Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling
As I said in a previous post, I read this novel in July of 2005 the week that it came out. And I remember that after the somewhat (IMO) disjointed and frazzled Order of the Phoenix, that this book was much more structured and orderly plot wise and made much more sense.
And was intensely hard to read. Well, not all of it, just the last three chapters.
Harry Potter is now in his 6th year at Hogwarts and as he arrives, Professor Dumbledore, still Headmaster at Hogwarts, has invited him to private lessons so that Harry may learn more about the Dark Lord and the prophecy that he was after in OotP.
In these lessons, Harry glimpses the past and Lord Voldomort's early years, and what his overall plan may be. These educational classes show Voldy's parents, his upbringing in the orphanage, and his attempts to get a position at Hogwarts. Through these trips into the Pensieve, Harry and Dumbledore see and guess / estimate at how best to vanquish him (to borrow a word from Charmed!).
There's so much going on in this novel, all of it wonderful, that you should just really read it for yourself. I love these books and every time I visit them I laugh and remember how wonderful they are and why I love them. It's the ultimate in comfort reading.
I'm excited about the movie coming out next week, and I've seen some reviews so far (I haven't read them! I just saw headlines!) and they say things like best HP yet.
I can't wait. The entire series should be read. But don't take my word for it, I'm Dumbledore's man, through and through.
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