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Sep 23, 2011

Suzanne rated it:

“I’m going to keep going until I succeed — or die. Don’t think I don’t know how this might end. I’ve known it for years.” — Harry Potter

Most seventeen-year olds don’t view the possibility of an early death as being, well, possible. But then again, most seventeen-year olds haven’t come face-to-face with death almost half a dozen times before their first kiss either.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment of the ridiculously popular Harry More...

22 comments like (228 people liked it)

Jun 03, 2008

Tara rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

129 comments like (149 people liked it)

Jun 30, 2011

Ceridwen rated it:

I've read all of the Harry Potters twice except for this one. I read them as they came out (I think starting at the third because I'd missed the Pottermania up to that book), and then after the sixth, in a fit of perversity, I read them all backwards. Not the books themselves, but in backwards order. I recommend that; it was fun. You see certain foreshadowings you hadn't been aware of before. Anyway, so I got to this one, and I was fully engripped - so I made that word up; shut up – in all the h More...

12 comments like (44 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

Shannon rated it:

This review contains spoilers.

2011 REVIEW - 2ND READING

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't read my review from 2007, when the book first came out, until after I'd published this one. I want to see how they compare - what thoughts/reactions etc. had changed, if any, and any additional insights - but it does make me nervous, because I reckon my first review will prove to be much better written - and what if I seem dumber this time around? I find I get a bit muddled More...

24 comments like (31 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Melissa rated it:

I will admit that Harry Potter is a guilty pleasure. I don't think that they are particularly well-written, and the majority of the plot devices are built upon cliches and thinly disguised appropriation of Tolkien. However, I have read the first six books because they were entertaining and a fun, quick read.

All the flaws of the first six books came into startling relief with this book. Misplaced pronouns abounded, cheesy descriptors and, oh yeah, filler, were the rule instead of t More...

11 comments like (27 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Sammy rated it:

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11 comments like (48 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2010

Loren rated it:

grrr. *spoilers*
This book was meant to be a masterpiece.
It wasn't. I was VERY disappointed with the last portion of the book. But the criticisms are for later.
I've always thought that JK's writing was admirable if a little underdeveloped, but the paragraphs just don't seem to flow together as well as they used to.
They finally leave school. I never thought they would, but it sure as hell was an exciting notion. However the lack of supporting characters (that you might find More...

23 comments like (47 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Eleanor rated it:

(shamelessly cross-posted from my livejournal entry) Spoilers below!

I remember picking up Harry Potter around the time that book 3 had come out. There had been buzz about the books in the post with a picture of JK standing by railroad tracks and some inside joke about "muggles." I probably wouldn't have read them had I not babysat for my nextdoor neighbor's kids who were 7 and 10 at the time, and asked me to read it to them as a bedtime story. What is so compelling about t More...

6 comments like (31 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

I bought this in the airport in Paris and read it straight through on the flight back to the US. Very rarely do books deserve the hype they've received (can you say Da Vinci Code?) but this series, and particularly this book, have been worth the waiting, the crazy people, and having to justify to Tolkien-devotees why Rowling really is a very clever woman and the series is justifably popular.

I had been worried before Deathly Hallows was released that Rowling would lose her mind from a More...

3 comments like (21 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Rion rated it:

***SPOILERS:

From an interview with Rowling on the Today show:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19...

Rowling said her original epilogue was “a lot more detailed,” including the name of every child born to the Weasley clan in the past 19 years. (Victoire, who was snogging Teddy — Lupin and Tonks’ son — is Bill and Fleur’s eldest.)

Harry, Ron and Hermione
We know that Harry marries Ginny and has three kids, esse More...

4 comments like (51 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

pinkgal rated it:

It was September 1998; the third Harry Potter book had just been released. Pottermania? What's that? It was still unknown except to a vast population of younglings who'd read it... and I fell in love. Oh, how I fell in love. I fell in love with the poor, starved-for-affection, later known to be a twit Harry. I fell in love with the pretentious know-it-all Hermione. I fell in love with the awkward, grew-up-in-his-brother's-shadows Ron... and most of all? I fell in love with the snarky, unplatable More...

13 comments like (49 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Cristin rated it:

Upon further reflection...I think this installment could have been much better. Perhaps Rowling was freaking out under the enormous pressure...never expecting her series to be so wildly adored by so many...Still, this book left something to be desired, I think. Rowling made so many predictable moves...and not even the ones that would have had more of an impact...

Snape could have been the hero of the entire series, for example. It would have been rather ironic, considering the fact th More...

4 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Brahm rated it:

Few books, if any, have recieved as much hype as the Harry Potter series- whether deservedly or undeservedly is a question better asked of the series as a whole, rather than this one book. Deathly Hallows is radically different from its predecessors. Rowling has rid herself of the Harry Potter set formula- a refreshing change, as at this point in the series, games like Quidditch and grades seem rather irrelevant. The plot follows Harry, Ron and Hermione as they search for the Horcruxes and later More...

6 comments like (13 people liked it)

Dec 18, 2007

Traci rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

29 comments like (19 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Amber rated it:

[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU STILL HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK!]

I must say that the time waiting for the book was a lot more torturous than the actual read. there were all those forums and newsletters wondering 'would harry live or die?' 'is snape good or bad?' 'what if hogwarts burns to the ground and everyone dies?!' and furthermore, 'how long would it take for spoilers to come out in the media and from random mean people?'

The book didn't arr More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jun 09, 2011

Kiri rated it:

A quick last waltz through the Harry Potter novels before I send the set off to school children (somewhere) where they will hopefully be read to pieces and loved for at least a few years.

This last novel has many plotlines to wrap-up and covers the disillusionment that happens as we come of age and into the adult world. Admittedly Harry is coming to it at a very dark time in this fictional universe but Rowling does show the tears that happen and the depth of questioning that is lef More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Jul 08, 2011

Iyah rated it:

Say, Harry Potter is not a movie or a series. Say, it's all real and you're part of that magical world.
Say, Cedric Diggory was your boyfriend, and Voldemort killed him. Or if your a guy, Moaning Myrtle was your girlfriend and Tom Riddle set a Basilisk on her.
You'll hope that DA would win over the Dark Side, and that Harry gets to punish all the Death Eaters with a hundred Cruciatus Curse-for each Death Eater that is- won't you?
You'll dream for the day that you'll get to see Bel More...

6 comments like (11 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2008

Jamie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 11, 2008

Adriana rated it:

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12 comments like (11 people liked it)

Oct 14, 2007

Lore rated it:

Deathly Hallows is in fierce competition with Half-Blood Prince as the worst book of the series. It is an extremely bloated book in which nothing much happens for chapters upon chapters because Rowling is dragging the storyline out -- so it can end at the end of the school year, like all the other books. Many plotlines of previous books are barely touched upon (S.P.E.W.) or "resolved" in an entirely dissatisfactory manner (Grawp, though I wasn't unhappy about not seeing more of him). More...

8 comments like (16 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2010

Sarah rated it:

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2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jun 28, 2011

Ian rated it:

Relevance Alert

This is not a review of the book.
My comments specifically relate to a scene in and a song from the soundtrack to the first Deathly Hallows film.

Sexualtiy Content Warning

I originally posted a version of my comments in a GR discussion about sexuality and Harry Potter.
If you are the sort of reader who thinks these two issues should never be associated with each other, please do not read on. I don't want to spoil your world view.

Sexual More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2011

Melissa rated it:

I finally finished the Harry Potter series. I guess I shouldn't say finally-- when I bemoaned how long it took me to read the 7 book series (2 months), people reacted with incredulous remarks of how that was not a long time to take. I guess it just felt like it. I loved the books so much, always wanted to read them (I liked them the way you do when a book is just delicious. You think about it when you can't read it and nothing brings you more satisfaction than to finally unlatch your brain and c More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2008

Chris rated it:

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4 comments like (19 people liked it)

Jun 12, 2008

Annalisa rated it:

What can I say but genius? All along I have considered myself a mild Harry Potter fan, but once you get to the end and Rowling wraps up all the minute details she plants from book one you cannot help but be amazed at her creativity. Building on each of the books, writing each one at a slightly higher level as the characters grow up, all the details, and lets not forget the insignificant matter of the entire world evolving to hold a joint consciousness of Harry Potter. Children's literature has b More...

0 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Nikki Jo rated it:

IT IS NOT FOR ALL CHILDREN some SHELTERED CHILDREN might not be permitted by parents to read such harsh language and killing scenes.
Some CHILDREN might not be educated enough to understand the plot and deep messages this book does have, which are intended for adult readers.
Yes, some CHILDREN may be ready for this type of story, but many are not, due to parental restrictions in their lives.
I firmly believe if a child has lived through horrid events then they will be able to read More...

10 comments like (9 people liked it)

Nov 24, 2010

Ken-ichi rated it:

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0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 08, 2007

Tim rated it:

http://goatsreadingbooks.blogspot.com/20...

Amazingly, I managed to secure a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from the Arlington Public Library. I was 69th in the queue when I put my name on the waiting list in February but they ordered enough copies so that I got mine on the first day it was available. I love the public library! I read the book in a rush last weekend and have been going through it more slowly a second time.

Adding to the pile of commentary avail More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2011

Kim rated it:

In the few hours since I finished listening to Stephen Fry's narration of the last episode of the saga of Harry Potter and his friends, I've been letting the novel wash over me and trying to determine my impressions not only of this book, but of the series as a whole.

There were times when I felt irritated by the way the narrative was progressing. I know I'm not the only reader to wonder whether the book should have been called Harry Potter and the Awfully Long Camping Trip. The thr More...

6 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 29, 2011

Laura rated it:

I was stunned and dismayed by the time I finished this book. I have been a fan of the HP series since about 2000, when a friend recommended Book 1 to me as a cute little book that she was tutoring 5th graders with. I read it, liked it, and figured I'd pick up the next book when it came out.

As each book came out, many critics and fans commented that JK had a unique style of approaching her series; the way that her books grew with her targeted audience. The series became darker and More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

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