Spoiler-Free Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It is now 4 a.m. on July 22, 28 hours after the release of one of the most anticipated novels ever written. It's been said that the expected sales of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will outsell even the Bible.

Now, I don't know if that is true or not, but I do know that this book has been anticipated by many since the first book was released, 9 years ago. What started as an imaginative story told verbally to amuse a child, Harry Potter has grown to phenomenal success.

Harry Potter has spanned generation gaps to bring a children's story to life, amusing and enchanting toddlers up to the oldest of senior citizens. This book series has captured the imaginations of everyone who encounters it.

J.K. Rowling (pronounces like Bowling) is touted as a literary genius. Quite simply put, the woman struck gold when she penned the first book, many years back. It is hard to become a published writer- even harder to become a successful published writer. To top that off, she did something truly amazing in her works- she was able to take a series of characters, and not only bring them to life, but also to age them accurately.

Most children's series remain within the same age range through out the stories. Or, if the children age, the stories remain rather geared towards the original age they were written for. In the Harry Potter series, you witness these children growing up, and all that comes with it. Simple emotions become complex. Simple problems become harder to solve. The stories grew up with the characters, and the writer reflected that beautifully in all 7 of her novels.

However, this is not a review of the writer, or even the series, but rather, a look at the most recent book. I will admit here and now that I am perhaps not the most die hard of Harry Potter fans. I do not go to conferences, I've never dressed up as Hermione Granger or Minerva McGonagall, and I've never even re-read the books (though, I plan to now that I have all 7).

That aside, I've been a fan since the first movie was released on DVD. Before that, I hadn't heard much of Harry Potter, but the hoopla surrounding the first movie was rather startling, since I had never heard of the books.

An aunt of mine, whom was rather religious at the time, ordered me not to take the kids (we had 2 at the time, and they were rather young still) to see the movie, or to buy them any of the Harry Potter merchandise. Now, I am not a religious woman. I believe there is something higher up, and I believe there is true evil in the world. Nevertheless, I am not a churchgoer, I don't preach the bible to people, and I believe that as long as I live my life to be a good person, then that is the best I can do. I also can't stand people telling me what NOT to do with my own life, or that of my children.

Hence, I bought the DVD. The rest, as they say, is history. Reviewing a book without spoiling it for the many readers out there is a hard task, so bear with me, as I plan to not put much (if anything) of the stories main premise into this review.

Let's move on to the actual book, shall we? After waiting a mere 15 minutes in a line at a local 24-hour grocery store, I had the book in my hot little hands. And yes, before I left the store, I read the very last sentence. Not the page, mind you, but just the sentence.

By 12:20, I was back safe and sound in my apartment, my book gripped tightly in my hands. By 12:30, I was lying in bed reading. This is where I made a critical error- I let the TV run in the background for noise. For the first hour and a half or so, I didn't get a lot of reading in, probably around 50 pages or so.

Then I realized that if I really wanted to make some ground, I'd have to tune out the TV. As of 5am, I had read 270 pages, and I was totally engrossed, but also exhausted. I spent the day (after waking at noon) with friends and family, unable to get back to the book. It was around 10:30pm on the 21st before I got back to it, and as of 4am on the 22nd, it was completed. The entire book read, with some smiles, some tears, and an over all sense of well being that the Harry Potter world was well tended in this final book.

The book begins a month after Half-Blood Prince, with Professor Dumbledore dead. Now, for those who haven't read book 6- yes, that was a HUGE spoiler. Nevertheless, it's been 2 years, if you haven't read it yet; you've probably heard spoilers about it long ago.

Harry is in a unique position in the beginning, and without going into details, I can say that he finds a rather surprising supporter in one of the least likely places. Again, if you've not read book 6, and wish to remain spoiler free, perhaps this review is not the best place for you to be. Those still here, though, will know that Harry Potter has been tasked with finding and destroying the horcruxes- objects imbued with bits of Tom Riddle's sole, as a way for him to always remain alive.

The basic premise of book 7 has long been thought to involve that search, and the Golden Trio states their intentions at the end of book 6 to quit school, and hunt the horcruxes as best they can.

J.K. Rowling has a talent to weave a story that is intricate, and those who have read the books will note that in each one, you find out some mundane detail from a prior book has suddenly come to light as something much bigger- a larger part of the whole painting, if you will.

She does not disappoint in small details made large in book 7. In fact, I think she has more of those in this book than in all the other books combined, and it is an eye opener. It's hard to imagine writing a story and keeping small details in mind through out the one story- but to do it over 7 books, and collectively 4,100 pages of story is just amazing.

The characters show growth, certainly, over book 6. But they also show that they are just teenagers, at the same time. The Golden Trio shows strength and bravery, yes, that is certain. However, they also show fear, jealousy, pettiness, ambition, and much more. They are not just single dimension characters that fight for the good. They fight amongst themselves, doubt each other and themselves, and crave more at times.

I can promise that the true fans of the book will not be disappointed in the overall result of the book. The writing is just as good as Ms. Rowling has ever shown, and the tale she wove for us is nothing short of a great masterpiece.

Many generations from now, the secrets won't really be secret. Right now is a magical time for this last book- with each fan eagerly turning pages, and few knowing the results just yet. This series of books, fueled by the popular movies, will always garner new fans, and will do so for many generations, but the magic of this last book, of the unknown lands it travels, will not be as strong because so many people will know it.

I suppose it's like knowing the ending of a movie before going, or seeing a remake of a movie. The fans 10 years from now, the people who will have only just picked up the first book to read it, will know the general theme, and what the outcome will be, and that magic of reading the series will be dimmed.

But the powerful writing style, the unique ability to weave such an engrossing and imaginative tale, which will always be there. The books will long draw in new readers, and will be some of the greatest books of our time, or any future time for that matter.

My highest praise to Ms. Rowling, who is, in my mind, a great storyteller, with a powerful imagination.

I give this book an A+ for character development, plot line, use of imagination, and any other category I can think of. This book was fantastic. It was not without moments where I was sad, or happy, or fearful. But, there were no moments when I just blinked and wondered, "Why did the author do that?"

This is a great series, and again, I highly recommend it.