Sunday, January 1, 2012

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the second to last book in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. In this book, a few loose ends are tied up and bigger secrets and mysteries are revealed. Voldemort is now back and everybody knows it, so there is fear in a majority of the magic community. Harry is told by Professor Dumbledore that they will have regular meetings in which Harry will be learning more about Voldemort. Together, both of them learn about Voldemorts past, present, and possible future. Also there are several incidents where students get hurt at the school.

This book is one of the better ones of the series. As the characters get older and more mature, you are able to learn more about what is happening and get the more complete story. I like the way that the author incorporates the feelings of confusion and chaos in this book. I love the way you get to learn more about Voldemort and discover secrets, and how everything gets connected in this book. The way J. K. Rowling manages to be so creative and descriptive is amazing. Also, if you're into love, jealousy, and mystery than you'd really like this book.

-Reviewed by Nayri T., grade 9.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince is the sixth book of the seven book series written by J. K. Rowling. In this book Voldemort is bringing his chaos not only to the wizard world but to the muggle world. Harry goes after Draco Malfoy knowing he is envolved with Voldemort. Harry learns more and more about Voldemort's past and how he could kill Voldemort. Harry and Dumbledore then get ready to face the dark lord but they come up to a surprise and find out some else who is assisting the dark lord. On top of all of this someone will be murdered.

This book is one of the greatest books I have ever read. You finally get what you have been waiting for, Harry to face Voldemort , but not quite yet the real battle. I really enjoyed this book because all the pieces start to get put together. You find out who is really is out to get you and who is there to fight with you. The twists get better and better with a shocking death at the end. It is not like any other Harry Potter book where is ends with a happy ending, this book ends with the greatest twist of it all. This book would be a great book to read no matter what genre you like. To add on top of all of that it not only has a great plot but it was outstanding diction. I just love J. K. Rowling's word choice and her ability to make me feel like you are in the wizard world. This is the best Harry Potter book I have read so far, I still have not finished the series so watch out for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

Reviewed by Armand, grade 9
Central Library

Teen Speak said...

This is the sixth book of the Harry Potter series. It is followed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In this book Harry finds out that Draco is a death eater, a minion of Voldemort, and is trying to live up to his father. To figure out what is happening with Voldemort, Harry must travel to his past using one of Dumbledore's Pensieve. Once he is finished they realize they must go to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, which are fragments of his soul. They travel to a cave where they find one of the Horcruxes, and while Harry fends off Voldemort's minions, Dumbledore drinks a bowl of poison to get to the Horcruxes. With Dumbledore weak, they return to Hogwarts only to find the Death Mark ablaze in the sky.

My opinion of this book is that there is a lot of emotions flying around. As Ron breaks up with his girlfriend, Harry falls in love with Ron's sister, Ginny. Along with that many secrets are unlocked about Voldemort and Draco Malfoy. Probably the most important secret was that Voldemort murders to make Horcruxes of them. By doing this he, takes a fragment of his soul and puts it in someone or something else which gives him somewhat of immortality. The only way to stop him now, is to find all the Horcruxes and destroy them so that Voldemort stays dead when he dies. Overall, another great book from J.K. Rowling.

Reviewed by: Arvin O., grade: 9
Glendale Central Library

Teen Speak said...

As Harry Potter enters his sixth year at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry, the world is in turmoil. As Voldemort and the Death Eaters are gaining control over the ministry and causing mischief, the muggle world is experiencing great loss and havoc. As he enters the school, he finds this book that has many alterations, signed by a so called “Half-Blood Prince.” He gained an unusual closeness and bond to Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school. As he and Dumbledore went out to find and destroy the sixth horcrux, which is a part of Voldemort’s soul, Dumbledore had been killed by Severus Snape, a teacher that Harry loathed. Everybody was stupefied. Harry was in a great deal of pain, but he knew that Dumbledore would never be forgotten. He was never the same, but he still wanted to kill all of the Death Eaters and Voldemort for the rest of his life. He had turned into a whole other person.

This novel is really one of my most favored. This is not just any other fiction story, but seems really realistic. It makes you feel as if you are a standby to what is happening and you just can’t stop reading it. I also enjoyed the stylistic elements of J.K. Rowling’s writing. She really is one of the best! One way that she makes it fun to read is how she makes Harry sarcastic. It is also very suspenseful and I feel like I am once again a child, like anything could happen, like I myself could be a wizard….

Reviewed by Anik B., grade 9
Glendale Central Library

Teen Speak said...

As Harry Potter enters his sixth year at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry, the world is in turmoil. As Voldemort and the Death Eaters are gaining control over the ministry and causing mischief, the muggle world is experiencing great loss and havoc. As he enters the school, he finds this book that has many alterations, signed by a so called “Half-Blood Prince.” He gained an unusual closeness and bond to Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school. As he and Dumbledore went out to find and destroy the sixth horcrux, which is a part of Voldemort’s soul, Dumbledore had been killed by Severus Snape, a teacher that Harry loathed. Everybody was stupefied. Harry was in a great deal of pain, but he knew that Dumbledore would never be forgotten. He was never the same, but he still wanted to kill all of the Death Eaters and Voldemort for the rest of his life. He had turned into a whole other person.

This novel is really one of my most favored. This is not just any other fiction story, but seems really realistic. It makes you feel as if you are a standby to what is happening and you just can’t stop reading it. I also enjoyed the stylistic elements of J.K. Rowling’s writing. She really is one of the best! One way that she makes it fun to read is how she makes Harry sarcastic. It is also very suspenseful and I feel like I am once again a child, like anything could happen, like I myself could be a wizard….

Reviewed by Anik B., grade 9
Glendale Central Library

Teen Speak said...

As Harry Potter enters his sixth year at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry, the world is in turmoil. As Voldemort and the Death Eaters are gaining control over the ministry and causing mischief, the muggle world is experiencing great loss and havoc. As he enters the school, he finds this book that has many alterations, signed by a so called “Half-Blood Prince.” He gained an unusual closeness and bond to Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school. As he and Dumbledore went out to find and destroy the sixth horcrux, which is a part of Voldemort’s soul, Dumbledore had been killed by Severus Snape, a teacher that Harry loathed. Everybody was stupefied. Harry was in a great deal of pain, but he knew that Dumbledore would never be forgotten. He was never the same, but he still wanted to kill all of the Death Eaters and Voldemort for the rest of his life. He had turned into a whole other person.

This novel is really one of my most favored. This is not just any other fiction story, but seems really realistic. It makes you feel as if you are a standby to what is happening and you just can’t stop reading it. I also enjoyed the stylistic elements of J.K. Rowling’s writing. She really is one of the best! One way that she makes it fun to read is how she makes Harry sarcastic. It is also very suspenseful and I feel like I am once again a child, like anything could happen, like I myself could be a wizard….

Reviewed by Anik B., grade 9
Glendale Central Library

Teen Speak said...

Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince is the sixth book in J.K. Rowling’s series. During his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter encounters a textbook apparently belonging to a half-blood prince. The book mysteriously helps Harry with his school work, puzzling Hermione. This mystery aside, Harry Potter tries to use Dumbledore’s pensive, an object that is used to look at memories, to find out more about Voldemort’s childhood. The only problem is that he needs DNA from a person who knew Voldemort as a child. How will he accomplish his goal without anyone being suspicious?

I am sad to say that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was a disappointment to me. I was expecting a lot more from this book since it is getting close to the end of the series. After reading the first chapter, I was highly considering quitting on the book. There was hardly any action, if any. The only reason why I continued to read is because I wanted to know what happened in the following book. I hope Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is not another letdown.


Reviewed by RO, Grade 10
Casa Verdugo Library