J. K. Rowling: A Biography (Unauthorized Edition) Illustrated Edition

I'm an adult fan of HARRY POTTER and Ms. Rowling and was interested to read about her creative journey. I knew most bios would be aimed at the young-adult market and didn't mind that, if I could get some insight into her.However, this book, which is aimed squarely at young adults, is so ponderous and tough to read that I almost gave up. The author never had access to Ms. Rowling and relies on third-party interviews and material previously published by others. That would not necessarily be a liability if she were able to give us a sense of Jo Rowling's life and personality. Instead, she spends page after tedious page listing the historic events occurring during Rowling's childhood and speculating that they `might' have had something to do with her later creating Harry. She gives endless descriptions of places around Rowling's childhood homes and again speculates that they were the inspiration for her later work. There is almost nothing of solid fact that can be woven into a cohesive thread that readers can follow. To make matters worse, she OPENS with an entire chapter explaining her own slant on the material -- instead of holding such info for a brief paragraph at the end.Biography is never easy to write, but even if you do not have first-person sources, you can make it fun for readers by finding details which bring your subject alive to them. I'm an addicted reader -- esp. a reader about writers' lives -- and I could not stay interested, though I went to some lengths to get hold of this book.I suggest that if you're really looking for information about J.K. Rowling, you find it in interviews published about her, either in print media or online. You'll get more solid information -- and presented more entertainingly -- than here. I've written five published biographies myself and I respect authors who write them. But this biography is less biography than a string of small facts propped up by endless meandering and speculation. A total waste of time.

I checked this book out from the library for a 5th grade book report. I love reading Harry Potter and enjoyed learning about JK Rowling. I liked learning more about JK's life but parts of this book were boring and long. This was a good book but not great.

This book is very informative and provides a clear way of undrstanding parts of J.K. Rowling's life. It is by far the most accurate and up-to-date biography of J.K. Rowling. I give this book 5 stars because of its accuracy and the fact that this book is the most up-to-date biography of J.K. Rowling.