Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Ponce, by Draco Malfoy
Written: Jul 17 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Harry's back to normal, fewer characters being stupid, Draco and Snape get larger, angsty roles.
Cons: Just nitpicky things that only die-hard fans would probably even notice.
The Bottom Line: Better than the last, though only some time and reflection will let me know if I think it's better than three or four. Definitely worth reading.
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| Jellyn's Full Review: J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Pr... |
I don't want to talk about it.
--Draco Malfoy
Ignore Draco. He's a bit.. put out. He has a much larger role in this book, but it's a role he has trouble living up to. Potter is also particularly useless. It's up to me to do everything, isn't it? Naturally the entire series should be about me, but I'm a modest sort. I will get my recognition in the due course of time. This is the best of the series so far, so you should go into your little Muggle shops and purchase it. And, I suppose you should also read the other five books. Even though Potter and his little friends have an annoying tendency to constantly malign me.
--Severus Snape
Introduction
After the disappointment of book five, I was quite pleased by this one. It's renewed my faith in the series. Harry's back to acting in character and there's not a whole lot of stupidity. Though quite a lot of snogging. Some of the more interesting characters get larger and different roles to play, including Draco and Snape and finally we learn more about Voldemort's past. Two thumbs up.
Plot
I'm not going to give away terribly much, so you're safe to read this if you don't mind minor spoilers.
After a brief stay at the Dursleys, Harry's whisked away by Dumbledore. They go have a chat with an old Hogwarts professor and Dumbledore asks him to come back and teach. Professor Slughorn likes collecting students. He handpicks the brightest or most well-connected students and invites them to his office for teas and chats and things. This gets him favors and treats when they finally go out into the real world and get good jobs. It's a different sort of Slytherin Professor and he's really interesting.
Meanwhile, now that Lucius is in Azkaban, Draco is given a task to do by Voldemort. Narcissa, Draco's Mum, and her sister, Bellatrix pay Snape a visit. Narcissa requests that Snape do all he can to help Draco and protect him, very worried for her only son.
Harry acquires a Potions book with helpful notes scribbled in by a previous owner who styled himself 'The Half-Blood Prince'. Hence the title of this book. Dumbledore starts sharing pensieve memories with Harry as the two learn more about Voldemort's past and what he may be up to in the present. Harry and company all find people to date and snog. Draco's up to deviousness, of course, and fun and not-so-fun times are had by all.
Will Draco succeed? Whose side is Snape on anyway? Who's the Half-Blood Prince? How did Tom Riddle become Voldemort? Which girl will Harry ultimately end up with? These and other questions will keep you reading.
My Thoughts
I'm glad that this book was shorter than the last. It seemed a good length. I managed to finish it within 24 hours, though I took much longer than other people. It was an interesting read, unlike the book before it which I feel like I'm slogging through whenever I read it. The tone is also quite different from the previous and rather different from the others as well. Despite some dark and unpleasant things that happen in this book, the tone felt to me to be lighter. Maybe it's because Harry's no longer so angry and is dealing with things better. I'm not sure.
It was great to see Draco and Snape take on larger, more central roles. Professor Slughorn is an interesting new teacher. And we learn more about Apparating and just what 6th years get up to.
However, I do have some nitpicks and problems with the book. Some of the things said about Apparating seem to contradict earlier books. If adult wizards can take children along with them when they Apparate, then why don't do they do it more often? Was Ginny made a Prefect or not and why didn't anyone mention it at all when Molly made such a deal about Fred and George? How did Hermione get 11 OWLs when she was only taking 10 classes? If she sat a Muggle Studies OWL, then it should've been mentioned somewhere.
Overall though, I did like this book, and I actually look forward to rereading it. Alas, the series is almost over.
Details
I read the American hardcover edition, ISBN 0439784549. I didn't notice quite so many Britishisms in this book as the last. The only word that even comes to mind is snogging. Which she has some very colorful descriptions of, so I don't think Americans will have the least trouble figuring out what it means.
I highly recommend not looking at the illustrations or chapter titles until after you've read it. Some of them are ill-named for those wanting to avoid spoilers. Thankfully I don't make a habit of doing either.
My Other HP Book Reviews
Series: 1: SS/PS, 2: CoS, 3: PoA, 4: GoF, 5: OotP
Harry's Schoolbooks: Fantastic Beasts,Quidditch
Books about HP: J. K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Jellyn
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Location: New Hampshire
Reviews written: 210
Trusted by: 47 members
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