Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

Author: J.K. Rowling

Released: July 2007

His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.' With these words Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince draws to a close. And here, in this seventh and final book, Harry discovers what fate truly has in store for him as he inexorably makes his way to that final meeting with Voldemort. In this thrilling climax to the phenomenally bestselling series, J.K. Rowling reveals all to her eagerly waiting readers.

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: What can I honestly say? The amount of suspense, every single chapter brought new twists and turns, and this book was just amazing. What a way to finish the series. I'm just bowled over. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finally gives us the answers to all of the questions we've been asking after the previous books. Small things that we thought might not have been relevant are suddenly crucial, and then in the last few chapters we finally understand everything. 

I don't really know how to list the positives without spoiling this book for those who haven't read it, but I will definitely say that you'll learn things about certain characters that will make you gasp. And there are certain things that with hindsight are oh so obvious. But as always the characters are so well woven together and created, and you'll definitely enjoy it.

Negatives: I'm actually going to come out with a couple of negatives here. Firstly there's a certain death that is not okay, I was in floods of tears. All I'll say is that it happens by Shell Cottage, which won't mean anything unless you read the books. 

Secondly the epilogue. Seriously what was that? The book could have ended quite happily at the end of the last chapter, and I actually really didn't like the fact that there was an epilogue. It already felt like the story was done, there wasn't a meed to add anything else to it. But that's just my personal opinion.

Would I recommend this book? But of course. You have to go and read it, especially once you've read the rest of the series. You can't not find out how Harry's journey ends. 

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Author: J.K. Rowling

Released: July 2005

In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned to this country and is once more active. "It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord - well, you know who I mean - is alive and among us again," said Fudge. These dramatic words appeared in the final pages of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the midst of this battle of good and evil, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with Voldemort's power and followers increasing day by day ...

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: Oh my lordy, this was a fantastic book. We see Harry return for his sixth year at Hogwarts knowing that things will never be the same again, not now that Voldemort is back out in the open. This year however sees Harry not only focus on his new much harder classes as an N.E.W.T student but he also starts having private lessons with Professor Dumbledore. These private lessons are an excellent way of giving the reader a greater understanding of who Lord Voldemort is and how he operates, I hate to confess it but I actually felt a little sorry for him and for his mother Merope. 

However it isn't just more advanced magic that Harry has to contend with, somebody seems to be plotting to commit murder at Hogwarts this year, and it doesn't matter who they hurt before reaching their intended target. We see Harry have to face the potential loss of Katie Bell and Ron Weasley, and while Harry has his suspicions about who is behind the attacks nobody seems to share his concerns. Typically of course though Harry is perfectly correct about who is plotting murder.

And then there's the fact that we get to see much more of the Dark Arts now. All I'm saying is wait until you see what a Horcrux is. That really is the darkest magic imaginable.

But as always we also get plenty of lighthearted moments, including Luna telling Harry that he shouldn't be an Auror because they are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy and are working from within to bring down the Ministry of Magic using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease. 

Negatives: In all honesty I wasn't sure that the first chapter, The Other Minister, was all that necessary. The details given in this chapter about how there is a new Minister for Magic and the grisly murders that have taken place could have happened anywhere in the book. In fact most of it is revisited at the start of the fourth chapter. 

Would I recommend this book? As always with the Harry Potter books, of course I'm going to recommend it. What are you, a Muggle? 

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Author: J.K. Rowling

Released: June 2003

Harry is furious that he has been abandoned at the Dursleys' house for the summer, for he suspects that Voldemort is gathering an army, that he himself could be attacked, and that his so-called friends are keeping him in the dark. Finally rescued by wizard bodyguards, he discovers that Dumbledore is regrouping the Order of the Phoenix - a secret society first formed years ago to fight Voldemort. But the Ministry of Magic is against the Order, lies are being spread by the wizards' tabloid, the Daily Prophet, and Harry fears that he may have to take on this epic battle against evil alone.

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: Oh my Rowling. Okay so I'm not going to beat about the bush here. Let's start off with character development. We get to meet the horrificaly despicable Umbridge, a close colleague of Fudge's, as our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and boy is she horrible. Soon she has the entire school under her control, she controls everything and even has the power to sack other teachers. She is a horrible nasty piece of work when she's acting on Fudge's orders, and she's even worse when she decides to do stuff under her own steam as well. Lets just say detention isn't a nice little trip into the Forest anymore, it's now a barbaric evening of torture. However as if to counteract the horrible entity that is Umbridge this book has given me a new found respect for Professor McGonagall. She is fighting everyone's corner, and seems to be the students' only hope against Umbridge. She even goes so far as to tell Umbridge that she isn't a competent Defence teacher. 

Okay so now lets look at the story itself. Some of these chapters really didn't feel like they added much to the story, in fact you could probably cut around two hundred of the pages and still have a lengthy story that is worth reading. Now I thought that the last book was dark, but this one is a hell of a lot darker. Especially when you get to the end of the book, let's just say chapters thirty five and thirty six are a real treat. But as the story becomes darker we see the magic become more advanced, and this is a real treat. We even get to see a proper wizard's duel for once.

Oh and we see the trio becoming much more involved in relationships as well. Harry finally gets a shot with Cho, and Hermione is on hand to offer any advice that the boys need about girls. Which is something they need a hell of a lot of.

Negatives: Okay there is a particular death in this book at the end of chapter thirty five that had me in tears. I can see why Rowling has killed off this particular character, but I feel that perhaps maybe some lasting damage should have been done to one of the students who accompanied Harry to the Department of Mysteries? For all the students to escape relatively unscathed given that they were battling much older and powerful wizards than themselves is a little unbelievable. Especially when you take into account that these wizards are Death Eaters. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes, yes I would. But you may need tissues for the end, as like I said I was reduced to tears. 

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

Author: J.K. Rowling

Released: July 2000

When the Quidditch World Cup is disrupted by Voldemort's rampaging supporters and the terrifying Dark Mark is resurrected, it is obvious to Harry that, far from failing, Voldemort is getting stronger. The ultimate symbol to the magic world of the evil Lord's return would be if the one and only survivor of his death curse, Harry Potter, could finally be beaten. So when Harry is entered for the Triwizard Tournament - a competition between three wizarding schools to find the ultimate magician - he knows that rather than win it, he just has to get through the trials alive.

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: Holy Gryffindor! J.K. Rowling has done it again. As we join Harry for his fourth year at Hogwarts we find ourselves facing new and deadlier foes than ever before, and having help from some old friends such as Dobby.

So my first positive has to be that although this is a much darker novel than its predecessors, we need to bear in mind that the original readers have aged, and will be able to handle darker themes. Plus as Harry's character is aging we see him face new challenges that a teenager would face, including his growing attraction for Cho. So let me take off my hat, or should I say raise my wand to the fabulous Rowling for understanding that her key audience will have aged, and for also remembering to change the trials that Harry faces accordingly.

Secondly the Death Eaters are an amazing concept. We always knew that Voldemort had power, and for that he would need his loyal band of followers, and now we finally get to meet them. Something that I think makes them more threatening and scary, especially where younger readers are involved, is their anonymity. Because they are masked and hooded figures you have no idea of their true identities, and that only makes them something more dangerous, which only brings home the point of how dangerous it really is and how you really can't trust anyone. 

Another beautiful plot twist was finally finding out what happened to Neville's parents. I had always assumed that perhaps, with the Longbottoms being purebloods, that they had disowned Neville for not being magical enough, and that that was the reason he was raised by his grandmother. The truth though is so much more heartbreaking and it goes to show what a fantastic woman Augusta Longbottom is. 

And speaking of plot twists, those last few chapters. Holy Hippogriffs, they were amazing. So many characters now have extra depths to them, and just wow. I really can't say anything more without giving away major spoilers. 

Finally the magic. Okay yes we're at a school for wizardry and I should be used to magic by now. But the charms and hexes used in this book are just so much more advanced than anything we've seen previously (with the exception of the Patronus Charm). 

Negatives: Okay I can come up with some actual negatives this time. I loved this book dearly don't get me wrong, but having scenes where various characters are tortured and having that pain described with how the character is twitching and writhing is not okay! This is still classed as a children's book, but that's not something I'd want my child reading in all honesty.

Would I recommend this book? Hell yes, but I'm actually going to say that because of the aforementioned torture scenes parents may want to check the book first before giving it to a child. I know its not like me to give a parental advisory warning but I think this book merits it.

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Author: J.K. Rowling

Released: July 1999

When Harry and his best friends go back for their third year at Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass-murderer on the loose and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school. Lessons, however, must go on and there are lots of new subjects in third year - Care of Magical Creatures and Divination among others - to take Harry's mind off things.

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: Firstly absolutely everything which occurs in this book is vital. Everything ties together, even the very last few pages are spent pulling those few final threads together. This makes for a very enjoyable read, and we get to see so many more issues developing. Again we gain a greater understanding of different magical creatures as we're introduced to Hippogriffs, Dementors and even a werewolf. 

Secondly I want a Remus Lupin. I don't even need to say anymore, that man is absolutely awesome. And I have a sneaking suspicion he already knew what Neville's Boggart would be, and therefore deliberately planned how Neville should alter it as well. 

Thirdly, it was really nice to not have a form of Voldemort trying to kill Harry for once. Much as I love dear old Voldie it's nice that he's given Harry a year off. 

And speaking of Voldemort, dear lord that plot twist about who his spy is. Well that was just magnificent. Oh dear JK you've done it again, especially because that is going to have a great bearing on future books. But as you are the queen of foreshadowing I wouldn't have expected anything less from you. 

Negatives: Okay so I know I shouldn't really be comparing the book to the movie. But I can't help it. Now I still prefer the book, don't get me wrong, but I kept expecting all these killer lines from the movies that cracked me up, and not a single one of them appeared. So I was a little disappointed. But I can't really call that a criticism of the book as the book came out first. But yeah it kinda ruined it for me a little. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes of course. Especially if you want to see Malfoy get his comeuppance. Just go and read it ... Now!

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Author: J.K. Rowling

Released: July 1998

Harry Potter is a wizard. He is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last ...even getting there is an adventure in itself! The three firm friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione, are soon immersed in the daily round of Potions, Herbology, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Quidditch. But then horrible and mysterious things begin to happen. Harry keeps hearing strange voices, sinister and dark messages appear on the wall, and then Ron's sister Ginny disappears...

Rating: 5 Stars

Positives: As always where should I start? There are just so many positives about this book. We meet many new and wonderful characters including Dobby the house elf, Gilderoy Lockhart the absolutely hopeless Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and the manipulative Lucius Malfoy. Each character has their own key qualities and nobody seems to be quite whom they make out they are. 

Then we have the amazing storyline. Who would think that one of the school founders was a Pureblood elitist, and that he'd have a monster buried in the bowels of the school? And of course the true identity of Tom Riddle, the mysterious and charming boy from fifty years ago is a real plot twist. Every time I read this I hope in vain that I've imagined his true identity and that he's actually a really nice guy, but he's not. I won't tell you exactly who he is though because that would ruin everything. 

And there's plenty of laugh out loud moments too. From Ron breaking his wand and it having a string of crazy malfunctions including spells backfiring so that Ron spends an entire day puking slugs to Lockhart removing all the bones from one of Harry's arms this book is bound to contain something that will make you laugh.

Negatives: I've only got one negative and that's purely because I have an abject terror of spiders. Aragog is not funny. It wasn't funny the first time I read the book, it wasn't funny when I saw the film, and it still isn't funny now. The idea of giant spiders the size of small elephants who can talk and like human flesh is just scary. Thanks for the nightmares Rowling. 

Would I recommend this book? Ooooh yes definitely. You'll enjoy it I promise you, especially if you enjoyed the first book.