Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Genre: Youth Fantasy
Form: Audio Book
Series: Harry Potter

The final Harry Potter book. A book so well known, so popular that apparently no one thought it needed a synopsis. There is not one on the book, or the websites. Which is understandable seeing as how it's the same Harry vs. Voldemort, good vs. evil that it has been since the very beginning. Of course this is the end of the evil. Or at least this particular evil.

Harry, Ron and Hermione go off on a mission to find all of the Horcruxes that Voldemort has scatter across the wizarding world - in all the places that held some sort of importance to him. They must try and think like Voldemort and anticipate what he will have in store - which is made easier since Voldemort can't seem to keep hold of his emotions and opens the connection between Harry and himself quite frequently. But this does not keep Harry from danger. No - every other move he makes, Harry, Ron and Hermione find themselves in another crazy, dangerous situation.

In addition to the Horcruxes, the three are left to decipher the strange items that Dumbledore has left them in his will. Upon much research, Dumbledore's clues lead them on another mission - to find, or at least find out about - the Deathly Hallows. A concept that Harry embraces and even becomes consumed with on his journey.

In the end, of course, the books is summed up with who is the better wizard, the better person - Harry or Tom Riddle.

I enjoyed the ending of Harry Potter. Nothing mind-numbingly amazing or anything, pretty much exactly what I expected actually. I'm thankful to be done with the books and over my obsession. I'm still, of course, looking forward to the movies! My husband and I have had fun debating where they are planning on dividing the book to make two movies. It will be interesting to find out.

I love the wall to wall action of this book. But more than that, I loved the much anticipated and built up (OMG FINALLY) Ron/Hermione kiss. Another favorite part is when Ron says to Malfoy - "This is the second time we've saved your life today!" Great stuff!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
Genre: Youth Fantasy
Form: Audio Book
Series: Harry Potter

The War Against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. And yet... As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate-and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

Source: Back of Audio Book

For the first (and probably last) time ever, my husband read/listened to a book spontaneously. We are both preparing for the release of the next Harry Potter movie coming July 17th - and decided to take on the Half-Blood Prince together. It was fun as we discussed the book, and both made predictions as to who the Half-Blood Prince would turn out to be. Both of us were wrong by the way.

These books just keep getting better and better. It's almost sad to realize that this is the 2nd to last book of the series, now that I'm really into it. I enjoyed the obvious aging in this book, the crew are now becoming real teenagers, with all the hormones to go with it. Before all of this, the aging wasn't very obvious, and in my mind I was still seeing the young kids I first envisioned in the beginning (despite having seen the movies). There is quite a bit of fun to be had with the hormones.

I enjoy seeing Harry's compassion come out, especially toward Luna Lovegood. For the huge temper he's got on him, he's also got quite a bit of love and friendship to spare for others as well. But by far, the most interesting parts of this book was Harry's meetings with Dumbledore, as well as his adventure, even if it's ending was not so great. All of this made this book a MILLION times better than all the others in my opinion. Well The Order of the Phoenix was pretty good - but J.K. Rowling's writing has started to soar in Half-Blood Prince for sure.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Genre: Youth Fantasy
Form: Audiobook
Series: Harry Potter

The fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series follows the darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a peg or three after the events of last year. Somehow, over the summer, gossip (usually traced back to the magic world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet) has turned Harry's tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and discount the teen. Even Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of the school, has come under scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic, which refuses to officially acknowledge the terrifying truth that Voldemort is back. Enter a particularly loathsome new character: the toadlike and simpering ("hem, hem") Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, who takes over the vacant position of Defense Against Dark Arts teacher--and in no time manages to become the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, as well. Life isn't getting any easier for Harry Potter. With an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels examinations (O.W.Ls), devastating changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team lineup, vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors, and increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar, Harry's resilience is sorely tested.

Source: Amazon.com

I am so glad I listened to my friend and got this book on audio. This was WAAAAY better than the first two Harry Potters. There was quite a bit in the book that wasn't in the movie - not necessarily in a bad way, but it did make for a more interesting read. This book is definitely darker than the others. Poor Harry is almost to the brink of being tortured when he's at a school, his friends are with him - but not always seeing things the way he does, Dumbledore is not talking to him. Everything just seems lonely, segregated and all wrong for Harry.

I loved the introduction of Luna in this book, if nothing else, she did make Harry realize that it's okay to be different, and really just showed him a new point of view on many fronts. The Weasley Twins were much funnier in this book than they were in the movie. I loved their part in getting back at Professor Umbridge.

I cannot wait for The Half-Blood Prince to be available at my library. I'll be there as soon as I possibly can! I'm also more excited for the movie in July than I was before.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Genre: Youth Fantasy
Form: Audiobook
Series: Harry Potter

Harry's back for his second year at Hogwarts, where the infamous Chamber of Secrets has been opened for the first time in 50 years. The monster that is unleashed is literally petrifying Hogwarts students (turning them into stone, that is), and who is the primary suspect? Harry Potter himself. Add to this some enormous spiders, a Deathday Party, a ghost named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and lots and lots of suspense, and you'll soon find yourself engrossed in another terrific tale in which magic does exist and good eventually triumphs over evil.

Source: BarnesandNobel.com

I have made a decision - I am not going to read every single Harry Potter. Why you ask? Because I've seen all of the movies and so far, the books are almost to the letter exactly the same as the book. I realize that this isn't true as the books move forward. I have heard how as the movies plot on the director takes more liberties and the book and movies are no longer exact duplicates. It is for this reason I have promised a friend of mine that I would still listen to the The Order of the Phoenix book. That is where I will be picking up in the series.

I obviously cannot list myself in to the "big Harry Potter" fan category. I am not sure if it's because the movies have ruined the books for me, or if it's because the books were written mainly for the youth age group, but these books do nothing for me. I do not get excited about the characters as I read. I do not feel any type of emotion, excitement, fear, anticipation...nothing. If I wasn't listening to the audio books at work, I wouldn't be reading them at all. Let's see if I feel the same way as I get to The Half-Blood Prince - the one that, of course, I have not seen the movie for.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
Genre: Youth Fantasy
Form: Audio Book
Series: Harry Potter

No, I have never read the Harry Potter books. Yes, I do realize I'm years and years behind every one. I have seen the movies, and really like them, so I decided to give the audio books a try. And since everyone in their brother has read the Harry Potter books, I'm going to try something new this time around. I've been debating about whether to write my own summaries to the books I read, or continue to use what is published on the back of the book or what's on the Barnes and Noble website. I'm not sure if anyone pays attention or cares - but I am always vague in my reviews because I'm trying very hard not to give anything away. I want to write down my opinion of the books I read or listen too, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone else. This is often hard when I get to the part where I want to tell people what my favorite part of the book way, because often my favorite part is the pivotal part in the book or the surprise twist. Anyhow, for the next few books I'm going to take a stab at writing my own summary and then my review. If I feel it's going well, I will continue in this method. If I don't like it, then I'll just do things as I've always done them.

So back to the review..er summary:

Harry Potter has lived with his Aunt, Uncle, and very spoiled cousin, Dudley ever since he was a baby. He was delivered to them after his parents died in what he was told was a car accident. All his life he has been treated as a second class citizen, never truly feeling like he belongs. Now, 11 years later, Harry's life is about to make a drastic change.

In just a matter of days, Harry finds himself swept off to a school for meant for Wizards and Witches. Apprehensive at first, Harry soon finds out that he is not only famous among this world of magic, but he also finds himself right at home after years of feeling an outsider. In his first year at Hogwarts School of Magic, Harry makes new friends, new enemies and begins to learn about his destiny.

When comparing the difference between books, and the movies that have been made from books - most of the time I would say the book is most certainly better than the movie (Twilight, for example). On rare occasion I might say that the movie was actually better than the book (Confessions of a Shopaholic). But in this instance, I will say that the book and the movie were almost 100% word-for-word, the same. And seeing as how I liked the movie a lot, this was actually a good thing - just a little surprising!

I have read many young adult books, but this is the first time in a really long time that I've read anything that is focused more towards youths or preteens. I actually did borrow this book from the library once, and mostly because the book was extremely easy to read and really did feel juvenile to me, I did not finish it, but getting the audio book was a winner for me. I listen to these books at work - while I'm working (big surprise huh?). So the fact that the book was an "easy read" actually worked out well. I didn't have to concentrate too hard to keep up with the book. So I'm happy to be able to finally add the Harry Potter books to my "read" list.

I think my favorite part of The Sorcerer's Stone is when Hermione covers for Harry and Ron after they save her from a troll, and their friendship is officially forged. I think both Harry and Ron learned a very important lesson about just how much words can hurt a person. Of course, in real life, hopefully it wouldn't be such a dangerous lesson.

All in all, I loved the beginning of this saga. You meet many of the important characters, you learn about the world of magic, and some of it's ups and downs. It's a perfect beginning to what I already know is a wonderful series.