Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-- B+/A-

7/27 Update: WITH SPOILERS!

So we did make it out to the B&N store (party was pretty disappointing besides the costumes), but when 1130 rolled around we took one look at the MASSES of people forming outside the door (seriously I think a thousand people were there)and realized that this was not going to go down smoothly. So we hightailed out of the Grove and drove to the nearest Ralph's (yes, Ralph's), where we picked up a copy at midnight without any wait.

I liked the story a lot, right up to the epilogue. Just like any other Harry Potter book, I couldn't put it down... I liked Dumbledore's backstory and I LOVED the Snape story... even the Kreacher story was cute. What I didn't like was JKR's odd pacing of the story. She spent so much time elaborating on Harry, Ron, and Hermione being lost and hungry, and then hardly any time discussing the end of the book, which is what people really care about!

The ABSOLUTE WORST part of the book was definitely the epilogue. This was supposedly written a long time ago, maybe even during the first few books, but it doesn't mean she couldn't edit it. It's not so much the "perfect clean ending" I oppose, but more what was included and what was NOT included. Case in point: I do NOT care about Percy, but I DO care about George/Luna/etc. I wish we knew more about what everyone was doing, that Fred's death was addressed better (she seriously spent more time on George's ear than Fred's death), that Harry's reaction to learning the truth about Snape was developed more, etc etc. I have read that she may publish an "encyclopedia" of sorts to explain every character's back story and what happens to them, but it won't be the same.

But all in all, the story was good. Some people thought the Deathly Hallows themselves were pointless, but I thought it was important to show that even though Harry could have decided to possess all of them himself, he chose to give them up. A lot of contrasting done between Harry and Dumbledore/Voldemort/common person. I think JKR had several glitches in her story, but they all could have been forgiven easily had the epilogue been better...

All in all, I can't believe Harry Potter is over! :*(

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I'm going with my two co-workers to a Harry Potter book release party tonight at a Barnes & Noble. W thinks this is very nerdy :) I'm excited! I've never been to one... I've never even pre-ordered a book. But I think my co-workers and I fuel each other's HP craziness. It's fun to get excited for things. I'm avoiding all media outlets until I finish the book... I just better not overhear someone on the street spoiling the ending!


My predictions: - Snape is good. I think it'd be a great story if he died showing his good side.
- Harry will die or lose his wizardry powers (become a muggle)
- Dumbledore not making a Gandalf-like comeback.
- Horrible romantic plots.

Can't wait!

By the way, I saw the UK covers for the first time and think they are ugly. One of my co-workers prefers them though. Look how old Harry looks in these!! When did Clark Kent start playing Harry Potter??