Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Four Stars)

Children's fiction
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
J.K. Rowling
Raincoast Books
©2005
ISBN 1-55192-756-x
607 pages
$41.00

"It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys’ house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can’t quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursleys’ of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks’ time? Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of Muggle and magic start to intertwine…

"J.K. Rowling charts Harry Potter’s latest adventures in his sixth year at Hogwarts with consummate skill and in breathtaking fashion."

So the world knows of the existence of Lord Voldemort and Harry may expect his life to get a little easier. Especially as he is getting private lessons from Professor Dumbledore. Yet to his dismay, Professor Snape is finally handed the Defense Against the Dark Arts position he had been vying for every single year. A new Potions teacher, Professor Slughorn, is an intriguing character who holds the key to Voldemort’s downfall.

As Harry and Dumbledore search for hidden objects that contain bits of Voldemort’s soul, tensions between magic and muggle escalate, and battle lines are drawn even within Hogwarts itself. The greatest mystery of all? Who is the Half Blood Prince?

Rowling once again proves her mastery over the world she has created, and her narrative style brought me to both tears and laughter.