My least favorite Harry Potter book. I'm sorry, but most of them running around in the woods looking for Horcruxes is pretty slow-moving. Also Harry whines way too much about Dumbledore not telling him every little detail about his personal life. I agree with EVERYONE when they tell Harry not to let Rita Skeeter's book about Dumbledore sully Harry's memory of Dumbledore. Harry argues that he wants to know the truth. Valid concern but, um, Harry, we've already dealt with the lovely Miss Skeeter, remember? She wrote horrible, horrible lies about you and your friends, then turned around and wrote the truth only because it was the only way to get her job back. Dude, she writes what sells and Dumbeldore The Great just died so, guess what's going to sell? A book further enumerating all of his wonderful deeds? Not so much. So how does finding out the truth have anything to do with reading anything Rita Skeeter wrote ever?
Harry also needs to give teenagers a break. His world is shattered when he sees his father bullying Snape and I do understand that, up to a point. Like I said, he idolized his parents so, realizing that they weren't always the heroic do-gooders must have been hard. When Sirius tries to explain that they were just kids, Harry points out that they were Harry's age. He does the same thing when people talk about young Dumbledore doing some questionable things. What Harry fails to understand is that he is an exceptional teenage boy. That's not to say that he's perfect or that he doesn't make mistakes. In some ways he is a perfectly normal teenage boy (please see afore-mentioned angst). But Harry has had to grow up much too fast. His parents died shortly after his first birthday, his aunt, uncle, and cousin mistreated and abused him for ten years until he got to leave for Hogwarts. Then, at Hogwarts, he discovers Voldemort who keeps trying to kill him. Not exactly a normal childhood and all of that helped make Harry into the extraordinarily brave and generous person that he is. However, most teenagers aren't like that because they haven't had to deal with any of those awful experiences. I know I did some dumb things when I was a teenager and I would hate to think that anyone would hold those things against me decades from now.
I also dislike this book because the ending is so extremely sappy it makes me want to puke. I know Rowling had been building up to that "love conquers all" cliche for awhile, but I still think she laid it on way too thick at the end. I seriously considered skipping the epilogue this time around because I hate it so much. Although, I'll admit that I'm glad I didn't because it wasn't as bad as the first time I read it.
Ok, time to talk about things I did like: MRS. WEASLEY! Mrs. Weasley popping up out of nowhere to get Bellatrix away from Ginny is classic and I love it to bits! I give her extra points for doing this immediately after having lost a son. Most people would crumble under that grief but Mrs. Weasley gets right back up and in the action. I'm sure she'll crumble later but she recognizes that there is a time and a place for that, but that is neither here nor now. Also, FRED! How heart-wrenching was that death? I could not believe it when I read it for the first time. Fred and George were both so full of life and so cavalier about everything it seemed impossible that they could die - as if their refusal to admit that this was all very much a life-threatening situation could protect them. Compared to the death of Fred, it was easy to let go of Lupin and Tonks, especially since I was so mad at Tonks for heading into the action when she had a baby to look after! I can't forgive her for abandoning her son like that and, honestly, I don't find it very believable. While Tonks's love for her husband is admirable and touching, it shouldn't be forgotten that Mother Nature has programmed us women with some pretty heavy-duty hormones once we give birth and those normally kick in so that a mother's first concern is keeping her child safe. Dad can look after himself.
All-in-all this is an excellent series and I thoroughly enjoyed re-visiting it. I'll have to make sure not to wait so long before doing so again!
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