Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author: J.K. Rowling
Published: July 21, 2007
Category: YA Fantasy
Rating: 9/10

I'm a little sad that I've finished the final Harry Potter book, as I've been reading them for a long time. When the first one came out, I was working my first retail bookstore job (wow, I was still in high school!) and I mentioned to my manager that I wanted to read it. She scoffed and said that it was a kid's book. I'm glad I didn't listen to her...

Watching the movies doesn't compare to reading the actual books, as some people complained that the latest movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was too dark, and they hope that the next movie is better. I think that a good chunk of those people are of the "Harry Potter is just a kid's book and therefore beneath me" party, thinking that darkness and despair shouldn't be in a "child's" book. Or scarily enough, some of these people don't even think about the fact that the movies are based off of books and therefore have an option to .

Rowling really grew up with each book she wrote and I can see that just based on the change of book bulk on my bookshelf, and Deathly Hallows has shed what's left of the sugar coating the series began with. Far more characters died than I expected, and I wasn't outraged by them, because it would've been far more unrealistic to have a war without casualties. This is the first Harry Potter to make me full out cry when a character died. Sure I teared when Dumbledore died (oh come on, it's not a secret anymore), but this particular death really affected me.

The reason I didn't give a 10/10 is the boring chunk in the early-middle part of the book. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are trying to fulfill their quest to destroy the horcruxes, and as Harry doesn't have the wisdom necessary to figure out the next step, they're waiting around, getting frustrated, and dissent is brewing in the ranks. I'm not saying this doesn't belong in the story, but did it have to take so long?

And one thing I was particularly happy to see in Deathly Hallows was the return of Sirius' mirror. I was so frustrated at the end of Order of the Phoenix when Harry didn't use the mirror until after Sirius died. After all of his risks to speak to Sirius via Floo Powder, he had the means to communicate safely and whenever he wished. And I'd think of poor Sirius, sitting alone at Grimmauld Place, waiting for Harry to contact him in the mirror. And speaking of Grimmauld Place, it was fantastic to see Kreacher snap out of his hateful funk and get along with Harry, and even Hermione. I never thought I'd like Kreacher, but I can say that I've changed my mind.

The epilogue is nice, but I was a little confused on one thing. Who is Victoire? It turns out she's Bill and Fleur's daughter. Rowling originally had a very detailed epilogue, and she revealed the details that were cut out of the final version here. I can understand the wish to leave some things ambiguous so the reader can infer for themselves, but leaving Victoire's origins out was an awkward bump in the epilogue. Apart from that, it was a neat way to tie up the series, very circular and felt right.