(no subject)
Oh man. Oh MAN.
*flails*
I just have so much I want to say that I'm going to try and break it down into some sort of order so it at least RESEMBLES something other than nonsense.
The Trio
Oh man. MAN you guys. I love them. I love that Harry has really, y'know, GROWN UP and seems to have lost that edge of self-righteousness and anger at the world, so obvious in OotP. He just KNOWS it has to be him, and he accepts it, and he's ready to deal with it, and he's not going to blame anyone, because it is what it is. He's only seventeen and yet he really seemed...adult. And he was perfectly willing to die for everyone at Hogwarts, and therefore he protected them all! Oh, Harry. I've always been kind of ambigious about you--I liked you but you were never my favorite, but I do love you now.
Unfortunately, not as much as I love Ron. RON. RON. I'm waiting for him to get slammed because OH MY GOD HE ABANDONED THEM, similar to the outcry for his two-chapter fight in GoF with Harry, but the point is, as Harry said, that Ron will always want to come back. Ron left because he is human, because the locket effected him worse than it did Harry or Hermione, and because he was tired and hungry and cold and angry because he thought Harry actually had a PLAN and because there seemed to be no end is sight, and so he got angry and things were said and he left. But he CAME BACK. And I admire that just as much as Harry's unswerving determination--he walked away and then he came back and was able to admit that he was wrong and made a mistake, and all he could do was hope his friends would forgive him. That is why Ron is a Gryffindor. That, plus his devotion to Hermione and keeping her safe--Ron comes under criticism because he bickers with Hermione and upsets her, but he has ALWAYS had her back, from the troll in the bathroom to getting shot with his own backfiring wand while confronting Malfoy to standing there begging Bellatrix to take him instead of Hermione. Ron argues all the time with Hermione but it's obvious how much he loves her--the kind of love that comes from a seven-year friendship blossoming into something more. And that love obviously overcomes all their petty arguments, as we see in the epilogue. Likewise, Ron also loves Harry (though in a different way) enough to risk his own life for him, by jumping in to save him from drowning. The good that he does outweighs the doubts that he overcomes (and as a seventeen year old who always thought his life would be normal, I certainly don't begrudge him those doubts).
And Hermione. Hermione is just brilliant, of course, with the planning and the packing and the cooking and the researching, and so incredibly brave and quick-minded and quick on her feet with all those tight spots that she got her and Harry out of. Nothing would work without Hermione, and I admire that she never leaves Harry, she never gives up. To Hermione, this is as much her destiny and Ron's destiny as it is Harry's. They're his FRIENDS and the idea of leaving never occurs to her. Hermione has always been the one constant in Harry's life, and without her he would have been dead a thousand times over. I adore Hermione because she represents the girl who might not be the prettiest but definitely the brainiest and how they can rise up to the challenge and become a heroine.
The Romance
So, I have praise for Ron/Hermione. I've always loved them. I thought they were very carefully brought together through the entire series, and the hints went from 'subtle' to 'obvious' starting at GoF. I loved how throughout this book they were sorta-kinda-but-not-really together, and it wasn't until the end that it finally broke and we had The Kiss. Cliche? Maybe, but I loved it, mostly because I thought it was going to come up when Ron returned to them (and loved that instead, Hermione started beating him up), and I loved that it was Ron expressing concern for the house-elves that finally spurred Hermione into action. We know she loves those elves! Anyway, I felt satisfied because it's been a long, long, LONG time coming and I was glad that they were finally able to get over themselves enough to finally admit, in the heat of the battle--now or never! as Ron said--that they felt a lot more than just friendship.
I've never liked Harry/Ginny, mostly because unlike Ron and Hermione who exist very, very much independently of one another, I feel as though Ginny exists, at least in the latter books, soley as Harry's Love Interest. Sure, she does...things. Vague things. That we hear about. Vaguely. But the last two books consisted of shoving her down our throats to prove how Super!Awesomely!Cool! she was (and therefore...worthy of Harry?) and this book, whenever she was mentioned it was just Harry angsting about how they couldn't be together. I never got a sense of Ginny. While Ron and Hermione are fully-developed characters in their own right, and I like Ron and I like Hermione and I like them together, I feel as though Ginny is just kind of a prop latched on to Harry. So eh. Their ending, expected, but cliched.
Remus/Tonks is definitely not one of my favorite pairings. First of all, in the books and now in the movie, she comes off as, frankly, having the maturity of a twelve-year-old. For example, last book, yes, it sucks when who you love doesn't love you back, but we're in a WAR SITUATION, can you do something other than mope about with your Sad Hair(tm)? And when she was all "Guess what, Harry??? *wiggles ring finger* TEHE!" Yeah. Wow. She just seems so...ill-suited for Remus, who seemed to need a more mature, stable, secure woman.
However, in whole the book left me disappointed in Remus. First of all, the baby thing came out of left field, and then the fact that Remus decided to wahhhhngst about the whole thing and actually DESERT HIS WIFE (however I felt about said wife) made me wrinkle my nose is disgust. Especially at one point, where someone says, "oh, did you hear? Lupin moved back in with Tonks!" So he had actually LEFT HER. PREGNANT. Good show, Remus. Especially since I'm sure there are preventive measures MUCH more capable than the ones we Muggles have if you absolutely don't want a baby. Plus, the way he acted was as if he had been forced into this all against his will, which isn’t true-Tonks may have kept trying to persuade him both for a relationship and later maybe marriage and a family, but in the end the choice was his to make. And aren't metamorphmagus supposed to be really, really rare? And not heritary (since neither Ted nor Andromeda were)? But their little TEDDY was one? Seriously? And I mean, I understand wanting to name him after Tonks's father, but TEDDY? TEDDY? Anyway, definitely my least favorite, and I was disappointed that Tonks didn't give a thought to her child before rushing into the fray of battle, and therefore leaving little 'Teddy' Lupin an orphan, just like his godfather.
Snape/Lily...well, I can't say I'm shocked but I wasn't impressed, either. Honestly, I loved the fleshing out of James, out of this too-good-to-be-true ideal father who sacrificed himself for his family to a real person who had flaws, and I'm disappointed that St. Lily remained...St. Lily. And Snape really went through all of this because he forever loved/mourned Lily? Meh. And the crying over the letter-of-no-importance that had OMGHERSIGNATURE was over the top, in my opinion. Snape has seen a lot in his life at this point...he may feel pained over seeing her signature, but CRYING over it? Just felt wrong. Although I did think it was interesting that they knew each other before school, and now am sure that the ‘horrible boy’ Petunia was referring to was indeed Snape, and not James or Sirius.
Other Characters
Going back to Snape, I was glad that he got his redemption, because I was afraid that JKR was going to leave him evil and therefore keep the stereotype that all Slytherins were evil. I feel like Snape got the crappiest deal in the entire series, the pawn of everyone and discarded when he was no longer useful. I was glad that Harry pointed out to his son that the bravest man he knew came from Slytherin, although I was disappointed that there was not more show of the houses uniting in the end--again, it was 'Gryffindor is the most loyal/brave/willing to fight, then Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff is somewhere in the middle, then ALL SLYTHERINS ARE EVIL COWARDS!' The other books had suggested that these stereotypes would be broken down and I wish we could have seen more of that.
Neville. Oh man, Neville. I LOVE Neville. I know a lot of people say that he bears little resemblance to the Neville in the past, but I feel as though his change over the last few books has been subtle enough that I could buy this Neville. After all, in the first book even shy, uncertain, and unskilled Neville stood up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione to try and stop them from sneaking out. He's always been brave, it only took a couple of years for it to fully blossom, as it started to in OotP. And now that the ringleaders are gone, Neville has shown how much he has learned and grown and stepped up. I love that Neville's grandmother is now just bursting with pride for him (and I love that Neville's grandmother totally went to fight!), I love that Neville was the one to kill the snake, I love that Neville faced Voldemort and turned down an offer that, at that desperate moment, may have been tempting, without a second thought. Mostly I love that Neville knows who he is now, and loves who he is, and feels worthy to be in Gryffindor. Almost more than anyone else, maybe even more than the trio, I feel as though we've watched Neville grow up.
I love Luna and actually shipped Harry/Luna, because I feel as though she gets Harry in a way that no one else does. She’s wacky but she’s really able to tune into the needs and feelings of others, as well as remain calm and just generally diffuse a situation, just by being herself.
Going back to Remus, this book has made me reevaluate how I really felt about him. Before I was put-off by his reaction to Tonks and the baby, thinking ‘Remus wouldn’t shirk from his responsibilities’, but, well…yes, he would. This is the man who let a (supposed) murderer run around because he was too ashamed to admit something he had done twenty years ago. Left his job rather than fight. Remus likes to run away from his problems and pretend they aren’t there and only when they explode does he have to face the mess, a mess that is now bigger than it would have been in the first place, and this honest look at his character leaves me disappointed.
His death barely fazed me, crazy, since I was so afraid he was going to be killed before, since I loved him so much. But the deaths I was the most effected by were Dobby and Fred, I think. Dobby just because he was such an innocent, and definitely because of the fact that Harry and the other boys dug his grave by hand. And Fred just because he was the Weasley death we were all expecting.
Speaking of Weasleys, Percy returned! I was glad that at the end, the Weasley family, while obviously not complete what with the death of Fred, was at least no longer estranged. And I love that Mrs. Weasley got to kill Bellatrix, protecting the children that she had left. I really felt for her, and I think it was the description of her collapsed on Fred’s chest that really killed me.
I loved the story of the Dumbledores and the fact that Dumbledore was not, in fact, perfect, and actually rubbed elbows with a seriously Dark wizard. I liked the suggestion that no one is born evil and has to choose at some point the path they will take in life. I also thought it was interesting that Grindelwald apparently felt remorse later on, and tried to stop Voldemort from obtaining the wand. You have to wonder what separates these two dark wizards-what makes one able to feel remorse, and the other not? At the end of the series I was pleased that all the characters, save for Lily and Voldemort, had been either taken off their pedestals or shown to not be the ultimate evil (for example, the Malfoys, who held the pureblood ideal but obviously loved their son very much, as their concern the entire book seemed to be completely for him-Lucius even approached Voldemort about it when it was obvious that the safest thing for Lucius to do would be stay far, far out of Voldemort’s way).
As the pages wore on I feared we wouldn't see McGonagall at all! However, what we did see I was definitely not disappointed with! It's funny because a few days ago, I happened to think that someone as intelligent as McGonagall, and someone with such a sense of justice and fair play, seems like a better fit for Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. But she definitely proved in this book that she is a Gryffindor through and through. I also loved looking back at the evolution of how Harry viewed her, from the overly strict Head of House (back in the first book) to a valuable ally and friend, someone to defend even at risk to himself. For all the talk of Dumbledore loving Harry, Minerva loved him too and Harry obviously held a lot of affection for her, as well.
I liked that finally, in the seventh book, the Dursleys showed some humanity, though I wonder why it took SO long for Dudley to realize, hey, Harry saved his life! Well, we do know that Dudley is slow. Again, I thought it fit into the arc that people can be redeemed and that people can change, and I wish we could have known if Harry and Dudley did meet at some point down the road.
Plot
Quite honestly, the Deathly Hallows was kind of…confusing. As others have pointed out, the symbol’s never shown up before, and the idea of the Elder Wand was kind of…buh? For something so important, it was pretty crudely explained, and at a very late point, as well, although I did like the fact that the Cloak was one of the three hallows, and thought it was even more interesting that it wasn't the hallow that Harry would choose. However, I had to reread that section quite a few times before I understood what happened, as well as Harry’s logic at the end about how the Elder Wand was really his. The ending scene between Voldemort and Harry was cliché, maybe, but I enjoyed it up until Voldemort’s actual death, which was almost briefly mentioned, and I guess I had expected something more dramatic than “then he was hit and then he died.”
The whole book felt kind of…rattled, it never settled into a flow, it jumped from place to place, but I felt that this was entirely appropriate for the tense mood of the book, caught up in the midst of a war. You never felt settled with what you were reading, you were always on guard, always going back and checking to make sure what you read was what you read because it leapt around so fast that if you skimmed a paragraph, you’d miss it. I really enjoyed the roller-coaster feeling of it all.
I loved that Ron’s fear of saying Voldemort’s name became canon and I thought it was a little genius nugget bit of plot, because it was a good point-the Order were the people saying the name, not the followers.
I also really liked the insight into the Ministry, and how that was almost more frightening than the actual battle at the end-the torture, the mind games, the people who pretended they had the best interests of everyone in mind and could bring down the world around your ears with a single word and a stroke of the pen. It was terrifying, all the more so because corrupt government, unlike dark wizards, is a very real thing for the world to have to deal with.
I must confess that I still really have no idea why Harry didn't have to die and got to go back or whatever...the explanation totally flew over my head. Voldemort had part of Harry? So Harry was still alive through Voldemort? But when Voldemort died, shouldn't Harry die? And if Harry lived isn't there still a Horcrux, then? Buh? What?
I wasn’t a fan of the epilogue, because as soon as I read 'Lily' and 'James', I groaned. Seriously, JKR, you just validated about a thousand horrible fanfics! She even threw in 'Albus Severus' for extra good (read: bad) measure. I would have liked to have known what careers they all had, and if McGonagall was headmistress now, and who the hell is Victoire anyway? Who does she belong to?
Final Thoughts
Overall, I was very pleased with the book, however, I may later have another response full of more gripes. I haven’t read the reviews of many others yet, many whom may have very legitimate complaints about the book that may change my opinion. For now, I’m just going to wrap up this very long review and reflect on the fact that we have reached the end.
Well, the end of canon. Now fandom…
*flails*
I just have so much I want to say that I'm going to try and break it down into some sort of order so it at least RESEMBLES something other than nonsense.
The Trio
Oh man. MAN you guys. I love them. I love that Harry has really, y'know, GROWN UP and seems to have lost that edge of self-righteousness and anger at the world, so obvious in OotP. He just KNOWS it has to be him, and he accepts it, and he's ready to deal with it, and he's not going to blame anyone, because it is what it is. He's only seventeen and yet he really seemed...adult. And he was perfectly willing to die for everyone at Hogwarts, and therefore he protected them all! Oh, Harry. I've always been kind of ambigious about you--I liked you but you were never my favorite, but I do love you now.
Unfortunately, not as much as I love Ron. RON. RON. I'm waiting for him to get slammed because OH MY GOD HE ABANDONED THEM, similar to the outcry for his two-chapter fight in GoF with Harry, but the point is, as Harry said, that Ron will always want to come back. Ron left because he is human, because the locket effected him worse than it did Harry or Hermione, and because he was tired and hungry and cold and angry because he thought Harry actually had a PLAN and because there seemed to be no end is sight, and so he got angry and things were said and he left. But he CAME BACK. And I admire that just as much as Harry's unswerving determination--he walked away and then he came back and was able to admit that he was wrong and made a mistake, and all he could do was hope his friends would forgive him. That is why Ron is a Gryffindor. That, plus his devotion to Hermione and keeping her safe--Ron comes under criticism because he bickers with Hermione and upsets her, but he has ALWAYS had her back, from the troll in the bathroom to getting shot with his own backfiring wand while confronting Malfoy to standing there begging Bellatrix to take him instead of Hermione. Ron argues all the time with Hermione but it's obvious how much he loves her--the kind of love that comes from a seven-year friendship blossoming into something more. And that love obviously overcomes all their petty arguments, as we see in the epilogue. Likewise, Ron also loves Harry (though in a different way) enough to risk his own life for him, by jumping in to save him from drowning. The good that he does outweighs the doubts that he overcomes (and as a seventeen year old who always thought his life would be normal, I certainly don't begrudge him those doubts).
And Hermione. Hermione is just brilliant, of course, with the planning and the packing and the cooking and the researching, and so incredibly brave and quick-minded and quick on her feet with all those tight spots that she got her and Harry out of. Nothing would work without Hermione, and I admire that she never leaves Harry, she never gives up. To Hermione, this is as much her destiny and Ron's destiny as it is Harry's. They're his FRIENDS and the idea of leaving never occurs to her. Hermione has always been the one constant in Harry's life, and without her he would have been dead a thousand times over. I adore Hermione because she represents the girl who might not be the prettiest but definitely the brainiest and how they can rise up to the challenge and become a heroine.
The Romance
So, I have praise for Ron/Hermione. I've always loved them. I thought they were very carefully brought together through the entire series, and the hints went from 'subtle' to 'obvious' starting at GoF. I loved how throughout this book they were sorta-kinda-but-not-really together, and it wasn't until the end that it finally broke and we had The Kiss. Cliche? Maybe, but I loved it, mostly because I thought it was going to come up when Ron returned to them (and loved that instead, Hermione started beating him up), and I loved that it was Ron expressing concern for the house-elves that finally spurred Hermione into action. We know she loves those elves! Anyway, I felt satisfied because it's been a long, long, LONG time coming and I was glad that they were finally able to get over themselves enough to finally admit, in the heat of the battle--now or never! as Ron said--that they felt a lot more than just friendship.
I've never liked Harry/Ginny, mostly because unlike Ron and Hermione who exist very, very much independently of one another, I feel as though Ginny exists, at least in the latter books, soley as Harry's Love Interest. Sure, she does...things. Vague things. That we hear about. Vaguely. But the last two books consisted of shoving her down our throats to prove how Super!Awesomely!Cool! she was (and therefore...worthy of Harry?) and this book, whenever she was mentioned it was just Harry angsting about how they couldn't be together. I never got a sense of Ginny. While Ron and Hermione are fully-developed characters in their own right, and I like Ron and I like Hermione and I like them together, I feel as though Ginny is just kind of a prop latched on to Harry. So eh. Their ending, expected, but cliched.
Remus/Tonks is definitely not one of my favorite pairings. First of all, in the books and now in the movie, she comes off as, frankly, having the maturity of a twelve-year-old. For example, last book, yes, it sucks when who you love doesn't love you back, but we're in a WAR SITUATION, can you do something other than mope about with your Sad Hair(tm)? And when she was all "Guess what, Harry??? *wiggles ring finger* TEHE!" Yeah. Wow. She just seems so...ill-suited for Remus, who seemed to need a more mature, stable, secure woman.
However, in whole the book left me disappointed in Remus. First of all, the baby thing came out of left field, and then the fact that Remus decided to wahhhhngst about the whole thing and actually DESERT HIS WIFE (however I felt about said wife) made me wrinkle my nose is disgust. Especially at one point, where someone says, "oh, did you hear? Lupin moved back in with Tonks!" So he had actually LEFT HER. PREGNANT. Good show, Remus. Especially since I'm sure there are preventive measures MUCH more capable than the ones we Muggles have if you absolutely don't want a baby. Plus, the way he acted was as if he had been forced into this all against his will, which isn’t true-Tonks may have kept trying to persuade him both for a relationship and later maybe marriage and a family, but in the end the choice was his to make. And aren't metamorphmagus supposed to be really, really rare? And not heritary (since neither Ted nor Andromeda were)? But their little TEDDY was one? Seriously? And I mean, I understand wanting to name him after Tonks's father, but TEDDY? TEDDY? Anyway, definitely my least favorite, and I was disappointed that Tonks didn't give a thought to her child before rushing into the fray of battle, and therefore leaving little 'Teddy' Lupin an orphan, just like his godfather.
Snape/Lily...well, I can't say I'm shocked but I wasn't impressed, either. Honestly, I loved the fleshing out of James, out of this too-good-to-be-true ideal father who sacrificed himself for his family to a real person who had flaws, and I'm disappointed that St. Lily remained...St. Lily. And Snape really went through all of this because he forever loved/mourned Lily? Meh. And the crying over the letter-of-no-importance that had OMGHERSIGNATURE was over the top, in my opinion. Snape has seen a lot in his life at this point...he may feel pained over seeing her signature, but CRYING over it? Just felt wrong. Although I did think it was interesting that they knew each other before school, and now am sure that the ‘horrible boy’ Petunia was referring to was indeed Snape, and not James or Sirius.
Other Characters
Going back to Snape, I was glad that he got his redemption, because I was afraid that JKR was going to leave him evil and therefore keep the stereotype that all Slytherins were evil. I feel like Snape got the crappiest deal in the entire series, the pawn of everyone and discarded when he was no longer useful. I was glad that Harry pointed out to his son that the bravest man he knew came from Slytherin, although I was disappointed that there was not more show of the houses uniting in the end--again, it was 'Gryffindor is the most loyal/brave/willing to fight, then Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff is somewhere in the middle, then ALL SLYTHERINS ARE EVIL COWARDS!' The other books had suggested that these stereotypes would be broken down and I wish we could have seen more of that.
Neville. Oh man, Neville. I LOVE Neville. I know a lot of people say that he bears little resemblance to the Neville in the past, but I feel as though his change over the last few books has been subtle enough that I could buy this Neville. After all, in the first book even shy, uncertain, and unskilled Neville stood up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione to try and stop them from sneaking out. He's always been brave, it only took a couple of years for it to fully blossom, as it started to in OotP. And now that the ringleaders are gone, Neville has shown how much he has learned and grown and stepped up. I love that Neville's grandmother is now just bursting with pride for him (and I love that Neville's grandmother totally went to fight!), I love that Neville was the one to kill the snake, I love that Neville faced Voldemort and turned down an offer that, at that desperate moment, may have been tempting, without a second thought. Mostly I love that Neville knows who he is now, and loves who he is, and feels worthy to be in Gryffindor. Almost more than anyone else, maybe even more than the trio, I feel as though we've watched Neville grow up.
I love Luna and actually shipped Harry/Luna, because I feel as though she gets Harry in a way that no one else does. She’s wacky but she’s really able to tune into the needs and feelings of others, as well as remain calm and just generally diffuse a situation, just by being herself.
Going back to Remus, this book has made me reevaluate how I really felt about him. Before I was put-off by his reaction to Tonks and the baby, thinking ‘Remus wouldn’t shirk from his responsibilities’, but, well…yes, he would. This is the man who let a (supposed) murderer run around because he was too ashamed to admit something he had done twenty years ago. Left his job rather than fight. Remus likes to run away from his problems and pretend they aren’t there and only when they explode does he have to face the mess, a mess that is now bigger than it would have been in the first place, and this honest look at his character leaves me disappointed.
His death barely fazed me, crazy, since I was so afraid he was going to be killed before, since I loved him so much. But the deaths I was the most effected by were Dobby and Fred, I think. Dobby just because he was such an innocent, and definitely because of the fact that Harry and the other boys dug his grave by hand. And Fred just because he was the Weasley death we were all expecting.
Speaking of Weasleys, Percy returned! I was glad that at the end, the Weasley family, while obviously not complete what with the death of Fred, was at least no longer estranged. And I love that Mrs. Weasley got to kill Bellatrix, protecting the children that she had left. I really felt for her, and I think it was the description of her collapsed on Fred’s chest that really killed me.
I loved the story of the Dumbledores and the fact that Dumbledore was not, in fact, perfect, and actually rubbed elbows with a seriously Dark wizard. I liked the suggestion that no one is born evil and has to choose at some point the path they will take in life. I also thought it was interesting that Grindelwald apparently felt remorse later on, and tried to stop Voldemort from obtaining the wand. You have to wonder what separates these two dark wizards-what makes one able to feel remorse, and the other not? At the end of the series I was pleased that all the characters, save for Lily and Voldemort, had been either taken off their pedestals or shown to not be the ultimate evil (for example, the Malfoys, who held the pureblood ideal but obviously loved their son very much, as their concern the entire book seemed to be completely for him-Lucius even approached Voldemort about it when it was obvious that the safest thing for Lucius to do would be stay far, far out of Voldemort’s way).
As the pages wore on I feared we wouldn't see McGonagall at all! However, what we did see I was definitely not disappointed with! It's funny because a few days ago, I happened to think that someone as intelligent as McGonagall, and someone with such a sense of justice and fair play, seems like a better fit for Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. But she definitely proved in this book that she is a Gryffindor through and through. I also loved looking back at the evolution of how Harry viewed her, from the overly strict Head of House (back in the first book) to a valuable ally and friend, someone to defend even at risk to himself. For all the talk of Dumbledore loving Harry, Minerva loved him too and Harry obviously held a lot of affection for her, as well.
I liked that finally, in the seventh book, the Dursleys showed some humanity, though I wonder why it took SO long for Dudley to realize, hey, Harry saved his life! Well, we do know that Dudley is slow. Again, I thought it fit into the arc that people can be redeemed and that people can change, and I wish we could have known if Harry and Dudley did meet at some point down the road.
Plot
Quite honestly, the Deathly Hallows was kind of…confusing. As others have pointed out, the symbol’s never shown up before, and the idea of the Elder Wand was kind of…buh? For something so important, it was pretty crudely explained, and at a very late point, as well, although I did like the fact that the Cloak was one of the three hallows, and thought it was even more interesting that it wasn't the hallow that Harry would choose. However, I had to reread that section quite a few times before I understood what happened, as well as Harry’s logic at the end about how the Elder Wand was really his. The ending scene between Voldemort and Harry was cliché, maybe, but I enjoyed it up until Voldemort’s actual death, which was almost briefly mentioned, and I guess I had expected something more dramatic than “then he was hit and then he died.”
The whole book felt kind of…rattled, it never settled into a flow, it jumped from place to place, but I felt that this was entirely appropriate for the tense mood of the book, caught up in the midst of a war. You never felt settled with what you were reading, you were always on guard, always going back and checking to make sure what you read was what you read because it leapt around so fast that if you skimmed a paragraph, you’d miss it. I really enjoyed the roller-coaster feeling of it all.
I loved that Ron’s fear of saying Voldemort’s name became canon and I thought it was a little genius nugget bit of plot, because it was a good point-the Order were the people saying the name, not the followers.
I also really liked the insight into the Ministry, and how that was almost more frightening than the actual battle at the end-the torture, the mind games, the people who pretended they had the best interests of everyone in mind and could bring down the world around your ears with a single word and a stroke of the pen. It was terrifying, all the more so because corrupt government, unlike dark wizards, is a very real thing for the world to have to deal with.
I must confess that I still really have no idea why Harry didn't have to die and got to go back or whatever...the explanation totally flew over my head. Voldemort had part of Harry? So Harry was still alive through Voldemort? But when Voldemort died, shouldn't Harry die? And if Harry lived isn't there still a Horcrux, then? Buh? What?
I wasn’t a fan of the epilogue, because as soon as I read 'Lily' and 'James', I groaned. Seriously, JKR, you just validated about a thousand horrible fanfics! She even threw in 'Albus Severus' for extra good (read: bad) measure. I would have liked to have known what careers they all had, and if McGonagall was headmistress now, and who the hell is Victoire anyway? Who does she belong to?
Final Thoughts
Overall, I was very pleased with the book, however, I may later have another response full of more gripes. I haven’t read the reviews of many others yet, many whom may have very legitimate complaints about the book that may change my opinion. For now, I’m just going to wrap up this very long review and reflect on the fact that we have reached the end.
Well, the end of canon. Now fandom…