Just Who is the Mudblood Prince?

Hey everyone! I am soooooo mad at myself for not writing about Harry Potter yet. Getting this book was definitely one of the highlights of my summer. I pre-ordered the book months ago and sure enough, it arrived right on July 16 (even I'm not immature enough to have gone to Border's at midnight to get my copy - though I can't say I wasn't tempted). I was upstairs when the UPS man knocked on the door around noon. Thomas, aka my knight in shining armor, answered and swears it was his funniest delivery yet. The poor guy was loaded down with copies going door to door in Gold Run. He handed the book to Thomas, shook his head like he didn't get it and said, "Here you go". When Thomas brought the book to me upstairs, I was beyond thrilled. I'd spent the prior week worrying that ordering it online was a bad decision and my book would be delayed. Instead, there it was in all its special Potteresque cardboard bearing the words "Do not deliver before July 16, 2005!" and "Who is the mudblood prince?". I knew right then from the packaging that this was going to be a great read. I also knew though that it would be at least two years before I got the final book so I paced myself and deliberately spread out the 652 pages through the following Sunday. This meant I read about 72 pages a day and I had to force myself to stop each time. And I wasn't the only one. Thomas heard a really funny story on NPR where one lady said that the morning after her 10 year old son got the book she woke up and found him passed out at the kitchen table on page 500. This says it all - if you can get little boys away from video games, it's a miracle.

Anyway, the book. If you haven't read the book stop now because there will be spoilers. And getting the book spoiled would be the worst thing imaginable. It is a MIRACLE that I did not know about the death prior to reading about it. Given my addiction to all things entertainment, it was quite tough. I avoided websites, newspapers, magazines and tv news. This was a necessary precaution as Anjali accidentally read on the COVER of USA Today that children were grieving because of the death of one of Harry's friends. Luckily, she didn't read exactly who died, but still, the agony of knowing even that is too much. The media is beyond evil. Okay, I've given you fair warning, so here are my pros and cons for the book:

Pros:

• Harry - he's grown up a lot and wasn't quite as surly as he was in book 5. Given that he's The One, he's written in a very realistic manner. He's a complicated kid that you don't always like but you do always root for.

• The flashbacks - Rowling has taken some hits for not fully exploring Voldemort (Rowling pronounces his name minus the T at the end). In Book 6 she remedies this with several flashbacks from different characters. I really enjoyed all of these. It seems like Voldemort came from bad blood and bad circumstance and both of these contributed to his love of the dark side. This guy was born bad, loved being bad, was a lost cause from the start. You get background on his parents, his childhood in an orphanage, and his years at Hogwarts where he was the golden child to pretty much all but Dumbledore.

• The Mudblood Prince - This one really did keep me guessing. I'd heard it wasn't Voldemort, but I still suspected it might be, I also thought it could be one of Harry's parents or perhaps a deatheather, and I thought it could be Snape. But clues later on in the story convinced me it wasn't Snape, but sure enough it actually was. And she explained it in a way that made sense to me and didn't make me mad.
  

• Snape - He also kept me guessing throughout the book. Is he good or evil? I went back and forth several times and after he killed Dumbledore I fell firmly on the side of he's evil!!! However, after talking to Anj, she convinced me there could be more to his story that'll play out in book 7.

• The interaction between the Prime Minister of England and the Minister of Magic. Very funny and I like her tying in the real world a bit more.

• Harry taking Luna to the dance.

• Malfoy's story, particularly at the end where you learn he's being manipulated by Voldemort, but he doesn't have it in him to kill Dumbledore. Will he join the Order of the Phoenix?

• The writing - Rowling's writing keeps getting better and more complicated as the series progresses. There's a world of difference between books 1 and 6. I also love all of her wordplay.

Cons:

• Dumbledore dying and Snape being the one to kill him! I was shocked by this. I still can't believe it and when I read it I took the scene pretty much at face value. I really really hope I'm wrong and that his whole phoenix persona will mean we see him back in book 7. I do have to say though that the final fight scene was a riveting read. I re-read it.

• Harry and Ginny's relationship. I like that Harry had a crush on Ginny and think Rowling went a long way to developing Ginny's character in the last couple of books and that she'd be a good match for Harry. But once they finally get together at the end of the book, there's only a few pages on their relationship and then Harry ends it to protect her. This was really given short shrift. Plus it's pretty sexist. And as Anj said, it's a knockoff of Spiderman.

• Not enough Neville! By the end of book 6, Neville was one of my fav characters (probably right after Harry). Plus he got a great story - in that he could have been the chosen one rather than Harry. I thought Neville would feature much more prominently in this book, but it was not to be. I think she dropped the ball on this.

• Not enough Luna! Same story with Luna, but at least Harry invited her to a party.

• Ron. A part of me just really doesn't like Ron, but I have to say he's realistically written for a teenage boy. But he's soooooo immature! Hermione deserves better.

• The fact that Ron, Harry and Hermione won't be going back to Hogwarts for their final year! I am just heartbroken over the ending. I don't know how children can bear it.

My big questions for Book 7:

• Will Dumbledore rise from the ashes?
• Is Snape still a deatheater or in cahoots with Dumbledore?
• Will Harry, Ron and Hermione really not go back to Hogwarts?
• Will Voldemort be killed once and for all?
• Who is R.A.B.?
• Will Ron and Hermione get/stay together?
• Will Harry and Ginny get back together?
• What side will Malfoy choose?
• Will Neville play a bigger part?
• Will she leave us hanging at the end or wrap it up nice and neat?
• Who else will die?
  

All in all, this was my 2nd favorite book in the series - Book 3 was my favorite. I loved every second I spent reading the book and don't know how I'm going to wait 2 or more years for Book 7. It will be torture. On the bright side, I did see a movie poster for Book 4 at the cinema the other day. So there's that to look forward to.

-sunday