You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

It may be a little late for this, but I really want to do a formal post on HBP, and I haven't yet. I'm not talking about ships here - that's going on a separate post, because my feelings for this book are, for the most part, not a result of what happened on the romance front. For the record, I don't feel as comfortable talking about books as I do talking about movies, but I'll give this a shot.


I absolutely adored this book, and it's my new favorite of the series, finally knocking Chamber of Secrets out of the top spot. There are a lot of reasons for this, most of them having little or nothing to do with the love stuff. There was a lot going on in this book besides romance, and I found it to be incredibly compelling, making this book the most exciting of the series so far to me.

I'm sure others will disagree with me, but I've never seen Harry Potter as a traditional hero. He's very vulnerable, he's not an exceptional student, he's not even that exceptional a wizard, and I've always seen him as a bit blah about his status. For the first five books, he seemed a rather reluctant hero. He did what he felt he had to do, and that often required doing heroic things, but he never seemed to think of himself as a hero.

Half-Blood Prince marks a change in that regard. This is the first time he has really taken up the mantle of Hero and acknowledged the part he has to play in the confrontation with Voldemort. This was a refreshing change from the screaming, petulant teenager he was in Order of the Phoenix. He's matured a great deal over the summer. He's much calmer, a bit flippant, and - as mrs_bombadil put it - "glib." I loved Harry in this book. I've always loved him, but I felt particularly fond of him in this book. He said what he thought, he trusted his instincts, and he accepted his destiny. He "took up his cross", as it were, and now there's no going back. *fangirls*

I've heard several people complain about Harry never being wrong in this book. I think it's about time he started being right about some things. I love Hermione (yes, it's true), but I think it was important for her to step out of her advisory role a bit and have some things of her own going on. It gave Harry the very necessary opportunity of learning to trust (and not second-guess) himself. It also firmly sets Harry up as the Hero - the capable leader with two devoted lieutenants. More on that later.

An inevitable part of this destiny was a closer acquaintance with the villain. The first rule of war is "Know thine enemy", and Harry spent a good deal of time getting to know Voldemort - what he wants, what he fears, what drives him, etc. I loved all of the background we got on Riddle and his upbringing. There was something sinister and creepy about the 11-year-old Riddle and his reaction to learning that he was a wizard. You can almost see the wheels turning in his mind and the plans forming as he is introduced to the world of magic.

I was a bit curious as to how Rowling would represent the concept of the Wizarding War and the inevitable dangers that existed due to Voldemort's return. Surely, I thought, it wouldn't consist of merely a string of attacks, all of the victims having met their end by way of "Avada Kedavra". I was pleased (for lack of a better word) at JKR's handling of that element. You really get a sense of terror without her having to go into too much detail. Terror is the operative word, of course, because Voldemort and his followers are essentially a wizarding equivalent of Al-Qaeda. This isn't a war in the traditional sense - it's a reign of horror.

However, a book solely about war and the struggles of each side to prevail would hardly be characteristic of a book by J.K. Rowling. There must be laughter to counter the darkness, and Half-Blood Prince has plenty of laughs to spare. It seems as if JKR gets more and more confident with the humorous element as the books go on. They consistently get funnier and funnier, despite the situations being more and more dire. There were lots of laugh-out-loud moments ("Loser's Lurgy" - *DIES*), and I'm always amused at the innuendos and naughty bits that Rowling is able to slip in (rude hand gestures, Harry's "dreams", and "I need to know what Draco Malfoy is doing inside you", among others).

I also noticed, more than ever before, several of what seemed to be nods or "shout-out"s to the fandom. Perhaps they weren't all intentional, but they were hilarious in the context of the online world.

There were several characters whose presence in this book was less than what I was expecting, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. There were a lot of new characters to meet, and the story really had to belong to Harry, Dumbledore, and Snape. Speaking of which ... wow. Best thing about the book, IMO. I had been spoiled about Dumbledore's death, Snape being the HBP, and Snape's part in Dumbledore's death. But, as I've heard others say, I'd like to think I would have guessed those things on my own.

I loved the Draco storyline, and that Draco finally became more than just a 2-dimensional bully. He is truly a force to be reckoned with in this book, and it made Harry all the more endearing to see him up against an adversary who was an actual threat. The scene on the train where he breaks Harry's nose was just ... I shouldn't like it so much, but I do, dangit!

Dumbledore ... whoa. More vulnerable here, obviously, than in any other book. More emotional, and more human. His response to Harry proudly admitting to being his "man, through and through." Not worrying because Harry is with him. *cries* And yet, he was even cooler and had a bigger 'tude than in previous books as well. Loved the line about "accidental rudeness." Loved him saying that he was so much cleverer than Harry.

Snape ... DUDE. Whether he's on Voldemort's side or Dumbledore's side or whoever's side will benefit him the most, he is endlessly interesting and entertaining, and I *LOVE* JKR for writing him. My first and lasting impression of the last time we see him is that he was acting on Dumbledore's orders. I'm prepared to be wrong about that, but I just don't see Dumbledore pleading for his own life. Of course, you supposedly do have to really want to kill in order for the curse to work. But then there's the "DON'T CALL ME A COWARD" thing, and the fact that he doesn't let Harry finish casting an Unforgivable. Gah. He's just so deliciously ambiguous with so many layers. I've always been a Snape fan - though nothing to angua9, of course - but I love him even more after HBP.

The Trio. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them. *sigh* This has always been my favorite thing about the books - the relationship between Harry, Ron and Hermione. And it still is. I loved the fact that, though the three of them were kind of doing their own thing throughout this book, their bond was stronger than ever. I think I cried harder at the last scene - where Ron and Hermione insist they're going with Harry, whatever the cost - than I did over anything to do with Dumbledore's death. I'm saving shippy talk for a separate post, but I do want to say here that the thing that probably infuriates me the most about so many of the H/Hr shippers I've met - especially the ones who are reacting so violently to HBP and JKR's interview - is the underappreciation of the Trio friendship. People have been whining and whining about JKR and how she clearly knows nothing about love and how she ruined the chance to write a great love story [between Harry and Hermione]. I just want to say to them - is the Trio's relationship not good enough for you? People complain that the romance was frivolous and unsatisfying, with no depth and no hope to give the world. What about the last couple of pages? That is as great a declaration of love as I've ever seen. Just because it's not romantic doesn't mean it's inferior. It's the main thing that keeps me coming back to the books, and it was better than ever in HBP. If you can read that and say that JKR knows nothing about love or how to write it, I honestly don't know what to say to you. These books aren't romance novels, but the Trio friendship is (IMO) one of the great literary love stories in print.

Thank you, Jo.