Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: JK Rowling
Genre: fiction, fantasy
ASIN: B002I4VJ2Y
Length: 21 hours
Year Published: 2007
Source: public library
Rating: 5/5 (I am genuinely sad that I’m done with this book 😦 )
Reason for Reading: I disliked it the first time I read it (upon its original release in 2007) and the recent release of the film made me want to give it another go

Summary: Harry, Hermione, and Ron run around trying to find the elusive horcruxes. (FYI, horcruxes were created by Voldemort to house parts of his soul so he could never be really “dead” unless all horcruxes were destroyed.) The trio does not return to Hogwarts as students in what should be their seventh year because Dumbledore died at the end of the previous book, and Death Eaters took over Hogwarts and the Ministry, all under Voldemort’s command. As usual, Harry tries to take no help from everyone around him because he doesn’t want to put them in danger, but they all help him anyways, with some dire consequences for people he is close to.

My Thoughts: This is the second time I’ve read this novel. The first time, I loathed it. To summarize why I think I disliked it so: I had just read the first six books in the series for the release of this seventh book and, because it’s so different from the other two in that Hogwarts isn’t exactly the setting and Dumbledore isn’t around (etc.), I think I didn’t like it. Plus I made the stupid mistake of reading the epilogue and I usually detest epilogues because they take away from me my own imagination to how the characters might have ended up.

This second time around I LOVED IT! 😀 I didn’t read it, but rather listened to it on audiobook, narrated by Jim Dale. I got the idea from Michelle at My Books. My Life. who listened to the entire HP series on audiobook this year–here is her post about the adventure 🙂 But anyways, I definitely enjoyed this book more than my previous reading of it.

I’m not exactly sure what it was that made me love it so much when I didn’t like it the first time. Regardless, it’s always been hard for me to put a finger on what it is that JK Rowling does that makes me love these books. I can now say I love the whole series 🙂 I think one of the things that interests me most about this book is the Harry-Hermione-Ron relationship. Never before has the relationship been under such strain as in this book. Yes, Ron has been “jealous” of and “over” Harry before–take Goblet of Fire, for example. And yes, Ron has done stupid things concerning Hermione. But this time, the relationship is just different. (By the way, I’ll say it again: I love Rupert Grint as Ron–he is so good at portraying these emotions of jealousy, etc. in the movies!)

I have to say that I’m still not exactly a fan of Harry and Ginny. I didn’t like the epilogue this time around either, but at least I expected that much. I just feel that Rowling didn’t develop their relationship like she did Hermione and Ron’s. It seems a bit strange when, after basically the entire seventh book and pretty much all of the first five, they end up together with little kids and whatnot. Plus I think their relationship in the sixth book (the only time they really have a relationship) is just so immature–just, well, not developed fully enough for me to see them in each other’s futures.  (Does anyone else think that Ginny is described almost the same as Lily? Or is it just me that sees those similarities? 🙂 )

I am really glad that I took a chance and reread this book. Turns out I just must have been in some weird, funky mood when I read it last time. Or I just let the epilogue completely ruin the whole story and cloud out my feelings from the rest of the book. And maybe, subconsciously, I was just a little upset that a series I had read for seven years was coming to an end 😦

Favorite Quote:

“Not my daughter, you bitch!” from Mrs. Weasley to Bellatrix
^^How could anyone not love Mrs. Weasley for calling her a bitch?! 🙂

My Thoughts on the Cover: I like it. It’s very illustrative of the end of the book, but there’s not really anything but that final battle in the cover. And it does look a little odd that both Harry and Voldemort must be reaching for the same thing. I mean, I know what they’re reaching for, but if you’ve never read it, you’d never know and then it just looks weird.

But, just for fun, here are some of my favorite posters for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I