Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
by J.K. Rowling
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS by J.K. Rowling
Category: Fantasy
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 7/21/07
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine
Reviewed by: Natalie Tsang
Rating: 5 Stars
I finished it and it was good.
That sentence pretty much sums up all I have to say about the final installment of the Harry Potter series. But I suppose
that seven words, even though it's a lucky number, would not make much of a review.
I feel a bit out of place writing this. There are reviews written by people who have so much literary merit that they have
carpal tunnel in their toes. Who am I to even comment on one of the most successful living writers? You don't see me
writing brilliant novels. Yet at the same time, I might as well add my two Knuts (cents, for Muggles) to the heap.
I remember discovering the HARRY POTTER series when I was ten years old, the exact same age as Harry in the first
book. It took me a few tries and a lot of peer pressure to get past the first chapter, but then I was hooked. Like with
millions of other children and adults, Harry Potter struck a chord. I cannot say what exactly it was and I think that if I
could measure out the appeal of a book I wouldn't have much of a heart. Perhaps now I can tick Rowling's strong
points off my fingers (plot, imagination, characters, dialogue, etc), but as a ten year old any sort of analysis was beyond
me. I remember that HARRY POTTER simply filled me with a wonderful and deep feeling of satisfaction and thrill.
And dare I say it? Magic.
But gradually as I grew older, Harry Potter lost its appeal. He was harder to identify with and oh so whiny. The
commercial success also became something to scoff at. Its massive popularity meant that it appealed to the lowest
common denominator and I, of course, could not be of one of those people. It's just not cool. I didn't know at the time
that coolness is commonly mistaken for being an idiot. I bought HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
more for a sense of closure than for enjoyment. And as I read, I realized that Harry Potter was popular because it was
good.
The Last Harry Potter Book was like talking to an old friend that you've fallen out of sorts with. You can't really recall
what the tiff was about, but there's a strong conviction that it was the other party's fault. After a few awkward moments,
you remember the good ol' times, your favorite bits in the old books. I remembered my sixth grade teacher's gravelly
voice and the time she gave us a mini-lecture on profanity before reading us one of Mr. Dursley's angry outbursts. I
remembered my entire family sitting spellbound in our parked car waiting for the Harry Potter audio tape to finish before
we would get out. And I remembered the enormous amount of fan fiction I would read and…um, write. I normally
regard reading as a solitary undertaking, but there is no other book that I have yet read that has so much sentimental
weight.
There are other reviews, both laudatory and incendiary, that will pick apart HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY
HALLOWS, but I think you'll all manage to cut your cauldron cake however you like it without my help. What I do feel
like saying is that J.K. Rowling has won me back.
I finished it and it was good.
Category: Fantasy
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 7/21/07
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine
Reviewed by: Natalie Tsang
Rating: 5 Stars
I finished it and it was good.
That sentence pretty much sums up all I have to say about the final installment of the Harry Potter series. But I suppose
that seven words, even though it's a lucky number, would not make much of a review.
I feel a bit out of place writing this. There are reviews written by people who have so much literary merit that they have
carpal tunnel in their toes. Who am I to even comment on one of the most successful living writers? You don't see me
writing brilliant novels. Yet at the same time, I might as well add my two Knuts (cents, for Muggles) to the heap.
I remember discovering the HARRY POTTER series when I was ten years old, the exact same age as Harry in the first
book. It took me a few tries and a lot of peer pressure to get past the first chapter, but then I was hooked. Like with
millions of other children and adults, Harry Potter struck a chord. I cannot say what exactly it was and I think that if I
could measure out the appeal of a book I wouldn't have much of a heart. Perhaps now I can tick Rowling's strong
points off my fingers (plot, imagination, characters, dialogue, etc), but as a ten year old any sort of analysis was beyond
me. I remember that HARRY POTTER simply filled me with a wonderful and deep feeling of satisfaction and thrill.
And dare I say it? Magic.
But gradually as I grew older, Harry Potter lost its appeal. He was harder to identify with and oh so whiny. The
commercial success also became something to scoff at. Its massive popularity meant that it appealed to the lowest
common denominator and I, of course, could not be of one of those people. It's just not cool. I didn't know at the time
that coolness is commonly mistaken for being an idiot. I bought HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
more for a sense of closure than for enjoyment. And as I read, I realized that Harry Potter was popular because it was
good.
The Last Harry Potter Book was like talking to an old friend that you've fallen out of sorts with. You can't really recall
what the tiff was about, but there's a strong conviction that it was the other party's fault. After a few awkward moments,
you remember the good ol' times, your favorite bits in the old books. I remembered my sixth grade teacher's gravelly
voice and the time she gave us a mini-lecture on profanity before reading us one of Mr. Dursley's angry outbursts. I
remembered my entire family sitting spellbound in our parked car waiting for the Harry Potter audio tape to finish before
we would get out. And I remembered the enormous amount of fan fiction I would read and…um, write. I normally
regard reading as a solitary undertaking, but there is no other book that I have yet read that has so much sentimental
weight.
There are other reviews, both laudatory and incendiary, that will pick apart HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY
HALLOWS, but I think you'll all manage to cut your cauldron cake however you like it without my help. What I do feel
like saying is that J.K. Rowling has won me back.
I finished it and it was good.
