Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling *****

*Book with adult themes or subject matter*

In my mind, J.K. Rowling has outdone herself with this book. Now, I love the HP series but this one has replaced even The Order of the Phoenix as my favourite among the seven books. As it has only been out a week I don’t know how much I should say in this (so, look for a video post in a few days for full thoughts).

Rowling brings back most of the details from the previous books and even some of the not-so-important characters and manages to tie it all together. We finally learn about Dumbledore’s life and background and even find out about Aberforth, that elusive brother of his, not to mention a sister and parents.

For those who think that only two characters die let me caution you that many characters die on both sides of the battle. There’s even redemption for some characters, though I for one, still felt no love lost for the redeemed. Though, as I’ve talked to others they have felt vindicated that some of their favourite evil characters are redeemed in either small or great measure depending. Personally, my favourite evil characters are the ones who stayed evil to the end.

Also, while I was reading this I was glad that there was some laughter and humour along with the dark, the psychological, and the angsty. Seriously, my favourite line is said by Molly during the final battle, and when you read it I think you’ll love it too. I had originally wanted Neville to battle Bellatrix but having Molly say what she says makes it worth while for her to be the one. But, don’t you worry, Neville has his day as well. I was glad to see Neville really step it up in this book. I really wanted to pat him on the back and say, “Good for you” multiple times throughout.

I will not say who dies or who lives but I will say that this book is complex, beautiful, and bittersweet. While the Epilogue was really a bit cheesy I was glad to find out what I did about the characters who live. I would still like to know who became Headmaster, what the characters all do for livings, and other such business but it is cool to see the family dynamics with some of them. With this book ends the Tale of the Boy Who Lived.