This book is the literary equivalent of fuzzy slippers, a soft sweater, and the best cup of hot chocolate. It is pure comfort and takes me to a happy place every time I reread it. Actually, I feel that way about most of the Harry Potter books (not you Chamber of Secrets, not you), but Half-Blood Prince is my favorite of the series. I’m not going to bother giving a synopsis and there will be spoilers ahoy, just warning you. I’ll assume most cannonballers have read the series or haven’t read them and don’t care about spoilers (If that’s you, I don’t even know what you’re doing with your life, just read them already. Look at your life choices.).
In many ways, Half-Blood Prince is the culmination of the HP books before it because The Deathly Hallows is such a (wonderful in its own way) departure. It’s a very different kind of adventure. But HBP has so much emotional payoff. Harry finally embraces being the chosen one and starts accepting and planning for his inevitable future. Dumbledore embraces Harry as a horcrux destroying apprentice and entrusts him with valuable information. Of course, Dumbledore still has many secrets he keeps from Harry, but I love reading about the two of them on their adventures through Tom Riddle’s past. Their respect for each other grows so much which makes Dumbledore’s death at the end that much more heartbreaking.
With so much time spent delving into the past of Lord Voldemort, it’s impossible not to draw comparisons to Harry. There are so many similarities between the two of them and it really helps the reader understand both characters better. Similarly, the HBP spends time humanizing both Dumbledore and Snape. Helping Harry and the reader see these wizards as something more than pure good and pure evil is something Rowling does a wonderful job with and continues in book 7.
I could talk forever about all the character growth in HBP, but I think I’ll stop before writing the world’s longest non-review. Instead, which Harry Potter book do you find yourself rereading the most?
Confession time…I haven’t reread them yet because I want them to be fresh when I start reading them with my boys. Tommy just turned 6, I think the time is nigh!
Exciting! I love how reading Harry Potter has become this ritual for children with their parents. I can’t think of any book that was so universal like that when I was little.
Nice review! I like this one because it’s got a bit of an edge in the sense that Dumbledore is kind of a jerk to Harry and Snape, the guy who’s always a jerk, suddenly turns into something much bigger than that.
Also, it’s a relief that Harry stops SCREAMING IN CAPITALS ALL THE TIME like he did in Order of the Phoenix.