Harry Potter and the Half Blood-Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By: J.K. Rowling
Rowling takes a sharp u-turn from the way the books in the Harry Potter series start out in this installment. Instead of seeing Harry upset, angry, depressed or despondent at the beginning of the book, we see ‘The Other Minister,’ meaning the Prime Minister of England. He is not at all happy to see Cornelius Fudge emerge from the fireplace in his office to talk of the recent disasters that have been tormenting the country and the wizarding community. Then we are whisked off to a little street called Spinner’s End where two women are having an argument about whether or not they can trust the person Narcissa wants to speak with. Yes, Narcissa. Draco Malfoy’s mother, and the wife of Lucius who now resides in Azkaban. Narcissa needs a favor and there’s only one person she trusts enough to turn to: Professor Snape. He makes a vow that is full of intrigue to the reader because we don’t know exactly what it entails, but we get enough to know that it won’t be good.
Now we get to see Harry. He’s not upset, truth be told he’s a little excited, but not letting himself get too excited, and he’s taking a nap. Dumbledore has sent him a note and he should be a Privet Drive in a few hours time. Harry hasn’t finished packing because he’s too nervous. What if he doesn’t come? But Dumbledore does show up and the situation in the Dursley’s living room is quite entertaining. It is pure Dumbledore, through and through. And by this point I really hope you know what I mean by that!
Harry accompanies Dumbledore on a recruitment mission to the house of a Horace Slughorn. Hogwarts is again in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and Harry is to help recruit Slughorn. He succeeds, but when he returns to his classes he’s in for a surprise, because Slughorn is not the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and that causes a whole new set of issues for Harry: one being his new potions book. He’s temporarily using an extra one from the closet and it’s full of notes and markings from someone called the Half-Blood Prince. When Harry starts to take note of these ideas, his potions grade is greatly improved. Hermione and Ginny are angry he’s listening to a book (and considering what happened to Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets who could blame them?) and Ron thinks it’s brilliant.
Besides all of this, Harry has been made Quidditch Captain, deals with quarrels between his two closest friends because of other relationships they have, a crush on a girl that could possibly complicate his life dramatically, Draco Malfoy is up to something and he’s trying to find out and he gets to take private lessons from Dumbledore. The lessons are my favorite part of the book. The last includes a field trip of sorts that is creepy and scary at first, then quickly turns into Harry’s worst nightmare. Horcruxes are dangerous things, even to wizards. But Lord Voldemort is not an ordinary wizard: his horcruxes are more dangerous than most. They have been hidden amongst enchantments that make them very difficult to locate and retrieve to destroy. And that’s all you get on horcruxes!
The end of book 6 is dramatic, sad, and horrible. If I would have been reading the signs I would have seen it coming the first time I read this (when it came out in 2005). You may know what happens, but all I can say is that you find out what Snape promised to do and you just might cry. (I did the first time so don’t feel bad!) The ending is the end of a lot of things for Harry, his childhood (what he had of one), two relationships that have touched him deeply (in different ways), but it is also the spark that ignites a fire in him that will give him the determination to do what he has to do. Book 7 looks like it will be a romp that Harry’s many fans won’t forget and can’t wait to get their hands on!
Sadly, this is the last Harry Potter Book Review (unless I can get my hands on those two little books Rowling put out a few years ago - I have no idea which box my copies are in...one on creatures and I can't remember what the other was about).
Don't be too sad, though! I'll still be posting on Harry Potter news (that I come across), I'll review the movie when it comes out - you may have to give me a day or two as I work my other job the night it comes out - and I'll continue to post reviews on whatever I'm reading at the moment. Next week you'll see The Moorchild and possibly The Rosetti Letter (an adult fiction book! Hooray as it's been awhile for one of those!).