A day after pre-orders went live for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," booksellers have reported the upcoming book has leaped to #1, says <a href=http://www.reuters.com>Reuters</a>.  At Amazon.com, first day advance orders were 547 percent higher than those for the previous book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."  "Half-Blood Prince" took more than two weeks to equal the numbers seen on the first day of availability for "Deathly Hallows."

The buzz surrounding the release of "Deathly Hallows" is enormous.  Can Rowling bring off a believable climax to her mega-successful series?  Originally touted as children's books, the Harry Potter series quickly gained footholds among readers of all ages, and with the older readers came far more critical reviews of stories (theoretically) geared towards young adults.  As such, Rowling has weathered criticism regarding her plots and characterizations, not only from traditional critics, but even from her own fanbase, as fans of particular characters and couples have claimed (or feigned) outrage at later developments in the series.  As fans gear up to read the final installment, Rowling faces several challenges.  The first --- can sales exceed those for the previous books? --- appears to have been overcome easily.  We'll see how she deals with the others as July 21 approaches.