Author: J.K. Rowling
Narrator: Jim Dale
Publisher: Pottermore Publishing
Publication Date: November 2015
Genre: Childrens / Young Adult / Fantasy
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building... wherever they had murdered...
When Dumbledore arrives at Privet Drive one summer night to collect Harry Potter, his wand hand is blackened and shriveled, but he does not reveal why. Secrets and suspicion are spreading through the wizarding world, and Hogwarts itself is not safe. Harry is convinced that Malfoy bears the Dark Mark: there is a Death Eater amongst them. Harry will need powerful magic and true friends as he explores Voldemort's darkest secrets, and Dumbledore prepares him to face his destiny...
Having become classics of our time, the Harry Potter series never fails to bring comfort and escapism. With their message of hope, belonging and the enduring power of truth and love, the story of the Boy Who Lived continues to delight generations of new readers.
My Thoughts: This book definitely did not hold the same shock factor for me in this reading that it did 18 years ago. On this, my fourth read of Half-Blood Prince, knowing what’s coming helped me actually focus more on the story instead of worrying about what may or may not happen. On the heels of Book 5 when Harry lost Sirius, I was dreading finding out who Harry would lose next. If Rowling could kill off Harry’s godfather, then nobody was safe. Having grown up without his parents, unfortunately, Harry has become accustomed to losing the people he loves.
After a long summer at the Dursley’s, Harry is collected from Privet Drive by none other than Professor Dumbledore who takes Harry on an excursion to contact an old colleague and then escort him to the Burrow.
Harry, Ron and Hermione finally receive their long anticipated O.W.L. exam results and Harry finds himself in an advanced Potions class with a new professor, Horace Slughorn. Potions have never been Harry’s favorite class, especially when Snape was the instructor. Harry acquires a potions book that belonged to someone calling himself the “Half-Blood Prince” and following the notes and tips provided within the book by the previous owner, Harry outperforms Hermione.
Harry is convinced that Draco is up to something sinister and spends a lot of time trying to figure out what it is. There are a few occurrences of students being cursed by unknown perpetrators that add to the suspense of the story. I enjoyed that Harry is made Captain of the Quidditch team and puts together a team that will hopefully win the House Cup.
The best part of the book, for me, are the private lessons Harry has with Professor Dumbledore where he learns what Dumbledore already knows about Voldemort’s early years and family. Through Dumbledore’s memories, Harry witnesses Dumbledore’s first meeting with the boy who would become the most evil wizard of all time. Harry is also tasked with finding out the true memories of one of the professors that had been tampered with. Harry has his work cut out for him in this installment and as with the whole series, I enjoyed every minute of it.
Also, the narration of the audiobooks is absolutely brilliant and makes my enjoyment of this series so much more. Jim Dale is no stranger to the arts, being a highly talented and experienced actor, himself. The decision to use him for the narration was and continues to be perfect. Once again, as always, much love and all the stars to J.K. Rowling for bringing Harry and this wonderful world to life and then sharing it with us.
My Final Verdict: As with most of the fans of this much beloved series, I have watched the movies and though Snape is quite despicable in the books, I was completely head over heels with Alan Rickman’s performance. Though most people should find his actions in the book deplorable, Rickman’s performance in the movie made me feel heartbroken, but a little sympathetic. Though there are always many every time I read these books, I can’t help but notice some major differences between the books and the movies that really stood out for me. These observations didn’t create any negative feelings or take away any enjoyment of the story, but were more of an hmmm, that’s interesting moment.
• The muggle Prime Minister is aware of the wizarding world
• Cornelius Fudge has been replaced as the Minister of Magic by Rufus Scrimgeour (I can’t remember if that is ever addressed in the movies at all, but I do recall him making an appearance in the first half of Deathly Hallows)
• In the book, Narcissa speaks the words of the unbreakable vow and not Bellatrix
• Dumbledore collects Harry at the Dursley’s, not at the London tube and disrupting his potential date
• Ginny and Molly have an intense dislike for Fleur. This was interesting because the movies don’t spend any time on the courtship between Fleur and Bill until it’s time for their wedding. Additionally, Ginny calls Fleur ”Phlegm” behind her back, which I found hilarious
• Harry, Hermione and Ron use extendable ears to eavesdrop on Draco when he is in Borgin and Burkes and Hermione goes into Borgin and Burkes to try to determine what Draco wants held for him on reserve
• Tonks finds Harry on the train and fixes his broken nose and not Luna
• Luna is announcing the Quidditch match, or rather, making offhand remarks about complete nonsense, infuriating McGonagall which was quite entertaining
• Bellatrix isn’t one of the Death Eaters on the astronomy tower
• At the end when Harry is dueling with Snape, Buckbeak attacks Snape to protect Harry
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