1st October, 2008
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
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Finally I read the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. One more to go! I read Book 5 way back in 2004…wow, that’s like four years ago. I thought I had grown out of Harry and all his exciting adventures with his Hogwarts gang but no, I was so wrong. I was instantly hooked to the story right from page one until the very last page. Rowling certainly is a talented writer and knows how to pull her readers into the story. No wonder she’s one of the most successful children’s author in the world!
So, it’s Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and times are more exciting than ever. Voldemort, the evil enemy of all things good, is at large and his followers are trying their best to help him regain complete power of the wizarding world. Voldemort’s crew call themselves the Death Eaters.
As usual, Harry is always given special treatment and more attention than the other students. This time, he has to endure being called the Chosen One by the others due to some prophecy that he’ll be the one to finish off Voldemort for once and for all. Also, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, is giving Harry extra lessons during the weekends, supposedly to help Harry understand his enemy, Voldemort.
All the same, what’s going on with Harry’s best friends, Ron and Hermione? Hermione, as usual is the one who’s obsessed with studying and being the only one enthusiastically answering teachers’ questions in class. Ron, on the other hand, is still jealous of Harry at times. But this time around, he’s a prefect and playing Keeper in Gryffindor’s Quidditch team. Therefore, his self-esteem isn’t really low nowadays. Harry’s the Quidditch Captain, by the way.
There’s some romantic tension between Ron and Hermione but neither one would admit that they like each other. I was quite annoyed when Ron started going out with Lavender Brown instead of going out straight with Hermione. I wonder if other people thought the same thing too, that Ron should be with Hermione. Anyone else who thinks otherwise? And speaking of love, Harry secretly likes Ron’s younger sister, Ginny, but she’s already in a relationship with Dean Martin, one of Harry’s friends. See, I told you times were exciting.
We are also introduced to a new professor, Horace Slughorn, who’s also the new Potions teacher. The previous Potions teacher, Professor Snape finally got his dream job, which is teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. Slughorn plays favouritism rather openly, showing interest in students who are connected to famous people or students who are just smart and different from the others. Harry is definitely one of them.
Throughout the book, we are also suspicious about Snape’s loyalty. Harry insists that he’s on Voldemort’s side but Dumbledore is adamant that Snape’s on their side. Harry frequently wears his Invisibility Cloak when he’s spying on the enemy and discovers some very interesting facts.
I was also guessing who the half-blood prince could be. Harry’s been using an old Potions textbook which belonged to The Half-Blood Prince. The Prince seems smart and made a lot of useful notes in the book. Thanks to the book, Harry’s doing really well in Potions class, a subject he has always been weak at.
All right, this has been a pretty long post for a book which I think most of you have already read. Now I’m off to read Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!
Other Bloggers’ Reviews: nymeth
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Posted in Authors R, Fantasy, Titles H at 2:21 pm |
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On October 2, 2008 at 5:40 am Kris said:
Glad you are still enjoying the series! I maybe older, as in not the intended target for this series, but all the same…it is one of my all-time favorites.
On October 2, 2008 at 1:37 pm Josette said:
Kris: Oh I am most certainly enjoying the HP books! Probably will never get fed up with them. I think I’ve read the first four books five times already! Not sure about the last 3 books….they’re awfully thick, aren’t they?
On October 3, 2008 at 11:48 am Reading Monk said:
Hi Josette
I’ve added a link to your Blog from my site under Reading Blogs that I frequent.
On October 3, 2008 at 12:04 pm Alice Teh said:
I gave up on the HP series after the fourth book… I might catch on again when I have the mood.
On October 4, 2008 at 4:00 am Laura said:
I think it’s impossible to ever “grow out of” the Harry Potter books!
I’m sad the release of the sixth movie was pushed back to July 09.
On October 5, 2008 at 10:04 am Josette said:
Reading Monk: Hi there, thanks! I’ve added your link too.
Alice: Haha! Why did you give up? Yeah, at times the thickness of the books can put me off but once I started reading, the number of pages didn’t matter anymore.
Laura: You’re absolutely right. Initially I thought I wouldn’t enjoy HP like I used to when I was younger and I was wrong. Glad I was wrong! Yeah! Oh why did they delay showing the movie? July 09 seems so far away…