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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Book 7 - J.K. Rowling
by sarahj19861
Warning - This does contain content from the previous books.
Overview and History -
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (or Sorcerers Stone in America) first came out in 1997 and was the first in 7 books about Harry Potter. Harry Potter is a wizard who lost his parents when he was a baby, he grew up in a small ... town in England with his Uncle and Aunt and spoilt cousin. On his 11th Birthday Harry finds out he is a wizard and is due to go to Hogwarts school in the next few months to learn all about spells, flying and other wizarding tasks. Its on a shopping trip with Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper does Harry discover that his parents died at the hands of Lord Voldemort and that he is "the one who lived" as no other witch or wizard has faced Voldemort and survived it, its believed that on trying to kill Harry Voldemorts spell backfired and killed himself instead. On his journey to Hogwarts Harry meets Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger, the threesome become firm friends and are all sorted into the same Hogwarts house of Gryffindor. The first book continues with Harrys world into the wizarding world, having lived in a muggle (non wizarding people) life Harry adjusts well and begins to see Hogwarts as his home, however during the first book we discover that Voldemort is not dead and is out to get Harry and kill him. Harry manages to avoid death but is shocked to discover his past. The next 5 books takes us through Harry and his school friends life in and out of Hogwarts, he narrowly avoids Voldemort on several occasions throughout the series. In the sixth book we discover that Voldemort has split his soul into 7 pieces, these are all hidden in Horcruxes and its up to Harry to find them and destroy them. The seventh book focuses on this search to destroy them and to kill Voldemort
Basic Plot -
We start out almost immediately after the sixth book, Hogwarts is no longer a safe place for Harry to stay, 4 horcruxes remain and Harry has to find them and destroy them. Ron and Hermoine help him on his quest to find them. In the previous book Dumbledore gave his view of where or what he think the horcruxes are and how to destroy them. In the sixth book Dumbledore is killed and so leaves Harry with the task to complete. The previous horcruxes were all related to Voldemorts childhood and him moving into the wizarding world so its believed the others remain hidden within it. Voldemorts followers have infiltrated Hogwarts and the ministry of magic, the place which regulates and runs the wizarding world and so in turn places Harry as their number 1 most wanted. Harry, Ron and Hermoine are forced to go underground and live in woods trying to work out how to get the horcruxes. The process is long and the team are caught out but manage to escape. The finale ends in a dramatic showdown with Voldemort and Harry, but who will survive?
My views of Harry Potter, how I discovered it
I came across my sister reading the second Harry Potter one day, this was about 4 months before the fourth book was released in 2000. My sister was impressed and so I bet her I could read the first one by the time she had completed her already half read second book. I was immediately drawn in and took less than a week to read. In 2000 I was just shy of my 14th birthday but I found the language engaging for all to read. I myself up until that point was not a massive reader but this was different to me. Needless to say I finished the first book and started on the second straight away, then the third and waited for the fourth book to be published. I was one of those who queued up at midnight to get my copy and read through them in a weekend. By the time Deathly Hallows was released in 2007 I was 19, but still drawn into it, unfortunately I could not get the book straight away as I was abroad (I didn't make the holiday booking!) and I remember being there and going out of my mind not reading it as Id invested over 7 years of my life reading these books and I needed to know how it ended. I was so pleased to get home and read it! J.K Rowling has a skill of writing these books that reach different levels, both children enjoy them and adults do as well. Its one of the few series of books which can be enjoyed by all ages and as an adult re-reading the older books it easy to pick out the adult themes in it, which children do not see. I have seen the films of all books, which I feel are a good overview but for the detail and for J.K Rowlings fantastic descriptions I would recommend reading the books.
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Survival - Chris Ryan
by wolby2010
This is the first of Chris Ryan's series known as the Alpha-Force. This book is aimed at younger readers but it can still be appreciated by slightly older readers (Early 20s.) The book tells the story of a group of young teenagers from various backgrounds, for different reasons apply to go on an adventure on a large wooden ship sailing ... across the seas. Thrust together by the course leaders, they find themselves getting on and getting into trouble which leads them to end up stranded on an Island together. The book is extremely gripping and well written and easy to follow. It is a thrill-a-minute actions story.
In order to survive they pull their resources and different skill sets to survive and uncover vicious jungle beasts personal problems and piracy. The characters are Alex, Li, Paulo, Hex & Amber (A.L.P.H.A).
Alex is a young boy from Northumberland bored with his life and seeking adventure. As the son of an SAS soldier, he finds himself leading the pack armed with essential survival knowledge.
Li, an expert in martial arts and mountain climbing is fast on her feet and able to reach in places the others cannot get to.
Paulo, a strong farm-hand from Argentina has medical (albeit veterinary) knowledge that makes him useful when things go wrong.
Hex, a shy London shut-in is an expert when it comes to technology and can hack almost anything but is not too excellent in outdoor situations.
Amber, is young and very wealthy she lives with her uncle as her parents died and was the owner of the ship they were all adventuring on.
At the end of their adventure the guys finds that as a team they can accomplish almost anything and form the Alpha team.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Book 7 - J.K. Rowling
by illusiveman
As a big fan of the previous books I bought this book on release day and immediately started reading it as soon as I got home.
I think I remember paying about £5 for it from Morrison and after reading it I would have quite happily payed double that for it.
The book starts out in the usual format of Harry being back ... at the Dursley's house, although this time is the last due to Lord Voldemort hunting for Harry as he knows the protection his Mother gave him will run out on his 17th birthday or as soon as he no longer considers it his home.
The major difference with this story is that Harry isn't attending Hogwarts this year to concentrate on searching for the Horcruxes and to avoid the Death Eaters now that they have taken over the Ministry and Hogwarts.
The book is gripping from beginning to end with various twists and turns into the story and also the history of the Harry Potter universe, the identity of the mysterious R.A.B is finally uncovered, the remaining Horcruxes are collected in preparation for the final battle with Lord Voldemort.
There are twists in the story that some might have been expecting but also some that were completely unexpected, there was one twist in the story that I would never have guessed in a million years (I won't say what it was as I won't spoil the story for anyone that might not have read the book yet).
Overall this is an excellent book and would give it 6/5 if DooYoo allowed it, I could quite happily sit and read this book over and over again, I won't say any more about the book in case I spoil it for people so I will say if you are a fan of Harry Potter then this book is a highly recommended purchase from me.
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