Reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the much-anticipated final installment to J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard saga, appeared in two newspapers on Thursday. The problem is, the book isn’t supposed to be sold until 12:01 am July 21, 2007. The New York Times and Baltimore Sun both published reviews of the book, allegedly angering series creator/writer J.K. Rowling. The New York Times claims its copy of Deathly Hallows was purchased in the city on Wednesday, and the Sun assured its readers the book their paper obtained was “through legal and ordinary means.” Yet, nearly everyone in the country has pre-ordered the book or is waiting, with baited breath, for its release – and none of them have managed to get advanced copies.

Rowling said she was “staggered” by the American newspapers who published the reviews “in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children.” Millions of dollars have already been spent by Rowling’s British and American publishers to keep the final chapter of Harry’s adventure hush-hush. However, photographed pages that purport to be from the book itself have already surfaced on the Internet.

The New York Times defended its actions, saying that if the paper buys a book legally and openly, the NYT has full rights to review that novel. The paper further stated it took pains not to give away the ending and does not give away any big secrets about this final Harry adventure. There is already a statement on the Amazon.com page that features the book, and a wide range of comments from fans sharing their thoughts on this “early” review.

Almost every week, books are reviewed in newspapers across the country before they hit the shelves for public availability – and there’s been precious little complaining about it, thus far. As the world holds its breath for the release of this last Potter book, however, fans are foaming to learn the truth early, while others are just as determined to protect the integrity of the series. Thankfully, all of this will quiet down in just a few more hours. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will finally fill the stores, fans will finally get a chance to read, and all the speculation will finally be over.