Reviews of books I recommend (1 to 4 subversion stars )

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud 

A completely hilarious anti-Harry Potter fantasy story. The magicians are all greedy and obsessed creeps, and the true power lies with the demons, which in many varieties populate the seven levels of reality - of which we mortals can only see the first. Complete destruction and mayhem prevails, with no redeeming qualities left for anyone, supported by references to mankind's history. The text is written in the snotty style of detective novels, in particular when Bartimaeus, the lead demon of the story, reveals in first person his view of the events, richly endorsed with tongue-in-cheek footnotes.

The good old Harry Potter  

His goody-to-shoes character costs Harry a star on the subversion scale. Compared to Bartimaeus, this is neat and sweet reading for those who occasionally feel the need to believe in the good in the world, although there is a  good chance that Harry might earn half a subversion star in Volume 7! I had Snape in Math, btw.