Customer Reviews

Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage: An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, I haven't read a story lately that made me laugh out loud so much. What a breath of fresh air! I wish there were more stories with this type of humor, and I wish I were this witty! The scenes flow so well, and the dialogue's great fun.

This is going to be a real gem to those true fans of the Harry Potter series. It might even encourage them to write a parody or two.
Overall, I really like this, and would recommend it to my own teens, who grew up reading Harry.

Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage: An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody

Anything calling itself a parody faces some tough literary challenges. It must, of course, readily bring to mind the original work it seeks to spoof. It should be creative and entertaining in its own right, without depending too much on the reader's knowledge of the original. Finally, it needs to be something of an homage, and not just a silly mockery.
In Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage: An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody, author Valerie Estelle Frankel's flying vacuum cleaner clears these literary hurdles with room to spare. If there was a single example of homo sapiens on this planet who was not familiar with the Harry Potter series, he or she could still thoroughly enjoy this book (assuming he or she had a solid command of the subtle nuances of the English language and a strong sense of humor. Academic, really, since this individual does not exist).
Frankel skillfully draws upon many sources to create a story which keeps the reader on his toes, frantically trying to keep track of the book's myriad characters, details and action sequences. In other words, it's not that much different than the original. Her writing style brings to mind a sort of hybrid between J.R.R. Tolkien and Woody Allen, only with fewer references to Kierkegaard.
While it would be overwhelming to try and summarize the plot, Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage is great fun to read, not least because of Frankel's well-crafted prose. The author clearly takes pleasure in making words do more than their basic job, and knows where and when to insert puns without their becoming the sole points of humor. Thus, the reader is spared page after page of needless punishment.
Very entertaining, and highly recommended.

Reviewed by Joel Bresler

In many ways, "Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage" reminds me of flicks like "Another Teen Movie", or "Scary Movie". The book, a satire, focuses on a major theme, Harry Potter, and pokes fun at the characters and plot devices from the many J.K. Rowling books that have been released. Reading Henry Potty, I did at times feel like much of the material consisted of inside jokes that I did not get, as I've only read the first Harry Potter book. I do think that for those who have read the entire Harry Potter series, they'll find Henry Potty quite funny and charming in how Valerie Estelle Frankel remakes the Potter through a wild, funhouse mirror of chaotic antics.

The reason why "Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage" reminds me of the parody movies is because of the randomness of some of the happenings throughout the text. I'm not so sure that there is a logic to some of the scenarios, but maybe there simply isn't supposed to be. However, I did find the book funniest when I could see the rationale to some of the satire, like the scene when the three heroes, Henry Potty, Really Wimpy, and Horrendous Gangrene, find one of the Plot Devices, the villain's Lord Revolting's ring of power. This scene is golden.

I also feel that my favorite character is Horrendous, who's the most intelligent of the three heroes, the most feisty, and the most frustrated by the idiots she's surrounded by. I also find it interesting how this story is about writing a story, and seemingly, writing a story badly, using cheap tricks just to make a story make sense. I am not a fan of the Potter books, and I get the sense that Frankel is not, also.

Overall, I found parts of this book very creative and easy to read, but the many random happenings at times threw me off and slowed me down.

Like any parody worth its salt this one takes aim at a very popular subject and bit-by-bit it pokes fun at every facet of that subject while at the same time taking the occasional pot shot at a few other related topics. Often times I actually find that I have more fun looking for the these little hidden references than I do with the main plot and this book gave me several little moments like that to enjoy.

I must admit that I did have a little trouble reading this book because at times it struck me as a bit juvenile but then I remembered that the suggested age range was 9-12 and I started trying to read with the eye of a pre-teen and then I found the book much more enjoyable. Many if not most of the gags revolve around things that might literally make the reader gag and it seems that the author has tried at times to be as disgusting as possible. I soon came to the conclusion that the target group really consisted of 9-12 year old boys and since I was once a 9-12 year old boy myself I could easily see the appeal of such humor to that group.

With that I mind I handed the book off to my seven-year-old grandson. He is not really all that familiar with Harry Potter so I didn't know how well he would relate to Henry Potty but he loved it and would sit and laugh hysterically as he came upon descriptions of various disgusting smells and sights. There is no doubt in my mind at all that to my grandson this book rates a solid five stars.

As for me my favorite part of the book came when the author lampooned J. K. Rowling's decision to inject controversy into her series by announcing after the last book came out that one of the main characters was gay. Because this is a parody of the final Potter book that character is already dead but his ghost keeps popping in and asking, "Did I mention that I was gay?" In many ways this lovable ghost comes across as much less silly than Ms. Rowling and her announcement. Parody with a bite, I love it!

I can't say that as a whole this was one of the funniest books that I have ever read but then again I am well beyond my pre-teen years. Still, the writing was crisp and the dialogue was very well done even if some of the jokes did blow past my gross threshold. Most importantly though my grandson really enjoyed this book and it actually kept him interested and that is quite an accomplishment. I might not have given this book five stars but my grandson most assuredly did and on this one I am going to go with the opinion of a true expert.

A really good poke at a sacred cow. I would advise the author not to make her whereabouts known for fear the legions who love the real thing pay her a visit. I've seen a couple of the Harry Potter movies on TV and so know what the real thing is. The author's done a superb job of debunking them.
The dialogue fitted the characters perfectly, and from what I remember of the real movie characters was a good send-up of them and the plot lines and the backgrounds they operated in. The little vignettes and mentions of other books and settings slotted in perfectly- the mention of the novel The Line, the Winch and the Protractor made me spill my tea I laughed so hard. So, all in all, a really good hatchet job and thoroughly enjoyable.

I really found myself enjoying this one--scene by scene it sincs up with the real Harry Potter 7, like when Lord Revolting devides his soul into a bunch of plot devices. Some of the humor pushes this more for twelve-year-olds and less for preschoolers, but I'd definitely give it to Potter fans.

This book was a great sequel to the first book, "Henry Potty and the Pet Rock". Well written, punny, witty, and smart, this book will ensure your entertainment for as long as you're reading it. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will understand more of the jokes than others. If you are not a Harry Potter fan, you will still be laughing throughout. I hope you enjoy!

With success, come imitators, and that's not always a bad thing with respect to popular literature. "Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage: An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody" chooses to parody more than the single successful young adult series. Attacking many fantasy stables and cliches ranging from 'Lord of the Rings' to the 'Wizard of Oz' to classic Walt Disney films, and so much more, "Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage" is riotously entertaining reading for fantasy enthusiasts in general, and young Harry Potter fans in particular.

this book is awesome so r wafflels but there awesomness is almost as good as the book but the book is better waffles r amazing go eat waffles bye im going to eat waffles!!!!(for real)