I thoroughly enjoyed the book, when I finished it so much went through my mind i sat with the book in my lap for a good ten minutes in thought, so much was answered so quickly it took a while to digest! i did get the feeling that not all was answered but right now i'm still getting to grips with what I do know let alone worry about what I don't! I'm going to re-read the book soon and i'll get back to discuss it when i'm more sure.
I did at first think of all the new magic Harry was going to learn in the up coming chapters, but as i reached about half way i began to realise that he wasn't going to learn new powerful spells to combat the deatheaters and voldemort but that didn't dissapoint me..
I was though very frustrated by the reluctance of Harry, Ron and Hermione to work together properly and got slightly annoyed by the ammount of time they wasted fighting about things cooped up in their tent while they could of been doing more exciting things but thats the way it had to be and i accept that everything could not be perfect, but on the over hand they made it up to each other when i came down to the real deal and worked relentlesly to support each other and finaly reach the end of what they had been working toward together for so long.
Overall i found it to be a great book, the best of them in my oppinion!

I can't imagine there being a better end to the series. I loved how the Death Eater action started straight away, in Chapter 3, whereas in the other books, we usually need to wait until 5 or 6 chapters from the end to see Voldemort. I couldn't put it down, i kept telling myself i would stop at the end of a chapter, but as there was so much going on i literally couldnt put it down!

When i saw the size of the book (610 pages) i thought to myslef, 'how is harry going to destroy 5 horcruxes in such a short time?!' but the action was just brilliant throughout the whole book. The part on the Battle of Hogwarts was one of my favourite parts of the book - the kiss (awww), the deaths, Mrs Weasley killing Bellatrix, Malfoy getting punched, the 'death' of harry, then harry coming back to life, and finally, Voldemort dying. Although it was a very serious scene, there were loads of laughs in, which i though really kept the mood of the book up.

I was rather disappointed with the epilogue. Yes, we found out who married whom, how many kids they had etc., but there should've been a lot more characters involved in it. Like Luna, the weasley family, Hermione's parents, whether the dementors returned to Azkaban, what happened with the death eaters. I think this was the only downer on the book, because the rest was brilliant. (thank god the trio survived!!)

I'm really gonna miss reading the Harry Potter books, but they've been 10 great years, and i don't think anyone could write a book series as good as this one, and what a brilliant way to end it!! Well done Jo!

Through Harry's use of "expelliarmus". This was explained on page 64 by Lupin.

"Of course not", said Lupin. "but the Death Eaters - frankly, most people! - would have expected you to attack back! Expelliarmus is a useful spell, Harry, but the Death Eaters seem to think it is your signature move, and I urge you not to let it become so!"



Neville pulled the sword out of the sorting hat that Voldemort had put on his head, much in the same way as Harry got the sword in CoS. Neville showed great loyalty to Hogwarts byt refusing to join Voldemort and so was able to get the sword.

I would also imagine that Neville killing Nagini did do away with the Horcrux as ultimately Harry defeated Voldemort and Voldemort is dead.

These are just my views of course.

I thought DH was fantastic. There couldn't have been a better end to the series, we've all waited so long to read it and i'm really glad that I wasn't dissapointed.

Definately my favorite parts (although the whole thing was great) were the wedding, the part in Grimauld Place and of course, the final few chapters. I really liked meeting Luna's dad, kreacher finally being nice to harry and "PotterCast" radio, and of course the weasleys prevailing.

I was so upset about the deaths, all the characters were close to my heart and it was so hard to say good bye. I thought the epilogue was really sweet, it may not have had info on everyone but i don't think it needed to, i am content on knowing what happened to the trio.

Bye, Bye HP!

This was one book she could have shortened by probably a hundred pages. I do understand why it was not. If it had been substantially shorter than the last couple of books, readers would have felt cheated that the book wasn't as hefty. There were parts that reminded me of the ramblings of Steven King and that did not answer many questions or impart any other useful information.

I did find it interesting that the door was not closed on more from Hogwarts. Yes, Harry's nemesis was vanquished, but a new cast of characters was laid out for us. Weren't there remarks that while the door was closing on Harry and his group, that stories may be told of others at Hogwarts?

Albus Severus Potter, a middle child named after legendary figures. For that matter, the whole next generation. Ripe for new adventures.

What of Scorpius Malfoy? A rather dark name. Will he want to seek revenge on Harry's family for helping to destroy his Grandfather and Father's names and lofty stature in the wizarding communities?

Professor Longbottom? This unlikely hero has shown great and quiet courage throughout this series. Is there more in store for him? Headmaster, perhaps?

The founding and building of Hogwarts. How were 4 such differing founders brought together? We know of Dumbledore's battles with evil. We must acknowledge that over a thousand years there were more than we have been told.

Oh, no. There is much left eluded to and many stories left to tell here. The epilogue was not to tell us all was well, it was to leave questions unanswered, stories untold, and doors open to new adventures.

needed about another 100 pages to be honest, 5 pages to describe the rest of the lives of all of the charecters was a bit mean of jkr, the battle of hogwarts could have been done with a few more pages. And i think that the aftermath of the battle could have had a bit more aswell, like harry seeing the weasleys and the dursleys again. HOWEVER

u have to understand that i absolutely loved the book, was my favourite by far, and i can only say that i hope they capture the emotions and pure heart of this book in the movies, if they do it right, could be one of the greats.

I confess that the "19 years l8er" chapter left me a bit empty, wat happened to luna lovegood? what happened to Bill and fleur except them having a baby victoire. What happened to all of the weasleys?

R.I.P - every1 in the harry potter franchise that has given me sumthing to smile about, I LOVED all the Harry Potters, and it almost makes me cry knowing there will never be a new book

I LOVED IT!!!! I loved it I loved it I loved it!!!!!!! I knew Harry wouldn't die, and I litterly got tears of joy in my eyes when LV died. And I ran around my street singing HARRY LIVES!! Whoopiee!!!

Okay, even though it was the best book times a million and three, there were some things JK said would happen, but never did. Maybe I just rushed over these parts or something, but didn't it say that we're going to see what Dudley saw with the dementors? And also she said that someone is going to do magic that he/she has never done before. If I'm not mistaken, that never really happened right? That got me really confused.

And okay, so they epilogue wasn't the best, but at least we know now that Harry did indeed marry Ginny, and Ron married Hermoine, and that should be enough right? Although I do agree, I do want to see what happens with the kids.

Fred....*sob sob* my poor Fred...L-L-Lupin!! T-T-Tonks! Why oh why did this happen?? But you know, at least it wasn't Ron and Hermoine, or worse, Ginny!!

So now, we say goodbye to Harry, and all the adventures he took to overcome LV. Although we all know that Harry is not truly gone, that he will live in our hearts forever.

Okay,okay I'll stop, you don't have to cry! Sheesh!

~Rachel

Aww! *Sniff Sniff* The final book. Just so you all know, I read this on Saturday, at midnight. But the computer was broken till today. Anyway.

I loved the scene with Dudley. I so was not expecting it but I loved it. It showed a mature Dudley. The first death, I was not expecting. I was so sad to see Hedwig go, right along with Dobby, Remus, Tonks, and Fred. But I loved the fight between Harry and Remus. At first I hated it. I was thinking what the heck Harry was doing?? But in the end it worked out. Harry knocked sense into Remus, just what he needed. At first I thought it would be a huge long going fight, but when I heard Remus on Potterwatch, I knew it'd be okay. Then when they left Grimmuald Place, I liked Kreacher. I felt bad knowing he was making the trio a nice dinner only to have Death Eaters come back. Then after they'd been in hiding and Ron left! Wow! I was not expecting that. But I think they needed it to realize they needed each other. I loved how Ron came back.

Then we go onto Godrics Hollow, Ron wasn't there, I know, but I loved it. I was not expecting that to happen. I really loved how hard it was for them to destroy the Horcruxes, it was a big challenge. I loved the Gringotts break-in as well. The whole Hallows story confused me for quite a while. I got it eventually, but it was a bit hard to follow at times. I liked the part about Dumbledore. That was suprising, and good. It shows not even Dumbledore is perfect. Then the Final Battle. I liked that Snape was good and that Harry was a Horcrux. When Harry walked to his death, wow. I was almost crying and completley speechless... As for the Kings Cross, scene, I was confused at first then I understood. And I loved how Harry killed Voldemort. The silence, broken by the cheering! Yay! Voldies gone!!

Finally the epilogue... I liked it. It made it feel like it was finally over. I loved the ships of course. But Harry and Ginny's kid's names did bug me a bit... But I liked Albus Severus. That was sweet. It showed Harry appreaciating Snape. I also loved seeing the Trio all grown up. It's hard to believe!

I already miss the series!
Xx-Ginny-xX

i absolutely loved the book! if i were wearing a hat i'd take it off to J.K.!
i think it was the best out of them all and i've never cried so much while reading a book. that was probably because of how attached i was to all the characters. i mean i cried when all those people died, even Hedwig and when Dudley was saying bye to Harry! but i also cried when people popped up to back harry, like the part with the radio and "potterwatch" i thought that was brilliant because they were showing harry that they backed him! oh and the time when harry was walking to his "death" and he saw his parents, remus and sirius! now that time i cried! and the time with snape! ok basically i cried at every emotional point in the book, whether it was happy or sad!
okay so the epilogue wasn't the best piece i've ever read, but it rounded the whole story off nicely!the ending didn't drag on like it could have done which probably would have ruined it even more!
but like i said i absolutely loved the book! and now that i can't fall back on the fact that there is another one i don't know what i am going to do!
there were some things i was deffinately surprised about, like the fact that lily and snape knew each other before hogwarts! but that explained alot like the "awful boy" petunia hated!
and even though i cried a lot during this book i also the laughed the most at this one out of all the others, whether it's because i've got a better sense of humour or i was just over-emotional, i don't know. but i have to say i think the best part was with George and the "i feel saint-like" i was thinking exactly the same as Fred, did something mess with his brains like the time in the 5th book with ron and those brains?...
and then luna! well she just makes me laugh when ever! "o can we use his name now?" hah! brilliant!
well as i said before i absolutely loved this book! and the harry potter series ended perfectly! (and i usually believe that nothing's perfect)

I loved the book - although I live in Ukraine I got the book the first day it came out for the almost the same price as in the UK - 180 UAH, which is even a little cheaper!

So, when I got home, I told Mum I was lost for the world for the next few hours - I intended to finish the book the same day. Considering it was 7 PM, I read till midnight, but I finished it! But now I read and re-read it all the time, and I don't part with it...

Well, the things that surprised me were :

-I think JKR changed her style of writing, but after reading all the fanfics on different sites, I didn't believe it was THE BOOK, I thought it was another fanfic, but then truth hit me like Voldy flying off his feet...

-Well, it was no surprise the Snape turned out to be good... Everyone thought that from the very beginning, but I still think he's kind of a jerk - sorry, Severus' fans! it just that he only liked Harry because he was Lily's and remember how he ripped their photo? He turns out to be kinda obsessed with Lily Evans in this book...

-Draco Malfoy is even bigger jerk... No need to explain...

-I was really sorry for Fred... Not fair! when they killed him the first thing I remembered is how he said in the beggining: "When I'm gonna get married..." he still had plans for future!

Well, I have 2 go now, but I'll be back with more later

Oh, one more thing:

HARRY+GINNY AND RON+HERMIONE = LUV FOREVER!!!

I absolutely loved it. Maybe I'm too emotional, or maybe it was because it's the last book, but I cried at basically every detail. Dudley's "you're not a waste of space"? Cried. Kreacher's change of heart? Cried. By the time we got to the battle at Hogwarts I couldn't stop crying & once I saw Sirius' name accidentally with words coming out of his mouth I completely lost it.

I didn't like the fact that Mrs. Weasley killed Bellatrix because I always thought it would have been Neville. I hated how she killed off Lupin & Tonks because they were both so happy and in love, finally, it just seemed pointless to do it just to make us cry more. I'm not crazy aboput the epilogue but I have to admit, I like the idea of "Albus Severus Potter".

Yea so I loved it. And I'm probably the only madwoman who was crying & cursing throughout the whole book.

Deathly Hallows was... i can't even describe. Something was always happening. It was always interesting. There were many memorable parts and some that you wouldn't really want to remember.

When Percy came back, i was about to scream my head of. When Xeno Lovegood said, "It is the sign of the Deathly Hallows," i was about to scream there too. Both times when Harry takes off the cloak to face Voldemort, i was so into the scene that it felt like i was Harry. When Mad-Eye took out the Polyjuice Potion, i was laughing because i imagined Harry backing in the wall refusing.

There's more but i think i've said enough.

I think, and mind you I do not have the book in front of me, that Hedwig died as Harry severed his last tie to the nonmagical world. Harry was leaving Privet Dr. (and indeed the muggle world) for the last time and I believe Hedwig's death was symbolic of this end of an era. Even Rowling (again I don't have the book at the moment) said later in the chapter that Hedwig had been Harry's tie to the magical world while he was staying with his aunt and uncle. Hedwig had served her purpose, Harry, unfourtunately no longer needed Hedwig, and it was Hedwig's time to die.

TO DARK!!! Aghhhh.. i miss the old books! Shoulda been longer, and to many good people died.. And the last part didnt make sense, i wanna see another book of the young Harry Potter.

My feelings are mixed. Some of you were Harry's age when you began reading the books are now leaving your teenage years behind. I was just about to enter teaching Latin and History and leave my twenties behind. Friends of mine convinced me to buy the Prisoner of Azkaban after having loved the first two movies. From that first moment I've followed and loved both the books and movies, of course to varying degrees.

I, like so many others, feel a bit sad at the series ending, but we all knew it would have to at some point. As one editor put it just yesterday, "There are still two more movies." LOL

I will be brief, due to soooo many responses already, that no one would be interested to read a long post. The book, was good. I found it a bit flat in the middle, around the time that they ran from the Ministry and tented it for weeks. The wedding was a nice bright spot in an otherwise dark book, which was fully expected, however, it seemed....unneccesary for some reason to me.

It is good to find out about Dumbledore, and this book had many surprises. Fred's death seemed so pointless...but I guess that was the point. The one that shocked me was Dobby. That was one I truly wasn't expecting. At times, in contrast to her usually flowing style, her writing can clunk along. I had to read the death of Snape and a few other scenes again to fully understand what she was trying to say. I don't know if this book is my favoriate...I have to think about that for awhile.

It would have been nice to find out about McGonagal, if Snape has a portrait in the office, what happened to Luna, what does Harry do now, and other details. I guess she leaves our imagination to fill in the gaps. The epilogue was nice, but was cheesy. I would have been more upset if she left it out, though.

I'm searching threads to find out missing bits of story that I might have overlooked. I will truly miss waiting for new books and new stories, but as I said before, we all knew that the end was coming.

I think it ended pretty well. Harry Potter has been a part of our imagination for a decade now...and I think he will for decades more.

In all honesty, I liked the book when I finished, but the more I think about it, the less I like it. It's not like we *had* to have every little thing explained to us (I for one don't care that much what every single character did for a living after Voldy bit the dust...) And whatever with the epilogue...a chapter after the battle would have been better (showing George's reaction, how Harry and Ron and Hermione will now take little Teddy under their wing, showing what's *likely* to happen between the couples, but not hitting us over the head with it, etc). But, like I said, whatever.

My BIG issue is that it always seemed to me the promise of this book was that we'd finally understand how the first generation Order of the Phoenix (Lily, James, etc.) tied in with the Harry/Voldemort plot. Sure, we got the Snape loved Lily bit, but a lot of us had predicted that. In the past, JK has always made it more interesting and complicated than we'd expected...I feel she let us down in this book.

After a six book series through which Harry is always on a quest to learn about his parents and understand their legacy, we got absolutely nothing about Lily and James during the time they were fighting and hiding. Nothing about them defying Voldemort three times...not even a shred to redeem James who, if anything, comes off as even more of a prat in this book than he did before.

I also thought she'd come up with a more elegant endgame--that it would all somehow tie into clues we've had about Wormtail's "blood debt" and Petunia ("Remember my Last!" and her being of Lily's "blood") and Voldemort using Harry's blood in his resurrection...I thought it would all tie together in some amazing way. But it was all just Lily's sacrifice again--not really anything beyond what we'd learned in the very first book. Nothing to do with his dad or any of the other characters we've met along the way.

I have to say it, I think JK got distracted by the Deathly Hallows (ironic, given that's their role in the book...to distract people from what they're really supposed to be doing)! Dumbledore's backstory was kind of interesting, and it was OK to work that in as a subplot, but making "who really owns the superwand now" the big climax was disappointing. I mean, when you think about it, that was basically dumb luck on Harry's part. He happened to grab Draco's other wand and he *hoped* that meant the superwand now belonged to him. I was thinking the final defeat of Voldy would have to do with Harry finally forgiving Snape or something that's been built up to the whole series. I thought it would be Ron with the locket, but even more so. Making it all depend on this lately introduced magical artifact...eh.

So, you know, it was OK, but far from great, in my opinion.

Honestly I've gone through a HUGE rollercoaster of a ride with this book. At first once I got done with the Epilogue, I was happy and loved it. Its like woot everyone is okay...from the look of it. Then I got to the point to say I disliked it slightly, then to disappointment, now I still hold some disappointment with how the characters were finally ended but I really do love it.

There are tons of parts that scared me or surprised me. Bathilda, then the three brothers, Harry talking to Dumbledore while the unhelp-able baby writhered, etc.

Of course there are parts that made me laugh, lol especially George with his hole-y jokes.

I cried a few good times. Okay I cried enough that I was embarassed and had to close the room door.

Hmm a few things did annoy me, thus my disappointment still lingers, well like how Remus and Tonks deaths were so, undramatic. I don't want a huge 4 pages of them. Maybe like while Harry was running he heard Tonks scream and Lupin go into a fury at a DE, or something like that. I really don't remember most of the rest since I'm pretty much in love with this book now.

I don't think the series is really done for us yet. Jo hasn't said anything and I'm sure she'll answer our questions if she can. I was happy with the ending, yes I guess I am.

I still don't get what Dudley saw with the dementors. i realized now that he preformed magic, a kind of old magic, but magic nontheless. It was love, of course. I kind of knew that would happen.

Also, I knew that Harry didn't really die after LV tried to kill him, because I knew there were still a couple of chapters left and who would they be about if not Harry? So that was kind of obvious. But I cried so much wih that book, tears of joy, sadness, frusteration...he's like my BFF!!!

~rachel

Its hard to find words that can express my love for the book(s) and characters. I think Rowling is such a genius!
God im glad that i live know so I can reed these fantastic books. (sounds a bit dum, but..)

I've already said how much i love the book in a previous post, but i'm surprised how many people disliked the epilogue. It could have been longer, mentioning more characters especially Luna, and maybe it was cheesy, but you must remember that it is this epilogue that crafted the whole series. It was written in 1990, every book has been working towards achieving this epilogue, it is good to know that JK rowling was thinking of Snape as the "bravest man" before she even started writing the second book. Some of the things may seem obvious and pointless, but that is only because the whole series has been leading to it. I personally think it is the most important chapter written.

I'm really surprised at the epilogue bashing going on. After all the pain, heartbreak, and courage, wasn't it warm, and nice, to think that Harry could finally be happy, and have a stable life.

Well I loved the book! I thought it was amazing! And despite my dislike for the way the ships ended up in the end, I thought it was a fitting way to end the series.

Now, there were some things that I didn't like about the book though. One being that James (Harry's father, James) came out in a bad light especially after Snape's memories. He was such a jerk and I couldn't believe that it was him instead of Snape who got the girl in the end! Snape appeared to be such a genuinly sweet man, of course with his flaws, but someone who truly loved Lily and appreciated her for who she was. But James on the other hand was the arrogant bullying jock and it's amazing how we won Lily's affection in the end. I think if JKR explained more about James transformation from being a prat to a man, then I wouldn't have come off disliking James in the end of the series.

Another thing I didn't like was the way she worte out Wormtail's debt being repaid. I guess I just sort of thought there would be more to it like him jumping in front of killing curse in order to save Harry's life or something of that sort. It seemed like it was just squeezed in somehow so that she wouldn't have so many loose ends coming out of the series.

And did anyone else feel like Harry got off easy in the end? Voldemort having his curse backfired on him becuase Harry somehow significantly was the master of the Elder Wand! I can tell you right now that if it had come down to pure skills and a real one on one battle between two wizards, a fight to the death, Harry definately would have been the one to die. But I guess that JKR just had herself in a fix because Harry really wasn't an exceptionally talented wizard and developing those sort of skills in order to defeat Lord Voldemort within a year would have been impossible.

But now another thing which I didn't like, relationsip wise, was how Ron and Hermione were brought together in the end. Yeah, we are all saw it coming, but the way that Hermione just spontaneously lunged at Ron with a passionate kiss in THE middle of a war at the mention of house elfs, was rather random, not to mention cheesy. But ah well, it had to happen sometime. As for Harry and Ginny *sigh* let's not even get started on that!

Now about the epilogue, I think that a bunch of imformation that I would have liked to hear about was left out. Sure, Harry and Ginny getting married, Ron and Hermione doing the same and each having little children who are now attending Hogwarts where Neville teaches Herbology was all fine. BUT WHAT ABOUT LUNA?!? Did she and Dean ever get together (there were really nice subtle hints)? Did she ever have kids of her own hunting for crumple-horned snorkacks as well? And then what about George? What ever happened to him after experiencing his twin's death? There was just so much extra information that she could have given us and fitted in with more than 5 pages.

Well besides those minor things, I must say that really enjoyed reading the last book of Harry Potter. Surprisingly, I didn't cry but I did almost tear up one or two times. I think that the plot was pretty good and well thought out. JKR is an awesome writer and I hope to read other books by her. Oh and I'm really glad that we learned more about Dumbledore's background and it wasn't some huge major secret left hanging in the end. So....yeah, I'm excited for the Harry Potter encyclopedia and hope that a lot of answered questions and "where are they now" stories such as Luna's are written in there.

My biggest dissapointment with the book is the fact that nothing seemed to be happening. LV has already killed his most powerful enemy, and his sworn enemy is now on the run. He has the entire ministry of magic at his disposal. Hogwarts is currently being run by his underlings. As far as he knows, his horcruxes are safe and sound, and even in the unlikely event that someone killed him, he could easily come back from the dead.

The entire storyline is supposed to take place over the course of a year, which basically means three years since LV managed to gain corporeal form. This is supposed to be the most dangerous wizard of all time, who has come up with spells that DD could never dream of, and yadda yadda yadda. Based on the amount of treachery and complexity that he displayed during GoF, clearly, Voldermorte has something amazing in mind? Something of a truly grand scale, worthy of his name?

What's that? He spends all this time chasing down a wand? Oh. Great.

So surely this wand is part of some grand scheme? It will allow him to perform the uber spell, and unleash hell on Earth?

Nope. Apparently the main reason for the wand is because he needs it to pwn Harry Potter. Something that he could have done by asking someone else to perform the AK spell, if he had 1/10th the brains of DD in knowing why his wand had failed in the past.

Okay, well, at least his race for the wand is going to be an incredibly daring adventure with lots of twists and turns?

Nope. LV spends this time questioning a few people who are practically defenseless against him, then digs some grave.

Well, at least there's an exciting race to find out who can reach the wand first, Harry or LV?

Nope. By the time Harry is even aware of what's going on, LV has already dug up the grave.

Then tell me that LV actually gets to tap the full power of the wand at some point, in order to display his full power, thus giving Harry an impossible foe?

Nope. LV is never the true owner, and Harry was the true owner all along.

Okay. Well, maybe Voldrmort could serve as a constant thorn at Harry's side, with Harry constantly feeling the troops bear down on him, with clever plots leading to his capture?

Nope. Months and months pass with nothing happening. Harry is nearly captured twice, once as a result of pure chance (LV couldn't have possibly known that Harry would chase down Xenophilius for the Deathly Hallows), and once because Harry was a complete idiot and said his name even though Ron explicitly warned hm not to.

JKR spent a lot of time trying to pump up Harry Potter as a worthy foe for LV. Unfortunately, she didn't spend nearly as much time pumping up LV. In the three years since GoF, what has LV really had to show for it?

Another part that bothered me was how DD died. After being dressed up as the most knowledgeable and wise wizard of all time, the master of pulling the strings and foreseeing complicated plots, how does he end up dying? Because in a moment of haste, he decides to put on a cursed object that he knew would be cursed when he first persued it, without removing the curse in advanced, and ends up being cursed by it. Great job.

I totally agree. i loved the book. No doubt about it. It was pure genius. Some parts were indeed disappointments though. For example, The whole wormtail business. I thought it was kind of not cool how he ended up strangling himself. It was just like- WHAT???!!!
I thought the debt would be repayed in a different way, a better way. I dunno, i mean it was okay, but still!
Another thing is that this whole Harry LV battle. Harry didn't need to even battle the dark lord or do anything really but shout a spell he learned when he was in his second year. i don't think he got off that easily because of the whole bathilda bagshot scene and the flying on the broom scene. But I think in the end, he didn't need to even have gone to school past second year. i dunno... I guess it was cool that he didn't HAVE to kill but i would have like to see sirius, lily, james and dumby vindicated by an active Harry- by an AK curse, nonetheless. I can understand that killing always seems easy to the innocent like dumby said to draco but I would have liked a little more action from Harry. It was good, don't get me wrong, but could it have been better??
Oh, big one, WHY CAN VOLDY FLY? I just don't understand is this a comic book? What???!! That was one of my biggest pet peeves in the entire book.
Lastly, the epilogue. Let me just say that I truly adore the epilogue because I mean it was good. But, what about everyone else. I need closure, for goodness' sake!! What about George and Luna? and Kingsley and the ministry and dudley and kreacher and winky and dean and the rest of the wizarding world at large? What happened to everyone??!!! We didn't even get that much closure on the trio. I mean we did, but do they have jobs? what are they? where do they live? etc....
I also didn't like the last line being "and all was well." that was too disney channel for me. it didn't seem like it belonged in hp let alone to sum up the series....
I loved the book don't get me wrong but since I, like everyone else on this forum, am a die-hard fan and expected a bit more....
All in all, I loved it

I loved the book, best ever!! Favourite book ever!!!!!!!!!!! It had romance, it was really sad, loads of action which I love, almost non-stop. Unfortunatley so many people had to die, like Moody Fred Tonks and worst of all Lupin and Snape. Harry almost died too. I cried at all of these parts. I loved when James, Lily, Lupin and Sirius came back to help Harry. I loved it, it made me cry agian.

One thing i was wondering about in the epilogue was who is Victoire? I think it was Bill and Fleur because it said a cousin and they would probably be the same age as Teddy and victoire is frenchish.

i loved the book! it made me laugh it made me cry but mostly cry i hated that fred died that made me masad

i even started liking snape at the end but only a bit i love the book! the end i would have loved to hear about george and his ear and about bill and fleur i don't know other people ohhh i would have loved luna a neville to end up together!

but i still love the book over all!

I really loved the book, but at the same time I felt let down. Some of the things that JKR hinted at and told us we would find out never came to be. The epilogue left me wanting more instead of giving me closure. I know that JKR said that she was going to leave some questions unanswered so we would still have things to theorize about, but personally, I think she left too many questions unanswered.

However, the book was great with every range of emotion and story line. From the comical to the serious. I was constantly wanting more. I too would like to have known how LV was able to fly, but oh well.

I couldn't name a favorite scene because there are so many that I enjoyed. I did love watching the characters fully bloom before our eyes. The only character that seemed to have remained the same was Luna. But she already had a firm grip on life and who she was, so she didn't have much growth left unlike most of the other characters. Neville I believe showed the most growth of all (excluding Harry because his growth is in a completely different category). I was quite proud of him and thrilled to find out that finally his Gran was as well. Who'd have thought that she could kick butt!

Although the deaths were expected, I was fooled by who was going to die. I had other characters lined up for the death sentence. I have to say that Dobby's came as a complete surprise and shock. He never even crossed my mind.

There were a couple of times when I was wondering when something was going to happen because the moving around and camping scenes seemed to be getting a little old, but then JKR was able to snap me back to attention with something dramatic suddenly happening like the doe or being caught by Fenrir.

All in all, it was a great book. I'm in the process of rereading so I can find things that I may have missed the first time just trying to get through to the end to see what was going to happen.

Wow.

That was ... wow.

It was way better than i could've ever imagined. Like seriously, i was constantly reading for 11 hours, and i swear it was 500-something pages of pure genious.

I suppose we'd better start from the start: everything up until the camping trip was untterly perfect. Like Krum coming back for the wedding, Harry's birthday kiss (though i wish that had been done differently) and Remus and Tonks got married! I read that bit in the car on the way homr form the store, and i was all "YUS! Remus and Tonks get married!"

The camping trip ... that was the bit i didnt like the most out of the whole book. The story just got sooooo sloooow and i was sick of them bickering and in a grumpy mood because there was no food of all things.

I was pratically crying though, when Ron left-that was definately the saddest part for me (Besides Harry's death march). I mean, i understood the fight and all, but did he have to leave?! And poor Hermione was crying, and all Harry does in throw blankets on her.

Godrics Hollow was super awesome-we finally got to see exactly what happened the night James and Lily were killed!

I was ecsatic when Ron came back. I was panicking and heard "You-you-mental?" and was all "Ooh, that's Ron." perfect Harry/Ron moment, the locket is destoryed, and HHr was sunk ... but that's ship bashing, i won't got there. Hermione punching Ron was perfect.

Malfy Manor ... i was so scared Hermione was going to die. I sooo felt for Ron thinking "Oh my god, Hermione, Ron, Harry save her!"

The whole final battle was perfect actually. There's nothing i've ever read that made me go " " " " and from happy to sad in less than a few pages. Like Ron and Hermione's kiss ... i was so happy (And happy-dancing) and then it just completely kills the mood when Fred dies at the end of the chapter. Then everything goes downhill, Snape ... i never liked him very much, but no one deserves to die like that.

I can't believe Snape loved Lily. I find that ... insane. Like how could all these theories be true? I found it ... ah. I didn't like how James looked like the bad guy, but really ...

The Forest Again ... there was no sadder chapter. There is no sadder story, fullstop. I was crying so hard by the end of the chapter, and i actually thought Harry did die. So i had to put the book down and cry a bit more.

Neville was such an awesome character, i almost cried i just wanted to hug him ... i loved him and words just can't decribe how proud i am of a fictional character. (which sounds super weird).

Same goes for Molly. There is nothing more excellent then seeing Bellatrix getting beaten up by a woman with 7 children.

When Voldemort died, i almost started crying again. And the last sentance before the epologue was ... i think i was crying again. I was so happy it all turned out for the better.

The epilogue ... erm, it was ok, and i didn't really mind the names but ... Albus Severus, come on ... and Scorpius? These guys have got to stop naming their kids after stars. And i wish there was more information on more characters IE. Luna, anyone?

The Deaths.

Hedwig-ohmygod, why would JK kill of a poor innocent bird? She was only an animal, Harry's only friend at Privet Drive-i understand her reasons, but honesty-couldn't she spare the owl?!

Mad-eye-I always saw him so strong ... that was a shock for me.

Dobby-ohmygodohmygod, Dobby! I was honestly, ruely crying when he died. He didn't deserve it, and Harry's greif for him was so sad to read. My mum checked up on me at this point and was rtaher aprehensieve as to why i was crying.

Fred-do not get me started on Fred. I always thought if one twin went down, the other would go with him. I guess not though. I almost started crying again when i saw (read) the family all around him.

Remus and Tonks-hahahahaha, they didn't die. That's insane. They couldn't have. They can't have left Teddy. They only went to *sleep* they didn't die. No. Nope.

Snape-i never really liked him. But honestly, a huge snake bite? No one deserves to die like that. Not even Snape.

Voldemort-woot ness.

Overall, DH wowed me. I absolutely loved it and it will always be my favourite ending to my favourite series.

I just remembered: Voldemort can fly! Thinking back on that now makes it funny for me. When Luna makes a distraction for Harry so he can get some peace and quiet, i was laughing. "Oooh, look, it's a Blibbering Humdinger!" She's always a good laugh. Quite happy she didn't die.

But I am sad that Remus and Tonks did. I stared at their names for a minute not wanting to go on.

Prof. McGonagall herding the desks was also funny. she turned the corner and they heard her scream, "CHARGE!"

Uhm... hi.

Most of you probably don't know me, I haven't been on this site for about two years. Used to be a semi-moderator-thing-a-ma-jig, don't know what they are called now. The few that remember me, I know that you probably won't read this post, you guys mostly being moderators now, but, if you do, hi.

This will probably be my last post in these forums. I was meaning to leave the Harry Potter universe after the diaster that was the sixth book, but, curiosity got the better of me and I read the seventh book. I just wanted express my thoughts on it.

I, unfortunately, have not read the majority previous posts/reviews of the book, in which I apologize. I would also like to apologize for reiterating anything that someone else has already written. I find it to be annoying when people express the same thought over and over in the same thread.

With all that being said, here's what I thought:

The book was overall... palatable. And I'm trying to say that in the best of ways. It certainly not the best Harry Potter book, but in comparison with the sixth, it was pretty good. Better even than the first and second books. I felt that I could actually connect to the series again.

Rowling went back to her previous characterizations of her characters, which helped the story stay on track and within the realm of plausibility. I finally saw what she was trying to do with Dumbledore in the last book. Her attempt in the sixth to make Dumbledore into a man was quite clumsy, but here manages to pull fairly gracefully. The romance/use of cliche heart warming moments were still there, (my biggest gripe about the last book) but she thankfully kept that to a minimum. The use of the Hallows was a bit... abrupt, but it was handled well. I liked here use of claustrophobic writing when Harry and his friends were on the run. It finally felt like there was a war going on.

Snape's "redemption" was, to say the least, cliche, but it handled exactly the way some of us thought/hoped it would, through a love of Lily. It was graceful the way she handled that. The ending battle, I thought, was the most cheesy battle I had ever heard of. Really didn't like Mrs. Weasley's battle charge. Most unrealistic, the scene with Harry and Voldemort facing off alone, although it was, in someways, convincing. Didn't need to have the large discussion between Voldemort and Harry Potter pushed into a single battle. It could have been spread out Also, Harry's forgiveness of Dumbledore felt... rushed, and while convincing, ultimately, it was unsatisfying.

The epilogue was... everything that I knew Rowling would write. I had expected a happy, shippy ending. It was utter ****, but oh well. I'll take it. It gave closure. That was it could do. (By the way, don't you think that Rowling's last line was a bit... awkward?)

In response to Louise's post, I can see what she means when she says that this is just a children's book. It was the only way I could justify the way she wrote the sixth, that these books were just children's book. But if you look throughout the series, Rowling tried to make it more than just a children's book. Sure, dark themes such as violence would be a part of bringing the tales to the adult reading, however, her use of subtlety in other themes, such as the prejudice of wizards and the corruption of power in the earlier, had greater impact in bringing it to an adult novel. However, by abandoning this approach, Rowling had to depend on her dark themes to bring this to her vision of an adult novel. Was the violence needed? Yes, but she should have made it more impacting, by allowing the effects of the deaths to actually impact the reader. Rowling was stuck between the "Soprano" type of realism that appears in today's media, (which I am not insulting) and the magical, symphonic realm of the children's book. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to balance between the two, as by doing so, would detract the positive points of either viewpoint. Rowling could not choose, and ultimately, it made for a noticably flawed novel.

I know I could write more about the novel, but I think that my main points can be addressed with my final complaint: the novel felt very... encyclopedic, in which Rowling was trying to cram in the answers to everything that had occured. A lot of talking with a lot of presumptions to come to the conclusions that the trio came with. This leads to a very uneven, unrhythmic novel. It seems that she was trying to fit her magical universe into one book.

To be truthful, J.K. Rowling is not a great writer. Her technical skills are rather... lacking. She does not deserve up there with C.S. Lewis, or Tolkien. However, what she makes up in skill she matches with charm. Rowling came up with a universe that deserves a slot next that of Narnia or Middle-Earth. Her universe is beautifu, magical, and wonderous. It made us kids again, and when we left her universe, we as adults were left with a feeling of morality that flows throughout her novel. However, her writing could not match the grandeur of her vision. And her books suffer for it.

Was it tragic that the novels did not reflect her vision? Yes. But now I can see what she was trying do. By not limiting my view so that the novels are just novels or even a gateworld into another world, but as part of not fully expressed vision, I can see her full vision, and I can appreciate what she tried to do with the series as a whole.

So I guess final question is whether the final was befitting of an end to a series. To me, it was not. It had too many holes, and far too many weak spots to let Harry Potter go out with a bang. But it was good enough to let me leave with a vision that unites the series as a whole, and in many ways, allows me to say it is complete.

Thank you J.K. Rowling.

Wishing you hope that this forum does not die with the end of the series,
Soumnek

Im really not too happy with the outcome of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the most anticipated book ever....it's horrible that JKR ruhed everything. Like Godrics Hollow.She totally only wrote two pages about it. I wanted Harry to live there in his old home...but seeing as half of it was blown up from the backfired curse.....i wanted it to be emotional. harry didnt shed a tear at his parents' graves. it was like he didnt really realise they were right there, for the first time....

and the camping thing. i felt like i was reading a fanfic. its obvious JKR had no idea where she was going with the book for the first half. im only truely satisfied with the ending.

the Chamber of effin Secrets. like what the heck was that. at least it couldve been a big moment, with them all realising their only hope was in the plumbing below them nd all made a dash for it. it wouldve been nice for them all to go along, for memories to flood back to harry and have it an emotional thing, an adventure, and....and it was two sentences.
"Hiya Harry we were in the Chamber of Secrets just now!" said Ron.
"Oh cool. Lets go out for PIZZA!"
Thats how i feel JKR went about it. it was like reading a REALLY BAD FANFIC. I cant believe JKR would destroy her story this way,

the epilogue was horrific. it made me want to shoot myself in the head. it was like a 10 year old gone loopy. but she did admit to writing it before Sorcerers Stone, so when she wrote it she had no idea how big HP was going to be, had no writing talent. but she shouldve rewritten it. just because shes been building up to that moment where that final chapter would be finished dosent mean it was a good way to go about it.

all in all i feel JKR rushed and was in to big a hurry to finish. it wasnt what i wanted


anyone know when the real HPDH is coming out?

I thought Lupin should not have died, or if he had to JK should have made more of it. Fred too. George and Fred and Lupin were some of my my favorites.

Severus - I hoped all along he was really good and that Dumbledore's trust was not in vain. I was relieved to find out he was on the right side after all . His death was pretty shocking. Not that he died but the circumstances. It was a great and fitting scene though, showing LV's total cold-hearted viciousness. The only reason LV "regretted" it was that he was valuable to him. I was glad Harry found out the truth about Snape and Lily.

"Albus Severus" is a horrible name but I found that part very touching. Harry honored the man who had done so much for his mother's sake, and then honored him again by telling his son he was named for a Slytherin who was "the bravest man I ever knew." That made the sugary epilogue worthwhile IMHO. That, and the satisfaction to see that they were all living happy and routine lives. You can't say "Happily Ever After" though. Who knows when the next evil wizard will rise to power?

(I DO wish JK had told us what they were doing for a living though!)

I think it's the best ending possible, and by this I don't mean that I didn't like it, on the contrary, it was wonderful! 19 years later...: the ending is simply beautiful.
Though at times I was annoyed that they were just camping and moving on for months, and I still don't see why Dumbledore had to risk giving the exact date of the departure from Privet Drive to V. by Snape, or why Harry doubted Dumbledore for such a long time.
Some of my favourite chapters was the Prince's tale, and King's Cross. I could hardly read the former because it was so sad and I didn't really expect that Snape was good.
I had read theories about him being in love with Lily and having killed Dumbledore on his orders, but I couldn't accept the latter at the time. The third chief theory that comes to my mind and was fulfilled is the one about R.A.B. I thought it unlikely, firstly because nobody knew his second first name, secondly, because I didn't think him a great wizard capable of finding and destroying a Horcrux for he had joined the Death Eaters when he was young, then fled. But Kreacher was the key. Speaking of Kreacher, it was incredible that he changed so much. Oh, another theory was the locket in Grimmauld Place.
The Battle of Hogwarts, I have been waiting for it since the Goblet of Fire. It just wasn't the same as breaking into the castle at the end of HBP.
At times I laughed, of course, but even if someone was in the vicinity, they didn't stare, they knew what I was reading. I think I will have to read it a few more times to be sure that this volume is my favourite. This book puts the point to the whole saga. Some time after I finished, I watched the trailer of OotP, and I definitely see everything in a different light now that it's complete. I didn't expect this attitude, though I could have, because it's the same with the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. I'm just sorry that it's over. I know it couldn't have been longer. Now it's a whole and one that I coludn't imagine my life without.
I know I will read it to my children when I get married once.

Anyone else find it ironic that Expelliarmus played a part in killing Voldemort? Lupin basicallly criticized Harry for using the spell at the beginning of the book, but at the end of it all it helped in killing LV. I guess we can safely say expelliarmus is Harry's signature spell. I think it was a great way to end the battle with LV. Anyone else agree?

I loved the book! It is absolutely my favorite, maybe second to OotP.

There were many things that happened that I did not expect.
First, I thought that if any of the Weasleys would die, it would be Bill, not Fred. I can't believe he's dead. Poor George.
I also thought Neville would finish off Bellatrix. I thought he deserved to. But Molly doing it was pretty cool, after she just lost Fred and Bellatrix was threatening Ginny. I was very glad to see her go, but after killing Sirius and Dobby, I think she should've gone through a lot more suffering, not just be dead like that.
Finally, I did not expect Harry to be a Horcrux. Once I found out he was, I thought he would kill the snake, then fight Voldy, and they would both die at the same time. After he "came back," I thought he would somehow get the ring and the Elder Wand, thus become immortal and would kill Voldy. I was very pleased when Voldemort's curse rebounded on him and Harry never had to use Avada Kedavra.

I was thrilled when Harry, Ron and Hermione got into the Room of Requirement and saw tons of people there. I really liked how Luna, Cho, Oliver, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Lupin, Tonks, and the Weasleys came through the passage to help Harry. I thought it was very cool how basically ever character (maybe exaggerating there) were helping in the fight.

The deaths I was most upset about were Fred's, Lupin's, Tonks's and Dobby's. None of them deserved to die. I was kind of sad when Colin Creevy died, but he wasn't that important. I was surprised when Pettigrew died, I did not think he would kill himself. Oh, and I thought Snape would die defending Harry, not because of Nagini. His death was touching.

I would've liked to know how Lupin and Tonks died, and I also wanted to see more of the Weasleys' reactions to Fred's death. I wish they and Hagrid would have had kind of "closing words" for themselves.

I didn't think the epilogue was bad at all. It was very good, but some important things were left out, so I made my own conclusions:
I believe Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to Hogwarts for their N.E.W.T. year now that Voldy is gone. Mayby some other students in their year went too, since they clearly didn't recieve good DADA education. Shortly later, they all married and later had kids. Harry probably became an Auror.
Gerorge probably continued the joke shop, that is what Fred would have wanted. If he had any children, I hope he named one after his twin.
McGonagall probably became Headmistress of Hogwarts until she got too old to continue running the school.
And in the end I'm sure the Potter/Weasley family lived long, happy lives.

This book was wonderful. I think it was a perfect ending to the HP series.

I was very satisfied by the ending. I do have to say that in the King's Cross chapter I whispered to myself "I knew it!!!" The only prediction of mine that didn't come true, and I'm happy that it didn't, was that I was sure that Harry was going to "avenge Dumbledore's death" and try to kill Snape, and realize after he killed him (in defense, of course) that he was good all along. I knew that Snape was always loyal to Dumbledore... after rereading HBP and putting stuff together, there was no way he was really supporting LV. I didn't see the Lily stuff coming, though. What a heart-breaking end.

As far as Remus and Tonks go, I would have like to see at least HOW they died... I will always have a special place in my heart for Tonks, probably because I see a lot of myself in her. But in killing Remus and Tonks, JKR is drawing parallels between Harry and Teddy. Parents killed while defying LV... having only a Godfather who was very close with the parents... I thought it was really meaningful that Remus and Tonks both died. As soon as they asked Harry to be Godfather, I knew they were going to die.

Also about there being more to Petunia than meets the eye... there was! Did you miss the part in Snape's memory about how she wrote to Hogwarts and begged to go to the school? She was so jealous of her sister and Lily's being special that she hated it... which explains a whole heck of a lot when it comes to her treatment of Harry.

I do agree about the Veil. I really was hoping to get SOMETHING about the love of my life, Sirius Black. He was my favorite character from the moment the introduced him.

I'm just disappointed that I didn't get to mourn properly. My boyfriend just got into Harry Potter... and we only have one book... and he's only on "The Wedding" (what a slow reader!) so I had to be very careful about my reactions when reading so that it didn't "spoil" anything for him. I quietly sobbed all through "The Prince's Tale" and during the battle when Fred died... and even a little during Narcissa's moment. Draco and Harry are a lot more alike than either of them are willing to admit, I think. Although I just couldn't help myself during "NOT MY DAUGHTER..." I burst out laughing. It was so unexpected and so uncharacteristic of Molly that I just couldn't help myself.

The book is definitely a classic. It's carefully crafted and beautifully written, and absolutely worth the 10-year wait.

However, I am utterly surprised by the number of people who are complaining about the epilogue. THE EPILOGUE IS NOT MEANT TO BE AN FAQ SECTION. People whine that Rowling does not reveal the occupations of the trio and what happened to Luna, to Xenophilius, to Griphook, to the locket of Regulus, to the sword of Gryffindor,and to Merlin's saggy left... oh well, I guess they just don't get the point of the epilogue. The epilogue is supposed to show the present state of the magical world 19 years after nearly meeting its destruction. "Granddad Weasley" represents an older generation, which still experiences a certain degree of clash between past memories and its effort to forgive. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and even Draco, are the ones that are shaping the future of the magical world. The crux of the epilogue is where Harry tells Albus about Snape and that it is our choice that matters. This is not supposed to be a sequel like that of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. I think the only reason that part of the epilogue focuses on the families is that Rowling wants to prevent people from pairing Hermione and Malfoy together in fan fictions.

The world is so lucky to have a writer like Rowling and books like Harry Potter. Imagine other fantasy writers writing Harry Potter: they would give a brief introduction to the settings, devote each book to searching one Horcrux, and finally pack everything into a little backpack and dump it into a nuclear reactor or a volcano. Voldemort would let out a cry of pain and turn into dust, and everybody dances happlily on a big square.

This reply is similar to what I have written on TLC, since it's just been a few days after the release and my mind is filled with The Life and Lief of Albus Dumbledore. I really can't think.

I have to say, I agree a fair amount. It was simply too rushed. The worst was the destruction of the cup and the tiara. I seemed like she needed to hurry up and finish so she just ended them quickly rather than something like the destruction of the locket. I hoped Harry would go in to the Chamber of Secrets and learn some extra stuff there, you know, like secrets. About Petunia, Dudley, magic late it life, Harry's new pet (cant have been the dragon), the veil . . . etc. Did she just simply leave them out or did I buy an unique version of the book which has cut parts in it that I can sell on ebay for hundreds? Of course, I probably should reread to make sure before I really accused her, but it seems that many others had the same problem. If everything that was supposed to be in there was in there, I would have given it a ten. I still liked the book, so I give it a 7. Compared to 9 for HBP.

well...the book was totally awesome....and the word "awesome" just said it all...but for the epilogue...most of you feel it was mushy and sugary...but...look at it this way: If Harry were real, you saw that he had gone through so much trouble, and don't you think he should deserve a happy ending. and say he wasn't real: the epilogue is a short thing that happens to the main characters after....it's not supposed to be in detail about every single thing, but yes, she could've gone into a little bit more detail...but i still think it was utterly flawless...JK rowling made a series of 7 wonderful books just for us fans, what more can you ask?

i think that this was the best potter book ever!!! i think that the best parts of the book was whenever harry ron and hermione were just together doing watever they were doing such as camping out in the multiple forests, traveling to godrics hollow, and finding and destroying the different horcuxes. some parts that did dissapoint were the leaving out of the answers to the hints that rowlin left us on this website and elsewhere. but this did not detract from the greatness of the rest of the book.

also i believe that the epilouge was the perfect way to sum up the ending of the book. im sure it made everyone feel good that ron and hermione and harry and ginny ended up together. also it was cool the way that harry accepted that snape really was a great man.

what a book. Well, i can really say that the first time i read it, i really thought most of the book was totally awful. Then i read it a second time and it improved greatly, maybe because i wasnt half asleep
The beginning of the book...I'd say it was okay, not the best, and i was a littel disappointed. The thing that eased it up was with the Death Eaters...that was a releif to add some emotion.
I thought the middle of the book was extremely LONG and some parts were quite unnecessary. I mean, they got saved by people a million times, like if it wasnt for this person or that person to that dragon or that whatever, we would have died! it was a lot of chance.
i think the camping thing was really dragged out and (dare i say it) BORING. It just seemed so streched out.
When Harry meets Voldemort...amazing.
i loved the fact that he said "Tom Riddle" and the fact that he didnt have to cast the killing curse...it was like Voldermort killed himself.
I was a little upset with the romance in the book...i really wanted more. I definitley thought some parts were funny.
the epilogue.
the first time i read it, it was really bad...so cheesy.
but then when i read the book again, i didnt read the 19 years later part and let everything sink in again. Then i read it and it seemed better. I'm going to spare you with not commenting on Albus Severus.

all in all, it wasnt the best book in the series...but it wasnt the worst either. I think it was a great end to it..i cant say i loved it, but i can say that i really liked it.

I loved the book just how she made everything come together. How she explained things and we got to see why soem of the characters were how they were. The chapter called the fallen soldier made me cry. The end of the chapter called the princes tale and the whole chapter of the forbidden forest made me cry. I was sobbing like I lost someone close to me but I felt that I almost did. I was abosolutley terrified on the journey when it was just Harry and Hermione I felt they were just doomed. I was just mortified knowing that Fred weasley dide. I was scared all through the whole book knowing that things were on the verge of happening. The godric hallows chapter was so very scary to me. I loved the whole book and how after Voldermort died Harry wasn't just a happy go lucky person. He was tired and worn out and just relived. He didn't dance and celebrate he was just happy it was over. To me the Epilogue was a bit sappy I not used to things like that in Harry potter there has always been something going on. And for their not to be I was just a bit confused. I'm glad that Ron and Hermione got together and that Ron was still Ron. But just how everything was just happy go lucky wasn't for me really because I not used to Harry Potter like that. But really I just loved the book. To tell the truth I think I will reread it next week. I felt I read it to fast personally.

As I guess it's about time I voiced my opinion on DH, here's my disjointed review I wrote for an editorial:

***
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
A Review


It’s mere hours since finishing the final installment of Harry Potter, and I am left with a large feeling of bereavement. Not that the final chapters did not hold the promise of a future for The Boy Who Lived, but because I feel as though I have been fighting along in the battle along with the characters I have grown to know and love. Perhaps my scars are not physical; but the pain of emotional torment is surely present.

Rowling begins her book in a mighty way; full of dark mysteries and a sense of overwhelming dread and fear. The action was almost non-stop out of the starting gate, with casualties possible at every second. Rowling certainly knows how to spin fear into the hearts of her readers, causing them to wonder if, finally, their favorite characters had perished in one fray or another.

Perhaps a frustration in reading her book was the impossible rate at which the fights broke out and at the impossible slowness at which the search for Horcruxes and Hallows dragged on. There were so many nail-biting moments that the reader is left until well into the book to even hear mention of finding and destroying a single Horcrux. Mainly, we are out to preserve Harry’s life and identity in the early pages of the book. I cannot say I felt this was a horrible way to start the book, but it certainly set the tone for an intense emotional roller coaster!

As the book progresses we learn more about Harry and his learning to accept the huge responsibilities placed on his shoulders. We learn more about Ron and Hermione and their quest to support their friend no matter the cost. We learn more about Dumbledore who we had previously seen only as a kind benefactor and wise guide to Harry who had prepared him to take his journey, yet in this book we see that Dumbledore believed the best of everyone because he, too, needed people to believe the best of him. We learn Snape’s past, and though I cringed at the thought prior to reading the book, I can accept his past and his fate, knowing that his choices were never easy or simple.

Other characters we have come to know or have met in passing rematerialize in her final installment, and we are all the better for it.

Little light hearted moments are sprinkled throughout the book, and the reader needs all of them he or she can get! Through the fear and the tears, we see what great healing medicine laughter really is. Thank goodness.

Of course, as we get closer to the end; to the final battle, we also fear more and more whether our thoughts and theories have proven true. Is Harry a Horcrux? I felt most cheated in that aspect of the book. I thought it was loosely explained, and neatly slipped in. I had not believed he would be one when I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but I was never one to say it impossible. Of course it was possible, but I had thought it unlikely. However, it proved true. And I am left unsatisfied with its meanings and implications. I am unsatisfied with the explanation that it tied him to earth. I am unsatisfied with how neatly and quickly the whole thing wrapped up; with a bit of joy, a triumph, and a lot of carnage. I am also left with a feeling that Rowling rushed this bit so we wouldn’t be allowed to think on it overly much. The dreaded moments between Voldemort and Harry Potter seemed contrived and convenient.

The Deathly Hallows themselves also served little purpose but to add to the confusion of the quest. The uniting of the Hallows proved a bit anticlimactic, and I was waiting for something more. Interesting lore, and an interesting connection; but I felt a little cheated with them at the end. I’m sure upon some more retrospect, I will be happier with them as a whole.

However:

The book is amazing in that it illuminates that our choices in life reflect our beliefs and our stances. Dumbledore’s past proves that. Were we only to have his past to go on, we might be disillusioned with the man himself. Yet we know that it is our choices that define us. Harry’s choices define him; and he is a brilliant character. The right choices are not always easy; but they are always worth it. There is a high price to pay, at times, but we who pay it are the better for it.

Harry becomes a leader. His friends become his strength. His supporters become his stalwarts. His journey for the meaning of his life becomes our own. Have we come to the same conclusions? Would we be able to lay down our life for what we believe to be true?

Though I feel some deaths and elements were unnecessarily thrown in merely to shock the reader, I also feel that JK Rowling has delivered us whole, alive and well. Though there is grief to bear in this life; though winning battles for the greater good also leaves us with mourning and scars; though we know our choices are not always easy: We can survive and be all the stronger for it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a torrent of emotion, an action packed adventure, a touching story of friendship and love, and – above all – a story of meaning. The annoyances I might have upon reading it a first time are small in comparison to the over encompassing arch that surrounds us as Harry Potter faces Voldemort for the final time. Rowling sweeps us in at the first moment and does not let us go until the final chapter. We have come to know and love these characters over the years, and in the end, I believe she has given them all the justice of her pen that they well-deserve; for good or for bad. All is well.
***

I'm much less depressed about it now that I've reread and have had a few days to process. I'll reserve my opinion onto whether this was the best book of them all until I read it and read it and read it again! I still love HBP.

Oh, wow, what can I say? I think the above post pretty much summed it up! Well done, Passerby!

However, I have to say, I was disappointed with the final book. As soon as I was done reading it, I was like "Oh yeah! This book is amazing, definitely my favorite." But now, as so many have said, the book seems rushed. It seems as though JKR was trying to cram so many different plot lines into one book, and for me, it didn't really work.

I think JKR had amazing ideas for this book, but they weren't thought out as much as they should be. Especially in the chapter King's Cross. It seems like JKR was trying to rush that chapter...It wasn't as informative as it should have been. Why she didn't go and explain it more, I don't know, but it feels like she was afraid that if she drew it out too much and explained it more, we'd be able to find plot holes or something. That chapter really disappointed me. I think I'm left with more questions after reading this book that before!

As for the Deathly Hallows, as I was reading the book, I was thinking why in the world did she include this? It seemed so irrelevant to the plot of the entire series! Now, I like the idea of the Hallows, I just wish she would have introduced them to us earlier in the series. It was so much to cram into one book, if Harry had known the Tale of the Three Brothers, at least, before this book, there wouldn't have been so much to explain.

As I've said in previous posts, the one thing that really annoys me about this book is the part when Ron "imitates" Parseltongue to get into the CoS. I don't like that part at all! I hate the fact that JKR made it able for wizards to be able to "imitate" Parseltongue. Basically, she just made it so that everyone can speak Parseltongue if they just imitate it! That, for me, is definitely the worst part of the book.

I was really let down by JKR when questions she said would get answered did, in fact, not get answered in book 7. I was looking forward to answers! I wanted to know what Lily and James' jobs were, what Dudley saw when he was with the dementors, who the person was who performed magic later in life! Forgive me if I'm wrong, but none of these questions got answered in HPDH!

And the epilogue! It was okay for me, though it was a little cheesy, but I hated how it ended. "All was well." I did not want this book to have a fairy tale ending, and with those three words, it basically was. So not the way I expected JKR to end it.

Overall, the book was good, it just didn't live up to the expectations JKR had given me. Of course I'm still going to cherish the book like I cherish all the other ones, I just can't help feeling disappointed. Maybe I'll feel differently after I re-read it...

I actually loved this book.
Everything was perfect about it, although I felt all of the globe-trotting was just filler, and unimportant.
Yes, some of my favourite characters died, like Fred, Dobby, Lupin and Mad-Eye.
But, I still felt the book was good. It didnt leave me with many questions, but there were a few.
Whatever became of the Dursley's? Were they safe? What DID Dudley see when he was attacked by the Dementors?
But I found everything tied up nicely in the end, with a great outcome.

There were a few moments when reading Deathly Hallows that I was monumentally disappointed.

My first impression was that The Silver Doe was the worst chapter in the entire series. I thought the way Ron left (and much more the way he came back) was ludacris. I could understand him leaving. I do. Using the Put-Outer to get back seemed a far-too-convenient way of doing so. The way Harry got the sword was a bit silly. The locket talking to Ron was off the charts on the unintentional comedy scale.

Kreacher's complete turnaround (all for a compliment and a crappy locket?) was laughable. I doubt one act of kindness would change decades of teaching and brain-washing by dark wizards.

Overall, the biggest disappointment to me was how much Voldemort trusted in others. Dumbledore stressed heavily in Half-Blood Prince that Voldemort liked to operate alone. Yet the only horcrux that he relied on only his own magic was the locket (we don't know about the ring). The cup, diary and tiara were all protected and guarded by others. I would have never believed Voldemort willing to trust others so much.

In the end, the resolution made it okay. Harry didn't die (although I still find holes in the explanation as to why his body was not destroyed like Voldemort's was). The Deathly Hallows should have at least been mentioned somewhere before.

Dumbledore's back story was a bit surprising at times.

Ron actually seemed important.

Far too many questions were left unanswered.

All in all....I liked it. I will need to read it again to see what I missed. Knowing the answers to questions as they get asked will probably lessen the "Well that is stupid" reaction that I so often have.

Ive been reading veritaserum forums for a year but never bothered to register ^^ anyway...

well, It was still a good book, but the fact that she didnt bring anything up about the veil or sirius, and the epilogue was stupid, and that death eaters can just walk around town, and take over the school, is just stupid...Theres enough resistence that youd think someone would just march up to the death eater teachers when there not lookign at kill em, and just many things like that, I gotta say I was disappointed but then again, I dont know that theres a way that it could have been written that I would have liked it more in...Why the heck did she kill hedwig lol cmon thats not nice and dobby, dobby was one of my favorite characters O.O

Most if not all of my predictions came true. I was particularlly happy about Snape being good in the end!
However I wasn't too happy with how JK Rowling sqeezed all of Snape's feelings into one chapter...it was still the best chapter but I felt that it could have been spaced out over another maybe.
The deaths were so unexpected apart from Hedwigs (I predicted that but no so soon). I think she chose the people well and how they died was good too, I cried for all of them...well not really for mad-eye I don't think I will ever accept that he is dead. I was a but disappointed with Lupin and Tonks death, I actually had to re-read that part because of the way it was written. Something in me wanted Harry to die before I read the book but now I have read it I am glad she didn't kill him otherwise I wouldn't be able to control my grief.
I always had a feeling that Snape was a goner from the moment he killed Dumbledore in the HBP but the way he died really shocked me, I thought that Harry or one of the Order would kill him and then learn the truth about Snape's innocence later on.
I did get the sense that she rushed various chapters but then again there is no pleasing everyone like they say "Everyone's a critic"haha

It was great that Kreacher swapped sides. I loved it when he said
"Fight for my master, the house-elf protector" (something like that) Was great!

All in all I thought the book was not what I expected but still great! And answered many questions...but I always thought there was a hidden meaning to the veil! And what house was Hargrid and Dumbledore in ...but that doesn't really matter.
I give the book 8/10 as it isn't my favourite. That title goes hands down to Half Blood Prince! Thanks so much JK Rowling for making such a magical world come to life just by putting your pen to paper! We always have and always will love you! ....Even if you did kill Snape and make me cry 1000 times!

I think that this was the best book of the series, but yes that terrible epilogue should have been scrapped completely. I was saddened by Hedwig's death, but i think it was needed... she couldn't have been flying around while they were in hiding. I was more angry about dobby because i thought his passing was utterly pointless. He could have lived on at Hogwarts and been happy the rest of his life.

The one that really got me was fred. I literally sat with my head in my hands and sobbed, not only because the twins have always been my favorite characters, but because i could not imagine george going on without his twin, his business partner, and his best friend.

I feel like in closing this series i have lost a friend, and a part of myself as well.

Well said!! it seems that only us potterholics understand the loss of characters in the book! I was walking about the house crying my eyes out and all my sister and mum could do was laugh at me and tell me its only a book. But seeing as there have been 7 of them in which we have learnt to grow with understand and form attachments to certain characters its hard to let them go. Each character no matter how insignificant has played a big role to make the books what they are today. Just think imagin if there was no Xenophilius Lovegood? they wouldn't have found out about the Deathly Hallows...and Xenophilius was only in the book for a couple of chapters but without him Harry wouldn't have recognised the importance of the Elder Wand!

Don't be ashamed to cry over characters deaths fellow Potterholics! It's good therapy!Let it all out