At the top of many bestseller lists even five months before publication, the last book in the enormously successful Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is triggering mixed feelings in fans all over the world. The book, scheduled to be available for purchase on 21 July 2007, is breaking sales records from pre-orders alone.
The final installment comes ten years after the first Harry Potter book came onto the scene. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (in the United States, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) was a surprise hit, and introduced millions of readers around the world to the life of Harry Potter, boy wizard, Hogwarts, his wizarding school, his friends, and his deadly enemy, Lord Voldemort.
The title of what J.K. Rowling says will be her final book about Harry Potter was announced on 21 December 2006. On 1 February 2007, she announced that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be on sale at one minute after midnight on 21 July 2007. Bookstores are expected to stay open late to accommodate the long lines and many Harry Potter parties that will certainly take place to honor the last volume of the beloved story. In addition, the book can be pre-ordered from online booksellers, with delivery scheduled for 21 July 2007.
Fans wait with anticipation - and some trepidation - to learn the answers to many of the riddles that left them hanging at the end of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Rowling has said that two characters will die in the final book, and readers have been speculating wildly, leaving no character immune from an imagined death. Many fans, who have survived the death of beloved characters such as Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black, are understandably concerned about the possibility of Harry himself dying.
As of February 2007, the Harry Potter books have sold an astounding 325 million copies in 64 languages worldwide. Many people in the industry predict that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will become the bestselling book of all time. Child and adult fans around the world agree that Rowling's entrancing magical world with its themes of loyalty, searching for belonging, self-discovery, and the battle between good and evil has entranced them as if it truly were magic.
