Harry Potter: A Review

OK, here it is. I will be not spoil the book for those who have not read it yet until later in my post and I will clearly mark that section. It took me only two days of reading to finish the book but I've waited to post to give those who are interested in reading it some time to finish.

I enjoyed this book. Probably one of the better ones in the series. I didn't particularly care for the fifth one and this one is much better than that. However, one of the things I liked about the other books was that I felt they stood on their own and this book does not. If you haven't read the other 5 books, I would not read this one by itself. You will be totally lost.

It is by far the darkest of the books in the series. I'm not so sure its appropriate for very little children. It does seem that Rowlings' writing style is evolving and maturing along with the characters in her book which may account for the more mature themes in this book.

If you like the Harry Potter series this is pretty much a must read. A lot of things have happened in this book that are essential to the plot and several loose ends are tied, but many more are created.



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Wow, I can't believe they killed Dumbledore. I had heard rumors that a very important character was going to die and I guessed who it was from early in the book but was still shocked when it happened. Now here is the question, what's going on with Snape?

I still think Snape can be counted in the good column. Am I crazy? How can he be good when he killed the greatest wizard of them all, Dumbledore? I just have that much faith in Dumbledore. For him to be this wrong about someone is very out of character. Throughout all six books, Dumbledore refuses to believe anything bad about Snape and insist that Snape has done something that warrants Dumbledore's absolute faith. Additionally, do you really think Dumbledore would beg for his life like he seems to when he pleads, "Serveus ..." No way. Dumbledore would have stood tall and proud and taken his death like a man. Instead, I truly believe Dumbledore was begging Snape to do what he must, protect his cover and do as they agreed to before, to kill Dumbledore no matter what. There is the argument that Hagrid overheard Snape and Dumbledore having which is yet to be explained. It is my belief that this was Dumbledore telling Snape that if it comes down to it, Snape must finish the task that Malfoy did not in order to save Snape's own life (he made the unbreakable vow) and continue working as a double agent against Voldermort. Maybe I'm wrong. I guess I have to wait and see.

One thing that disappointed me was that I believe that Rowlings is playing games with the books. From the start, it seemed that there would be 7 books, one for each year Harry was at Hogwarts. But now with the ending being that Harry is leaving Hogwarts, I think Rowlings is attempting to lengthen the series, and thus the money she can make from it all. I hope I am wrong about this. As much as I like the series and would like to see more books, I also think there is something to be said about the original intent of the novel and for the story to reach a natural conclusion. Than again, its all from the minds of this woman so any ending she sees fit I guess the rest of us are going to have to take it.