By
Lolita Barrister
J.K. Rowling
"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince"
After a twenty-five month wait the 6th installment of the Harry Potter series has reared its head. This review will probably mean naught if one has not read the first five installments.
I’ll admit I’m a moderate fan of the novels and did not partake in discussions about the first five books; however, this being the second to last book in the series, I’ve decided to weigh in.
Surprisingly, this book does not begin at Privet Drive. Nor is there the expected fanfare once there. The usual suspects have all successfully “yea-ed” at roll call, and provide the required number of quips, quotes, queries and red-herrings (why just red ones I’ll never understand; however, I digress). There is, however, a certain amount of predictability that I assume is inherent with a serial novel.
The bulk of the novel is set, yet again, at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, Harry’s intrigue is piqued in Knockturn Alley when he and his friends, Hermione and Ron, witness a half heard conversation between a shop owner and their nemesis, Draco Malfoy. His suspicion is increased when, for the first time, Professor Snape is suddenly called on to teach “Defence Against the Dark Arts”. Events continue to plague Harry as Ron and Hermione snap at each other rather than resolve their differences and Dumbledore insists on giving him private lessons. These sessions prove useful in confusing our hero as he must learn to discern what information can provide reasonable assumptions and what can send him to his greatest peril. At 16, Harry must make some of the hardest choices in his life in order to secure the safety of all those he loves and cares for.
As this is the second to last book in the series, wild speculation about who-will-do-what-to-whom-when-where-and-with-what is all the rage. It is a wonderful test of a young mind’s ability for sleuthing and for the more wizened, a means of continuously ensuring optimum detecting skills.
Caveat: Induces constant head scratching and a desire to clip a teen’s ear.
Ta,
Lolita
ISBN: 155192756
