I love the Potter books - and I have done my fair share of LOTR and CON reading as well - I am guilty as are the characters of this book of wanting it all to be more real than fiction.

The book draws you in with interesting "new" ways to look at magic...but, at the same time, it is quite disturbing to think that such longing is really about dissatisfaction with the mundane of the regular world (what JKR would call the Muggle World).

And, then, it just as you imagine that a magical life might be your dream - it presents the reality that magic would have issues of its own.

An enjoyable read - I would not consider this in any way acceptable reading for anyone younger than adult. There are some themes that would be even too much for some teens. But, it is fun for adult fans of fantasy and brings a bit of reality to the fore.