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Loading... Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)by J. K. Rowling
 multifaceted | May 16, 2013 |  This, on my 6th or 7th read now, may be my favorite of the series. It is darker, has less funny moments but there is such development of the relationships throughout it. The moment, for instance, in the hospital, after Bill has been savaged by Fenrir Grayback and Mrs. Weasley implies that Bill won't be getting married now and Fleur fiercely defends him? It is always heart-wrenching for me to read, such love, they had so sadly underestimated Fleur. I sob and smile every time I read it. And then the courage of Luna and Neville and why Harry believed of all the DA they were the ones to respond to the call the night the Death Eaters came? Gut wrenching. "because they missed it the most". And there is still a great deal of humor as well. And always exactly when it is needed. Many is the time I laughed through tears during the Half Blood Prince. (  ) Mirkwood | May 10, 2013 | Oh deary me, where to begin. Soooooo much going on here. I really begin to feel like everything is coming to a head in this one. The build up begins, and you know the ending won't be easy, but there's a very real possibility that this just might all work. (  ) frozenplums | May 3, 2013 | I loved every book in this series! J.K Rowling really knows how to spin a good tale and keep readers of ALL ages wanting more! Although this book (along with Goblet of Fire) was just so emotional for me. Sometimes, I just couldn't handle it. I won't say why, for fear of spoiling it, but anyone who's read this book knows why. ( ) bereneezypie | Apr 26, 2013 | I like this one a lot, nearly as much as OOtP. I do like that she allowed them one last moment of relative levity before the final fight. However, the Harry/Ginny romancin' leaves me a little cold, simply because she's been such a bit part up until about half-way through this book. I like her - a lot - and I get why Harry would too. However, she's not been on-screen enough for me to form an actual attachment to, and so it seems somewhat rushed. But it's not a huge complaint! ( ) heterocephalusglaber | Apr 26, 2013 |
 This sixth Harry Potter will wow the series’ many fans — Rowling delivers the likable characters and thrilling situations that have made the series so popular, handily weaving in plots begun in earlier books and returning to comic staples of wizard school life while providing fresh novelties.  Rowling has succeeded in delivering another spellbinding fantasy set in her consummately well-imagined alternate reality. It is a novel that pulls together dozens of plot strands from previous volumes, underscoring how cleverly and carefully J. K. Rowling has assembled this giant jigsaw puzzle of an epic. Dragones y Monstruos Is contained inHas as a reference guide/companionWho Killed Albus Dumbledore?: What Really Happened in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Six Expert Harry Potter De by Joyce Odel Repotting Harry Potter: A Professor's Book-by-Book Guide for the Serious Re-Reader by James W. Thomas Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter: Analysis of Book 6 by E. L. Fossa
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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. In 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 Order 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
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Begin at the Beginning
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hardcover
Paperback
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. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten 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 Sorcerer'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 Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-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.
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.
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.
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.
Harry Potter and the Order 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 Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry.
Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling
"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I’m sure that I will always be a writer. It 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.
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.
A Few Words from Mary GrandPré 
"When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.
(retrieved from Amazon Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:52:07 -0400)
Sixth-year Hogwarts student Harry Potter gains valuable insights into the boy Voldemort once was, even as his own world is transformed by maturing friendships, schoolwork assistance from an unexpected source, and devastating losses.
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Wikipedia in English (9)
So when I returned to the Harry Potter world again last week, I was much more prepared to see and appreciate Rowling's large knowledge base. The House of Gaunt? This storyline bears a remarkable resemblance to H.P. Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear". You have the once rich and noble family line torn to shreds, and the descendent(s) devolved due to inbreeding and taken on an apish look to coincide with their decline in morals. There is even a faraway manse on a hill--only, Rowling's version, this doesn't belong to the degraded family in question.
Fenrir? The famous wolf and son of the Norse god Loki who killed the All-father Odin in the events of Ragnarok? Could Rowling have used any other name for the "evil" werewolf?! I half expected Fenrir to be the one to off Dumbledore--considering I have seen many people surmise that Odin the Wanderer may have been he basis for wizards like Dumbledore and Gandalf. I was not at all surprised to see him there at Dumbledore's last moments--of course, then I remembered the internet chants from six years ago about the real culprit.
It's like playing a game of literary hide-and-seek!
I'll say that the lovey-dovey side stories sounded a little bit like I was reading fan fiction of the characters, but then again I never really bought into teen romance novels, so what do I know?
Overall, too, I think Rowling handled the subject matter in this book much better than "Order of the Phoenix". There were less elementary attempts at sounding sad and dark and brooding, even though Harry probably had much more to be depressed about at this point. Then again, I guess all the events really happened in the last 75 pages, so Rowling has a lot of time to (un)fix that in the 7th book if she chooses. (