By JOSIE CLARKE
Auckland sisters Victoria and Michelle Whimp consider themselves the luckiest in the land since Harry Potter's latest adventure made an early arrival at their house.
Michelle, aged 10, burst into tears of excitement when her father pulled a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from his
suitcase early yesterday on his arrival home from the United States, where the book went on sale at 12.01 am on July 8.
"I was so happy," said Michelle. "I started to cry, and gave Dad a big hug."
The sisters from Glenfield are possibly the first in New Zealand to read the fourth book in J.K. Rowling's phenomenally successful fantasy adventure series about the teenage wizard.
Yesterday's unexpected gift required some urgent negotiations on how the sisters could best share the book, since neither was prepared to wait for the other to finish it.
The solution: the girls take turns reading each chapter.
Their mother, Kirsty Whimp, had to restrain the pair from phoning all their friends at 8 am to share the good news.
The girls are keenly aware that while they read The Goblet of Fire by torchlight tonight, their friends are counting down the sleeps until Thursday when they can pick up their own ordered copies.
The New Zealand release date was originally Friday, but suppliers have advised that they can get the shipment here faster than expected.
The first reviews from the girls are raves.
Victoria, 11, said the book so far was "awesome. It's like it's real."
They are up to chapter four and have promised each other they will not skip ahead and blurt out the details about which of Harry's friends dies, or which girl he has a crush on.
Michelle searched for the words to explain why she and everyone she knows loves Harry Potter so much.
"It's magnetic. It's strange and it can be funny, and each book finishes with a cliffhanger."
Kirsty Whimp, who read the first two Harry Potter books after wondering what all the fuss was about, loved them. Now the girls' grandmother is hooked.
"She [J.K. Rowling] talks in kids' language," said Kirsty Whimp. "They're quite scary, without being terrifying. I can see the attraction."
To buy Harry Potter books online:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
