Rating: 
Summary: A good idea that has no staying power
Review: I read the first chapter online and decided I had to have this book. Upon reading the second chapter, I started wondering what I'd ever seen in the first one. While the book starts off strong, it immediately loses all its charm and is too full of its own cleverness to actually be funny. This reminds me of what Mad Magazine was like after they "Jumped The Shark" by losing Dean Martin and Dick DeBartolo.
Near the end of the book I got a little more interested in the characters, as sort of a vicarious Harry Potter book. This is kind of a tongue-in-cheek "What If?" rather than an actual parody.
I applaud the author for getting this published and also for trying to make an original story, rather than just a rehashing of the first four books, but ultimately this book is just not funny. It tries to be in the same league as Bored Of The Rings and Doon, but fails.
Rating: 
Summary: I LOVE THIS BOOK!
Review: Well, I was at first cynical about this. My reaction, I remember, was 'HOW could someone do this?' but then I read the first chapter on the net and after hearing VERY good reports about it, I decided to get a copy. Books were being published early over here in England, so I got myself one, and I finished it in 4 days! Gerber's writing style is consistant and funny. Comments made between the characters are hilarius, and people who have commented on it being 'toilet humour' just fail to see the fun in it. If you have read the Harry Potter books, you will get the way characters act and the jokes made about them. Being a die-hard HP fan, I got all of the jokes, and the americanisms easily translated into englishisms no trouble. The plot twist, being the ending, was a stroke of genius, and the way that this book rips it out of the American way of over-commercialising and over-exposing things is just..I can't even put it into words. This man is amazing, and he deserves more credit than he is getting!!! Well done Mike, you did yourself proud!
Rating: 
Summary: Moderately humorous satire of the Harry Potter books
Review: Barry Trotter, at 22, has become an eternal student at Hogwash School, as parents are willing to spend any amount of money to have their kids go to school with him. He earns the odd bit of cash by selling the location of Hogwash to the Stun newspaper and other such schemes. But the Stun scheme has backfired--Muddles are gathering in increasing numbers outside the gates, and Headmaster Alpo Bumblemore sees only one way out of being overwhelmed--Barry and his pals must stop the next Barry Trotter movie--or else! I would describe this book as mixed--the first chapters, at Hogwash, are inspired, so is the ultimate confrontation with Lord Valumart. Inbetween, unfortunately, the book has a tendency to bog down Still, I'd say it is a good read for the Harry Potter fan or enemy. Both should enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny...
Review: Heard about this on a local radio show. Me and the kids have read all the Potters, and I for one have been waiting for someone to poke fun at Harry for sometime. THis book does it and more -- it really is for the whole family too; there are some adult jokes, but they're sort of like Shrek (but funnier): a bit off-color but they'll fly right over the kids' heads. My whole family got a big kick out of it...is Michael Gerber going to do another Barry Trotter???? Try the book out, I say; you might just laugh a lot...
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny to a true Harry Potter fan
Review: This book is a well-written parody of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and the more of a fan you are, in my opinion, the funnier this book is. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself before purchasing it! Go to barrytrotter.com and you can read the first chapter. If you don't like it, don't buy it! But I think that if you can appreciate humor and are a fan of Harry, you'll be very interested to read on!
Rating:
Summary: Clever, But Only At First
Review: Any major phenomenon, nay any institution, makes excellent fodder for parody. In fact, it's kind of a way to know that your work is successful - as one artist put it, he knew he had "made it" when Weird Al did a parody of his song. As a lumbering juggernaut of publishing power and kid-friendly fun, "Harry Potter" was ripe for the picking, and Michael Gerber takes the first stab with "Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody." Unfortunately, it's a book so in love with itself and its premise that it becomes so mired in nonsense that the humor is lost in the first few pages. Barry Trotter, world famous slayer of the evil wizard Value-mart, has established an agreement to keep himself at Hogwash School in order to boost attendance and enrollment, and to keep the trustees happy. When a movie studio plans to do a film about Barry's life, fans overrun Hogwash, turning it into a mud-slicked New Age-ish Woodstock. Headmaster Bumplemore, furious at the intrusion and the stupidity of these fans, tells the 22-year-old Barry and his buddy Lon (whose brain was replaced with that of a Golden Retriever after a Quidditch - I can't recall the parody word for it - accident), to put a stop to it. On the way, Gerber finds ways to parody many situations from the Potter books. There are some genuinely funny moments, but most of them involve the all-too-fleeting descriptions of characters (McGonagal roaming the halls, driven insane by Harry's constant troublemaking, is priceless). The key to good parody is not to wear out your welcome - that's why movies like "Blazing Saddles" and "Spaceballs" are so short, and why other classic parody books like "Bored of the Rings" and "Star Wreck" rarely run over 150 pages. Of course, "Barry Trotter" is still a good deal shorter than "Goblet of Fire," but it grows very old very fast as the same jokes are recycled through again and again. If you're a fan of Harry, "Barry" makes an interesting read, although adults will probably find it more humorous than kids (when it actually IS humorous). Otherwise, it doesn't really measure up to some of the tried-and-true parody books. Hopefully, someone will do a better send-up of the boy wizard, because he certainly needs one. Final Grade: C-
Rating: 
Summary: Just read my review:
Review: I picked up this book thinking I would like to read a book that pokes fun of the so popular Harry Potter series. I am not exactly a huge fan of the books but I do think the books are well written or at least the first one is. I picked up this book for a laugh but the only word i have for this book is....stupid! Everything in it got so old and boring after the first page. I think just trying to read the first page is hard and stupid enough to put the book down. How the author tries to use so many parodies and you are suppose to laugh just gave me a headache from the start. I figured it would get better and would become a funny story, but no...it never did! this book is stupid and a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Buy Bored of the Rings Instead
Review: I enjoyed the Bored of the Rings parody and was looking forward to reading this parody of the Harry Potter books. Unfortunately I didn't find it to be either witty or humorous. The puns are not particularly good and the storyline is amazingly unentertaining. It plods along with only the renaming of familar places and names to keep the reader mildly interested until it finally limps to a merciful conclusion. If you feel you must read this book, chip in with 20 or so friends to share it, then the expense might be worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Not the gods' gift to Man
Review: I will start off by declaring a few things. Yes, I have read the Harry Potter books. Yes, I do like them. Yes, I will read the rest of them. But no, I am not a fanatic fan who thinks Harry Potter is as good as it gets. You will find me in the middle of things.
With that said, I will say I do not like this parody very much and I think I dislike it more whenever I think about it, and this is not caused by the fact that I am an obsessive Potter fan as I started off with saying. =) The book is very self-ironic which I think is a good thing (it often says things like "Nightmares can be extremely
instructive (especially in cheesy books like this one"). There are jokes in this book I found amusing, and there are several names I'm sure I would find more amusing if I knew what they were a parody of. I fear I haven't paid enough attention when I read HP. But Gerber seems to spend one hell of a time joking about sex and bodily sounds and smells. Which reminds me, this is NOT a children's book. There are things in this book I do not find suitable for younger readers, heck, I wouldn't even find them suitable for my parents. =) Anyway, some of these jokes can be entertaining, others I just shake my head at. There is another thing I can't quite figure out about this book. I don't know if it takes itself seriously or not. This IS a parody, obviously, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's written badly on purpose. It IS written badly, let me emphasise that, and it gets stupid in several places, but I don't know if Gerber intended to. Sometimes I get the feeling Gerber tried to write the book as a *real* book, but unfortunately he failed. It even drags on at times, and I absolutely loathe the ending; I find it utterly ridiculous. Far too mushy, especially for a parody, in my humble opinion anyway. I do not exactly recommend this book. You can lead a happy life without even knowing this book existed, but I won't tell you *not* to read it either. It's not completely bad, even though I only gave it 2 stars and say several times I don't like it. =) I will point out though, that if you're a fanatic HP fan, then don't get all upset. JK Rowling is treated very nicely in this book. She's actually pictured as a very kind, helpful, and generous person, and also Barry is still the hero, despite his somewhat shady personality. He does, in some ways, save the day. This is a parody, not a book written to be mean.
Rating:
Summary: Too Funny
Review: This book was hilarious! And, yes, it does seem to tick off 12-year-olds. To me, this is not surprising. Most 12-year-olds are just beginning to appreciate satire (it was around that age when I discovered the fun of Mad and Cracked) and those whose humor development is on the lower end of the scale will NOT appreciate satire when it involves their generation's most beloved characters. That said, I have a 12-year-old son who would appreciate the satirical value of this book and I still haven't let him read it because of the adult content. I would NOT recommend that parents buy this book for their children and you definitely can't teach it in school. Other than that, it's hilarious. Gerber's obviously read Rowling's books, as he understands the magical world and plays it to his best advantage. A great read - and worth [the money].
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