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Book Summary and Reviews of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince

by J.K. Rowling

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  • Jul 2005, 672 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. And yet...

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate -- and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"… the darkest and most unsettling installment yet … It is a novel that pulls together dozens of plot strands from previous volumes, underscoring how cleverly and carefully J. K. Rowling has assembled this giant jigsaw puzzle of an epic" - The New York Times

"Rowling shepherds her hero's arduous trek to maturity with her customary grace and good humor, though she has infused her story with more bone-cracking and blood-spattering than may be tolerable for many of the young readers who have followed Harry's adventures so far." - The Washington Post

"The dark tone, snogging (kissing), and a shocker of an ending make this a better choice for older readers. (ages 8 to 12)" - Child Magazine

"Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults." - KLIATT

"All in all, a great read. Fans of Harry Potter will not be disappointed." - Children's Literature

"This sixth book may be darker and more difficult, but Potter fans will devour it and begin the long and bittersweet wait for the final installment." - School Library Journal

This information about Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Mindi

Wonderful Book
This book was wonderful. I loved it I hated how it ended. But over all it was a very good book

Makayla James

Harry plopper
Was freaking amazing I have never read a better book. I think there should be a few more books in the series, but with more action and adventure.This author has amazed me once again I hope she will continue writing into his older years.Harry Potter RULES!!!!

Rina

Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
I loved it. J.K Rowling has done it again. Any one who liked the first five books will adore this one it made me happy sad and funny all the while I was reading it.

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Author Information

J.K. Rowling Author Biography

Joanne Kathleen Rowling (pronounced rolling) was born on July 31st, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England. Her sister, Di, was born a little under 2 years later. Rowling can remember telling stories from early on and writing down her first story when she was 5 or 6 years old - about a rabbit called Rabbit who got the measles and was visited by friends including a giant bee called Miss Bee.

She moved house twice while growing up. The first was from Yate, just outside Bristol, to Winterbourne - also close to Bristol. In Winterbourne she was friends with a brother and sister whose surname was Potter. She says she always liked the name, and preferred it to her own because the children always made annoying jokes about rolling pins! ...

... Full Biography
Link to J.K. Rowling's Website

Name Pronunciation
J.K. Rowling: rolling

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