Author: J.K. Rowling
Rating: 9/10
Genre: Fantasy; Young Adult
Disclaimer: I am aware of the situation with J.K. Rowling, but I believe in separating the art from the artist. Please respect that this is a review solely on the book.
The war against Voldemort has begun but in the meantime, life must go on. The newly vetted “Chosen One” has returned to Hogwarts for his sixth year and is about to take a deep dive into the history of his greatest enemy, for there might lie the answer to defeating him.
This book is definitely a lot more fast-paced and light-hearted as compared to the previous two. I felt that our characters have mostly matured (except in terms of matters of the heart) and there was little serious emotional conflict. It felt a bit like returning to the atmosphere of the first few books.
Returning to the topic of love, our characters are around seventeen and thus we have begun to explore romance which we have only briefly tackled with. In my opinion, I think those scenes were a really great balance between adorable and awkward. I’ll be lying if I said I didn’t really look forward to them and can’t wait for more.
On a whole other note, I also enjoyed the mystery and suspense in this story.
In this book we really delve into Voldemort’s story and I really liked how we were given it piece by piece and the content itself, of course, was intriguing as hell. I liked how new information is always accompanied with the old, allowing us to absorb it easily and satisfyingly.
As always, I could clearly see all the connections, and everything was given reason and depth. I especially applaud how everything she introduces always has a role. She resolved potential plot holes I wouldn’t have even noticed.
However, there were a few plot points I didn't really love. This is mostly concerning certain reveals. Although they did make sense, I felt a bit underwhelmed.
It’s been six books and something I have yet to mention is my feelings towards reading from the perspective of a famous character. The portrayal of fame in Harry Potter is a balance between the real world and a fantastical one (as are many aspects of this series). It is one of my favourite parts of Harry Potter. I love how it always factors in whatever direction the story might go. I also really like how sometimes this fame would bring him serious repercussions that can open deep discussions on fame itself (book 4 and 5), but some other times, it just makes for some very funny inconveniences that are fun to read (book 6).
Another thing I have yet to address is the concept of “Found Family” in this series. It is very prominent, obviously. And all I have to say is, it warms my heart and makes me very very happy.
The ending was very bittersweet, and in general, I felt the same way after finishing the book. This is because it is the end of the usual format (Privet drive, Hogwarts, Privet drive) and the familiar atmosphere of the books. This book represented the passage of time (and life) in a way that we could resonate with, making it all the more heartrending. One example that sticks out to me is how we have watched as Hogwarts slowly empty of the characters from Book 1, making it feel different.
In all, I felt that this book has laid all the cards on the table, and it has set us up for a spectacular finale.
“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”
Reviewed by: N.G.Rainwater (1st Reading)
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