Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

PLEASE BE WARNED THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J.K Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Children/ Young Adult
Format: Book - Personal Collection

From Goodreads: Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him... 
 
What I thought: The book that ended it all - and did it so well! From the first death in this you knew it would be darker, more serious than the rest of the books put together. The task facing Harry, Ron and Hermoine looks insurmountable and I felt their frustration as they spent the first half of the book seeming to wander aimlessly around with no real plan. I agreed with Harry's anger at Dumbledore's passing and leaving Harry with little to go on.
And then the second half of the book takes off. Discoveries are made, advances made and old enemies faced. Once the battle at Hogwart's started there was no putting the book down until the end. And every single time I cry when Fred, Lupin and Tonks die. Every. Single. Time!
For me the Potter series managed something not may series of this length manages. Every book was good. Not only that, every book upped the anti just a little, until the last one which upped it a lot! The characters grew with the reader. K.J. Rowling created a world and people that I think will live forever. It will be a long time before the likes of the Harry Potter series is seen again.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

PLEASE BE WARNED THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Title: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Author: J.K Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Children/ Young Adult
Format: Book - Personal Collection

From Goodreads: It is Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As Voldemort's sinister forces amass and a spirit of gloom and fear sweeps the land, it becomes more and more clear to Harry that he will soon have to confront his destiny. But is he up to the challenges ahead of him?
In her darkest and most breathtaking adventure yet, J.K. Rowling skilfully begins to unravel the complex web she has woven, as we discover more of the truth about Harry, Dumbledore, Snape and, of course, He Who Must Not Be Named ..
 
What I thought: Oh it is getting exciting isn't it??? Once again I can remember reading this for the first time and loving it. I never guessed who the half-blood prince was and was totally surprised when it was revealed. I loved the suspense that was built in this novel,  the knowledge it was the penultimate book in the series and it was all coming to a head. I also love the fact that Rowling acknowledges that even when the world is falling apart around you, nothing takes precedence over teenage hormones! And yes, no matter how many times I read it, I cry when Dumbledore dies and Snape turns out to be the bad guy. Some how you just assumed Dumbledore would be there to the end and he could never be wrong. *sigh* Keep an eye out for the last book in the not to distant future!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J.K Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Children/ Young Adult
Format: Book - Personal Collection

From Goodreads: Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His best friends Ron and Hermoine have been very secretive all summer and he is desperate to get back to school and find out what has been going on. However, what Harry discovers is far more devastating than he could ever have expected...
Suspense, secrets and thrilling action from the pen of J.K. Rowling ensure an electrifying adventure that is impossible to put down.
 
What I thought: Most probably my least favourite book in the series. Having said that, I did still enjoy it. I can remember reading this for the first time and getting rather annoyed with Harry's woe is me attitude about everything. How on earth Ron or Hermoine did not lay him flat at some stage I will never know! Mind you, at the same time, it would be incredibly frustrating to be kept in the dark so much. I love Dumbledore's speech at the end where he admits he has kept too much from Harry for too long. I think it's important that children get to experience characters they love being flawed and apologising when they get it wrong. As for Umbridge - truly the most despicable character Rowling ever came up with!

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Author: J.K Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Children/ Young Adult
Format: Book - Personal Collection

From Goodreads: Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter joins the Weasleys at the Quidditch World Cup, then enters his fourth year at Hogwarts Academy where he is mysteriously entered in an unusual contest that challenges his wizarding skills, friendships and character, amid signs that an old enemy is growing stronger.
 
What I thought: The one where it all really starts to happen! For me, this is the first of the books you could class as young adult. I know that when it came out I was working as a teacher librarian in a primary school and there was much discussion about whether it should be in the library. At our local library it is the last one to be in the junior fiction area.
It's also the first book that starts to examine the characters and their feelings further. There is the beginning of attraction to the opposite sex, jealousy, betrayal and death to deal with.  The end of the book sets the scene perfectly for the next book.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Children/ Young Adult
Format: Book - Personal Collection

From Goodreads: For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig.
As it turns out, Harry isn't punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black--an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban--is on the loose. Not only that, but he's after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry's very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works.


What I thought: Given it took me less than a day to read Chamber of Secrets what else could I do but move straight onto the Prisoner of Azkaban!
A lot of people say the next book is where the series started to get dark and that is true, but there are shades of it in this one. A dangerous, murderous prisoner, haunted houses, attempts on Harry's life. Suddenly it's not so light and fluffy any more! Azkaban may possibly be my favourite book in the series for it's cross over nature. I still class it as a children's rather than a YA read, but the line is getting thinner.

Recommended for: everyone! A true classic

Challenges: 100+ Challenge. I’m not adding this to my YA challenges as I feel it’s not really a YA book, more a children’s.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Author: J.K Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Children/ Young Adult
Format: Book - Personal Collection

From Goodreads: As if it's not bad enough that after a long summer with the horrid Dursleys [Harry] is thwarted in his attempts to hop the train to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin his second year. But when his only transportation option is a magical flying car, it is just his luck to crash into a valuable (but clearly vexed) Whomping Willow. Still, all this seems like a day in the park compared to what happens that fall within the haunted halls of Hogwarts.
Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him. Soon it's not just Harry who is worried about survival, as dreadful things begin to happen at Hogwarts. The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim, "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware." But what exactly does it mean? Harry, Hermione, and Ron do everything that is wizardly possible--including risking their own lives--to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly mystery. This deliciously suspenseful novel is every bit as gripping, imaginative, and creepy as the first; familiar student concerns--fierce rivalry, blush-inducing crushes, pedantic professors--seamlessly intertwine with the bizarre, horrific, fantastical, or just plain funny. Once again, Rowling writes with a combination of wit, whimsy, and a touch of the macabre that will leave readers young and old desperate for the next installment

What I thought: I decided back in August after seeing the last Harry Potter movie to re-read the books. I read the first one and then promptly got caught up in other stuff! After reading a few heavier type books, I decided I needed something a little lighter and this was perfect.
I do find it interesting rereading these having read all of them. You pick up little things and wonder if Rowling had the whole series mapped out at the beginning, or whether she took ideas from these earlier books and expanded them later. Either way, it's just as good now as it was the first time!

Recommended for: everyone! A true classic

Challenges: 100+ Challenge. I’m not adding this to my YA challenges as I feel it’s not really a YA book, more a children’s.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Author: J.K Rowling
Series: Harry Potter
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Children/ Young Adult
Format: Book - Personal Collection

Synopsis: Harry Potter is just an ordinary boy living with his horrible aunt, uncle and cousin. Then one day, Harry finds out he is not as ordinary as he thinks. Not only is he a wizard, he is famous in the wizarding world. So off he goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary to begin on the path of his true destiny.

What I thought: The other week a friend and I went to see the final movie in the Harry Potter series. I loved it, thought they did an excellent job. Of course, it did mean that the moment I went home I wanted to read the books again! So being the anal person I am, I started with the first and plan to work my way through! What I am pleased to say is that the book stands the test of time. Given I have re read it every time a new book came out, plus a few extras, you could expect the thrill of it to diminish each time. It doesn’t. It’s just as exciting to read it this time as it was the first time I read it. In fact, in some ways it is better, as you know to look for little things and you become aware as the books go just how much the characters are growing. My only regret at the moment is I have a stack of library books (what’s new!) that I have to get through before I move onto book 2!

Recommended for: everyone! A true classic

Challenges: 100+ Challenge. I’m not adding this to my YA challenges as I feel it’s not really a YA book, more a children’s.