Deathly Hallows

Time line of my yesterday afternoon
1:30 PM: Deathly Hallows arrives on my doorstep
2:15 PM: I begin Deathly Hallows
11:24 PM: I finish Deathly Hallows

While I'm not actually going to be discussing the plot of the book at all, as I'm sure there are at least a few of you that haven't begun or finished the book yet, I am listing things I really enjoyed about the book, so if you are worried that this list may ruin your Reading Experience, STOP READING THIS ENTRY.

No one is perfect. I know this seems a strange thing to like about a book, but I like my heroes flawed, dammit, and we see this not only with Harry but with Dumbledore. And it's their awareness of their own limitations, and their willingness to act accordingly, that really make them heroes.

The worst of humanity brings out the best of humanity, or, people are willing to sacrifice themselves for a truly worthy cause. There's nothing I need to add to that!

Neville comes into his own. In the seventh HP book we see Neville truly becoming a hero and a leader in his own right, and this is oh-so-gratifying.

And one thing that I didn't really like about the last book (the following paragraph is SPOILER HEAVY): the epilogue. In my opinion, this could have been left out to make a much stronger ending to the story. Do we really need to learn what happens 19 years in the future to know that everything Turns Out Alright? No. For the purposes of the narrative, we already knew that to be the case when everyone continued to fight despite thinking Harry had been killed, when Voldemort was finally killed, and when Harry was able to let two of the Hallows go.

In any case, Deathly Hallows has definitely been my favorite HP book. I'm so glad, too, because the last few, while enjoyable, have definitely been lacking something. And what better way to end a series than on a high note? I'm very curious to see what J. K. Rowling will do next.