In which I try to review coherently (and fail) & flood the world with my tears because of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (SPOILERS AHEAD)
Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceSeries: Harry Potter #6
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication: July 16th 2005, Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 607 Pages, Hardback
Source: Thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 5/5 Cupcakes. But I'd give it an infinity amount if I could.
As the Dark Lord’s sinister forces amass, a spirit of gloom and fear is sweeping the land. Harry Potter waits nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys' for Professor Dumbledore to arrive. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce duel with Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts? In his sixth year, Harry will discover the secret behind the Half-Blood Prince, as Professor Dumbledore prepares him to face his destiny …
I AM LITERALLY A GOOEY MESS OF EMOTIONS RIGHT NOW AND I'M FLOATING ON A SEA CONSTRUCTED SOLELY OF MY TEARS. This book, this freaking book absolutely demolished me. I mean I knew what was going to happen because spoilers, spoilers everywhere but you know when you don't actually believe something is going to happen and you're just like pfft, no, they're just trying to trick me but then NO IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS AND YOU'RE LIKE WAIT NO WHAT. It still doesn't feel like Dumbledore is gone, I mean how can he be?! Throughout the whole series, I, when something went awry, alongside pretty much every other character in the book, would think "It's okay. Dumbledore will know what to do."And now I just can't imagine a world without Dumbledore. I genuinely feel terrified for the characters and I genuinely feel their confusion and their grief and their utter terror because nobody was as wise as Dumbledore, nor as fearless when it comes to Voldemort (except for Harry but he needs guidance and Dumbledore was always there and now he isn't and JUST EXCUSE MY WHILE I DIVULGE INTO A PUDDLE OF TEARS.) And also, I feel so sorry for Harry, he loses his parents, and then Sirius (another death I probably won't ever be able to recover from) and now Dumbledore. Dumbledore really made Harry sure of himself, it made him feel invincible, Dumbledore understood Harry and was always there for him and there relationship was just so utterly beautiful it breaks my heart that Harry doesn't have him in his life anymore. Harry and Dumbledore were so brave, and so brilliant, and so caring and smart and it was absolutely wonderful to see them building each other up and now that Dumbledore is gone it pains me to think of how lost and alone Harry will feel.
“It's going to be all right, sir," Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore's silence than he had been by his weakened voice. "We're nearly there ... I can Apparate us both back ... don't worry ...""I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you.”
“He accused me of being Dumbledore's man through and through.""How very rude of him.""I told him I was."Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry's intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore's bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knee. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady. "I am very touched, Harry.”
ARE YOU CRYING? I'M CRYING.
I just can't get over how much has changed. I've always viewed Hogwarts as a place of sanctuary, it feels like a second home to me and it just utterly breaks my heart to think of it closing and to think of it no longer having Dumbledore. I just can't comprehend how the school and the people and everything has been altered and I physically feel the change as if I was a student at Hogwarts, or if I was Harry myself and that's truly magical, isn't it? Magical but heartbreaking GOSH.
I also - I know I shouldn't say this because it's not nice - but I hate Snape SO MUCH. I don't exactly know the reason for why his actions are excused just yet (it's the one thing that I haven't been spoiled on, so please don't spoil me THANK YOU!). It just kills me to think that a man that Dumbledore trusted so much turned on him. It just breaks my heart. Every. Single. Time. AND UGH I JUST CAN'T WITH SNAPE RIGHT NOW, I literally feel anger burning through me every single time I think of him. The fact that he didn't help Dumbledore just...
Words literally cannot express how very strongly I hate Snape at this point. But the above gifs are an accurate representation of my anger.
Although my hate for Snape intensified, despite not liking Draco throughout the whole series, I kind of possible warmed up to him in this book. The fact that he couldn't kill Dumbledore and the fact that he was only trying to protect himself and his parents kind of made me like him slightly more. Kind of.
Moving onto the positives (THE LITTLE THAT I COULD FIND *cries*) I loved the romance that started developing in this book. I've literally been waiting for this since the first book and I finally got it! The first time I read the first four Harry Potter books I totally shipped Harry and Hermione but now I definitely ship Ron and Hermione. The whole time I was just like WOULD YOU GUYS JUST KISS ALREADY SERIOUSLY. The end part of at Dumbledore's funeral (crying, yet again) when Ron held Hermione while she cried made my heart explode into smithereens. I love them so much. It's been so wonderful watching their friendship grow and blossom into something else and I'm excited to read the seventh book to see how things pan out for them.
I never shipped Harry or Ginny as well but over the course of the last two books I've definitely been wanting them to get together and I'm glad that I can finally see that they are perfect for each other. They're both so brave and determined and I can just see now that they were made for each other. I can't imagine Harry and Hermione together anymore to be honest, and I'm so happy with the direction in which the romances are going. SO YAY. One thing I do have to say though, is that I never really saw Harry's affection towards Ginny previously and it felt quite sudden that it occurred in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and in this book. But EH, they're adorable and they make me happy. I was also really impressed with the way Ginny handled Harry's breaking up with her in order to protect her, she didn't fall apart and try getting herself in dangerous situations so Harry could save her like some people I can think of *cough*BellaSwan*cough*.Ginny has really warmed up to me and I absolutely adore her and Harry together and I love Ron and Hermione too. THEY JUST ALL MAKE ME SO HAPPY.
Another thing I love love love about the Harry Potter series is the friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione. I can just imagine if I had friends like that how unstoppable you would feel and how secure you would feel knowing that you have them there by your side. I just love how they're always there to support each other and they will literally die for each other, even if a situation seems so impossible and so heart-stoppingly dangerous, they know that they will have strength because they are by each others' side. Their friendship is something that I hope everybody will be gifted with in their life.
'“We'll be there, Harry," said Ron"What?""At your Aunt and Uncle's house," said Ron, "And then we'll go with you wherever you're going.""No-" said Harry quickly; he hadn't counted on this, he had meant them to understand that he was undertaking the most dangerous journey alone. "You said it once before," said Hermione quickly, "that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we? We're with you whatever happens.”'
I also just love the characters themselves so much! With each book my love for them grows more and more and more. In this book we can really see the anger and sadness that Harry holds within him and by the end of the Half-Blood Prince we can tell that he has a burning desire for revenge. I also love how in this book Harry really takes nonsense from no one and he's just so sassy. So many times I was like HAHAHA you genius because the snark is real.
“An Unbreakable Vow?" said Ron, looking stunned. "Nah, he can’t have.... Are you sure?""Yes I’m sure," said Harry. "Why, what does it mean?"
"Well, you can’t break an Unbreakable Vow..."
"I’d worked that much out for myself, funnily enough.”
I love him.“Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?""Yes," said Harry stiffly.
"Yes, sir."
"There's no need to call me "sir" Professor."
Then there's Ron and Hermione who are just wonderful. I wish they would admit their feelings to each other instead of making it so blatantly obvious that they're in love but they refuse to do anything about it. I was so happy at the end when they finally made some progress towards notifying the other of their affection. I love how funny Ron is and I love how real he is. I love how J.K. Rowling wrote that he came from a poor background and how he has insecurities because it's a thing many people experience and I love relatable he can be for so many people. And Hermione! GAH I JUST LOVE HERMIONE SO MUCH. She's such a hard worker, such a good friend, so kind and just as brave as Harry and Ron. Whenever I feel demotivated with school work, I just have to read some of Harry Potter and I'm like TIME TO CHANNEL MY INNER HERMIONE YAS.
I also must talk about Luna! I absolutely adore her! She's got such an enchanting quality about her and I really admire the fact that despite the teasing and the jibes, she remains true to herself. I absolutely love that because I think now, especially with social media, we all feel so pressurised to be a certain way and it's characters like Luna that can help remind people that you don't have to do what everyone else is doing. If you love reading, then show it. If you're a maths "nerd", then show that too. If you want to wear a roaring lion hat on your head to Quidditch games, then do that too. I just absolutely love Luna.
“I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends.”NAWW LUNA.
OOH, I also loved the Dumbledore Army's scenes. You could really feel the connection and the friendship everyone who was in the group began to feel and it just made me go asjsdlgd, basically.
Also, I'm really scared for the final book. I know lots of people die and I can imagine all sorts of horrible things are going to occur and I'm JUST NOT READY...but because I'm too curious fearless I shall be reading a copy as soon as I get my hands on it! I really admire the way J.K. Rowling can instill such a fear in us for a fictional villain and make us grieve and feel utterly terrified for fictional characters...fictional characters and fictional worlds that feel like anything but fiction. These characters feel so incredibly real and so does Hogwarts as well as the whole story that she's so intricately crafted, which makes it even more painful for the readers when things go wrong.
Once again, Rowling has created a masterpiece filled with magic, bravery, friendship, love and the courage needed to overcome our inner demons as well as the monsters that we face, toe to toe. These books inspire me to work harder, be a wonderful friend, be a good person and find the magic that does exist even in the seemingly mundane, such as love, for instance. These books mean so much to me and I'm so incredibly sad that these sensational adventures I've experienced are coming to an end. These books are just so marvelously magical and the 6th installation in the series that has captured the hearts of millions, was no different. Harry Potter is simply incredible and completely timeless.
I give it: 5/5 Cupcakes!
