Chroniques et points de vue: :The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, arguably over-hyped
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived, and the question on the minds of kids, adults, fans, and skeptics alike is, 'ls it worth the hype?' The answer, luckily, is simple: yep. A magnificent spectacle more than worth the price of admission,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will blow you away. However, given that so much has gone into protecting the secrets of the book (including armored trucks and injunctions), don't expect any spoilers in this review. lt's much more fun not knowing what's coming--and in the case of Rowling's delicious sixth book, you don't want to know. Just sit tight, despite the earth-shattering revelations that will have your head in your hands as you hope the words will rearrange themselves into a different story. But take one warning to heart: do not open
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until you have first found a secluded spot, safe from curious eyes, where you can tuck in for a good long read. Because once you start, you won't stop until you reach the very last page. A darker book than any in the series thus far with a level of sophistication belying its genre,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moves the series into murkier waters and marks the arrival of Rowling onto the adult literary scene. While she has long been praised for her cleverness and wit, the strength of Book 6 lies in her subtle development of key characters, as well as her carefully nuanced depiction of a community at war. ln
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, no one and nothing is safe, including preconceived notions of good and evil and of right and wrong. With each book in her increasingly remarkable series, fans have nervously watched J.K. Rowling raise the stakes; gone are the simple delights of butterbeer and enchanted candy, and days when the worst ailment could be cured by a bite of chocolate. A series that began as a colorful lark full of magic and discovery has become a dark and deadly war zone. But this should not come as a shock to loyal readers. Rowling readied fans with
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and
Harry Potter and the 0rder of the Phoenix by killing off popular characters and engaging the young students in battle. Still, there is an unexpected bleakness from the start of Book 6 that casts a mean shadow over quidditch games, silly flirtations, and mountains of homework. Ready or not, the tremendous ending of
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will leave stunned fans wondering what great and terrible events await in Book 7 if this sinister darkness is meant to light the way.
--Daphne Durham A Few Words from J.K. Rowling 
'l am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what l love best in the world. l’m sure that l will always be a writer. lt was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers.' --J.K. Rowling.
Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.
Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. 0ur list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from all five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill five books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 | - Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
- When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
- Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and 0llivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
- Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  | - The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests 'Gerroff me! Gerroff me!'), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
- Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
- The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  | - Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
- Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
- Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
- The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
- Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape.
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  | - Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
- Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
- Malfoy's 'Potter Stinks' badge.
- Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses.
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Harry Potter and the 0rder of the Phoenix
 | - Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
- Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
- Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
- Harry's 0cclumency lessons with Snape.
- Dumbledore's confession to Harry.
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Begin at the Beginning Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Hardcover
Paperback
Adult | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Hardcover
Paperback
Adult | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Hardcover
Paperback
Adult | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hardcover
Paperback
Adult | Harry Potter and the 0rder of the Phoenix
Hardcover
Paperback
Adult |
Did You Know?
 | The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child. |  | Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author. |  | Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer. |
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Full Blooded Thrill Ride
By now, everyone knows the story of Harry Potter, the orphaned boy sent to live with his horrible aunt and uncle. When he finds out that he is a wizard on his eleventh birthday, his world changes forever, and not necessarily for the better.
While at first Harry is able to get away from the horrible existence he has with the Dursleys, the wizarding world has its own dark secrets underneath the surface that soon come to light.
Each book in the series has grown in size and in darkness, depth of story and character detail. Harry's sixth year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is no exception. In fact, this may be his darkest year yet.
At the end of Harry's fourth year, detailed in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Lord Voldemort had returned to life, regaining power and strength once more. At the end of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the second war had begun and no Witch or Wizard was safe.
At the beginning of "Half-Blood Prince," two weeks after the ending of "Order of the Phoenix," Harry is waiting for Albus Dumbledore to collect him at the Dursleys. While Harry is keen to leave, there is something inside him that doesn't believe he will be able to escape the prison of the Dursleys after only two weeks. Harry is wrong, however, and is soon leaving number four Privet Drive after his shortest stay yet.
After helping Dumbledore bring a new teacher on staff, Horace Slughorn, Dumbledore takes Harry to the Burrow where he is to live out the rest of his summer with the Weasleys. Before entering the Burrow, however, Dumbledore informs Harry that he would like to have private lessons with him this year. When Harry presses Dumbledore on what he is going to be learning this year, Dumbledore is vague, but Harry suspects it has to do with the prophecy he heard the year before: "Neither can live while the other survives..."
With Dumbledore's private lessons on the horizon, two new staff appointments and Lord Voldemort alive and wreaking havoc on the Muggle and Wizarding world alike, it looks as if Harry's sixth year will be his most exciting - and dangerous - yet...
Of course, I've barely scratched the surface of the plot of this book. To go into further detail would ruin the book for the one or two people in the world who still haven't read "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." For those people, I say only this: What are you waiting for?
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" actually topped my previous favorite book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and that's saying something. While I found "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" to lag in places and a bit too long, I found "The Half-Blood Prince" to zoom along at lightning quick pace. I was finished the book before I knew it and wondered, vaguely, where the rest of it was. Surely, the book couldn't just end like that, could it?
"Half-Blood Prince" is the best book in the series so far. It's got action, danger, laughs, love, a painful death; all the things that make fiction great. As well, character development is at an all time high. Gone is surly, angry Harry. The Harry we know and love is back. All the characters are growing up; they are now sixteen years of age.
Though some reviewers didn't care for the kissing scenes, I felt that they lent a realism to the character development. Rowling is letting her characters grow up along with the readers, instead of having them remain static. This should be heralded instead of looked down upon.
I read the book three times in a row before I felt sated enough to put it down. I figured I had waited two years for this book and I was going to read it as many times as I wanted, thank you very much. Now, with another two year wait for the conclusion to what are the best books I have ever read, I can only wonder this: What will happen next? Only time will tell...
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Pretty good
Like most everyone I've been reading Harry Potter for a long long time. As the last in the series this is prety good although predictable at times. My favorites remain the early books. Good ending over all.
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*
JK Rowling at her absolute best.
Hard to put down. It started with a bang and kept on going. None stop action and all questions were answered in the end. A neatly tied up package.
Hopefully JK Rowling will continue to write whether it's Potter related or not.
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Starting to really get into these
This is not normally what I'd read, choosing instead some bestseller such as LIFE OF PI or the like, but Book 6 is one heck of a read. I'd put off the series as long as possible, but finally, after having seen the movie version decided to take the plunge. I MUST recommend Harry Potter's THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN which was my first foray into this strange new land. For those seeking traditional fiction reads, might I recommend CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME or the book MIDDLESEX? All are, of course, great, but I'm going to be busy for a while with the HP series.
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*
JK Rowling's 6th book has sat on my desk for over two years. I bought it the day it came out in 2005 and tried reading the first chapter, but it never caught my attention. Now, July 2007, Harry Potter craze again, I attempted a second time. Again, the first chapter was unappealing, but I forced myself to get past it. As the plot thickens, I could no longer hold the book down. However, I definately found it to be a let down that Rowling exposed so much in chapter 2 about Snape and Bellatrix. It did set the tone for the book, but it also made it terribly predictable. Good thing for her wonderful narrative to keep me interested and the continual trips into the penseive. The unfortunate ending was a little too predictable for me, otherwise well written as usual!
I had hoped the 6th book would close several doors, but it only opened the plot up for new ideas and hopefully a spectacular end to the series.
