Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

J. K. Rowling

7/25/2007

Harry Potter is almost 17 and an adult wizard. He knows that he will have to face Voldemort. But first he has a quest to complete. Professor Dumbledore had given Harry a task before he died. The young Voldemort had enchanted some special objects with bits of his soul. The Horcruxes (the enchanted items) are hidden in places special to Voldemort. But Harry doesn't know where or in what items except three. One was Tom Riddle's diary from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was already destroyed. The second is the real locket to replace the fake locket they found in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The last is the huge snake the stays at the evil wizard's side. There are three more he must find. He is not returning to Hogwart's for his final year of wizarding school. He has to fulfill his mission. But even before his birthday Harry is attacked by the Death Eaters and friends die.

Ron and Hermione are determined to join him on the quest. Although Harry tries to talk them out of joining him and returning to school, he is glad when they declare they are staying with him. Bill Weasley's wedding to Fleur is the day after Harry's birthday. The three friends are attacked and go on the run almost immediately after the wedding. The Ministry of Magic is taken over by one of Voldemort's people. Snape is named the new head of Hogwart's. Muggle-born and half-blood wizards are being deprived of their magic and at times their lives. Snatcher teams are rounding up everybody who doesn't fit into Voldemort's scheme, with an extra reward available for the ones who catch Harry Potter.

Harry stays on the run with his two closest friends. He knows, though, that at the end, he is the one who will have to stand up to Voldemort. He will probably die. There's a proverb that says the two cannot both live. He'd rather die while killing Voldemort rather than letting the evil wizard get control of the world of wizards.

I was at the library at 11:00 AM Saturday morning to pick up my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I started it between noon and 1:00. I finished it around 9:00 PM that evening. Then my younger daughter read it Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Finally, my older daughter read it Sunday night and finished it Monday afternoon. Because J.K. Rowling maintained her young adult writing style, it is an easy read even if the book is over 750 pages long.

Because I have been invested in the characters, I was saddened by the death of Harry's friends. There were some others I was afraid would die but didn't. And the expected romance finally came together right before the final battle at Hogwart's.

As a reviewer, I have to say that the book left me feeling flat. I liked the ending, was caught up throughout. Yet Rowling was so busy telling the story that some of the writing magic never quite made it. Don't get me wrong, if you have read the Harry Potter series, you have to read this book and you will like it. But it's not the best of the series, either.

You can find more about this book at . I have one final comment - Yeah! Mrs. Weasley rocks!

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows