Friday, October 18, 2013

Harry Potter: Book 7: The Deathly Hallows

           Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, is the final installment in the Harry Potter series.  In my opinion, it is the second best book in the series with the previous being my favorite.  Harry has chosen not to go back to Hogwarts and go horcrux hunting instead.  He wanted to go alone, but Ron and Hermione go with him because he can't do anything without them.  This is where the last book left off, and I couldn't wait to start this one.  There are two new teachers this time and Voldemort takes over the school.  So you can expect many things from this book.

            If I could change one thing I wouldn't change anything important to the story, just a minor detail.  I would change how Harry feels about finding horcruxes.  He just doesn't seem to care that much about finding one.  When he finds one, he's just like "Okay, cool," but he should be like "Yes!  One more down!"  His reactions are under-exaggerated and he seems like a robot.  He is looking for things that can kill the most dangerous wizard alive and he doesn't seem to care much.

            I like this book a lot, except for that one detail.  It was well thought out and was very engaging.  It was a very good book and it is a very good ending to the series.  I recommend it to anyone that has read all of the other books.  If you haven't read all of the other books, you can still read it, it just won't make as much sense and you probably won't like it as much.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Harry Potter: Book 6: The Half-Blood Prince

            Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling, is my favorite book in the series.  I really like it and will be praising it in this.  Harry starts another school year and starts it with a new teacher, like always, something happens with Malfoy, like always, and Harry eventually wins, right?  Wrong, Harry does start another school year and something does happen with Malfoy and it's debatable whether Harry wins or not, but what is different is that another character dies at the end.  I say that it's different because nobody thought this could ever possibly happen under any circumstance, but it does happen.  Whether you like it or not, someone does die and someone gets seriously injured and the tide turns. 

            I like Professor Slughorn a lot just because he's so clueless.  He is good at the subject that he teaches, but he is so clueless when it comes to what Harry wants, kind of like Professor Lockhart but not as extreme.  And he does cause Harry to get the Half-Blood Prince's book, so he is a major story element.  He also gets a job that no one thought he would get.  Everyone thought he would teach Defense Against the Dark Arts; well, he doesn't.

            This is a great book and I think that the best moments of the series were in this book.  Everything about it is just great, except for this one thing that Dumbledore did.  It just takes so many turns that no one expects on their first time through if they haven't had spoilers.  And the way that the story flows is just amazing.  I was genuinely sad at the end after what happened, and that's the mark of a good book.  Also, Fred and George create something that I really want to go to.  But I can't go to it because it's not real.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Harry Potter: Book 5: The Order of the Phoenix

            Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling, is, in my opinion, the worst Harry Potter book.  It was very repetitive and not very engaging.  Plus, my second favorite character dies at the end.  And it's not Fred or George, because they are one character.  The movie, however, was the best movie.  It's weird how that happens.

            As you can tell, I didn't like this book very much.  Even though it has the funniest jokes in it, but that doesn't make up for the lack of anything interesting going on.  The entire book is just Harry is stupid, Harry gets in trouble, Harry is stupid, Harry gets in trouble.  And that goes on and on for entire book.  He even does it in the last chapter!  Why is he so stupid!  Also Fred and George do something with what Harry gave them at the end of the last book.  And they are awesome.
 
Spoilers


            Like in every book, they get a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, and this one was appointed by the ministry to keep Harry and Dumbledore quiet about Voldemort.  Harry sneaks into her office so much, that she reinforced her door, a lot.  Harry also uses the Room of Requirement to host illegal activities called "a group of more than three people studying and practicing Defense against the Dark Arts spells," or Dumbledore's Army for short.  If you think that this is so well thought out that they never get caught, you are wrong.  One of the members tells the new teacher.  Thanks, thanks a lot.  Malfoy also catches Harry single handedly by tripping him with his foot, no magic, just a foot.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Harry Potter: Book 4: The Goblet of Fire

            Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling, is the fourth edition to the Harry Potter series.  In this book, three schools attempt a competition that was last done over two hundred years ago, and was tradition back then.  It is no longer done because of how many deaths it has caused.  Harry must face a mean new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, new spells that are illegal, and maybe a new creature.  Harry faces many people that don't like him or want to ruin his name, but he must power through it.

            I would like to make Crouch Jr. more important.  He was just introduced and then he's gone.  I would like for Crouch Jr. to be someone that was in another book before this.  If J.K. Rowling introduced him earlier in the series then it would fine, but he leaves never to return the same scene that he's introduced.  He is an amazing character with a great background story that was super important for like two seconds and he could have been important for a lot longer.  If he was just in the book for longer or if he was in a battle the book would have been way better.  I hate it; Crouch Jr. could have been an amazing storyline person for the whole series, but he wasn't.

            I like this book and it was an okay movie, but I was never really excited to pick it back up.  If you think it was great, then that's what you think, but I was just reading it to get the story instead of just reading for fun.  This is probably the most important book in terms of story for the series.  I won't spoil anything, but near the end is the thing that everyone knew was going to happen eventually.  Also, Fred and George are awesome in this book, they're just awesome.  They are selling things that they make that are popular, and the things that they make are things that I want/need.  They're even more awesome in the next book.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Harry Potter: Book 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban

            Harry Potter: Book 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling, is an excellent third book to the Harry Potter series.  It adds excitement and secrets to the series, as well as new characters including Harry's favorite defense against the dark arts teacher yet.  Harry must find out who was responsible for a crime long since forgotten to everyone except Harry.  He must learn to fight a new kind of foe.



            Like the other books, J.K. Rowling introduces a new element, like a spell or an enchanted object, somewhere in each book.  Harry must either use this new element or fight against it, in some books even both.  The Harry Potter series is amazing.  I really enjoy it and, if you haven't read the series, I hope you will too.  The books are, in order, The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Harry Potter: Book 2: The Chamber of Secrets

            Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling, is a book almost everyone has read.  Harry and his friends are going to their second year at Hogwarts, a school where young wizards go to learn magic.  They meet many people, including a strange kid who is obsessed with Harry, Ron's little sister, and the rest of Ron's family.  Strange events are happening at Hogwarts, and a house-elf, Dobby, tries to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts.  Everyone is blaming Harry for these events and Harry must face his most ridiculous year yet, with strange people and events, and a new teacher that is the strangest of them all.

            Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an awesome book that you need to read right now.  I mean right now.  Well, after you read this anyway.  Or if you haven't read the first book, The Sorcerer's Stone, but you get my point.  The Chamber of Secrets is amazing. 


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Harry Potter: Book 1: The Sorcerer's Stone

              Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling, is an amazing book that almost everyone has read.  I hardly have to say how good it is considering you most likely have read it.  The magical elements in the book let J.K. Rowling use a story structure that not many authors can use.  It also lets her make up new things along the way, like a lot of the spells and subjects.  Like Bertie and Botts every flavored beans, this book has everything in it.
            Harry Potter, the main character, is like Percy Jackson from The Lightning Thief. They both have many things that help them in similar ways, they both lived with people that hated them, and they both went through the Hero's Journey.  I recommend this book to everyone, and I mean everyone.  It is such an amazing book that I don't know what else to say.  Well, there are seven books in the series, The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows.  They are all amazing books.  At the time this was written, I am in the middle of The Goblet of Fire.