Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this last super exciting installation of the Harry Potter series. There are some powerfully courageous parts, wonderfully romantic parts, and devastatingly sad parts in this book.

I was perpetually counting the Horcruxes though, trying to remember what had or hadn't been destroyed. At the time, I was also a little confused by the subplot of the Deathly Hallows (though ultimately it makes sense). And slight spoiler (but it's been over a decade since publication): I was also confused by the fact that technically there wasn't a Gryffindor Horcrux and there were technically 2-3 Slytherin Horcruxes. I also thought Harry Potter jumped to some crazy conclusions sometimes, some that weren't even necessary to further the plot. This last one could have been slightly edited down and the plot could have proceeded a little bit more logically. None of that matters.

I loved it. I loved it just as much on a reread.

P.S. It might be my favorite of the 7 books. Here's my 7 books ranking: 7, 5, 4, 1, 3, 6, 2.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's hard to believe that Harry is so clever about so many things, and he is not at all clever about the title of this book. Sigh.

Why does Dumbledore not have his own Marauder’s Map? Why does Harry tell adults everything he sees but not mention the disappearances?

This one is also more upsetting to read after having experienced the illness of a loved one than it was the first time I read it. In general, it's not a super fun one to re-read.

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (#5) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am rereading in 2018 and holy cow Rowling saw the future when she wrote this. I know that’s because she wrote it about the past, but even so, so much in this one relates to modern politics and resulting personal interactions. This one in the series is particularly enjoyable because it’s about the resistance and the resistance leaders and headquarters.

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (#4) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the one with both the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament. Mad-Eye Moody might be my favorite Hogwarts professor ever even if I also feel like I don't actually know him.

The second challenge in the Triwizard Tournament makes me cry. I'm a total sap!

Goblet of Fire is like 2016. It's when things get dark. When all the (anti-muggle and mudblood) racism comes back out of the shadows, and innocent people pay the price. I'm glad that Rowling has prepared a generation for this.

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(#3) This one is much better than the second one. It has a lot of moving parts and interesting and developed new characters. I recently reread this and seeing Snape's intentions in the correct light is really interesting.

Favorite parts: discussions about Hogsmeade, Lupin, Scabbers, Sirius Black, Hermoine's school schedule, the introduction of Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang, the Hippogryph, and of course the map!

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(#2) This is the one where Harry torments the Dudleys all summer- fun! We meet Dobby! Everyone drives an illegal flying car! Professor Lockhart is super annoying. The Chamber... I forget the chamber.

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (#1) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In my heart, this will always be the best one. Everyone was already talking about this series when I first read the first book in 2001. I was 22, and I was really dubious about reading a children's book at first, but a few pages in, I was cheering for the boy under the stairs. The whole book was so aggressively charming and magical. I wish I'd had the pleasure of reading it as a kid when the wall between pretend and reality isn't so clear.

This is the book where we meet: Harry Potter- the loyal outsider!, Ron Weasley- the courageous poor kid!, Hermione Granger- the smartest in the class! We also meet Albus Dumbledore!, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Severus Snape!, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom!, and Ron's siblings: Ginny, Fred, George, and Percy. In other words, we meet all our best friends at Hogwarts.

We also meet the less inspiring: Petunia Dursley, Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley, groundskeeper Filius Flitwick, Draco Malfoy, Professor Quirinus Quirrell, Professor Pomona Sprout.

And of course, we hear about Lord Voldemort, Lily Potter, and James Potter.

Don't forget to get your wand from Ollivander's! The invisibility cloak is the best ever!

Some potential spoilers up next. (Is there anyone who hasn't read this yet?) I don't know who won at Quidditch. Gryffindor wins 2 of its 3 matches, and we never hear who wins Slytherin-Hufflepuff, Slytherin-Ravenclaw, or Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff. What's to stop these games from being 3-way ties with 3 the teams winning 2 of their 3 games? Or even two-way ties with 2 teams winning 2 games, with no championship game?

The Sorcerer's Stone (or the Philosopher's Stone in the British version I own) lets you live forever. Now that I'm an old-hearted adult, that sounds like a terrible curse to me. Also, in my opinion, the mirror in the story is way more memorable than the stone. The mirror lets you see your heart's desire!

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