#90 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling
Pretty big spoilers under the cut that I couldn't avoid. Don't read this review if you haven't read Half-Blood Prince unless you want to be 
spoiled.
The wizarding community has come to accept the truth, that Voldemort is back and just as dangerous as ever. But there’s something else that’s being whispered in the halls of Hogwarts. Although Harry was the only one that heard the prophecy about him and Voldemort, rumors have started to fly that Harry is some mythical Chosen One that is fated to take down the Dark Lord. Harry, as always, tries to brush off the fame while he deals with his new role as Quidditch captain, the fact that his two best friends may becoming more than just friends, a mysterious text book that seems to do all of his work for him, his emerging feelings for Ginny Weasley, and secret sessions with the headmaster Dumbledore that will bring Harry into the past of Voldemort, one of the darkest wizards of all time.
Know thy enemy seems to be one of the major themes throughout Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Through his classes with Dumbledore, Harry will learn about Voldemort’s family, and watch as a young boy named Tom Riddle becomes Lord Voldemort. These sessions were intensely fascinating for me, because most authors, when dealing with a big bad like Voldemort, don’t delve into the psychology behind it. Here we learn about Voldemort’s faults, his fear of death, and how his journey to combat death turned him from a disturbingly ambitious boy to something truly evil. During these flashbacks, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between Tom Riddle and a couple other characters. The young bright orphan that gains the sympathy of the professors is so much like Harry was in the beginning of the series. The ambitious young man who believes himself superior to others is very much like Draco, although where Riddle is independent to a fault, Draco is more of a traditional bully. He speaks big when backed up by his thug like cronies and powerful father, but he’s more of a coward when it comes down to it.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince also has events that I feel readers of the series have been waiting for. On the romantic side, I know that I, as well as many people, have been waiting for Harry and Ginny and (even more so) Ron and Hermione to show affection to each other since the early books of the series. Although the romantic elements are merely side plots, it’s nice to see these two couples officially confirmed. We also get to see Harry as captain of the Quidditch team, and it’s nice to see him again in a leadership role, even if it’s not as big as his position in the DA. I knew that Snape was going to get the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher eventually, but I suspected it would be in book seven, so it was kind of a surprise here. The biggest event of the book was the death of Dumbledore. Although this is not something that I was looking forward to, I expected from early on that it would be necessary for Harry to become a more independent character, and to show just how low the death eaters will go. Snape wasn’t a surprising candidate for this, although the way it happened was a bit of a shock to me.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a satisfying book in the series. I remember finishing it and then waiting in excitement and fear for the seventh book to be released. The excitement was due to my enjoyment of book six. The fear was due to the fact that I just couldn’t picture a Harry Potter book without Hogwarts playing a large role. I look forward to re-reading that as well soon.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 652 pages
Source: shelf
Other books I've read by this author: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ( my review), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ( my review), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ( my review), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ( my review), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ( my review), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch through the Ages, The Tales of Beedle the Bard ( my review)
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds
spoiled.
The wizarding community has come to accept the truth, that Voldemort is back and just as dangerous as ever. But there’s something else that’s being whispered in the halls of Hogwarts. Although Harry was the only one that heard the prophecy about him and Voldemort, rumors have started to fly that Harry is some mythical Chosen One that is fated to take down the Dark Lord. Harry, as always, tries to brush off the fame while he deals with his new role as Quidditch captain, the fact that his two best friends may becoming more than just friends, a mysterious text book that seems to do all of his work for him, his emerging feelings for Ginny Weasley, and secret sessions with the headmaster Dumbledore that will bring Harry into the past of Voldemort, one of the darkest wizards of all time.
Know thy enemy seems to be one of the major themes throughout Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Through his classes with Dumbledore, Harry will learn about Voldemort’s family, and watch as a young boy named Tom Riddle becomes Lord Voldemort. These sessions were intensely fascinating for me, because most authors, when dealing with a big bad like Voldemort, don’t delve into the psychology behind it. Here we learn about Voldemort’s faults, his fear of death, and how his journey to combat death turned him from a disturbingly ambitious boy to something truly evil. During these flashbacks, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between Tom Riddle and a couple other characters. The young bright orphan that gains the sympathy of the professors is so much like Harry was in the beginning of the series. The ambitious young man who believes himself superior to others is very much like Draco, although where Riddle is independent to a fault, Draco is more of a traditional bully. He speaks big when backed up by his thug like cronies and powerful father, but he’s more of a coward when it comes down to it.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince also has events that I feel readers of the series have been waiting for. On the romantic side, I know that I, as well as many people, have been waiting for Harry and Ginny and (even more so) Ron and Hermione to show affection to each other since the early books of the series. Although the romantic elements are merely side plots, it’s nice to see these two couples officially confirmed. We also get to see Harry as captain of the Quidditch team, and it’s nice to see him again in a leadership role, even if it’s not as big as his position in the DA. I knew that Snape was going to get the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher eventually, but I suspected it would be in book seven, so it was kind of a surprise here. The biggest event of the book was the death of Dumbledore. Although this is not something that I was looking forward to, I expected from early on that it would be necessary for Harry to become a more independent character, and to show just how low the death eaters will go. Snape wasn’t a surprising candidate for this, although the way it happened was a bit of a shock to me.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a satisfying book in the series. I remember finishing it and then waiting in excitement and fear for the seventh book to be released. The excitement was due to my enjoyment of book six. The fear was due to the fact that I just couldn’t picture a Harry Potter book without Hogwarts playing a large role. I look forward to re-reading that as well soon.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 652 pages
Source: shelf
Other books I've read by this author: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ( my review), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ( my review), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ( my review), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ( my review), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ( my review), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch through the Ages, The Tales of Beedle the Bard ( my review)
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds