. She will read as much as she can until she falls asleep on Saturday.
“I’ll read it really fast and then re-read it,” she said.
Piccoli’s father first read the books to her when she was younger, though they had to stop the first time because the story scared her. Now, however, she has to read each of the books multiple times.
“I like how (author J.K. Rowling) created her own world,” Piccoli said. “Everything has a purpose.”
Even though Harry Potter books are about teenage wizards, Hollister residents of all ages are drawn to the story, which examines themes of good and evil.
Erin Livingston, 32, never thought she would like reading the fantasy series – she generally enjoys mystery or horror books. But two years ago, Livingston challenged her then-8-year-old son to read the first book along with her as a way of encouraging him to stick with reading.
“I got completely sucked into it,” she said. “We both shared it and I found myself saying, ‘Are you done yet?'”
Now Livingston and her son Jake, now 10, share the love of the world of Harry and Hogwarts.
“We’re both just crazy about it,” she said. “It’s really fun because it’s something that we can share.”
Jake will be dressing up – either as the hero himself or as Mad-Eye Moody, another character from the book – for the release party at Kelly’s.
Still, paired with the excitement and anticipation over the final book’s release, there’s a bittersweet feeling. The character, who many teens grew up with, will be leaving their lives.
“I’m very sad it’s over. I wish there was more,” Piccoli said.
