Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Book 6)
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What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that, as the series progresses and the
characters age, this is less and less aimed at younger
children. The violence is more violent, the mood darker, the
consequences greater. A major and beloved character is killed,
and apparently in vain, and the emotional consequences are
great.
Kids will want to talk about every detail, of course, but the author raises some new issues, especially in the last third of the book, when Harry and Dumbledore discuss the ways in which we create our own fate.
Common Sense Media Review
As each new book in the series is released Rowling's
achievement grows more amazing. Now clocking in at a total of
over 3,300 pages (though this book is not quite as long as Book
5) the series remains compellingly readable, breathlessly
suspenseful and exciting, and now powerfully emotional as
well.
Don't even think of reading this without having read its predecessors. As Rowling begins pulling together all the threads and characters from the five previous books even fans may have trouble remembering all of the references. As she readies for the climactic showdown in Book 7, a grand design is beginning to become clearer, a design in which there does not appear to have been one wasted character or event.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about this entry in the series is that there is hardly any action for the first 500 or so pages, and yet somehow the pace never flags. Most of the book is spent watching Harry learn -- about Voldemort's past, about new potions and spells, about events out in his world that eerily mirror our own terrorist-shadowed world, about Snape and Malfoy, and even Dumbledore. In between the three heroes squabble and bicker, though Harry himself seems to have mellowed a bit since his furious rampage through Book 5. And there's a lot more kissing.
Rowling also continues the trend she began in Book 3 -- as the protagonists age, so do the books, growing darker, more violent, more complex, and much more emotional. In fact, while not giving anything away, it is safe to say that the last few chapters of the book will leave many devoted fans in tears. While young children will still want to read it, and will probably still be enthralled, this is clearly aimed at older children. When the first few books came out, Rowling was rightfully credited with introducing an entire worldwide generation to the pleasures of reading children's books. Now it seems she may be nudging that generation into adult reading. Whatever her intentions, there is no one more magical in this series than Rowling herself.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
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