Harry was born in 1980, so book 7 is set in 1997.
I give the book a B+, but mostly for pacing – she does keep it going.
Reasons why I didn’t give it an A (all my personal opinion, of course):
–The ethnic cleansing angle was not only heavy-handed (esp. with the last great evil wizard being defeated in 1945) but as soon as it came up, essentially all the other prejudice against non-wizard beings took a back seat.
–In fact, the following items, which seemed set up for importance, never came to fuition:
LOL! You’re quite right, an Invisibility Cloak would be kind of a bitch to lose track of! I had been thinking that I would choose the Cloak of the three Hallows, but you’ve made me think again, given that I have never owned any personal item without eventually losing it within 10 years. Such as my college class ring, I wore it every day on my finger for 8 years, then took it off for my wedding as my wife-to-be insisted I not go down the aisle with “another” ring on, even on a different hand. That was it, I put it in a drawer or shelf or something somewhere, and never saw it again.
Oh no, honey, it’s okay. 
Though A) it would be a bit like naming a kid after Winston Churchill, and B) wizards seem to go in for a lot of wacky names. Nymphadora. Bellatrix. Draco.
Do I have a dirty mind, or did Rowling sneak a couple of double entendres in this book? The first is ambiguous:
Is Ron saying what I think he’s saying?
The second is far more obvious, and comes from Hermione, of all people:
:eek: Hermione!
(didn’t realize the edit window can expire!)
give the book a B+, but mostly for pacing – she does keep it going.
Reasons why I didn’t give it an A (all my personal opinion, of course):
–The ethnic cleansing angle was not only heavy-handed (esp. with the last great evil wizard being defeated in 1945) but as soon as it came up, essentially all the other prejudice against non-wizard beings took a back seat.
–In fact, the following items, which seemed set up for importance, never came to fuition:
international cooperation
the visit to the giants
the fortune-telling instructor
magical creature rights in general
all of Hagrid’s animals – I thought the dragon, at least, would come to help
–I agree, the overhearing of the goblins was way too convenient
–Hermione sure recovered from torture very fast
–in fact, I don’t believe that wizard parents would approve of outright torture of their children at Hogwarts
–I think the exposition fairy stuff could have been laid in more gradually through the last couple of books
–Given all the stuff house elves could do, I don’t just see why Harry didn’t just use them a lot more
–They recognize easily the voices on the radio, but the death-eaters couldn’t?
I wish:
–Instead of Victorine (after Victor Krum???) it had been Fredericka
–that Fred hadn’t died, nor both Lupin and Tonks
I didn’t quite get:
–the hand strangling wormtail
–a one-year-old on a toy broom
I did get that the weird thing under the bench was like Voldemort before he came back in Book 4.
I didn’t care for the human-type cursing, damn and bitch, etc. – it just seemed out of place, and I don’t remember any in the previous books.
My sentimental moment: thinking of the 4 friends, James, Remus, Sirius and Peter, and how they are all gone now. That happy smiling picture, and their strange fates.
It’s a good book when things like the above are almost quibbles instead of major disappoints. Thank you, Ms. Rowling!
There were many moments in the book that made me gasp or made my eyes tear, but this-
"Albus Severus, "…“you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”
-made the tears fall.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Snape. I worried at the end of HBP, but held to the hope that my favorite would somehow redeem himself.
Also-
I said I thought as much would happen in the predictions thread. Having one twin die is just too tragic to pass up.
Most of what I would say has been covered already (and better than I could), but a few ramblings anyway:[ul]
[li]A subtle — at least to me, but I’m kinda dense — plot point which pleased me was that the Dark Lord’s penchant for instilling fear in his followers as well as his opppnents contributed to his downfall. At least twice (at Xenophilius Lovegood’s, and when Greyback et al. scoop up our heroes when Harry breaks the Taboo), the Death Eaters hesitate to summon Voldemort for fear of making a mistake, and thus provide a window of opportunity for an escape. Offing everyone who displeases you has a tendency to backfire in the end.[/li][li]Speaking of Greyback, my candidate for creepiest line in the book: “Delicious girl . . . What a treat . . . I do enjoy the softness of the skin. . . .” Sounded like he planned to make several meals of Hermione before letting her die. [/li][li]As several people have said, Molly Weasley kicks major ass. One thing I liked was that something which teetered on becoming a running joke (her overprotectiveness) made her heroic.* [/li][li]Agree with most comments about the epilogue — she should have fleshed it out more of abandoned it altogether. I particularly disliked the last three words: not only were they weak, but they implied that evil had been vanquished forever, whereas wise men from Gandalf to Dumbledore have stressed that you cannot defeat evil, just disable it for a while. I would have preferred an ending which left us with the understanding that whatever trials&tribulations were to come would be the responsibility of the next generation.[/li][li]About Ron learning to drive: does this indicate an ever-so-gradual convergence of the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, or is it just a further sign of instability in the Weasley line?[/li][/ul]*Yes, I know that mothers (and fathers) will frequently do extraordinary things when their children are imperiled; still, I think it a nice touch on JKR’s part.
Harry was born 7/31/1980. In the beginning ofbook 7, he’s turning 17 within a few days. So book 7 opens in July 1997, with Blair as Muggle PM.
re: ottodafe post.
depends on who became the next minister of magic (i’m betting kingsley) and no doubt the main 4 needed to get away from everyone. no doubt they had people visiting all the time
then they would decide to raise the kids a bit away from the wizard world to keep their feet on the ground.
it is worse being the child of the big hero than the big hero.
i think the last chapter would have been fun as wizard cards. give us a bit of an idea of how they ended up professionally. she could have kept what she wrote, “19 years later”, then have wizard cards for several pages after it.
And now I feel mischievously gleeful that someone, somewhere, is probably naming a child Nymphadora.
It’s a *pretty *name!
Rysto, I agree with you about the double entendres. I also cackled with glee when Molly killed Bellatrix.
Why the hell would someone be proud of that? It’s like bolting a full Thanksgiving dinner in three minutes.
This is something to be savored, enjoyed, wallowed in, going back and rereading favorite passages. I wish I could have drawn it out, but I was afraid of stumbling into spoilers after the weekend and my kids were eagerly waiting for me to finish. I’m certainly not going to try to speed read it. This is the last one…why would you want to get it over with as soon as possible? 
Moving on…
I liked how you didn’t need a password to get into the Ravenclaw common room, you needed to answer a riddle. I wonder what the trick was to get into Slytherin or Hufflepuff?
Don’t forget Scorpius (Malfoy), who goes on to serve the Scarans in the Farscape Universe. 
Slytherin has a password, remember? In CoS it was “Mudblood”.
I reread books 4-6 to get ready for 7…maybe I need to start at the very beginning again.
I don’t know who used magic late in life–is that in the dedication? (my book is being read by someone else now).
I also wish it had been Percy who died. I wonder if George carried on with the joke shop (perhaps taking Ron on as partner?)
The sword/hat thing makes sense and since it’s Neville, I’ll let it go.
Re the kids being mistreated or tortured at Hogwarts and the parents doing nothing: attendance at Hogwarts was compulsory and any attention drawn to your family was likely to end badly for your family. Also, I’ll bet the kids didn’t tell their parents about much of it. (I base this on real life where the parents are often the last to know their kid is being bullied).
I found the 7 Harrys to be brilliant. I think the Order was quite limited in what they could do, given that they were either hunted by the Ministry or under grave suspicion. The Deatheaters had grown in power and scope.
Kreacher’s turnaround was a bit too pat, but what the hell. Dobby’s death was quite moving-I think Harry grieved a lot of people while paying his respects to Dobby.
I found I liked Fleur less this book than last one. I also wanted Umbridge to be killed-perhaps by one of Aragog’s tribe.
I am also wondering how much they’re going to cut out of this movie. <sigh>
Got it at noon, finished by 2:30. When it came in the mail, I snatched it from my dad’s hands (he doesn’t read them), and immediately ran to my room to read the entire thing.
I loved it when Harry summoned his glasses at home…and they poked him in the eye. Also, Dudley acting like a real person and escaping from the influence of his parents was great; even a gormless twit can change his colors and admit his admiration for someone his parents dislike.
Snape’s ending was a bit over the top, but I still liked it. It was information that Snape realized Harry needed, and perhaps even deserved. “This is why I did what I did. It was for love of your mother and devotion to Albus Dumbledore.”
I loved Neville’s sword bit, and the whole radio show. “‘Rodent’? I said I wanted ‘Rapier’! Okay, fine, ‘Rapier’.”
Ron: I care about the house-elves! Hermione: OMGSnog!! Harry: Guys, can this wait? Kind of in the middle of a war here? R&H: Well, then, all the more important to snog! Harry: GUYS! Cool it for a sec, willya!
I liked the epilogue, but it would have been nice to find out what Harry, Ron, and Hermione, not to mention Ginny, actually do now. Also, echoing OttoDaFe, isn’t there still evil in the world somewhere?
I have to disagree with some of you guys, Harry saving Draco&co was vital. He saves everyone, it’s the way he is. Also, without Draco alive, I’m betting his mom would have told Voldy that Harry was alive still, which might have changed the war just a tad.
The ‘you were willing to die, so you don’t have to, and also your sacrifice protects everyone’ was more than a little excessive, but it was still entertaining.
I totally feel like one of those dorks neutron star is pitting…I feel downright grumpy and melancholy it’s all over. Sad as it may sound, I got into these books when I first started lawschool and they really helped get me through. Total escapism.
Books in general, but I always had an HP debut to look forward to…I go watch the movies but they don’t compare since they tend to be heavily edited.
Ah well. I hope she writes another series of something. I think she’s going to go down in history as our era’s Dickens.
I enjoyed the book, although I’m really sick about Fred. I have two little boys and I’ve been calling them Fred and George for years. That won’t be funny anymore.
I’m content with Snape’s ending. I wouldn’t have been if the epilogue hadn’t shown Harry speaking to Snape’s namesake about him.
At first I thought she should have shown Draco doing something to help during the final battle, but after sleeping on it I decided that I like the way it ended ambiguously for him.
I don’t remember the reference to someone who used magic late in life - and my book is being read by someone else right now too.