Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
by J. K. Rowling
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Book Summary Information
Author: J. K. RowlingBrand: Scholastic
Illustrator: Mary GrandPré
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-07-16
ISBN: 0439784549
Number of pages: 672
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Product features:
- first Edition
- hardback
- collectible
- book 6
- Harry Potter
Book Reviews of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
Book Review: The magic grows darker...
Summary: 5 Stars
At the end of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", J. K. Rowling left so many plot threads dangling that there was endless speculation about the next book. Who would be Voldemort's next victim? Would Harry get back together with Cho Chang or were they history? What about Ron and Hermione? Suspense enough to sustain interest at a fever pitch up to publication of the next book. Now that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has finally been released to hype unseen in this reviewer's memory, we've found out that Rowling has not only tied up a lot of the dangling threads in OOP, but lets the reader know exactly where she's taking us in the final book, which may or may not be Harry's seventh year at Hogwarts.
HPB opens on an unusually chill summer day which reflects the chill that has crept upon England's usually green and pleasant land. People are disappearing, presumed murdered. Unlikely "hurricanes" have taken a toll on the landscape. And one cold night in July, after Harry has been only two weeks back with the Dursleys, Albus Dumbledore, Hogwart's Headmaster, appears on the Dursley's doorstep to spirit Harry away to The Burrow to spend the rest of the summer with the Weasley family. Dumbledore isn't at all happy with the way the Dursleys have treated Harry all these years and he lets them know it in no uncertain terms. Just one more summer, he tells them, and Harry's out of there for good. It's hard to say who's more delighted by this news, Harry or the Dursleys.
The chill over Muggledom is also evident in the wizarding world, even in the Weasleys' own home. Mrs. Weasley jumps at every strange noise in the night. The Weasleys' clock, with its nine hands representing family members indicating their location, always seem to be pointing at "mortal peril". And there have been changes in Diagon Alley as well. Florian Fortescue's ice cream parlor is boarded up because Fortescue has disappeared, along with old Ollivander the wand-maker. But the Weasley twins' joke shop is doing a booming business and the twins are raking in the Galleons by the bucketful. They even have their eye on expanding into Hogsmeade, right outside Hogwarts. And there's a new Minister of Magic as well; the bumbling Cornelius Fudge has been sacked. But the new Minister isn't much of an improvement; he's arresting innocent wizards right and left and throwing them into Azkaban prison, just for the sake of appearing to be making headway against Voldemort's followers. He also wants Harry to liaise with the ministry, but Harry isn't having it; he remembers all too well how the Ministry tried to slander him the year before and he isn't about to become their poster boy. He tells the Minister to his face to stuff it.
Back at Hogwarts, there's a new staff member in the person of Professor Slughorn, a former Head of Slytherin House who has spent the past year in retirement and on the run from Voldemort who wants to recruit him into the infernal ranks of the Death Eaters. To everyone's shock, it's announced that Slughorn will be the new Potions master, replacing Snape, who has finally landed the plum job he's always coveted, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Is this Dumbledore's way of rewarding Snape for his loyalty over the past few years? Harry doesn't trust Snape around a glass corner and doesn't think he deserves it. But wait up -- the DADA appointment could be a very left-handed gift since no DADA professor has managed to keep the job for more than a year. Is this a set-up or what?
Besides being immersed in classes, Harry is also meeting privately with Dumbledore, who tells him the entire history of Voldemort, his birth to a mother who is one of the last direct descendents of Salazar Slytherin now living in abject filth and poverty, and the handsome young local aristocrat who falls victim to her love potion; fatally, his mother, wanting his father to love her for herself alone, stopped giving him the potion and once his eyes and head cleared, he abandoned not only her but their unborn child as well. Recruited into Hogwarts by Dumbledore himself, honing his skills in magic and the dark arts, and feeding his propensities for cruelty, power and domination, Voldemort graduates from Hogwarts to seek revenge on the father who abandoned him by killing not only him but his paternal grandparents as well. And from there he becomes the Dark Lord, gathering adherents who are too fascinated or too terrified to resist his powers; among them, the Malfoy clan.
Dumbledore tells Harry they must find the location of four of Voldemort's Horcruxes, objects that have been infused with the soul of their possessor. Voldemort is so evil and so obsessed with gaining immortality that he has split his soul into seven pieces, transferring six of them to six different objects and retaining the seventh piece inside his own body. Two of the Horcruxes have already been destroyed: one by Harry in the second book (Tom Riddle's diary), and another by Dumbledore, a black stone ring. Once they find and destroy the other four Horcruxes, they will be able to deal with Voldemort. But all kinds of things transpire in between.
Harry is not only up to his ears in classes, he's also been named Quidditch captain for Gryffindor House, and he's fighting off hordes of girls who are fascinated by his hero status. The kids are growing up and flirtation and romance take up a significant part of this book. We always knew Ron and Hermione would finally become an item, but Hermione has to spend the better part of the year feeling jealous and shunted aside while Ron detours with a possessive airhead named Lavender Brown who has an infuriating habit of calling him "Won-Won" while sending him an outsize gold chain for Christmas that says "My Sweetheart". The more Ron tries to dump her, the tighter she holds on (going out with her is like dating the Giant Squid, he muses to Harry). There's a delightful interlude when Ron falls head over heels in love with one of Harry's groupies after drinking a love potion meant for Harry, with hilarious results. And almost too late, Harry finally wakes up to the fact that Ron's little sister Ginny has become a very desirable young lady, but not before Ginny has become entangled with Dean Thomas. Things get sorted out, and Harry and Ginny have a precious few weeks together until the darkness engulfs all of them and everything comes crashing down.
It's Harry and Dumbledore's quest for the Horcruxes that triggers the tragedy that marks the last few chapters of the book. We know somebody very close to Harry is going to get killed but it's like a kick in the stomach when it actually happens. There's no safe place in the world for Harry any more, not even at Hogwarts. And there's no parent or parent figure to protect him any longer. He'll have to face Voldemort on his own. And he won't endanger Ginny by continuing a relationship with her; Voldemort gets to his enemies through the people they love best. He's completely alone. Well, maybe not completely; Ron and Hermione tell him they'll be with him no matter what happens. Maybe that's one of Harry's advantages over Voldemort; whereas Voldemort only has followers, Harry has friends.
Harry has not only grown older, he's a lot more mature in this book. In OOP he was a querulous fifteen-year-old, touchy and irritable, resenting the bad hand life has dealt him; he didn't ask to be any hero and he didn't ask to have a homicidal wizard on his case. But in HBP he's moved through resentment to resignation to acceptance, and finally to readiness to accept his destiny. He's grown from boyhood to manhood and he's ready to shoulder a man's responsibility. He's going to find and destroy the Horcruxes and Voldemort as well. And anybody who gets in his way, as he intimates about the Half-Blood Prince, better watch out.
Just has Harry has gone through some significant character development, so has his opposite number, Draco Malfoy. We don't see much of Draco in HBP; he's disappearing from the scene for nefarious reasons of his own. At the start of the year he brags to his cohorts that he's moving on to bigger and better things; who needs Hogwarts any more? But Draco has bitten off considerably more than he can chew in selling his soul to Voldemort; we almost feel sorry for this scared kid who realizes with growing terror that he is in Voldemort's thrall for the rest of his life, immersed in evil he can't control, and that refusing or inability to do Voldemort's bidding will cost his parents their lives. And as we see Harry and Draco developing in different ways, we also see Dumbledore growing older and weaker, fatally undone by his own sense of goodness and decency and his misplaced trust in his nemesis, the Half-Blood Prince.
So who is the Half-Blood Prince? Suffice to say it's someone with Voldemort's own background, hating and hiding his Muggle blood, biding his time for the ultimate act of betrayal. At the book's end, he's on the run, along with Draco Malfoy. But we have a feeling the Half-Blood Prince may be living on borrowed time; he'll get what's coming to him in Book 7.
Unlike the end of OOP, where speculation about where the series was going abounded, by the end of HBP we pretty much know what's in store in Book 7. Harry, possibly with the help of Ron and Hermione, will go on a quest for the Horcruxes, and once they are destroyed, it will be a fight to the finish between Harry and Voldemort. Neither can live, we've been told, while the other survives. We can't know yet which will survive, or if Harry will realize his dream of becoming an Auror, or if he will finally settle down to find happiness with Ginny. All we know is that J. K. Rowling will wrap up one of the most fascinating and successful adventure series ever written.
Summary of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
As the Harry Potter sequence draws to a close, Harry's most dangerous adventure yet is just beginning . . . and it starts July 16, 2005.
We could tell you, but then we'd have to Obliviate your memory.
We could tell you, but then we'd have to Obliviate your memory.
The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, arguably over-hyped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived, and the question on the minds of kids, adults, fans, and skeptics alike is, "Is it worth the hype?" The answer, luckily, is simple: yep. A magnificent spectacle more than worth the price of admission, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will blow you away. However, given that so much has gone into protecting the secrets of the book (including armored trucks and injunctions), don't expect any spoilers in this review. It's much more fun not knowing what's coming--and in the case of Rowling's delicious sixth book, you don't want to know. Just sit tight, despite the earth-shattering revelations that will have your head in your hands as you hope the words will rearrange themselves into a different story. But take one warning to heart: do not open Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until you have first found a secluded spot, safe from curious eyes, where you can tuck in for a good long read. Because once you start, you won't stop until you reach the very last page.
A darker book than any in the series thus far with a level of sophistication belying its genre, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moves the series into murkier waters and marks the arrival of Rowling onto the adult literary scene. While she has long been praised for her cleverness and wit, the strength of Book 6 lies in her subtle development of key characters, as well as her carefully nuanced depiction of a community at war. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, no one and nothing is safe, including preconceived notions of good and evil and of right and wrong. With each book in her increasingly remarkable series, fans have nervously watched J.K. Rowling raise the stakes; gone are the simple delights of butterbeer and enchanted candy, and days when the worst ailment could be cured by a bite of chocolate. A series that began as a colorful lark full of magic and discovery has become a dark and deadly war zone. But this should not come as a shock to loyal readers. Rowling readied fans with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by killing off popular characters and engaging the young students in battle. Still, there is an unexpected bleakness from the start of Book 6 that casts a mean shadow over Quidditch games, silly flirtations, and mountains of homework. Ready or not, the tremendous ending of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will leave stunned fans wondering what great and terrible events await in Book 7 if this sinister darkness is meant to light the way. --Daphne Durham
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Begin at the Beginning
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Hardcover Paperback | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Hardcover Paperback | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Hardcover Paperback | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Hardcover Paperback | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Hardcover Paperback |
Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
| | * Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him. * When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists. * Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards. * Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat. |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
| | * The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius. * Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother. * The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms. |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
| | * Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'. * Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book. * Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children. * The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom. * Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape. |
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
| | * Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them. * Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it. * Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge. * Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses. |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
| | * Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming. * Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone. * Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager. * Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape. * Dumbledore's confession to Harry. |
Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling
"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I?m sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling
Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.
Did You Know?
 | The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child. |  | Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author. |  | Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer. |
A Few Words from Mary GrandPré 
"When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.
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