Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince

I just finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the 6th book in the Harry Potter Series, by JK Rowling.  We have one copy, my oldest daughter ordered it ahead of time and it arrived the morning of the release.  She read it quickly, and currently Zack and I are sharing it.  We keep trading off, and this moring we had a brief time when i convinced him that since we were on the same page, we should read together for a bit... so we sat on the big chair and read... my long lanky teenage son and me...just like old times...except he wasn't really snuggling and we were both reading silently... he commented once or twice that it felt kinda silly...i imagine that his remarks were provoked my my beaming face, as it has been a while since we have read together, but the lure of Harry Potter outweighed his momentary awkwardness.

We sat there for the better part of an hour, until his stomach began to rumble loudly... i tried to read a bit slower, so not to embarrass him or put undue pressure on him to read faster, but once he got up to eat breakfast, i raced through the chapters, consuming as much of the story as i could before he returned, flashed his charming smile and asked if he could read the book now...please ;D

so the day unfolded with us trading the book back and forth, as i secretly hoped that his friends would call and ask him to go to the pool, i mean how could i not give him the book, when i am always on him to read more... and here he is wanting to read, so i couldn't really say no and keep reading it myself... though i did put him off a few times...

True confession...i was thrilled when his buddies called and asked him to go out for the evening... and i had the book all to myself... i holed up in the sunroom and devoured the rest of the book.   JK Rowling does not disappoint in this book.  The ending is unexpected, hard and sad.  i will not say alot, so as not to ruin it for those who are mid book...

I know that there is a lot of contorvery surrounding these books and that the conservative evangelial community have condemned them as promoting the occult.  This is simply not true.  Wizardry and magic are only part of the story, not unlike The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien or The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis.  Like these classic stories, the Harry Potter series is a tale of good and evil, of the ultimate power of love over all that is dark, evil, and destructive, the importance of friendship, bravery, lack of prejudice...all good and godly lessons.  So, I have to disagree with those who condemn these books.  The themes of loyalty, integrity, and love are the greatest forces in battle aganst evil, are thems of the Christian faith.

Once you read it, email me and we can chat about it... it is just so hard to hold it in and yet i don't want to give anything away... like who the half blood prince is... (my guess was wrong), what Malfoy is really up to, the true nature of Snape, and if Harry gets the girl?  ;D

Otherwise, if you are reading it, let me know where you are in the book inthe comments below and what you think so far....

Comments

[Sarah]

I loved the book. I love how it sucks you in and you can't put it down - you are a good woman for sharing it. I also was amazed at the ending and am left wondering how she will finish it in only one book . . .

I also think parents who are banning the book are missing something. These books highlight our responsibility to work for good in a world that doesn't always support us. It deals with evil in a complex and realistic way that I think is helpful for those of us in the liberal frame of mind who have a hard time knowing what to do with evil.

[anj]

Foreseeing exactly the situation that you are discussing, times the four readers in our house, I splurged and ordered the book on CD, as well as the book. The book stayed in my car trunk until we were through listening to the book on CD. Last week, in the midst of the heat, we holed up in our living room and listened to the book being read by Jim Dale.It reminded me of when the boys were little and we would have special nights, light some candles, and I would read the book of choice until I could read no more. Anyway, I loved the book and the four days of rest as we listened to the story continue to unfold. I have tried to rework the ending in my mind to take away the evil, and can't. Can't. Can't. That frusturates me more than I like to admit. Well worth reading....

[susie]

a CD, what a terrific idea! then we could all listen together. we used to have read-alouds too, not only at home, but it was a great way to pass time on long car trips before portale electronics:(

i had harry potter dreams last night and i cannot re-work the ending either... though kate and i tried to imagine that it is a ruse, a ploy that will be revealed in book seven...(however we thought/hoped the same about Sirius and were wrong:(

[themerryrose]

Susie, good to hear that you all seemed to want to read it. No one else in my family gets why I love to read these books. But there are all about the important things in life included in the books. Your right, the ending was sad, but that happens in life too. I can not wait for the last one! Bring it on!!

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