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Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Posted October 26, 2011 By dorolerium

Title: Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 759
How I Read It: Paperback purchased by me

Synopsis: As the novel begins, Harry, Ron and Hermione are on the run from Lord Voldemort, whose minions of Death Eaters have not only taken control of the Minister of Magic but have begun to systematically — and forcibly — change the entire culture of the magic community: Muggle-born wizards, for example, are being rounded up and questioned, and all “blood traitors” are being imprisoned. But as Voldemort and his followers ruthlessly pursue the fugitive with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, Potter finally uncovers the jaw-dropping truth of his existence….

My Review: Holy emotional ride, Batman!!!  What an amazing, fabulous end to this great series!

I find myself sitting here, not quite sure what exactly to say about this book.  I absolutely loved it, felt it was such a fitting end to the series, and can’t believe I waited so long to read it.  Although that did at least give me the benefit of being able to read the entire series as quickly as I wanted.  It’s kind of like ripping off a bandaid – you just want to read it all at once!

While the series started off kind of slow for me, and I didn’t love the definite “kid” feel to the whole thing, I can emphatically say that I completely changed my mind by the end.  We get to see Harry really become the man he was always meant to be, develop in ways you would never hope a boy would have to, make choices no one could even imagine.

Rowling does a fantastic job of answering all the questions you could have had reading the previous six books, and it makes you realize what an amazing author she is – to tie everything together like this, in such a beautiful, heart-wrenching package, it’s mind-blowing.

I couldn’t get through an entire chapter of this book without crying.  In fact, I’m not sure when a book has ever made me cry that much.  The entire book is the final journey that Harry, Ron, and Hermione take together, which I loved because we got to see their entire relationship, see what they all became together.

Anyone who has seen the movies, but not read the books, is definitely missing out.  There are so many incredibly important things that either get glossed over or left out completely in the movies, so do yourself a favor and pick this series up.  I’ve seen both the Deathly Hallows movies and there were still surprises in store for me.

I really can’t say enough good about this one, I just loved it, and I can’t wait to share this series with children in my life some day.

Read this book if: I usually try to be nice, but if you haven’t read this series yet, what is wrong with you?  You’ll be as sorry as I was that I didn’t read it sooner!!!

My Rating: 5/5 – Did I say cool? Make that awesome!

 

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Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Posted September 30, 2011 By dorolerium

Title: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 652
How I Read It: Paperback purchased by me

Synopsis: The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing.  Hermione scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names.  Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet…

As in all wars, life goes on.  The Weasley twins expand their business.  Sixth-year students learn to Apparate – and lose a few eyebrows in the process.  Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love.  Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it’s the home front that takes center stage in the multi-layered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter.  Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort – and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

My Review: What a fabulous book!  Can you believe this series is on the banned books list?  I was curious about why that’s the case, so I did a bit of googling and found this site, which goes into more detail about the ban.

My favorite reason?  That people believe witchcraft is real (did we not learn from burning “witches” in the old timey days?), and further, that the Harry Potter series is going to convince children that witchcraft is fun instead of evil.

Have these people read the series?  It very clearly takes place in a secret world.  Believe me, there have been plenty of times that I’ve wished I could just grab a broom and fly away, or stupefy someone into shutting up.  But uh, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way.  Or, if we’re really going to talk about literature I wish was real…I have a replica of The One Ring from the LOTR series.  I wear it every day.  Sadly, it has never made me invisible.

Anyway, all that nonsense aside, I was completely blown away by this book.  I’ve seen the movie a ton, but I was pleasantly surprised at all the other details that existed in this book.  For example, I felt like the relationships were much more developed and we got significantly better background on them in the book – whereas in the movie, it was like BAM! Harry and Ginny kiss once!

Obviously one of the most important plot points we read is about horcruxes.  Anyone who knows anything about this series understands the significance of that word.  If you don’t, please go to the beginning and start reading this series, because you are totally going to kick yourself for not doing it sooner.

This book transports me to the center of the wizarding world, a place I’m very much in love with, although it unfortunately does not spend enough time with my beloved Snape.  I’d love an entire series just written about Snape, actually…

I can’t really find anything wrong with this book that I haven’t mention in previous books, so it was nearly flawless in my opinion.  The kids are, naturally, more grown up, and I love seeing them having to face more realistic problems, make decisions that actually affect the world, and take those further steps down the paths that lead to their destinies.  This was a touching story, I dare you to read it without crying, and I’m dying to pick the last one up very soon.

Read this book if: Definitely continue the series, or start it if you haven’t already.

My Rating: 5/5 – Did I say cool? Make that awesome!

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Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Posted August 27, 2011 By dorolerium

Title: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 870
How I Read It: Paperback purchased by me

Synopsis: There is a door at the end of a silent corridor.  And it’s haunting Harry Potter’s dreams.  Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?

Harry has a lot on his mind for this, his fifth year at Hogwarts: a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a big surprise on the Gryffindor Quidditch team; and the looming terror of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams.  But all these things pale next to the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named – a threat that neither the magical government nor the authorities at Hogwarts can stop.

As the grasp of darkness tightens, Harry must discover the true depth and strength of his friends, the importance of boundless loyalty, and the shocking price of an unbearable sacrifice.

His fate depends on them all.

My Review: I will first say that I’m probably going to offend some fans of the series with this review, cuz I have some complaints against some fan favorite characters.  Which we’ll get to in a bit.

I get the impression that of the books in the series, people don’t love this one as much, and I certainly don’t hear as much about it as I do some of the others.  However, I think that so many key things happen in this book that it’s very important to the rest of the series.  I’ve seen the movies about the next two books, so I’ve seen what’s to come, and I knew that this was going to be an action packed book where a lot of serious stuff comes to light.

I like stories that give you pivotal information while furthering the plot of the book itself along with the series.  By contrast, I hate when there’s a book in a series that does virtually nothing to further the overall arc.  So with that in mind, I would say that this is one of my favorite Harry Potter books so far.

The characters who were either introduced or furthered in this book were phenomenal – whether you like her or not, Dolores Umbridge is a very well written, exciting villain.  Sure, she’s horrible from the start, but she’s so good at it!

And another of my favorites is Luna Lovegood…I adore her spaciness, the way she just sort of floats through things, yet can be extremely helpful when it’s called for.  Not to mention that Neville is flushed out more, as well as Cho, and we get to see more of why Draco Malfoy is such a prat.

With that all said, here were my complaints:

  • Hagrid seemed rather reckless with the kids he supposedly cares so much for.  Sending them off into the forest to take care of something that was clearly injuring him?  Why would he put them in danger like that?
  • Harry acts like such a child!  I was more understanding of this in the earlier books, but he’s supposed to be 15 now.  I wanted to reach in there, slap him, and say, “NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU!!!”  I get that it’s frustrating when his friends don’t tell him much over the summer, and that Dumbledore won’t talk to him…but you know, get over it!  Find a hobby!

I could go on with that, but I’m going to stop for fear of letting out some spoilers.

Other than those few things, I really really enjoyed this book and I’m very much looking forward to the next one!

My Rating: 4/5 – Borderline Amazing!

Read this book if: Definitely continue reading the series.  And if you’re like me and 10 years late to the party, start at the beginning!

 

 

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Harry Potter Read-Along: Book 7

Posted August 1, 2011 By dorolerium

Book 7: Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows

Synopsis: Begun over a decade ago and encompassing six shelf-bending novels, the seventh and concluding volume of the international literary phenomenon that is the Harry Potter saga comes to a bombshell-packed — and oh so satisfying — conclusion in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,arguably the most wildly anticipated release in modern publishing history.

As the novel begins, Harry, Ron and Hermione are on the run from Lord Voldemort, whose minions of Death Eaters have not only taken control of the Minister of Magic but have begun to systematically — and forcibly — change the entire culture of the magic community: Muggle-born wizards, for example, are being rounded up and questioned, and all “blood traitors” are being imprisoned. But as Voldemort and his followers ruthlessly pursue the fugitive with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, Potter finally uncovers the jaw-dropping truth of his existence….

Undoubtedly Rowling’s crowning literary achievement, this triumphant final installment not only answers any and all questions surrounding integral characters like Albus Dumbledore, Voldemort, Severus Snape, Neville Longbottom, and Draco Malfoy but also brilliantly deals with some decidedly adult themes — mortality, faith, duty, honor, etc. — with a lyrical simplicity that will touch the hearts of readers of all ages. (“Do not pity the dead…pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”) Rowling definitely saved the best for last in this saga; HP7 will exceed the expectations of even the most demanding Harry Potter fan — a towering, transcendent end to an equally towering and transcendent series.

*****

I’m so far behind I haven’t even read book 5 yet, but here is the option for anyone who is ready to link!



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Harry Potter Read-Along: Book 6

Posted July 5, 2011 By dorolerium

Book 6: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

Synopsis: The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet . . .

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate — and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it’s the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here are Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort — and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

*****

Please link up your reviews when you finish this one!!!



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Harry Potter Read-Along: Book 5

Posted June 6, 2011 By dorolerium

Book 5: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

Synopsis: There is a door at the end of a silent corridor, and it’s haunting Harry Potter’s dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?

Here are just a few of the things on Harry’s mind:

• A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey
• A venomous, disgruntled house-elf
• Ron as Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team
• The looming terror of the end-of-term Ordinary Wizarding Level exams

. . . and of course, the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

In the richest installment yet of J.K. Rowling’s seven-part story, Harry Potter is faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts.

Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he finds depth and strength in his friends, beyond what even he knew; boundless loyalty; and unbearable sacrifice.

Though thick runs the plot (as well as the spine), readers will race through these pages and leave Hogwarts, like Harry, wishing only for the next train back.

*Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

*****

I haven’t actually read this one at all yet, which I feel bad about, but I haven’t had the time.  This is the only book I don’t think I’ve seen any part of the movie of up until this point, so I’m looking forward to it being a complete surprise!  I’ll read it soon when I do not have such a full review schedule.

In the meantime, please link up as you finish!


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Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Posted May 20, 2011 By dorolerium

*****Warning: I do not normally post reviews that have spoilers in them, and I really try to avoid any kind of spoiler when I talk about a book.  However, I don’t feel like it’s possible to discuss this book without spoiling it.  Most people have read this series, so I’m not too worried.  But if you haven’t read it yet, you may want to just stop now and read the series before you read my review.*****

Synopsis: Harry Potter is midway through both his training as a wizard and his coming-of-age.  Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the Quidditch World Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys.  He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream).  He wants to find out about the mysterious event that’s supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn’t happened for hundreds of years.  He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard.  But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal – even by Wizarding standards.

And in his case, different can be deadly.

My Review: Every time I read the next Harry Potter book, I find it’s my new favorite.  This is the first book in the series I can genuinely say that I loved, and it really makes me want to grab the next one right away.

I loved this one for a variety of reasons: far less Quidditch (ugh, I am so not a sports person); more getting at what I consider to be the meat of this series with learning more about the Death Eaters and Voldemort; lots of betrayal and secret identities.  We learned about and met a lot of the characters who will be more important in the coming books, and those who were portrayed as bad people really started to show that behavior in this one.

I really only had one complaint, which is that because Cedric Diggory was relatively important in this one, I would have liked to see more of him in the earlier books.  I’ve seen parts of the Goblet of Fire movie, so I knew that Cedric was not going to last to the end of this book, but it didn’t really prepare me for the events of the last third or so of this book.  This was such an emotional book for me, with Cedric’s death and the ceremony bringing about the rise of Lord Voldemort – not to mention the fight that came after that ceremony.  In past books I did honestly feel like Harry was a bit annoying, just a meddling kid (do you see Snape coming out in me?), but I genuinely felt for him in this one and liked that we got to see more of what makes him into the hero of this series.

Not many people seem to like Voldemort, understandably, but he’s a very interesting character to me and I really enjoyed seeing just how he came back to power.  It’s not often that you see someone like him, who doesn’t take his “loyal” supporters at face value, and punishes them all equally.  It’s just so deliciously evil, and very intriguing to read about.  I like that Rowling forces us to look at both sides of the story, and I would love it if some day, she’d write a second series more about him, or from his point of view.

I don’t really have the words to describe exactly how I feel, but I think this one will sit with me for a long time.  I haven’t cried through the end of a book like that in awhile, it was such a lovely ending and I’m looking forward to how the rest of the series unfolds.

Read this book if: This is a fantastic continuation of the series, if you haven’t read the series yet I definitely say you should just because this one is so fabulous.

My Rating: 5/5 – Did I say cool? Make that awesome!

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Harry Potter Read-Along: Book 4

Posted May 2, 2011 By dorolerium

Book 4: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

Synopsis: Harry Potter is back in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and this time, the magic gets out of hand!

First, imagine if you will, the sleepy but mysterious village of Little Hangleton, and what happened at the Riddle House. No, the Riddle House is not a place for riddles, but a home where the family died of fright. The man accused of murdering them was eventually released, but when he returns to the Riddle House, he overhears a curious conversation between someone named Wormtail and a terrible, dark presence by the name of Lord Voldemort — oh, so sorry He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Volde… (oops, almost said it again) He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is one of the most powerful Dark wizards — and he wants Harry Potter.

When Harry wakes from a particularly vivid dream, the scar on his forehead throbs, and he knows something is up. Harry’s been living in a dreadful house on Privet Drive with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and greedy cousin, Dudley. They won’t even let him do any wizardry — you know Muggles, how they can’t really handle that kind of stuff.

Harry’s uncle and aunt like to let the neighbors think that Harry goes to St. Brutus’s Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys rather than to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He has to hide his magic — and even broomsticks aren’t a suitable topic of conversation in the Dursley household. But everything is about to change for Harry, beginning with this particular summer vacation.

It starts with a letter from Mrs. Weasley, Harry’s friend Ron’s mother. She invites him to come spend the rest of the summer with the Weasleys and to go see the Quidditch World Cup. Quidditch is Harry’s favorite sport in the world, and it isn’t often that the Quidditch World Cup is in Britain. Faster than you can say “Hogwarts,” Harry travels by fire to the Burrow, and the dark and threatening adventure begins.

On the way, Harry discovers that his interest in girls is becoming more nerve-wracking — how is a young wizard to ask a girl to the Yule Ball? And what of the Goblet of Fire itself? And the Triwizard Tournament? And then, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might be seeking Harry out even now!

*Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

*****

My reading schedule got mixed up and I thought I was supposed to read this for next week.  Sooooo…whoopsie!  Y’all can link up and I will have mine soon!


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Harry Potter Read-Along 2011: Book 3

Posted April 4, 2011 By dorolerium

Book 3: Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban

Synopsis: J. K. Rowling continues to bewitch readers everywhere with the third book in her magical Potter series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry’s ongoing exploits, along with those of his contemporaries, teachers, and relatives, are as imaginative, entertaining, and mysterious as ever. For during Harry’s third year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he must face his greatest challenge yet: a confrontation with Sirius Black, an escaped convict and madman who is rumored to be in cahoots with Harry’s archenemy, the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort. This alone would be daunting enough, but Harry’s task is made even more trying when he discovers that Sirius is suspected of being the one who killed Harry’s parents.

For Harry, the Hogwarts campus has always been a sanctuary, but when Black escapes from the horrifying clutches of Azkaban Prison, all clues suggest the madman is headed for Hogwarts and Harry himself. As a result, the school starts to feel more like a prison than a sanctuary as Harry finds himself constantly watched and under guard. What’s more, the terrifying Dementors — the horrifying creatures who guard Azkaban Prison — are lurking about the campus looking for Black. And their effect on Harry is a devastating one.

Still, life at school offers plenty of distractions. Harry really likes the new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin, who might be able to teach Harry how to defend himself against the Dementors. But Professor Snape’s behavior toward Lupin has Harry wondering what secrets the two men are hiding. Harry’s friend Hermione is also acting very strangely. And, of course, there is the tension caused by the ongoing Quidditch competition between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins and the never-ending bullying of the Slytherin leader, Draco Malfoy.

One of Rowling’s greatest strengths is her ability to stack mystery upon mystery in a way that keeps the pages turning without frustrating the reader. Her clues are always fair and bountiful, but it’s easy to lose track of them in the midst of all the high suspense, spell-casting action, and unexpected plot twists. That’s okay, because Rowling ties it all neatly together at the end in a way that will leave readers snapping their fingers and muttering, “Oh yeah. Forgot about that one. How clever!”

*Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

*****

I, embarrassingly, have not finished the book in time to actually post my review.  So I’ll link up to it when I finish :)   But everyone else feel free to link to yours if you’re ready!

We’ll be linking up for the next book on May 3!

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Harry Potter Read-Along 2011

Posted February 28, 2011 By dorolerium

Book 1: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets

How I Read It: Audiobook & movie comparison

My Thoughts: I originally read and reviewed this book back in December, so I listened to the audio book again.  My review can be found here.

I don’t really have much to add to that particular review, but one thing did occur to me: I don’t really understand, at this point in the series, why our trio of heroes hates Draco Malfoy as much as they do.  Later on, yeah, I totally understand.  I’ve seen the most recent two movies and I understand disliking him at that point.  But right now?  He just seems like an annoying bully.  I guess I don’t see the point of making an arch nemesis at this early stage in their wizarding careers.

Lucius Malfoy, on the other hand, he’s pretty creepy.  I enjoy him a lot, I think if I didn’t like Snape as much as I do, Lucius would be my favorite.  I don’t intentionally pick out the bad guys, but they’re just a lot more interesting to me!

Something I noticed in the movie is that the actor they got to play Tom Riddle is a different guy than the one who plays him in later movies.  Why is that?  One of the things I really like is how they got all of the same actors to play the characters throughout the movie series.  I get why the actor who played Gandalf Dumbledore had to change, but I see no similar reason for the one that played Tom Riddle.

Unrelated, but doesn’t the later Dumbledore look like Gandalf?  I swear it’s like Ian McKellan said “Oh, you gentlemen need a wizard?  I happen to be one.  I can bring Christopher Lee’s wig for Lucius Malfoy too.”  Too much LOTR reference?

Anyway, go ahead and tell us all what you think of this one!

Come back on April 5th to link up for the next book, Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban.

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