I am fully aware that I have said this of every HP book so far, but, I love Half-Blood Prince. It is probably my second favorite. The cover is by far my favorite—there's just something about the purple/green combo that I really like.
I absolutely love how this book is completely centered around the home front, Hogwarts. Every other book has been centered on what is going on outside of Hogwarts. In all of the other books, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are focused on trying to figure out what is going on outside of Hogwarts. There is always some ominous force at work that no one quite knows enough about. In Half-Blood Prince, however, we know exactly what is going on outside of Hogwarts. Voldemort is in the open, killing and terrorizing as usual. There is no mystery around that. No; the mystery is what's going on inside Hogwarts. Is Malfoy actually up to something? And if so, what?
I also love that life is sort of normal for Harry. Sure, his meetings with Dumbledore aren't exactly typical, but Harry is going to class, dealing with friend issues, and figuring out how to handle girls. I think that normalcy is what makes the attacks on Katie Bell and Ron, and Harry's attack on Malfoy, so startling. They are in stark contrast to the seemingly ordinary teenage lives the characters are living.
The Good: Dumbledore's visit to the Dursleys; Harry's trip to see Slughorn; the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes; Ginny taunting Zabini at the Slug Club; most things about Ginny—this girl is my hero; Harry winning the Felix Felicis; Hermione Confunding McLaggen; the lessons with Dumbledore—I think learning about Voldemort is absolutely fascinating; Harry "spiking" Ron's drink with lucky potion; Harry taking Luna to the Christmas party; Harry's conversation with Scrimgeour at the Burrow; Apparition lessons; Harry using Felix Felicis to get the memory from Slughorn—though this might have a lot to do with the movie, since that scene is so dang funny; Harry kissing Ginny—yes, I am a girl, and yes, I love this part—I had been waiting for it since book two (and, incidentally, I hated the way they did the kiss in the film; it was so lame! Harry and Ginny better have at least one good kiss in each of the book seven movies or I will be very upset); Malfoy Disarming Dumbledore (since it is such an essential part in book seven) and lowering his wand before the other Death Eaters joined him; Hermione and Ron's complete willingness to go with Harry to find the Horcruxes.
The Bad: Seeing Snape make the Unbreakable Vow (yes, even though I know he's a good[ish] guy); Snape becoming the D.A.D.A. teacher; Katie Bell touching the necklace; Ron getting poisoned—I almost had a heart attack the first time I read that part; McLaggen joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team and being so infuriating; Harry's obsession with Malfoy—I just hate how he almost lets it get the better of him; Harry attacking Malfoy with Sectumsepra—as much as I dislike Malfoy, I never wanted Harry to do him serious harm; Harry freaking out about the fact that Snape was the one who overheard the prophecy; seeing Dolores Umbridge at Dumbledore's funeral.
The Ugly: The mere idea of a Horcrux—using the murder of an innocent person to encase a part of the soul in an inanimate object is just creepy; the Inferi in the cave—I think Inferi are the scariest, creepiest, and most horrifying things Rowling came up with for Voldemort to use—if that's not evil, I don't know what is.
No comments:
Post a Comment