Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author: J.K. Rowling
Published Date: July 21, 2007
Letter Grade: Good Question.

Oh, all right. So I was a teensy bit off the mark. Some of you may recall this review from back in February, where I most vehemently argued against some of the speculations put out by MuggleNet.com.

Well. All right. So I was wrong. On most counts. I still dislike the chapter on Dumbledore, for the record.

Speaking of Alby, I have to say that I got the sneaking suspicion the entire time I read the book that JKR was having a bit of fun with we the readers. For instance, each and everytime someone pointed out that, yes, "Dumbledore is dead," I half expected it to be followed by "Despite what the folks at dumbledoreisnotdead.com say..."

Anyway. I really don't think I need to give a synopsis for this one. And if I do, you're probably not that interested in it, anyway.

So. My feelings about the book. Aside from being thwarted in my views at the very end, that is. (*spoiler warning!*I can take some comfort in the fact, though, that I was starting to waver ever so slightly in the Snape- good or evil? issue. You can imagine how frustrating that was.)

Basically, I loved the book. I hated putting it down. Absolutely abhorred it. Because, much to my annoyance, it kept me up at night when I most needed to sleep.

Strangely enough, I didn't cry at all in this book. I've cried in three out of the seven: Chamber of Secrets (when I thought Ginny was going to die,) Order of the Phoenix (at Sirius' death, of course), and Half-Blood Prince (at the long questioned death of Albus Dumbledore.)

Considering some of my most loved characters died in this book, as happened in the three mentioned above (or at least nearly died,) I'm a little surprised. I'm especially surprised at the characters whose deaths most affected me. That one I wasn't expecting. Though, it did take me a bit to realize why the character particularly wished for Harry to look at them at that moment. It seemed a tad out of character till... well, till I read the next chapter and thought it through.

I hate writing so as not to spoil. Considering how paranoid I was about having this book spoiled for me, you'd think I'd be especially sensitive to that.

I was a little disappointed with Wormtail, though. Not that this is surprising, mind you. There's little about Wormtail as a character that isn't disappointing/hateful/etc. I expected more. Maybe too much, considering the character, and considering Voldemort, but still.

I will say this though: Speculation is fun, but sometimes it's just ridiculous. The symbol on the spine of one of the UK editions of the book (I forget if it's the children's or adult) led to tons and tons of speculation by the hosts of MuggleCast. In the end, it was nothing anyone could figure out without having read the book. Imagine, all that energy spent on deciphering a tiny little symbol, only to have the entire endeavor be a waste of brain power.

And, all right, I'm still smarting a little from the rest that they were dead on about, but I found out about the symbol before anything else.

At any rate, I really don't know how to grade this book. It was unquestionably fantastic. It kept me up at night. I'm itching to reread it, though I know I won't. I only reread HBP and OOTP this past semester because I knew Deathly Hallows was coming. Aside from the first couple chapters of Sorcerer's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban, I haven't reread anything else.

I am still, however, immensely curious about the things I could have sworn we were supposed to hear about in this final book:

-The Ford Anglia (though I did love the mention of the motorbike)
-Someone using magic late in life (eh?)
-The Department of Mysteries (while somewhat mentioned, only in passing.)

All so terribly interesting and yet I must be left in suspense. JKR has a way of doing that.

Twilight, New Moon

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Published Date(s): September 2006 (T/paperback, NM/hardcover)
Letter Grade: A+

The varying reports on vampires as I've seen in fiction:

Amanda Ashley (Deeper than the Night, A Darker Dream, A Whisper of Eternity, etc.)

How to become one: Aside from descriptions of various myths (my personal favorite: being the seventh son of a seventh son,) the generally accepted method is another vampire has to drink a person's blood nearly to the point of death, and then "feed," if you will, it back to them.
Reversable?: Almost always no.
How?: Complicated (i.e. can't remember that well, it only successfully occurred once) but the general jist of it is that it requires another vampire who happens to be willing to help, and who can be trusted not to leave them out in the sun to burn up.
Sun Burns?: Yes
State of Soul: Probably gone.

Teresa Medeiros (After Midnight, The Vampire Who Loved Me)

How to become one: A vampire again has to drink the person's blood, and then at the last moment suck out their soul.
Reversable?: Yes
How?: They have to find the vampire who created them, or if that vampire is dead, the vampire who created them, and so on, and then kill them and take their soul back. It helps if you don't particularly care for them. And if you're brother doesn't kill the one who made you in an attempt to save the woman he loves. Very tricky.
Sun Burns?: Yes
State of Soul: Currently dwelling in someone else. You may, though, have someone else's.

Stephenie Meyer (Twilight, New Moon)
How to become one: A vampire just has to bite you. Apparently vampire fangs are venomous. Assuming they don't lose control and kill you, it takes three days for the venom to spread, eventually reaches the heart, and the heart stops.
Reversable?: No.
Sun Burns?: No, but it does give you a certain... quality that is best not seen by mortal eyes.
State of Soul: Depends on who you ask.

And then you get things like Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, which doesn't deserve mentioning here. All in all, anyone who wanted to start their own book or series on vampires based on what anyone else has already come up with as "general rules" would be sorely confused.

So. I finally gave in and read these books after much pestering, and I finished the combined 1000+ pages in a record two and a half days.

The general synopsis, for those who have not yet given in: Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington, probably the rainiest place in the pacific northwest, to live with her father after her mother remarries to a mediocre strictly-minor-league baseball player. On her first day, she encounters Edward Cullen and his "siblings," who happen to be vampires. The usual avoidance, non-avoidance, avoidance again bit that I'm now well familiar with ensues, with all the mumbling about how everyone smells. It's especially amusing, though, when you throw in the werewolves in New Moon.

Anyway, what you should gather from that ill-phrased paragraph is that Edward, despite all his misgivings and warnings that every vampire hero comes equipped with, is especially drawn to Bella and romance and danger and good fiction-y things like that ensue.

I don't think there was anything about these books that I disliked. You know it's a good book when I'm in love with half the male characters by midway through. For instance, because my copy of New Moon comes equipped with temporary tattoos, I was seriously considering where best to place "Edward" and "Jacob," even before I knew why Jacob would be remotely important, besides as Bella's father's friend's son. Personally, I would have gladly switched out "Bella" for "Jasper" if only because I feel uncomfortable tattooing a girl's name in any of the highly inappropriate places I was contemplating for her male counterparts.

Aside from that-they are fabulous. There was enough suspense and romance and various other important things to keep me reading till the wee hours of the morning. If I was ever impatient, it was probably during New Moon when I was waiting for Edward, or at least some Cullen to appear. I settled very easily for Alice, who currently holds a three-way tie with Jasper and Edward for my favorite.

Oh, hell. I'm not going to write a coherent review, I can already see that. This review should have merely ended with: Go. Read it. NOW!