 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling |
Ok, let me start off by saying that yes, I am a PotterHead.
I thought this book was a great ending to a series that I have come to enjoy. Even though it is often listed as a ‘Young Adult’ book, it does have some deeper stories and cross-links to previous books that not all readers may pick up during their first read.
I especially enjoyed the way that Rowling has gone back and explained a few stories that were left rather open ended in previous books. Also, after hearing a rumor about the movie ‘Order of the Phoenix’, where she insisted that Kreacher not be cut out of the movie, I had an Ah-Ha moment about half way through the book.
I have to admit, that I didn’t really like the storyline in regards to Dumbledore, because he’d been put in the classic archtype role of mentor and then there are parts of the story that tear down that illusion and reveal him to be human, but it was done in a rather clumsy way that left you feeling a bit unfulfilled.
Some of the other characters remained stiff throughout the book, and I really think that one of the stronger points of these stories is the underlying world-building that she does. Some of the deaths seemed rote – in that I found myself not really caring about the character when they died. There have been other books where I was in tears reading about a particular character’s death (Flint from the Dragonlance series comes to mind). I didn’t feel that emotional attachment with the characters that died in this capstone to the series.
In the end, this was an enjoyable series and one that I will share with my daughter when she is older. I think it brings up some great discussion points and would make a good read for one of her home-schooling modules in a couple of years.
