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Back in February, we told you how although J.K. Rowling will not be writing any follow-ups on Harry Potter into adulthood, she will be writing a book specifically for adults. Now, she has released more details about her next writing venture...

 

The book will be called Casual Vacancy and it has a release date set for September 27, 2012. And this adult novel has nothing to do with witches and wizards. 

 

Barry Fairweather dies in his 40s, and a small town, Pagford, is left shaken by his death. The town is quaint but is filled with tension between teachers and students, teenagers and their parents, and wives and their children. The town is essentially at war with each other.

 

Barry was on the parish council, so with his death comes an empty seat. The novel will follow the elections that will bring new revelations and conflict to the small and, at one time, peaceful town.

 

The publisher describes the book as a dark comedy that is thoughtful, with constant twists and turns.

 

This is definitely quite the department from her stories of Hogwarts with wizards on broomsticks and ghosts in the bathroom. But for the author with such a vivid imagination, rich details, and thorough characterization, a darker story may turn out to be compelling.

 

The only way to read this is to get Harry out of your head and read this book as a completely separate entity. For some people, this may be hard to do. Many people started to read Harry Potter when the series first hit bookshelves and have literally grown up with the books and movies and are now adults themselves, so perhaps Rowling has made a smart move in putting out a book that would appeal to her now-grown-up fans.

 

If you can’t wait for the book to come out, you can re-read all the Harry Potter books, or check out Rowling new Website.

 

What do you think? Will you read her new book? 

 

 

- Tallie Johnson, YH Staff