A+

With the upcoming release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I found it necessary to go back through the series and reread the stories, attempting to pick out particular details that I may have missed the first time around, that might shed some light as to what is in store for the finale. It was joy to experience these wonderful novels a second time. In fact, I believe that I actually found Half-Blood Prince more enjoyable than the first time.

Half-Blood Prince is by far the most adult and most emotional novel of the series. On completing it the first time, I was devastated. The finale contains such a range of emotions, that it was impossible to clearly describe how I felt about the book. The conclusion literally left me feeling angry and sad, but also slightly hopeful. It was all a little overwhelming and when asked how I felt about the book, I usually said “pissed off.” There were so many questions unanswered, so many loose ends left untied. Upon reading it the second time, I was prepared for the emotional conclusion. This time I was able to disengage emotionally and think more about the implications and the meanings of the events that took place.

I was also able to draw a major conclusion, Half-Blood Prince is probably my favorite book in the series. Its shorter than the two previous. There are no tedious sections; everything is to the point. Also HBP, like most of the previous books, is highly amusing at times. I think OOTP lacked some of the humor because of its dark nature. I certainly can’t help but chuckle while reading about the trio’s romantic escapades.

Overall, HBP is another amazingly imaginative, highly dramatic, and ridicuously engaging work by Rowling. I can’t imagine a better way to build-up the suspense for the upcoming conclusion. The novel may leave you a little stunned, but it will also leave you dying for more.