Brandon J. (bran-flakes14) reviewed on 6/7/2010 + 72 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

A far more personal installment in the Harry Potter series, and a somewhat unexpected premise, turn the tables for readers of this saga as J. K. Rowling reaches a pinnacle of emotional storytelling. As the book flap says, this 6th volume takes place almost entirely at Hogwarts School as Harry, now 16 and dealing with tragic past losses and an almost overwhelming hurricane of hormones, is guided to understand the murky and dark past of Lord Voldemort in a desperate attempt to learn Voldemort's final undoing. This book is probably the funniest of the series, with many passages devoted to detailing the romantic entanglements of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but the book also deals with themes of sociopathology, greed and hatred, and the virtuous practice of doing what is right instead of what is easy. With this penultimate volume, J. K. Rowling reveals key points that will help Harry defeat Voldemort once and for all, while also illustrating even more losses amid a host of hellishly dark, even psychologically disturbing, set-ups. "Half-Blood Prince" is one of the best in the series, and could be considered Part 1 of a whole story that is finished in the seventh, and final, volume in the Harry Potter series.

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