As Harry Potter prepares for his sixth year at Hogwarts,
things in the Wizarding world have taken a turn for the
worse. The Death Eaters pose an increasingly dangerous and
united front. Powerful witches and wizards have been killed
or simply disappear as the Dark Lord's followers become
more brazen. The Dark Mark appears in the sky only too
often.
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore
protects his school as best he can, ensuring life maintains
some semblance of normalcy for his students and their
teachers. This year, Hogwarts enlists not only a new
Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but also a new
Potions master. Having completed their O.W.L.S., the sixth
years are out from under the stress of exams and resume
their classes. With Snape no longer Potions master, Harry
no longer dreads Potions class, and in fact, excels at it.
Unbeknownst to the new Potions master, who thinks Harry
quite brilliant, Harry has more than a little help with
potions in the form of an old text book he lucks into. The
book, once the property of the self-proclaimed Half-Blood
Prince, is at least 50 years old and obviously had been the
property of a gifted wizard...or witch. Although every
attempt to learn the Prince's identity fails, Harry is
unconcerned. He feels that whoever the Prince is (or was),
he (or she) is a teacher and ally.
Dumbledore takes Harry more firmly under his wing this year
and tries to prepare him for the fight ahead. Once again,
they use the Pensieve to delve more deeply into the riddle
of Lord Voldemort. Together they search Voldemort's past
for information that will give them more insight into the
mind of the enigmatic boy who became the most powerful dark
wizard of his generation. As always, Harry bravely faces
his future and proves himself worthy of the title "The
Chosen One." But as time goes by, Harry begins to realize
that even surrounded by friends, he's never been so alone.
This may be the best book of the series. The themes are
becoming more serious and complex as the series moves
forward. Rowling gives us lots of back story about Tom
Riddle in this novel. Again there's a major character's
death for the students, teachers and readers to deal with.
Not to say everything is doom and gloom! There's still a
lot of fun to be had at Hogwarts and with the Weasleys.
Fred and George own a successful shop in Diagon Alley.
Filtch still enjoys threatening the students with cruel and
unusual punishments. Harry, Ron and Hermione are all 16
going on 17, and there's a lot of falling in love and
flirting going on. Quidditch is as much on the minds of the
students as the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. Some old
friends are back -- Kreacher, the treacherous house elf, has
a small but memorable role, as does Dobby. I felt like a
kid at Christmas when I picked up my copy of the new Harry
Potter. Even though I hate the thought that with one more
book the series will end, I'm already anticipating the
conclusion to this magical, powerful series that appeals to
so many readers of all ages and nationalities.
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 faces. Dumbledore
is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the
Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. 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 form 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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