Let me begin by saying I had a hard time with the first part of Book 5, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. I was a little bored reading the first half of this one. Maybe it's because Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire is my favorite book of the series, and having read it many times over, I was expecting more action to start out. Who knows. But I know never got so angry with a character in any book as I did against Umbridge and the way she treated Harry. But, by the end of the book I was throroughly engrossed, as is usually the case once the action begins.

Fast forward two years to the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I was hoping it'd capture my attention right away and it did. My plan was to try and make reading the book last as long as possible. I started on Sunday, and finished last night, having read the last couple hundred pages at a non-stop pace and staying up way to late to do it (and boy am I paying it for it now, at work).

I had perused the chapter titles ahead of time, and by the name of a few of the last few chapters, I was afraid I knew who was going to die. I was right. And when I got to the chapter where it occurred, I had to stop reading for a moment. I was afraid to go on because as long as I didn't read his death, he would still be alive. Well, my need and desire to get to the end won out, and I read as Harry, Invisible under his cloak, stood petrified (literally) while Dumbledore and Malfoy exchanged words, and than Snape arrived. I was completely taken aback when Snape threw the killing spell and Dumbledore fell from the Astronomy Tower. For all of Dumbledore's insistances that Snape was on their side he ends up killing Dumbledore. I couldn't believe it. All I could think was, Harry was right all along, and even I myself was lulled into a false sense of security regarding Snape and his role in it all.
I was even a little shocked to find out the Half-Blood Prince was Snape. I knew it had to be someone not necessarily a fan of Harry's and Snape was the perfect choice. The professor he hates the most being the reason he was able to do so well in Potions, and of course get to the point where he could save Ron and win the Felix Felicis. And when he used the spell on Malfoy-that was pretty horrifying. Even though Malfoy wouldn't have hesitated to kill Harry, Harry was remorseful about using that spell on Malfoy. But honestly, I think Snape is the most complicated character in the world of Harry Potter. He's the one who's true intentions are still unknown...see the next part.
~BUT...having just read another blog entry about Harry Potter, and thinking over some of the thoughts put forward there, I am now not entirely sure Snape is really the bad guy. I would recommend reading Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince, by JJJust A Girl. Some great insights can be found. Some that gave me pause when considering Snape's actual motivation and purpose. As twisted as it may or may not be.
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JJJust a Girl brought up an interesting point-that maybe Snape, like Harry, was acting under the orders of Dumbledore. That maybe Dumbledore had ordered Snape to kill him, regardless-because Harry needed to be forced out on his own. It's an interesting theory-because all the dialogue that we (as Harry) hear doesn't really insinuate Snape one way or another. I'm not entirely convinced that Snape isn't really just an evil person, but this idea does bring some depth to the story. When Dumbledore pleads to Snape, "Severus, please..." does he mean please help me? Or does he mean please do what I asked and kill me? I'm more anxious now than ever to find out the real answer to this question in the next book.
The other idea she had brought up was about the Horcrux. She seemed to think that Harry might be one. I disagree, as it wouldn't make sense for Harry to be a Horcrux, since to destroy Voldemort all his horcruxes must also be destroyed-meaning Harry. And it also doens't really make sense to me that Voldemort would place part of his soul into this kid and then spend years trying to kill him. He would essentially be destroying a part of himself and a part of his desire to be eternal. Anyways, some interesting thoughts to stew over, and I felt I should comment about them here.
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The events in the book leading up to the climax were in many cases very humerous. I love reading about the Weasley's and their home life and I was glad Harry spent much time there, over Chirstmas and before heading back to Hogwarts.
All the talk of crushes, and snogging going on was pretty humerous. I found myself laughing at Harry's sudden attraction to Ginny (and I hope he can find happiness at the end of Book 7). And when he kissed her after the Quiddich match, haha, I was laughing out loud-it was so cute. I always thought, since reading Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban that Harry and Ginny would hook up and that Ron and Hermione would as well. I guess we'll see if it ends up that way.
I found Ron and Hermione's abvious attraction to each other, yet their inability to act on it in this book also pretty humerous.

I also found the trips Harry took with Dumbledore into the Pensieve enlightening. I loved getting a closer look at Tom Riddle (Voldemort) and his history-and towards the end when we finally learn about the Horcruxes, it finally made sense about the Diary from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets; I think J.K. Rowling really had no clue and simply had to twist the story so that Book 2 fit in the series, since it is a very different turn in the story aside from the other five books. But I really liked how we are starting to see where everyone fits into the story.

I was very impressed with this particular book-it read fast, and easy and though nothing too action packed happened until the end, it was interesting and thought-provoking all the same.

It's easy to see influences from other creative sources, of course the one that stood out most blatantly was the "Chosen One" term. I couldn't help but immediately think of Star Wars. (And in no way am I insinuating that J.K. Rowling stole this from GL-it's just an observation).

It will be a long two years if that's the time it takes her to complete the last book, thankfully we'll have the movie for Goblet of Fire to look forward too-let's hope it's done in a great way. I was a little disappointed in Prisoner of Azkaban (movie). But I won't get into that.

I do wonder though, will J.K. Rowling really be able to stop telling Harry's story at the end of Book 7 (as she has said)?