Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Hi everyone! So, as I'm sure you all know, the final book of the addicting Harry Potter series came out a little less than two weeks ago. And while I did definitely enjoy it, I have to admit that it didn't reach my high expectations, like most, if not all, of her other books did. J.K. Rowling is a fantastic author, but I just didn't feel that she put her all into this book, and here's why:

(EXTREME SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS!!! DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE LAST HP BOOK!)

This book did not contain as much suspense as the other ones. In fact, I found it slightly boring . . . . Of course, I still read it at every possible moment, but if I wasn't such an avid HP fan in the first place, I would probably have thought, "What's the big deal? Why's everyone crazy about these books? This one sure isn't that great . . . ." I didn't feel completely drawn into the story, except during those few action scenes or the parts that contained emotional trauma.

Secondly, the ending was pretty predictable, I thought. Before reading the book, I was pretty sure that Harry would live, and that Snape was good, and that he had loved Lily, etc., etc. I thought that J.K. Rowling could have thrown in a few more surprises. She did this in the beginning and middle, by giving us greater knowledge of Dumbledore's youth, but not enough at the ending. Of course, this would be hard to do, because the plot for this book was guessed at by millions of people, but still . . . .

Also, I sincerely missed having all of the familiar school scenes at Hogwarts. Maybe that's just because I desperately love school, but I think it's also because that's where I can really connect with Harry, Ron, and, especially, Hermione. I didn't feel as close to them in this book as I did in the others.

Fourthly, Rowling didn't develop her characters enough. Of course, it's not like she hasn't done it in her previous novels, but I would have enjoyed some more development. Actually, one person I thought she developed pretty well was Ron. I really noticed his transformation from the clumsy, lazy, and rather dumb boy to the emotionally stronger and more adept young man at the end of the book. But then, everyone else just seemed to have a minimal amount of character depth.

I also thought that Rowling could have included some more pathos. At the end of the story, when Lupin, Tonks, and Fred died, I didn't feel extremely sorry (ok, I did when Fred died, but the deaths of Lupin and Tonks could have been so much more dramatic, especially since they left their son behind. J.K. Rowling could have compared this to Harry's situation or something like that. I just would have appreciated some more emotional trauma . . . . Speaking about emotional trauma, Rowling did a perfect job of including that when Dobby died! I was almost crying in that part, because J.K. Rowling really emphasized his loyalty and devotion to Harry. That was a part where she excelled).


But I don't want to be too pessimistic . . . I really did enjoy the book and found many exceptional qualities in it. I especially liked the beginning of the battle at Hogwarts, when Rowling brought together all of the DA members, the Order of the Phoenix, and Percy Weasley (wasn't that a great part when he returned?? :-)). It just gave me goosebumps as they all joined together to fight against evil. That was probably my favorite part of the book.

Ok, so that's about all I'm going to write tonight. I would REALLY love to hear your opinions on HP7, so PLEASE COMMENT!!!!