When 7-year-old Will Miklavcic dons a black cape and pair of glasses repaired with tape, he said he resembles Harry Potter, even though he's blond.

"I like Harry Potter; I've read all the books," the Haslett resident said. "I've been waiting for the next book for a long time - like a year."

Miklavcic is among many people who are waiting for Saturday's release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth book in the series by author J.K. Rowling.

In the days and hours leading up to its release, several area libraries and bookstores are offering Harry Potter theme parties to celebrate.

Barnes & Noble, 333 E. Grand River Ave., and Schuler Books & Music, 2920 Towne Center Blvd. in the Eastwood Towne Center, are both holding parties that are open to the public from 10 p.m. until midnight on Friday. Before they begin selling the book at one second after midnight, there will be character look-alike contests, crafts and magicians.

Kelli Flynn-Scut, store manager at Barnes & Noble, said the store has done this for the previous books and has been preparing for the event for a month.

On Tuesday, the East Lansing Public Library held a theme party. The library's teen advisory board organized the event, which included a magic show and Harry Potter themed foods.

Spokeswoman for the book's publishing company Scholastic, Kris Moran, said the initial number of book printings set a record.

"Our initial print run was 10.8 million, and that is the largest print run of any book ever," she said. "Every Harry Potter book seems to surprise us."

Although officials at area bookstores said they were unable to predict the number of reservations for the book, local library patrons already have several holds on it.

John Fierst, head of public services at the Capital Area District Library, 401 S. Capitol Ave. in Lansing, said the library has ordered 150 copies of the book and already has 374 people on wait-lists.

"They won't even hit the shelves - those people will come to pick it up," he said. "It is certainly anticipated. It has become more than a book; it has become an event."

At Hear You Go Audio Books, 2755 E. Grand River Ave., sales associate Meg Campbell-Crawley said they have many pre-orders for the book and already have a long wait list for rental.

"We get a lot of calls about the Harry Potter books. It is an award winning audio series," she said. "We have one customer who is hearing impaired who listens and reads the books at the same time to help her with speaking."

Amanda Snook, promotions coordinator at Schuler Books & Music, said the fan frenzy resembles that of "Star Wars."

"They dress up - they don't camp out - but they are constantly asking us when the next one is coming out," she said.

Opponents of the series do not agree with topics included in the books, such as witches and elements of magic.

Debbie Holland, manager of King's High Way Ministries in Idaho, said she encourages members of the ministry to avoid the series.

"It's not scriptural - we look at the Bible, and it says that we are to avoid all types of witchcraft," she said. "It could affect the millions who are reading it, affect how they think and bring them into it. We have to be careful about what we read."

Political theory and constitutional democracy senior and magician John Sturk, said magic and the series only benefit kids.

"Magic is always looking for young people to be interested in the art, and the series has done such a good job in getting kids to read," he said.