harrypotter

=Reviews of //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows//= **//Will Harry Potter Meet his End?//** by Eli H.

//Harry Potter and the Deathly// Hallows marks the highly anticipated end of an exhilarating series involving Harry Potter and his ongoing struggle with Voldemort. The plot of the book is extremely captivating, containing complicated, well developed characters. The Harry Potter series is a fabulous read for anyone interested in fantasy. Rowling employs a sense of drama and suspense throughout the book, which makes the books exciting to read. The books are written with enthusiasm, cleverness, and detail, which make Harry Potter a real page-turner. She eloquently mixes in two story lines; one with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and the other following Harry and his two best friends Ron and Hermione. The author has a way with words, which makes these two plots lines complement each other seamlessly. The final book certainly has the most suspense surrounding its release, as Rowling is pressured to have a conclusive and inventive ending. In anticipation of the book, people placed their orders months ahead of the release date and waited in line well before the midnight release. Hogwarts, a school for witches & wizards, is the main setting of the first six books in the Harry Potter series. The seventh book takes place outside of Hogwarts. Similar to previous books, this book focuses on Harry Potter, a teenage wizard famous for surviving Voldemort’s attacks. Voldemort is a dark wizard, and the book entails Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione and their adventures in defeating Voldemort and his clan of followers, known as Death Eaters. Voldemort has left parts of his body in magical objects throughout the UK, known as horcruxes. Harry and his friends take it upon themselves to destroy these magical objects and put an end to Voldemort’s reign of terror. What makes this book so intriguing are the vivid details and descriptions given in this book. You almost feel like you are living where the characters are, and that you are fighting the same battles as they are. Rowling’s characters all have different personalities that mesh well together. The courageous and amiable Harry contrasts with the loyal and stubborn Ron. Along with the cautious and caring Hermione, the personalities of these characters all complement each other. One of the most well developed characters in the book is Snape, Harry’s former Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. Snape’s personality and demeanor make him a very shady character. While working as a teacher at Hogwarts, Snape lives a double life as one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters. In this book, Snape’s true loyalties are unveiled. It is revealed whether he was betraying Dumbledore and the Hogwarts nation, or whether he was a Death Eater only to spy on Voldemort. The revealing of Snape’s loyalties has almost as much drama and suspense connected to it as the battle between Harry and Voldemort. The tone of the book changes depending on the setting. When Harry is fighting a Death Eater or any enemy, the tone is serious, suspenseful, and precarious. But when Harry is around friends and companions, the tone is light and unrestrained. Most of the humorous moments in this book involve Ron’s brothers, George and Fred. They run a practical joke shop, and sell everything from Extendable Ears (used to eavesdrop on conversations), to Skiving Snackboxes (when taken, they make the user sick). If the book was always serious, there would be nothing to create a light mood, and the book would be a slow read. If the book was always humorous, there would be no substance to the book. For example, there is one scene where Harry’s friends all take the Polyjuice Potion to look like him and confuse the Death Eaters. After taking the potion, Fred and George, the two identical brothers of Ron, both say “Wow, we’re identical!” Fred replies, “I dunno, though, I think I’m still better-looking.” Little bits of humor like this lighten the mood and take some off the seriousness of off the story. The ending of this book was predictable, but was a disappointment. Undoubtedly, either Voldemort or Harry would have to die in the end. While Rowling’s choice wasn’t a surprise, the ending of the book was certainly a let-down for such an eloquent writer whose writings set her far apart from other fantasy authors. Considering the immense popularity and extra-ordinance of this book, I expected the ending to be unconventional and imaginative. Even though the ending didn’t fulfill its full potential, this book and the whole Harry Potter series are good choices for anyone interested in fantasy, or for anyone who wants to read a solid, well written book with developed characters and an imaginative, unique story line. The book was action-packed, riveting, and suspenseful, which combine to make this a good read.