The Harry Potter book series by J.K Rowling has been a beloved series for decades now. People visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and drink butterbeer. They go onto the official Harry Potter website and take The Sorting Hat quiz. Everyone from the elderly to babies to dogs dress up in Hogwarts uniforms. The story of Harry Potter and his dangerous and magical adventures in Hogwarts appeal to people worldwide, and everyone automatically thinks of the protagonist when they see glasses and a scar. Now in 2020, the Harry Potter fandom of Potterheads faces a dilemma. With J.K Rowling’s stance as transphobic coming to light, is it alright to continue to love the series many grew up with? The answer to that question is complex and already debated. Instead, here’s some alternative book series that Potterheads can shift their support towards if they choose.
First, there’s The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The books follow New Yorker Clary Fray, a teenager that learns she is able to see the world of Shadowhunters. After leaving a club called Pandemonium, she sees three teenagers covered in tattoos murder someone. The problem is, no one else saw this but her. As the novel progresses and Clary’s mother is attacked by a demon, those same teenagers appear. They introduce themselves as Shadowhunters, warriors that rid the world of demons. Of course, across the six books, Clary finds herself in increasing trouble, falling in love, and getting deeper into the world of shadowhunters in order to face off against the villainous Valentine Morgan. For these reasons, Potterheads can get the familiar structure they love through these books, but through a different lens of the supernatural.
Additionally, J.K Rowling receives major backlash for continuing to tweet out facts about her books that aren’t in the source material. For instance, Rowling told fans that Hogwarts has students of all religions and beliefs, except Wiccan. Within her books, there’s no mention of religion at all, so it is hard to accept what she is saying as cannon. Cassandra Clare, however, adds to her book series by writing more books. If someone falls in love with The Mortal Instruments series and wants more than the six books, Clare provides the content. She wrote a prequel, The Infernal Devices, consisting of three books, a sequel, The Dark Artifices, consisting of three books, plus many spin off books.
Harry Potter’s world is limited to just his view, but Cassandra Clare creates a whole universe of Shadowhunters with different perspectives and time period.
Another series is the Graceling books by Kristin Cashore. These books take a different approach to the usual chosen one idea. Katsa, the niece of a king, is forced to be a thug for him instead of living ravishly. Why? She is a graceling, one of the few people in her kingdom graced with a gift. Her gift, however, is the power to kill. Unlike Potter when he first became a wizard, Katsa was never welcomed with open arms in her kingdom. That was until she met Prince Po. The other two books in the series, Fire and Bitterblue, build to a climactic battle with the kingdoms, with Katsa at the center fighting, and not being protected, like Potter is throughout the series.
Lastly, if looking for an original source of nostalgia, adventure and danger, look no further than The Chronicles of Narnia. This childhood classic is set in England just like Rowling’s novels. These books by C. S. Lewis begins with four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, being sent away to live in a bunker as war breaks out in England. While adjusting to being away from their mother, they decide to play a game of hide and seek to explore their new home. The youngest of the four, Lucy, discovers that behind all the coats in the large, antique wardrobe she hides in, there’s a whole other wintery world.
Instead of a focus on humans, Lewis paints a world where a lion, Aslan, leads the kingdom of Narnia. There, families of beavers, wolves, fauns, centaurs, phoenixes, and a whole slew of other creatures live together. It is reminiscent of the scenes in Harry Potter where Hagrid would tend to his creatures or teach lessons on them. Like most novels labelled young adult, there is still an element of needing to fight an evil or take down an establishment. Hence the four siblings must fight a war against the Jadis the White Witch, the one responsible for Narnia being frozen over. As the books progress, there are other evils to be fought, leading to mystery and readers feverishly turning pages.
Overall, there are millions of books in the world right now, and more continue to be printed. If you decide that The Harry Potter series is now ruined due to J. K Rowling, by all means go out and find a new series to love.
