Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
I think this book is perfect. It's the perfect way for Harry to prepare for his ending and to become independent. That does not mean I didn't cry and scream and GASP REALLY LOUDLY. So, yeah, basically the average Dumbledore dies reactions. Oops, spoiler alert. (Come on, guys, this book came out over ten years ago. Also, if you hadn't been spoiled yet, I want to officially congratulate you.)
Rating: 5 stars, aka all my HP ratings.
This spoiler section starts here,
And is dedicated to
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
May he rest in peace or never have died. You pick, Rowling.
Oh, Dumbledore, I will miss your ability to always solve literally every problem Harry faces that he can't handle at that moment.
Seriously, though, I'm almost throwing my 'can't-only-talk-about-heart-breaking-character-death-rule' overboard. After all that has happened.
Almost.
(I finished Deathly Hallows last night. See what I did there?)
(I finished Deathly Hallows last night. See what I did there?)
Not-the-ending part
As I said before, I think this is an important point in the series. I feel like we finally really know what Voldemort wants and why and how he's done it. And they don't explain it with a drowsy speech, but with an awesome book.
The most impressive thing in the Half-Blood Prince, though, is how many layers are added to the characters. A brief list:
-Riddle's childhood. When I think of Voldemort, I don't think of him crying or feeling insecure. The background story made me realize that he once was a kid and that of course he did these things. Another thing I now realize about Voldemort: he looks WAYYYYY older than he is.
-Dumbledore makes mistakes. No comment.
-Draco Malfoy has feelings. The conversation with Dumbledore at the top of the tower was, believe it or not, one of the most emotional things I've ever read in which no one was dying (okay, you might count Dumbledore as dying, but still.) And just the entire Malfoy family thing made me feel so sorry for them. Especially the part where Narcissa begs Snape to help her son.
Biggest plot twist (that I wasn't spoiled for):
So I spent an entire book yelling at Harry, Ron, and Hermione THAT VOLDEMORT IS THE FREAKIN' HALF-BLOOD PRINCE! And I get totally frustrated and annoyed and there's the ending and Snape be like
As I said before, I think this is an important point in the series. I feel like we finally really know what Voldemort wants and why and how he's done it. And they don't explain it with a drowsy speech, but with an awesome book.
The most impressive thing in the Half-Blood Prince, though, is how many layers are added to the characters. A brief list:
-Riddle's childhood. When I think of Voldemort, I don't think of him crying or feeling insecure. The background story made me realize that he once was a kid and that of course he did these things. Another thing I now realize about Voldemort: he looks WAYYYYY older than he is.
-Dumbledore makes mistakes. No comment.
-Draco Malfoy has feelings. The conversation with Dumbledore at the top of the tower was, believe it or not, one of the most emotional things I've ever read in which no one was dying (okay, you might count Dumbledore as dying, but still.) And just the entire Malfoy family thing made me feel so sorry for them. Especially the part where Narcissa begs Snape to help her son.
Biggest plot twist (that I wasn't spoiled for):
So I spent an entire book yelling at Harry, Ron, and Hermione THAT VOLDEMORT IS THE FREAKIN' HALF-BLOOD PRINCE! And I get totally frustrated and annoyed and there's the ending and Snape be like
And I'm like
Adorable:
Fun fact: When I was very young and my Harry Potter knowledge about level with my Star Wars knowledge, I shipped Harry and Hermione. Not anymore though.
The-ending part:
Harry and Dumbledore's excursion to the locket already brought me to the brim of tears, because Dumbledore was in so much pain when he drank the weird thingy. And then they had to go on.
So then he's having this extremely calm conversation with Draco and he's so sweet to him and- *breaks into sobs*
When he's pleading with Snape, though, I didn't understand that part. Is he begging for death and does Snape help him or is he begging for mercy and has Snape's loyalties shifted? I personally think he is begging for death, because Snape had made this promise and Dumbledore didn't want Draco's soul to be damaged.
So Harry runs after Snape and he's screaming and Snape is... Kind of teacher-y.
Think about it: When Voldemort is trying to kill Harry, he's like
Snape's more like
Only Snape does it in a way that makes you want to kill him even more. He just doesn't know how to handle kids of any kind. Or human emotions, for that matter.
And finally Harry leans over Dumbledore's dead body, holding on to the Horcrux. And I'm crying like a crazy person.
Because Dumbledore is was just so bad-ass, and he really protected Harry. I now feel like Harry's just kind of helpless against Voldemort. But, of course, never underestimate the power of love.
So at Dumbledore's funeral, Harry tells Ron and Hermione he will be looking for Horcruxes next year and won't come to school, which tells me two things:
1. Deathly Hallows won't be set in Hogwarts.
2. Sh!t just got real.
In honor of Dumbledore:
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