Hallow! Area teen knows!
NORTHBROOK | Family got books too soon, had to return them -- but she's a fast reader
Mimi Elkaim is the envy of millions.
The teenager from Northbrook read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Tuesday, days before the rest of the world got their copies today.
The teenager from Northbrook read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Tuesday, days before the rest of the world got their copies today.
Mimi, 13, knows who lives, who dies and what a "deathly hallow'' is. And she hasn't told anyone what happens.
(Chris Sweda/Sun-Times)
(Art Vassy/STNG)
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Hallow! Harry Potter
Mimi, 13, knows who lives, who dies and what a "deathly hallow'' is. And she hasn't told anyone what happens.
Mimi got her hands on the highly coveted book because of a postal mix-up. The Northbrook post office delivered two copies of the book to the family's home Tuesday. Mimi's mom, Belinda Elkaim, had ordered them last fall from Wal-Mart.
When the books showed up Tuesday, mom just figured the post office was getting a jump on delivery because it has so many copies to deliver today.
Her kids asked if they could open the package, considering the box said not to open it until July 21. "I said, 'What do you think they are going to do, send the Harry Potter police and send you to Azkaban [the prison in the books]?' '' she said.
Mimi, the fastest reader in the house, immediately tore through the book and was done before bedtime.
So Belinda Elkaim was shocked when the postman returned Wednesday, told her he had made a mistake, and begged her to give the books back. Her first response? "That's ridiculous.'' But he told her he was in a lot of trouble, and she agreed to return one copy and the original box.
The postman returned Thursday and asked for the other copy. She spoke by phone to the Northbrook postmaster, who said their jobs could be on the line for making the early delivery.
She relented. "My curiosity to know what a deathly hallow is is not as important as someone's position in the work force,'' she said.
Postal officials wouldn't say whether anyone would lose a job for the mishap. But postal spokesman Tim Ratliff said the two books had come in to the post office Tuesday.
Most of the 500-plus books being sent to Northbrook homes came in Friday. Ratliff said he knew of no other copies of the book delivered early among the 200 post offices in the Northern Illinois District, which covers the north and west suburbs of Chicago.
Mimi said it's "pretty cool'' that she got to read the conclusion of the wildly popular series before everybody else.
"My friends are jealous,'' she said. "Nobody else at the library knew what happened, but I did.''
And how was it?
"I really liked it,'' she said. "It was really well-written.'' Still, it's her second-favorite book in the seven-book series.
For her four brothers and sisters and her mom, some of whom started the book before they had to give it back, there is one other problem. Today is the Sabbath, and the observant Jewish family cannot open the box. Elkaim asked the postman not to reseal the box before it is brought back -- otherwise they can't open it until sundown.
Ratliff assured that the family would get the book back.
"There is going to be no doubt that this one is going to be delivered'' today, he said.
"My friends are jealous. Nobody else at the library knew what happened, but I did.