SARAH BLAIR-DICKINSON continues her series about JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books with Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
TITLE: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
FIRST PUBLISHED: 2005
AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling
FILMED AS: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009)
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IN 140 CHARACTERS: Harry is baffled by the handwritten instructions in his textbook that get him top marks in Potions class and is determined to find the identity of the Half Blood Prince.
PLOT: Harry is given a battered copy of a textbook full of instructions for how to brew perfect potions. Harry follows these instructions and for the first time ever finds himself getting good marks in Potions. Harry suspects that Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater in his father’s place and is determined to prove it. Dumbledore has given Harry the difficult task of getting Slughorn to reveal a crucial secret he’s been hiding away for years, and he also enlists Harry to begin working with him on a dangerous quest to learn more about Voldemort’s mysterious past.
CHARACTERS INTRODUCED: Horace Slughorn, Fenrir Greyback, Cormac McLaggen, Rufus Scrimgeour, Merope Gaunt, young Tom Riddle.
CREATURES INTRODUCED: Inferi, pygmy puffs.
FUN FACT: The recipe for Felix Felicis contains Ashwinder egg, Occamy eggshell and the juice of a squill bulb.
SOMETHING TO SAY TO PRETEND YOU’VE READ IT: Sectumsempra!
SARAH’S VIEW: Pay attention whilst reading this book—there’s a lot of important stuff packed in and you don’t want to miss a bit of it. The Half Blood Prince is a pretty dark and depressing story. Harry and Dumbledore are trying to find out a secret that Voldemort has been keeping and it’s pretty frightening in itself, let alone all of the memories that they dip in and out of where each time they see Voldemort getting a little bit more twisted and a lot more evil. Voldemort is THE ultimate bad guy and I found it so interesting to see what he was like as a little boy and his eventual descent into a full-fledged Dark Lord.
Another baddie I loved learning more about is Draco Malfoy. We find out that Voldemort has set a task for him and if he doesn’t do it, he’s dead. Draco’s very determined to pull it off, even though it’s a daunting task and not something he feels brave enough to do. All we’ve seen of Draco so far is a snivelling little rich boy that is used to getting his own way and it was quite a change to see his vulnerability and the inner struggle he faces when finally confronted with this task that he really does not want to do. However, there’s always light within the dark and it comes in the form of girlfriends. Ron’s brief first relationship is embarrassing and hilarious and Harry (FINALLY) gets together with someone we’ve always wanted him to.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS BOOK: Getting of glimpse of what it’s like to be Draco Malfoy.
WHAT I HATE ABOUT THIS BOOK: Harry yet again lost someone he loved and looked up to. Can’t he catch a break?
FOLLOWED BY: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
