Some of what I am about to discuss about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would be spoilers for people who haven’t read the first six books. I intend to be vague when I discuss certain things because I don’t want to spoil anything from this book.

I have been anxious for and dreading the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for a while now. Anxious because I do want to know what will happen next and dreading it because it is the last book and because I didn't want to see a few things happen. I didn't get hooked on the books until the fall of 2001 when I got Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for my birthday. Since then, I've read all the books and seen the movies. After seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I was even more anxious to get this book.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh, and final, book in the Harry Potter series. Each book has built on what happened in the previous ones, so people really need to read these books in order for everything to make sense. I really don’t think that anyone should read this book if they haven’t read the first six books.

Harry Potter had a difficult life after the death of his parents when he was a year old. He was raised by his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon who treated Harry horrible while spoiling their own son Dudley. When he turned eleven, Harry learned that his parents, James and Lily, had been wizards. They had been murdered by Lord Voldemort, a powerful dark wizard. Somehow Harry survived the attack with only a scar on his forehead which caused Lord Voldemort to vanish. Harry went off to study at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry where he became friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry also got an enemy in Draco Malfoy. During his years at Hogwarts, Harry was forced to deal with Lord Voldemort, who was in different forms, more than once before the rest of the magical world accepted that Lord Voldemort had returned. Harry also had to deal with the deaths of people that had been close to him.

****Minor Plot Discussion****
People who would prefer not to know anything about the plot of the book before reading it should skip this paragraph.

Harry spent his last days at Privet Drive preparing to leave for the last time. He had been entrusted with finding and destroying the horcruxes and Ron and Hermione insisted on going with him. Voldemort was gaining more power and people were frightened by the reports of disappearances and murders. After enjoying a brief bit of happiness, Harry, Hermione, and Ron set off on their journey while Voldemort plotted and planed how to deal with Harry.

****End of Minor Plot Discussion****

Not much time had passed since the end of the last book, so Harry was still dealing with certain events. Even though Harry started off with the Dursleys, very little of the book actually took place there. That didn’t bother me because I’ve never liked the Dursleys though I did think something that happened at that point was interesting. This was the second longest book in the series at 759 pages and there was a lot going on. The main plot was straight forward in dealing with Harry, Hermione, and Ron’s search for the horcruxes. In addition to that, several other subplots, some which had been introduced in previous books, were also dealt with. There were a few sections that dragged just a little bit, but it wasn’t enough to bore me. For the most part, I felt the book moved along at a good pace without being rushed.

Just over a month ago, I decided to read all the Harry Potter books again to gear up for both the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and this book. I was trying to be more alert to pick up any possible clues in the first six books for things that could be important in this one. I did come up with a lot of ideas and theories and even discussed some of them with a few online friends. I’m not mentioning any of those things specifically because I feel that would be sharing too much. It turned out that I was right about some things and wrong about others. I was right about the importance of a few items, though I was a bit off in exactly why one thing was so important. I wasn’t disappointed that I had figured out a few things because there was still so much going on that had never occurred to me. Even though I had developed some theories, I still really felt like I didn’t know what to expect and several things did surprise me.

Before I started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I had a lot of questions related to several different things. I came up with even more questions reading the book again since I knew about certain future events that took place through the sixth book. There had been some unresolved plot threads running though the entire series. Most of my questions were answered by this book. I really felt like all the unresolved issues were tied up in ways that made sense. The things I wondered about that weren’t answered or addressed were really minor and not important to the overall plot of the series. That doesn’t mean that I still wouldn’t like to have them answered even though I know it won’t happen.

Magic has been very important throughout the Harry Potter series. All of the main characters were either witches or wizards along with several of the supporting characters. The majority of the first six books took place at Hogwarts where the main characters were learning magic. Once again magic played a very big part in this book. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were tackling something very dangerous and they did a lot of magic. Magical things that had been introduced in the past, like portkeys, were back. I really enjoyed the magical elements in the book and how the three of them were using magic away from Hogwarts. Different magical creatures like centaurs and werewolves were at least briefly mentioned again as well. Rowling has skillfully woven in real world issues, especially discrimination, into the magical elements throughout the series and this book was no different in that regard.

In the last few books, especially Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, there have been some hints at romances for some characters. The first was with Harry’s crush and attempt at a relationship with Cho Chang. In the last book, there were a few relationships that popped up during the school year. There were also a few relationships between older characters that were introduced as well. Relationships were mentioned again in this book without them becoming the central focus of what was going on. There were much fewer romantic situations in this book with there only being a few mentions of characters kissing. Nothing else was described, so parents shouldn’t have to worry about that. There was a small amount of minor swearing from some characters, but it wasn’t anything excessive and no graphic swears were used.

The last several books have been getting darker and dealing with more adult themes, including death. Harry and his friends have faced dangerous situations in every book with Harry in the most danger. The characters have had to deal with some very bad things in the last few books, especially the death of someone very important. I didn’t expect anything else from this book. It has been coming for a long time that Harry would have to face Voldemort and I knew that it wouldn’t be a fun or easy meeting. The book could be too dark or upsetting for younger readers.
Even if they have read the previous books, they could be upset by certain things that happen in this one. The book did include some humor and a few light moments, but it was very dark overall.

****Possible Minor Spoiler****
This part could be a possible minor spoiler for anyone who has managed to avoid hearing anything at all about the book, including some things that J.K. Rowling herself has said. Those people may want to skip this part.

It came out a long time ago - I can’t even remember how long ago now - that more characters were going to die in this book. Rowling herself said that there would be more death coming. I wasn’t happy at all when I heard that though I really wasn’t surprised after she has killed off characters in previous books. I hated that she killed off those particular characters, especially who died in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, so I was worried about who she was going to kill in this book. I’ve gotten tired of characters I like in this series being killed. Since hearing that more characters would die, I’ve had all kinds of theories and ideas about who it might be. There were more deaths in this book than there have been in any of the previous books - and no I’m not naming names. This time, the deaths were spread throughout the book and I was very surprised by two of them. I never once suspected those two deaths might happen. Some of them were described as they happened without being too graphic.

****End of Possible Minor Spoiler****

Many characters, some more important than others, have been introduced throughout the series. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been developed very well with them being the main characters in all the books. None of them were perfect and it was understandable when they had some mood swings given what they were facing. They all did more growing during this book and seemed realistic even though they could do magic. None of the other characters were in as much of this book even though some of them still did some important things. A couple of characters really got the chance to shine which made me happy. Voldemort was featured more than he has been in most of the other books. He was mostly shown with his Death Eaters and glimpses of his plans were shared. Some of the Death Eaters were featured a bit more than they had been in previous books, including showing just how much they and Voldemort enjoyed torture and murder.

Since the series has such a large cast of characters, several of them weren’t used that much in this book. I was disappointed that some characters weren’t around more even though I know there just wasn’t room to give them all larger parts. During the course of the book, Harry was able to learn more about some other characters, including flaws and regrets. I did like that more was shared about certain characters since that did answer questions. I would have liked it if a bit more had been shared related to a few of them. Some characters that were only briefly in an earlier book make a return during this one. One character that played a bigger part in one of the previous books also made a return. I didn’t like that character, so I was happy that their return was short. It was nice to see so many of the characters again even if it was only briefly.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ended with an epilogue. I was happy with that, though I would have liked if a few other things had been shared in it. I can see that some readers won’t like the epilogue. I saw a special on tv about J.K. Rowling several years ago and she said at that time that she already had the final chapter written, so she had been planning the final outcome for years. She created something very special with this series. I wasn’t happy with everything that happened, but I was happy with the book overall and thought it was a satisfying and fitting conclusion to the series.

I really enjoyed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was a very entertaining book that pulled me in from the first page. The book is a must read for anyone who has read and enjoyed the first six books in the series. Even though I didn’t like some things that happened, what has me tearing up now is that there won’t be another wonderful magical adventure with these characters.

Farewell Harry Potter and friends. I already miss you.

Harry Potter Books
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ The Tales of Beedle the Bard ~ Harry Potter Film Wizardry ~ Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey ~

Harry Potter Movies
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ~ Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter ~

Other Harry Potter Related Reviews
Scene It? Harry Potter 2nd Edition (Trivia Game) ~ Hallmark 2010 A Gift for Doby Ornament ~ 2011 Harry Potter Golden Snitch Ornament ~ Harry Potter Uno ~

Recommended: Yes