Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
I guess I am probably the last among my friends to read the book, and I have some really good excuse for that - what with work and all. I do believe the book was work the wait, and is probably my favorite so far. The book had some surprises, and some predictable stuff, but it did a good job in grabbing my interest until the end.
The most curious thing in the way events turned in this book, I believe, is the decision Harry made near the end, when he mentioned he wouldn't go back to the school next year anyways. Will this really happen? I very much doubt it, but without Dumbledore, it seems that Harry is going to become much more stubborn and hard to steer by others, which means if he doesn't want to go back to school, nobody would be able to bring him back. However, the whole series has been centered on Hogwarts (and it is the reason why there are only 7 books anyway, isn't it?). So for him to leave it in his last year would be very uncharacteristic. There has to be a big part of the story set up in Hogwarts.
I do not know which to consider more shocking, Dumbledore's death, or Snape's betrayal. I have felt a lot of sympathy for Snape, and hoped for a day when he and Harry would become friendlier towards each other (After they realize they are perusing the same cause). I did firmly believe that Snape was honest with Dumbledore, and this has been shown over and over in the previous books. I still believed in him after the events in the beginning of the book (His Unbreakable Vow). I hoped he'd turn against Voldemort in the last minute, but he didn't. He killed Dumbledore. I think I agree with the theories that suspect he did this just because he had to (and because Dumbledore was going to die anyway after having the poison). I do hope this will happen in the next book.
So Snape ends up being the Half-Blood Prince; this made much sense in my opinion. I did suspect it while reading the book. The only problem I had with that is that I thought Snape was not Half-Blood. Yet, it was either him or some new character, and as time passed, it became less likely that a new character was going to appear.
One of the special things about this book is the fact that it is packed with romance; way too much at some points. Harry, who always upset me with his passivity in this regard (especially with Cho), actually manages to love; many people mentioned they hated seeing him with Ginny, and I understand that. Never before this book did I feel right about them being together, but JKR did it right. Ginny has grown up, and has become a more attractive person with a strong personality (I did not feel the same about her before); she also seems to have become more beautiful. Thus, it makes sense to see Harry feel something for her (the poor girl had had emotions for him for years now!). I do admit I still wish something would happen between Harry and Hermione. As for Ron and Hermione, sorry, but it is just wrong.
So well; I liked it. I do wish to see Snape back to the right side. I am sorry Dumbledore died, but with all the rumors, it did not come as a shock. Actually, the good thing about Dumbledore's death (and many other things in this book) is that they suggest Harry is not going to die at the end of the series, and this is the one thing I would not forgive JKR for.
Poll Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The most curious thing in the way events turned in this book, I believe, is the decision Harry made near the end, when he mentioned he wouldn't go back to the school next year anyways. Will this really happen? I very much doubt it, but without Dumbledore, it seems that Harry is going to become much more stubborn and hard to steer by others, which means if he doesn't want to go back to school, nobody would be able to bring him back. However, the whole series has been centered on Hogwarts (and it is the reason why there are only 7 books anyway, isn't it?). So for him to leave it in his last year would be very uncharacteristic. There has to be a big part of the story set up in Hogwarts.
I do not know which to consider more shocking, Dumbledore's death, or Snape's betrayal. I have felt a lot of sympathy for Snape, and hoped for a day when he and Harry would become friendlier towards each other (After they realize they are perusing the same cause). I did firmly believe that Snape was honest with Dumbledore, and this has been shown over and over in the previous books. I still believed in him after the events in the beginning of the book (His Unbreakable Vow). I hoped he'd turn against Voldemort in the last minute, but he didn't. He killed Dumbledore. I think I agree with the theories that suspect he did this just because he had to (and because Dumbledore was going to die anyway after having the poison). I do hope this will happen in the next book.
So Snape ends up being the Half-Blood Prince; this made much sense in my opinion. I did suspect it while reading the book. The only problem I had with that is that I thought Snape was not Half-Blood. Yet, it was either him or some new character, and as time passed, it became less likely that a new character was going to appear.
One of the special things about this book is the fact that it is packed with romance; way too much at some points. Harry, who always upset me with his passivity in this regard (especially with Cho), actually manages to love; many people mentioned they hated seeing him with Ginny, and I understand that. Never before this book did I feel right about them being together, but JKR did it right. Ginny has grown up, and has become a more attractive person with a strong personality (I did not feel the same about her before); she also seems to have become more beautiful. Thus, it makes sense to see Harry feel something for her (the poor girl had had emotions for him for years now!). I do admit I still wish something would happen between Harry and Hermione. As for Ron and Hermione, sorry, but it is just wrong.
So well; I liked it. I do wish to see Snape back to the right side. I am sorry Dumbledore died, but with all the rumors, it did not come as a shock. Actually, the good thing about Dumbledore's death (and many other things in this book) is that they suggest Harry is not going to die at the end of the series, and this is the one thing I would not forgive JKR for.
Poll Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince