(no subject)
I knew from the getgo this wouldn't be like the last book. Order of the Phoenix opened with Harry on so many levels, he was so raw with emotion. While a lot of people complained about Angst!Harry and Tantrum!Harry, I still found it preferable to the seemingly empty Harry. Seriously, the only emotions he registered in the first half of the novel was "Shock!" "Suspicion!" Oh wait, Sirius died? I spent the last chapters of the book brooding? Well everyone knows the summer reboots Harry back to plucky default mode.
Couples. Was a good laugh at first, I kept thinking the fandom will probably explode over all this. It got obnoxious though. I would have given my left foot for some romance in the last few books, but now that it came in torrents, I'm a tad sickened. Maturity and a change of pace is always good, but not when HALF THE BOOK is about teenage drama. Maybe the whole annoying couples thing struck a little too close to home. Did enjoy Ron/Lavender being described as "vertical wrestling" though. Just about died when Lavender talked to Harry about her problems with Ron. I would like to point out that while Ron/Hermione is obvious, they are not official!!!
Ginny. Hated it. Hate hate hate. I tried to like her, I really did. The Harry/Hermione shipper died in me a long time ago, I started out the book expecting H/G and looking forward to it. Then JKR did the one thing she could do to utterly screw it up: just making it happen. Suddenly Ginny is smart and pretty and clever and a mischief maker. I feel like she just got lines for the hell of it, suddenly throwing a personality on her so Harry could have a Barbie to his Ken. It's like she was constructed soley for the purpose of being with Harry. Even after they got together, it was all just off page stuff, making it seem unreal.
The "breakup". I have read that scene in countless fanfics, be it Harry talking to Ginny, Hermione, Myrtle, or Draco. And of course she took it with a stiff upper lip and a speech off a notecard. And end of Spiderman....what?
Dumbledore's death. Was more obvious than Christmas coming on the 25th of December. As for his blackened hand, I kept thinking "Oh yes. Because last time you decided not to give Harry crucial information, it turned out so well. Prophecy, what?" It was a very stirring chapter though, and I did get choked up, though not the crying I did at the end of the last book. I felt the ending was a lot like the book....hurried without using the details and artistry used in the other books.
I just miss the cute little quirky stuff I'm used to from the other books. What about Lockheart's Valentine's Day? The Boggart in the wardrobe? Just totally pointless stuff that was funny and imaginative that made the books so great. I understand that the books are getting darker and are WAY beyond "young adult fiction", but that lighthearted fun stuff made the series so great in the first place.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-They used the word "slut" in a Harry Potter book. Word.
-Draco calling Harry "the Boy Who Scored": priceless
-There was very little Hagrid in this book, and I find I didn't care at all.
-Slughorn called Ron "Rupert"....the actor who plays Ron in the movies. Haha. Ten points if you caught it.
-The Inferi are a scary thought. Got a horrible mental image of Harry having to fight the bodies of Cedric and Sirius, though. Hope they get used more in the next book.
-Back in the third book, after Harry spared Wormtail, Dumbledore said something like when you save someone's life, it makes a bond between the two. JKR has one more book to use that. I have been on the lookout.
-Wasn't Harry's mom supposed to have a big part in this book?
-Hermione was really annoying. Gone are the days of being clever and mature. Enter the days of being a bitter and sullen teenage girl who nags...even more.
-Lupin/Tonks= Random. But totally I called it from the start of the book. Still random. Methinks JKR just threw it in there to prove that 16 year olds aren't the only ones with vapid hormones.