Reviews of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Cindy – Major Spoiler Warning!

Book 6 changed everything, there's no doubt about that. All our assumptions and all the norms were turned upside down. After 6 years of going to school, getting into mischief, and ultimately fighting the bad guy in one glorious scene at the end, JK moves us into a position where none of that will be the case for the last book. To me all this was unsettling but expected. Harry's 7th year will be different, book 6 showed us that.

While HBP was definitely smaller then 5 and 6, it also had a faster moving plot. I found that my leg involuntarily bounced throughout most of the book, whereas in previous books it moved only in a few places (for me, this is a definite sign that the book was exciting). At times it seemed rushed—JK has a lot of lose ends to tie up before the series is over. I felt overwhelmed by the time I finished.

I was happy how JK portrayed average teenage love-lives at Hogwarts. This time she did not specifically focus on Harry until nearly the end. While I was surprised to see a very hormonal Ron with Lavender Brown, of all people, I think it helped him prepare for future relationships (God willing, a relationship with Hermione). I was excited to see Harry and Ginny, not because I am an ardent H/G shipper, but because it happened at a time when Ginny had become an independent and well developed character. To be honest, I could have done with a little less Ron/Lavender snogging and more Harry/Ginny time. And even though Remus and Tonks jumped out of completely nowhere with no warning, I'm glad JK has seen fit to take care of Remus. I've always thought he deserved to have some one. It would have been interesting to have seen some hints earlier on, however.

I was also excited to see a more mature Harry—a Harry very different from the ranting, whiney one of book 5. He showed his growing independence in this book. This is most clearly seen in the situation with Draco Malfoy. Harry detected something was wrong, consulted his friends, and when they ultimately did not believe him, pursued the issue on his own. And in the end, he was right about nearly everything. Hermione, for once, could not claim the Know-It-All status. Additionally, Harry showed his maturity by being less reckless. Yes, he did some spying and eavesdropping, but it was much more planned.

But Harry wasn't the only one growing up, facing life and death situations, and worried about protecting his loved ones. We saw a very interesting side of Draco Malfoy in HBP. We saw him crying to Myrtle, hesitate to kill—and don't forget, he almost accepted Dumbledore's protection. He's not as evil as we all thought.

JK also did a fabulous job of getting a lot of background information about Lord Voldemort's past out in an interesting sort of way. Harry was able to learn a lot, and we as the readers were able to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together.

Yet the book disappointed me on several key levels. The difference between book 5 Dumbledore and book 6 Dumbledore was like night and day. In book 6 we were shown a weak, flawed, and misguided Dumbledore that was rather shocking. Dumbledore has always been portrayed as the all-knowing, omnipotent protector of the books. In book 5 we were told that Dumbledore's biggest flaw was that he loved Harry too much. In book 6 we were shown two shocking mistakes that ultimately led to his death—the Horcrux being at the cave and his trust in Snape.

I always knew Dumbledore would die—the mentor and the student can't both live. Yet I always assumed it would be in a glorious fight where he gave it his all but ultimately was defeated. Surely that would have been a more fitting death. I was therefore extremely shocked to find Dumbledore pleading and begging for his life after having slipped to the ground. While his sacrifice and persistence with the goblet of poison were glorious in their own way, I was displeased with Dumbledore's end.

I was also displeased with how we learned who the HBP was. It was easy to see coming that it was Snape, but he divulged the answer so quickly and I was still so upset about Dumbledore's death that I found the entire scene incredibly anti-climactic. However, I found it very interesting that Harry had been relying all year upon someone he hated.

I was disappointed to see little to no mention of some things that were of great importance in book 5. Namely the DA. This invariably left Neville out of the story almost entirely.

Finally, I found the last few pages very hollow. I suppose after watching movies like Batman Begins, Spiderman, Superman/Smallville, one gets tired of the "hero complex." It is absolutely cliché now to give up the one you love so you can single-handedly protect them, yourself, and save the world. Harry somehow came up with the brilliant thought that it must be him and him alone (even though it appears Hermione and Ron will be joining him, two people he loves just as much as Ginny—I don't understand his logic). But did he consider the point that the only reason he has enough power to defeat Voldemort is due to his ability to love. Tell me, how will it help to push the one you love away? I suppose I'm just getting weary of the only joy in the book being whenever Fred and George decide to pop over or whenever Dumbledore discusses him jam preferences. But even Fred and George were more somber in HBP and now Dumbledore is dead. It makes me questions whether I'll actually be able to make it through book 7 or not.

But there are still a million questions to be answered. And in the end I am an HP fan to the end. After all, we have to know who RAB is; who will survive; where are the Horcruxes; whether Snape really is a traitor or just acting on Dumbedore's will; whether Ron/Hermione and H/G will really happen; whether or not the entire Weasley family will survive considering JK seems to adore killing off anyone that protects Harry; whether or not Harry will defeat Voldemort and what he'll have to sacrifice to do it; will Hogwarts open. You see, there's still so much left.

– Cindy of Marauders' Map

Brendan

Coming Soon

Jess – Minor Plot Spoiler Warning

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - One of the best we've seen yet

Not only did I make sure to go stay with one of my best Harry Potter Friends to get the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series, I also made sure that we went to the Barnes and Noble party. Granted, maybe showing up at four for a six 'o'clock line-up got me a little bit anxious, but no one can argue that there's much to do in a Barnes and Noble for two hours.

We waited. We got our tickets. And then--and then, we had to wait some more. Tensions rising, randomly throwing our hands up in the air, we didn't even have the patience to make the cute little Hedwigs that were being offered, and all I could think about was by what manner I could convince one of the Barnes and Noble employees to hand me over one of their special July 16^th hats. Not to mention, that sinking feeling that maybe this one would be a disappointment too, that it'd be months until I could fully appreciate how brilliant the new book was.

No. It was into the first paragraph (oh how I love political snark!) that I could tell this was the book for me. Now, maybe it hasn't stolen first place from my other favorites, but it did a nice job of tying it up there, so that some days I sit around and wonder which book really is my cherished, my one and only, if I could only take one Harry Potter book with me on a deserted desert island, which would it be? There was just something magical about this one.

Call me foolish, but I love a bit of optimism. I nourish the idea that even when you're having a bad day, you can turn around and find one person who can uplift it, a stranger who might care for your pain. Love makes the world go round; you're not trapped in your destiny; I can do anything. Many of these are concepts looked at in J.K. Rowling's novels, and they hadn't been shown better than in this book.

There was a new coating to the tone of this book. Harry had matured, and it made me able to put up with him a little bit better. He wasn't so confined in his duty, and he learned that he needs the love of his friends--of course, it's his love that is the one capability he has that Voldemort doesn't. Unfortunately, The Chosen One has a time to go before he realizes that while he can't rely on others to protect him, he can't push them away, either.

Another aspect of the sixth book that I adored was the tone. There was, at parts, reminisces of a fairy tale, of nursey rhymes and of the twisted. Hissy, hissy, little snakey, slither on the floor. You be good to Morfin or he'll nail you to the door . The aspect of an adult fairytale--where Sleeping Beauty's mother-in-law tries to eat the children, where an Evil Stepsister tries to cut off parts of her foot to fit in the glass slipper--was unmistacable in this scene. For someone who spends her time reading fairy tales and classic folklore, it was one of the peak moments of the book.

Of course, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince wasn't without its quirks; mostly technical. The pacing was too quick, the characters too shallow. But we did get to read from a different Point of View (omniscient at times), and learn more about the characters we never thought we'd see again--and how the Muggle world interacts with that of the Wizarding.

The only thing I can say for this book is that I can't wait till the last. Sure, it'll be the end of a saga, but that's what the fandom is for.

– Jess of Marauders' Map