Read the thing - Harry Potter, that is. Howbout you? (May contain spoilers)

[spoiler]This book was a much grimmer read than the previous ones. Harry is just so sour and frustrated through most of it; it’s a bit of a departure from his usual easy-going persona.

I loved it when Professor McGonagall put the verbal smack-down on that Umbridge wench. McGonagall is one of my favorite characters; I was scared to death when she was attacked. If she dies, I’m going to have issues.

I got seriously creeped out when the kids were talking to Sirius’s head in the fireplace, and suddenly Umbridge’s arm appears, reaching and groping and grabbing…brrr. Too bad Sirius couldn’t have transformed into a dog and gnawed her hand off at the wrist.

And it turns out Percy Weasley is a craven little butt-kisser. Surprise, surprise, surprise. I wanted to reach into the book and slap him. On the other hand, I love that Neville’s finally getting his groove on! He’s going to be a force to reckon with in the last couple of books, I think.

And Lucius Malfoy is in prison! happy dance That’s going to chap Draco’s buns.

Did anyone else almost cry at this part:

Or am I just waaayyy too emotional?[/spoiler]

I have a feeling I’m not being entirely coherent here; I worked last night, stayed up all day reading, and now I’m back at work. I’d say it was worth the three year wait, the characters seem much more mature and developed. Especially Snape. I think there’s going to be major changes coming up in his relationship with Harry.

One thing I didn’t like about this book, though, is Draco Malfoy. For the fifth time in a row, he has absolutely no character development whatsoever. In every single book, he just shows up at random with Crabbe and Goyle (who are always with him, even when he goes to the bathroom) and starts hurling random insults at Harry. Other than that, he never does anything!

[spoiler]Maybe I watched the X-Files too much, but I’m with the people who aren’t convinced Sirius is dead. Speaking of which, why the hell didn’t Harry look at what Sirius gave him until the end of the school year!?! Once we were told that Sirius gave Harry two-way mirrors so they could communicate, I would’ve thought Harry would be kicking himself over not knowing about that and trying to use those to track Sirius down when he thought Voldemort had him.

Aside from that, I enjoyed it. Good villain in Umbridge (I was seriously creeped out by the lines), good character development for the most part. I really wanted to slap Harry a few times, but then he’s a 15-year old boy, so that’s not really unexpected :slight_smile: Don’t really have much more to add that hasn’t already been said. [/spoiler]

I totally agree with you JulKatBo

[spoiler]If I’d been the one to receive a package (and not only a package, a ‘secret’ package that had to be hidden from the others… or at least Mrs Weasley), I’d be ripping right into it as soon as I could. The fact that Harry didn’t even think about the package after Sirius gave it to him was a bit of a flaw methinks - it just doesn’t seem like typical behaviour.

Personally, I want Fudge and co to get a good ass whooping from the magical community for ignoring all the Voldemort signs that Dumbledore kept informing them about. And Percy… I want to see Percy GROVEL to his parents. What an absolute twat! [/spoiler]

I dunno, guys. Harry seemed to be slipping towards that Anakin Skywalker from Episodes I and II screechy whininess. I hope it’s just a phase.

And Fudge was such a copout. Voldemort should’ve killed him and then we could get a decent replacement.

One thing more, didn’t Mrs. Norris get killed in Chamber of Secrets? How did whatshisface get a new one?

I’ve been wondering a lot about Percy since I’ve read the book. Will he apologize? Will it be accepted? I know Mrs. Weasley will welcome him back eventually, and probably Mr. Weasley as well, but I think it’ll be very hard for Fred and George to forgive him, and maybe even harder for Ron.

Non-spoiler: Does Mr. Weasley remind anyone else of Dexter’s dad (from Dexter’s Lab)? I keep imagining Dexter’s dad wearing the wizard robes and hat, saying things like “A teliophone? WOW! These Muggles thought of everything!”

OMG! LOL That’s so spot on!

FB

I’d love to see what you all thought of the book, but the spoiler boxes are the worst thing ever. I think we should disable the code.

I agree with those of you saying that Sirius isn’t permanently gone. Some of you mentioned the two-way mirrors. Why would they even be mentioned if they’re never used?

Bought the book yesterday morning. but couldn’t start it because we were out for a motorcycle ride – it was calling to me from the saddlebags all day. Got home at 7 PM and read until midnight. Got up at 6 AM and read on to the end, stopping only for lunch.

So:

[spoiler]Harry’s attitude change: I’m surprised to remember that Rowling doesn’t have a teenage son. She got them pretty much exactly right in this book. A late-teenage boy’s default position is “asshole.” And I say this lovingly, as the mother of a 16 year old. Think about it – they are physically men and yet they are treated as children – no wonder pissed-off is the standard mode.

I loved the glimpse into Harry’s dad’s past – Look! More teenage-boy-assholery! This was great both for the added insight into Harry’s dad (and his mom, and Sirius and Lupin) but, especially, for the added insight into Snape.

The death of Sirius: Well, I was feeling a bit manipulated by all the previous near-misses so it didn’t hit me as hard as it could have. And, frankly, I’m not a huge Sirius fan… Personally, I like Lupin better and would have been more bothered by his dying – not to mention Hagrid or Ron or Hermione or Neville… That said, almost no other death would have bothered Harry more and that is the material thing. If he really is dead. We didn’t see the body, did we?

Neville – I am really loving Neville a lot! He’s a good deal more powerful than he thinks he is and than his Gran gives him credit for. I’m not 100% sure that Neville isn’t still wearing the red shirt – there are 2 more books left, right? – but if he goes down, he’ll be going down in a spectacular and heroic way, I’m sure.

Weasly twins – I also really, really love the twins. What I said before about the teenage-boy-default being “asshole” still stands, but the Weasley twins show why I still love teenage boys so much. I’m absolutely terrified, though, that one or both of them are wearing red shirts…

Female characters in general: Rowling is good at writing females, I think. No stereotyping – her women are all over the map. Professor Umbredge was awful! What a creepy gal. And Mrs. Lestrange also. But I loved Tonks and hope to see a lot more of her. Cho – who cared? Harry liked her for her looks and athletic prowess and once he got to know her he found there wasn’t much else there. This was a good lesson for him to learn at an early age. I loved Ginny, BTW – like Neville, I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more from Ginny.

The two most moving moments: When Dumbledore tells Harry why he wasn’t made prefect, definately. But worse – when Mrs. Weasley fought the Bogart… I guess because I’m a mother, it just broke my heart. And her saying, “I’m so silly. I’m so silly.” when she’s not! Because, as somebody mentioned, last Wizarding war there were lots of casualties and nobody in her whole family is the type to hold back… Some Weasley or other is definately wearing the red shirt. I can only hope it’s Percy. Although I’m sure poor Molly won’t feel that way…[/spoiler]

I have to go and do all the stuff I haven’t gotten done this weekend because I was reading this silly book! I’m sure I’ll think of more stuff later.

Am I the only one who was disappointed by the Harry-Cho romance? I would have liked it if it had been fleshed out a bit more.

This is bizarre. There isn’t anything in this thread but spoiler boxes. What, exactly, is the point? Someone who wants to have a non-spoiler discussion is going to open this thread and get what? It says spoiler in the title!

Rhum I think the point is that people who have read the book fully can discuss there thoughts on it… and the spoiler warning is there for people who came into the thread, who may not have read the book… to read them just double click the box

Anyway, [spoiler] I loved the Weasley twins exit, that was so cool, I didnt like Harry much though, throughout the book, yes I know he had some severe stuff to deal with but I was like oh just stop shouting/arguing…
Was anyone else bothered by the fact that the book has lost its childish factors? It just seems so much darker then the others.
In saying that though i enjoyed it… anyone know when the next ones out?:wink:

And about Miss Norris, she wasnt killed just petrified like all the others, the Mandrake juice revived her like it revived all the others.
[/spoiler]

Oooh. I could’ve sworn Mrs. Norris was killed and it was her blood used to write on the wall. Thanks.

Anyway, I’d say we’re all using spoiler boxes cause we just know people are going to come in anyway. It’s like all those TMI threads that people open up anyway, then post “Ewwwwwwww!”

i haven’t figured out the spoiler box thingy yet… so i will be very vague.

kuroko, i agree with you. i thought perhaps extreme cabin fever, and ptss from prison. not to mention the weird house.

harry’s new attitude i put down to his age and perhaps leakage from “tom.” tom is not a real happy guy, very angry nearly constantly.

when people die and stories are told to keep their memory eternal, 99 % of the stories are going to put the one who passed in a good light. rarely (unless the person was total evil on a hoof) are you going to tell stories (especially to a child) that show their feet of clay.

as the child gets older they find out about the clay feet, and depending on the age, the new information can be quite devestating. hopefully as the child grows into himself, he will realize that being human means you will have good and bad moments and to learn from them, and have a more complete vision of how the loved one really was.

re: the passing of a major character. i was more concerned on how it would impact on harry.

ok, well carry on them! :slight_smile:

To do a Spoiler box…

Do an open square bracket: [
Type in Spoiler
Do a close square bracket: ]

Type in your spoiler.

To close it, open square bracket again: [
Type in : /Spoiler
Close square bracket: ]

Now you try

Rhum Runner, there are some good non-spoiler reviews here:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=192555

Though admittedly, some of the reviews are partial, posted by people who hadn’t got all the way through.

MarliTharn (love the nick! just re-re-re-read Watership Down) I have to disagree on Harry’s attitude.

[spoiler]When Harry was at the playground and was almost hoping for Big D and his friends to pick on him, I seriously got the feeling that Harry was in danger of turning into a Voldemort himself. There are a lot of similarities between them, after all, but throughout the book Harry’s temper and response to pressure made me wonder what kind of person he’s likely to become.

Then came “Snape’s Worst Memory,” and it made Snape a much more sympathetic character, because it showed what happens to a person who is tormented as a youth. It showed the kind of person Harry might have been, once.

Of course, that fits with the whole teenage breaking-away-from-authority theme, where Harry realizes he doesn’t have to be like his father. It sort of strips away the hero worship many sons have and makes him try to be his own person.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Surprised nobody’s mentioned Harry’s D.A. classes yet. I found that a very pleasant part of the book, to finally be forcibly shown just how far ahead of his peers Harry is in that regard.

I’ve often thought that Harry will become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, after his school career; who better?[/spoiler]

FISH

GMRyujin I know how to do it, I have also read the whole book. I just think it is silly to have a thread wherein the title indicates spoilers, and there is a long list of black boxes, and you have to hi-lite them all to see what people are trying to say. The point, I thought, of the spoiler box was so you could throw in a spoiler in a thread not devoted to spoilers so people could decide if they want to read them. A whole thread of spoiler boxes seems to be missing the forest for the trees to me. I posted my thoughts on the book in another thread, sans spoiler tag because the thread title made clear, SPOILERS HERE. So, I guess my interest in this thread is more out of curiosity at the posting protocal than in Harry Potter per se, but to each his own!