[Marybeth]

I loved this book, as I've loved every Harry Potter book.

What I especially love are the characters--they're all so vivid and real to me. 

Yep. I think JKR is brilliant.

[buglady5 Posts: 1,393 Status: Offline PATIENCE WWW]

It's official.  Jo's a genius. And she earned every penny of that billion she lives with.

I read the whole thing in about 12 hours.  Couldn't stop reading, crying, rereading, laughing, crying...

My major disappointments were:

1.  Why didn't Snape appear in the headmaster portraits, so Harry could acknowledge his sacrifice?  I SO thought, when it said, "Harry had eyes for only one headmaster..." that that must mean Snape!  I mean, he already had his quality time with Dumblodore!  What a disappointment!

2.  Luna's future - with such a foreboding name, I thought for sure she would be in the epilogue.  Yup, I would have loved to see her with Neville, too.

I have two questions for people who perhaps read the book more carefully than I -

1.  How did the sword end up in the sorting hat in the end?  I thought the goblin still had it!

2.  Were the names of Ron's and Hermione's children significant?  (Rose and Hugo?)  I don't remember these names from the books.


buglady, who's thankful that she won't be needing grief counseling now that Harry lives on

P.S.  Is anybody else going back to read Book 1, just so you can see all of the clues all over again and DUH yourself for missing them the first time around?

[buglady5 Posts: 1,393 Status: Offline PATIENCE WWW]

OOOOHHHH - it just occurred to me (because I'm often slow to catch on), the reason for Gryffindor and Slytherin's house colors.  Think about it:  green for Slytherin (Harry's eye color), and red for Gryffindor (Voldemort's eye color), to once again illustrate both the connection and opposition between them...

Man, she's good...


buglady

[kellyr]

Though I'm not happy she killed off for no dramatic reason my favorite character Fred Weasley, I think she nailed this book.

I could be wrong, but I think the death of Fred (coupled with George's earlier missing ear) was supposed to provide the basis for Mrs. Weasley's sudden foray into cursing and battle (simultaneously).

[Karen K Posts: 742 Status: Offline WWW]

I readily admit I favor my male characters, too, but this has always been a gripe of mine with HP.  Not even an attempt is made to make a good female character!  Everyone important and powerful and interesting is male.  Who do we get for the girl team?  Bookish, bossy Hermione; consummate mother Mrs. Weasley; never-lives-up-to-her-potential Tonks who pines for Lupin and then ends up becoming a wife, a mom, and then dead; boring Ginny; flaky Luna; evil Bellatrix and Umbridge...etc. etc.  We have sexy French veela girls and girls who pine after Quidditch players and devoted mothers all over the place...but the girls, to me, very rarely seem to break out of stereotype and feel important compared to the exploits of the many excellent male characters.

Agreed. I kept waiting for Ginny to charge along and insist on helping Harry. And for Hermione to stop bursting into tears and go beyond clever spells, maybe saving Ron or something equally important. And for Tonks to just do more than getting married, pregnant, and killed. At least Mrs. Weasley had one moment of glory.

Karen

P.S. I don't think this ruins the books for me. They're still a one-of-a-kind phenomenon.

[kellyr]

Buglady: the answer is the same as it was back in The Chamber of Secrets:  The Sorting Hat belonged to Godric Gryffindor, as did the sword.  Magical aid is magical aid, it seems, and the issue of ownership seems to have been decided in favor of the wizarding interpretation, and not in favor of the goblins' take on things.

[Karen K Posts: 742 Status: Offline WWW]

You know, I wonder what writers can learn from Harry Potter. It's obviously excellent writing in action. What do you think makes the books so special? Off the top of my head, I'd have to say: the huge cast of characters, many quirky or otherwise memorable, that you love or love to hate; the tightly interwoven plotlines, usually several mysteries going on at once, that ratchet up the tension; the incredibly detailed wizarding world that feels real; and the protagonist, Harry, with all his flaws and unwavering urge to do the right thing. Now, how do you write like that? I don't mean mimicking Harry Potter, I mean finding the right combination of ingredients to create magic. No pun intended.

Karen

[Jen Posts: 1,300 Status: Offline]

This was far and away my favorite Harry Potter book.  I was somewhat tentative, maybe even skeptical going in.  I didn't even open it on Friday night, but I read it straight through on Saturday, and then read some parts over and over again.  There was so much I loved- in fact, it's the first Harry Potter book in which I've had favorite parts.  The others, I just read through and then didn't re-read until years later, if at all, but this one... I read the scenes from Snape's past again and again.  It wasn't at all unexpected ("Snape was in love with Lily" is one of the most common themes/predictions out there), but it was so well done.  While I expected that he might have had feelings for Lily, I definitely didn't predict that they were best friends- or that they knew each other before Hogwarts.  There's something so poignant about the idea of him loving her from the time he was nine years old until the day he died, and it just wrenched my heart. 

I also LOVED how Kreacher did an about face and became loyal to Harry after a little kindness- also seems to give some purpose to Hermione's whole SPEW movement.  I loved Mrs. Weasley taking on Bellatrix (that one line of dialogue made the book for me, because I've wanted to say that to Bellatrix for a really long time).  I think Fred was actually the perfect person to kill off.  Even though she didn't overdo (or even really DO) his family mourning him, his death hit me hard.  Not because I loved him (even though I did), but because the idea of George living on without him is really tragic.  I loved that Percy came back to the side of good, and that Neville became all bada**.  I loved that Rowling gave us shades of gray that the rest of the series is missing (Snape, Dumbledore, Dudley, the Malfoys), and that at the very end, Harry basically said that there was nothing wrong with Slytherin. 

I was so very happy with this book- I'm already thinking of reading it again.

[thirtycats]

2.  Were the names of Ron's and Hermione's children significant?  (Rose and Hugo?)  I don't remember these names from the books.

I wondered that too.   I read it fast--like a lot of people.   I feel I got 95% of it, but will want to read it again more slowly.  Someday. 

Today I read something about R.A.B.  I  remembered it being revealed in the book and having an "Oh!" moment.   But then I couldn't remember who R.A.B was revealed to be.     I totally blanked out.   

After a moment of two I finally remembered.

[buglady5 Posts: 1,393 Status: Offline PATIENCE WWW]

2.  Were the names of Ron's and Hermione's children significant?  (Rose and Hugo?)  I don't remember these names from the books.

Sorry for triple-posting in the same thread, but I just now noticed that these children have the same first initials as their parents.  

Again, slow to catch on.

buglady

[Karen K Posts: 742 Status: Offline WWW]

I'm posting rather excessively, but only because my family hasn't finished their copy of Deathly Hallows yet and keep warning me not to spoil anything. I know my mom in particular will be unhappy about Snape's death. Before the book came out, we kept half-joking that we would throw all the books out the window if Snape dies. I definitely not throwing my copy of Deathly Hallows, because Snape was working with Dumbledore after all, but is anybody else here as weepy as me about Snape dying?

Karen

[LindaJoy Posts: 426 Status: Offline Linda Joy Singleton author of SNOW DOG, SAND DOG WWW]

I loved it. I loved that she included an epliogue (which from what I've heard is her way of defnitely ending the series...I heard here, I think, that the movie rights have more than necessary character rights.).

I was so relieved Harry lived. What kind of message would that give young readers if the hero does everything to fight evil and then dies? It would be a real "hope" killer. This ending was great -- seeing his family and Dumbledore. I loved going back in the Pensive plus the big battle at the end with a cast of Harry supporters.

My guesses were half-right (half-wrong?). But I was glad to be wrong in my guess that Hagrid would die. I was saddest about Lupin-Tonks. And it did seem to me that a new series with their half-werefolf son could be interesting...Although I've always said that JK won't write anything like this again.(Another thing I could be wrong about).  But I was right about Snape being good and about one of the Weasley twins dying. I was wrong about Harry's scar being the horocruz, but close since it was Harry.

I was camping this weekend, but my wonderful hubby found a K-Mart 30 miles away which opened at midnight to sell Harry books. It was a funny, very poorly attended party (no one really knew to come) with about 20 people there. No waiting in line! Our books were handed to us in the store just after midnight. And I had it finished within two days.

JK did a great job. I respect and admire her.

LJS

[Kai Posts: 94 Status: Offline I can't want to! WWW]

The book was great.  I didn't want to put it down until I realized that once I finished it, it would never be knew to me again!

I have to voice my dissappointment in the Snape wrap-up.  I can't like a character who tortures, kills and condones voilence on children-simply for the love of a woman!  I was never going to like Snape and wish he would have ended as the intellegent coward that he lived his life as.  I wanted to gag when his name was used as Harry's son's middle name.

***Okay to throw stones now***

That said, I loved the resolutions with Dudley, Kreacher, Dobby and Neville.  The action was non-stop!  The friendship with the trio was fantastic (also my favorite part of LOTR).  The added character levels to The Malfoys & Dumbledore were so satisfying.  Some of it seemed forced: Wormtails repayment of debt made me say 'huh?', Aberforth's role seemed 'stuck-into' the story (my son has already stolen the book, so I may have gotten the name wrong), the quaint wrap up at the end.

As an author, I am left thinking-Oh, that is why I don't have bestsellers on the shelves, I wouldn't have written it that way.  Hmmm, food for thought.

I'll read it again and again and I'll go to the midnight movie releases. 

-P

[MVP]

Count me as another satisfied and relieved fan!

These are a few of my favorite things:

--Kreacher's transformation.  Loved it, loved it, loved it.  I'm so glad we got to see another side of him.  And it made me laugh, when he led the Hogwarts house-elves charging into battle.
--Snape and Lily's childhood friendship.  I'd figured that he was in love with her, but I'd never guessed that their connection went so far back.
--The scene when Harry's walking to Voldemort, thinking he's going to die.  My heart was pounding as hard as his, and the interaction with his parents, Sirius and Lupin was very moving.
--Harry's chat with Dumbledore in Kings's Cross.  I liked getting to know Dumbledore better as a more rounded-out character, even if some of the revelations about him were disturbing.
--The moment when all the portraits of the headmasters of Hogwarts applauded Harry when he walked in the study.
--That Harry is a godfather!  I love the thought of him being for Teddy what Sirius was for him.
--Can't say I loved it exactly, because it was too sad, but I thought the scene with Dobby's death was exceptionally well done.  When I got to the "Dobby--a free elf" inscription on his tombstone--well, that's the most I've cried in any Harry Potter book.
--The quote in the beginning, with the ending "bless the children, give them triumph now."  I don't know what it meant in the original context, but in this book I took it as a plea to the fallen (James, Lily, Sirius, Dumbledore) to send help and blessing to Ron, Hermione and Harry.  Gave me goosebumps.

I thought the middle dragged a bit, when they were hopping around to keep from being discovered and not finding any horcruxes.  I was also disappointed that Ginny was left out of so much of it.  Overall, though, I'm very happy.

[AooH]

I'm still crying, and I stopped reading hours ago.
I thought the epilogue was perfect, other than feeling a didge rushed and having too many names thrown at me all at once- especially since they were previously used names attached to new characters, so it was somewhat confusing, even though I understood why it was being done.  What I walked away with was feeling Harry's total forgiveness and newfound fondness of Snape, that he would name his son after the two bravest wizards he'd ever known.  Both had disappointed him and caused him pain and hid so much truth from him, but he was able to recognize what they had to sacrifice, and as Dumbledore had said, Harry was the most selfless person he had ever met, and so instead of harbor resentment, he honored them.
I don't think the point of the epilogue was to show who married whom- I doubt there was any question of that, really.

Tonk's and Lupin's deaths were hard, and Fred's, but strangely, I think the one that got to me the most, right up there with Snape's, was Dobby's. I had never really cared for Dobby before.  He was a bit of comic annoyance that wore thin on me, but his death really hurt.
And the part I LOVED the most- I'm not kidding- was Kreacher's redemption and how it was brought about.  That. Was. Beautiful.
Oh, and when Harry walked up to Luna's room and saw portraits of himself and other members of DA linked about with a gold chain made of the words FRIENDS- that was so lovely, such a sweet glimpse of Luna's character.  I'd always liked her, but that just made that liking rock-solid.

[Dystar]

Ah, Tonks, we hardly knew ye. I was disappointed that she died.

And I LOVED hearing about Professor Longbottom!

Yep, Dobby's death and funeral had me crying, too.

[Jaclyn Dolamore Posts: 560 Status: Offline WWW]

I do know what you mean, pkm--I don't feel as strongly, but I do think Snape's love for Lily was a smidge creepy.  I can see why she rejected him and stopped being his friend.  He was never really a great person, no matter what.

On the other hand, I think he was a great "shades of grey" character--I think Lily brought out the best of him in many ways, and perhaps that was why he loved her, and never forgave himself for calling her a Mudblood.  I like that JKR doesn't just wave her writer wand and make Snape suddenly a great guy.  He's an immensely flawed individual who did some very good deeds, all for an unrequited love that was kind of creepy stalker-like and he should have moved on from.  I don't love him, but I forgive him.  He was only human, and he was trying to follow the path of love, even if his was a twisted one--more than Voldemort ever tried for.  (Of course, I wish Voldemort had been more of a shades-of-gray character, but ah well...)

[chrisser]

Just finished--am feeling content and contemplative and curious about all the details I'm sure I missed. I'm in awe of Rowling's talent, of the sheer magnitude of the story she wove over the course of seven books.

I loved the strength of the relationship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I was shocked for a little while that Ron would run out, but I knew he'd be back! He had some demons to face, and he did so beautifully. I love that every character had flaws, but the real heroes were the ones who faced their flaws and came back stronger. I thought Hermione was an absolute rock. She saved them again and again. Her planning, her knowledge, her courage, her unfailing loyalty--I thought she was by far the strongest female character in the books. I forgive her for crying sometimes. I would have too.

I loved Kreacher. And Neville! I think I liked him best of all. I was glad to see Harry end up at Hogwarts and watch the final battle unfold there. It seemed appropriate. For most of the book, although Harry was carrying out Dumbledore's wishes, I kept thinking that the rest of the wizarding world needed Harry, needed his strength and leadership and even his symbolism to bolster the cause. It was great to see everyone rally around him when he entered the Room of Requirement.

I loved the radio broadcast with Lee Jordan.

I cried when Harry came to the realization he would not survive, but he went willingly anyway. I cried when Hagrid mourned for Harry. Most powerful moment for me: Harry's transformation after his "death" into someone serene, confident, at peace, no longer at the mercy of Voldemort's influence--though of course still haunted by loss and pain.

My biggest disappointment: I too would have liked to see more of Ginny. After watching the fifth movie last week and seeing how they portrayed the strength of her magic, it seemed like foreshadowing for a larger role she would play. Bummer.

I also thought the epilogue was unnecessary, and a little jarring, but I can see why she added it to preempt endless speculation by fans. And I can't say I dislike happy endings. It was refreshing, really. It's just scary to think I can't watch TV or read a book anymore without worrying that my favorite characters are going to get killed off. I blame "Lost."

Sigh. A wonderful finale to an incredible series. I'm a happy camper.

[KirstyAnn]

Fantastic!!!!!!

It was just fantastic - where do you even start?  She managed to tie everything together so brilliantly!  I thought I'd still have so many more questions but at this stage I don't - the only real question I have is whose child is Victorie.  Bill and Fleur's - named after Viktor Krum? 

I looooooooooved the sappy ending!!!!!  I could barely read the book I was just so worried lol  So to have my dream ending of Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione all happily married yay!!!  People thought I was crazy when I said that was how it would end     But seriously after everything they all went through I think they deserved it!!

The only thing I disliked in the whole book was the giants ... I still don't really get the point of them being there.  But apart from that I loved it all.

Hedwig, Dobby, Fred, Lupin and Tonks   I was upset the most by Hedwig, cried the most over Dobby, was deeply touched by Fred, felt Lupin being there to join Lily, James and Sirius at the end was very fitting ... I was a bit surprised over Tonks death but sort of makes sense that Harry would become godfather to a baby boy.

Who do we get for the girl team?  Bookish, bossy Hermione; consummate mother Mrs. Weasley; never-lives-up-to-her-potential Tonks who pines for Lupin and then ends up becoming a wife, a mom, and then dead; boring Ginny; flaky Luna; evil Bellatrix and Umbridge...etc

I loooooove the females in these books!  I think they are fantastic and realistic and really varied - J.K. certainly hasn't labelled all females the same and each of them brings something special and different to Harry's life.  And I would say Ginny is anything but boring!!  She is a really powerful witch and definitely Harry's match.  I've been cheering for them since the first book - I loved that whole storyline.

I can't wait to re-read it now that I know all is well   :

[Juliarts2003@yahoo.com Posts: 1,628 Status: Offline Truth, Puffin/Speak, 1/19/2012 WWW]

Regarding the names of the children... Hugo, Rose and Victorie.... I couldn't help but make the Victor Hugo connection immediately... and I wonder if this poem has anything to do with it....        If not - it still seems appropriate, to me.  (and there is that JKR/Victor Hugo/Nicholas Flamel connection...)

THE GRAVE AND THE ROSE

        by: Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

            THE Grave said to the Rose,
            "What of the dews of dawn,
            Love's flower, what end is theirs?"
            "And what of spirits flown,
            The souls whereon doth close
            The tomb's mouth unawares?"
            The Rose said to the Grave.
             
            The Rose said, "In the shade
            From the dawn's tears is made
            A perfume faint and strange,
            Amber and honey sweet."
            "And all the spirits fleet
            Do suffer a sky-change,
            More strangely than the dew,
            To God's own angels new,"
            The Grave said to the Rose.

[KirstyAnn]

I'm posting rather excessively, but only because my family hasn't finished their copy of Deathly Hallows yet and keep warning me not to spoil anything.

hehe I can understand how you feel!  Although I'm lucky in that my other half doesn't read the books and is not likely to, but has seen the movies, so he was perfect to have around as I went around the house "omg Hedwig!!!!"  "oh no Dobby!!!!!"  "I TOLD you Snape was good!" etc etc  I was rather vocal reading the book I must say ... I was also yelling out things like "oh no!!" or "bl**dy brilliant!" or, and my most used expression "Ohhhhhh the twists and turns!!!!!" and he would call out from his computer "What happened now?  What happened now?"  ... so great to have someone around that I could say stuff too because I'm hopeless at keeping a secret   :x

MVP - I agreed with all of your comments so much!!  I loooooooved the Headmasters all cheering for Harry.  Fantastic!!  Oh I want to go and read that part again ... actually it might just be my most favourite part!  Sadly my sister has already taken my copy so I have to wait till she finishes.

I never really saw what was so 'unique' about Harry getting older in every book before ... but I think if kids who were 11 when the first book came out who have gotten older but Harry had not aged or the books hadn't become so dark and heart pounding they would have lost interest.  I think she aged the characters so well.  I also loved how she took us all down memory lane with the tiniest things like Sirius's motorbike through to Ron saying something like "well don't get too close.  Grandad Weasley wouldn't be happy if you married a pureblood", (Mr Weasley was probably my most favourite character) through to Harry having one final look at his old room under the stairs - to his memories as he was walking towards Voldemort preparing to die (Also I think his reaction to his fate was extremely believable)

You know, I wonder what writers can learn from Harry Potter. It's obviously excellent writing in action.

I have to agree with that ... it's amazing how someone can write something and a whole 'movie' just unfolds in your mind.

I also agree with the comment that JK does deserve all her millions!  I'm struggling with my first 3 chapters of a rather tame MG in comparison lol Those of us who do write children's books should know she certainly doesn't have a great big voice calling out to her from the sky while she takes dictation and I think she has done a truly amazing job.  I never understand people who are jealous.  As much as I want to write a GREAT book, I also love to read great books.  I hope that there isn't another "JK" out there ... I hope they are many, many more! 

I seriously could go for hours and hours on this topic   :sb

hehe  .... ok making myself go to bed!!

[Marybeth]

I readily admit I favor my male characters, too, but this has always been a gripe of mine with HP.  Not even an attempt is made to make a good female character!  Everyone important and powerful and interesting is male.  Who do we get for the girl team?  Bookish, bossy Hermione; consummate mother Mrs. Weasley; never-lives-up-to-her-potential Tonks who pines for Lupin and then ends up becoming a wife, a mom, and then dead; boring Ginny; flaky Luna; evil Bellatrix and Umbridge...etc. etc.  We have sexy French veela girls and girls who pine after Quidditch players and devoted mothers all over the place...but the girls, to me, very rarely seem to break out of stereotype and feel important compared to the exploits of the many excellent male characters.

Oh my! I have to respectfully disagree.  I think Hermoine's brilliance is critical to Harry's victory. Her intolerance of cruelty, her continued loyalty, and her bravery are unequaled. She has quirks, yes, but so do the male characters, ie Ron's constant sarcasm, Neville's clumsiness and ineptitude at certain things, the 'oafs--Dudley and Crabbe and Boyle'.  As for Mrs. Weasley . . . To me, she is Mother Earth--she is wonderful in her willingness to embrace and protect Harry. The 'mother love' pours from her, giving Harry something he's never had, something that is so critical to us all.  And Luna?  Well, she is no flakier than her father (a male!  )  Umbridge and Bellatrix are no more evil than the male deatheaters.  And remember Gilderoy Lockhart--he was such a pompous, foolish man.   As for the girls pining after Quidditch players, well, we also have Harry and Ron and other men pining after the girls!

I absolutely love her characters. It seems they reflect the good and bad and laughable traits in all of us.

[andracill Posts: 6,606 Status: Offline Worlds within...screaming to get out! WWW]

Buglady, I was also disappointed that Snape's portrait wasn't there when Harry went to Dumbledore's old office -- that was probably THE most disappointing aspect of the ending for me.  That and Ginny's lack of involvement.  I did like Hermione and her strength, but I truly thought Ginny would have a much greater role -- and ever since I read the HBP for the first time, I believed that Ginny really would storm into their plans and take her rightful place.  So that was my second biggest disappointment.

But...those were the only two.  And I must say, after spending about six hours reading the book yesterday, last night, as I went to bed, I just imagined my biggest disappointment away and 'wrote' that missing scene in my head

[Anne Marie Posts: 3,025 Status: Offline VAMPIRINA has arrived on Disney Junior! WWW]

I truly thought Ginny would have a much greater role -- and ever since I read the HBP for the first time, I believed that Ginny really would storm into their plans and take her rightful place.  So that was my second biggest disappointment.

I would have liked to have seen more of it, but weren't both Ginny and Neville instrumental in the rebellion going on Hogwarts throughout the book?  We are always in Harry's POV, so since he wasn't there, we couldn't have seen it, but she did refer to it. 

[Karen K Posts: 742 Status: Offline WWW]

I loooooove the females in these books!  I think they are fantastic and realistic and really varied - J.K. certainly hasn't labelled all females the same and each of them brings something special and different to Harry's life.  And I would say Ginny is anything but boring!!  She is a really powerful witch and definitely Harry's match.  I've been cheering for them since the first book - I loved that whole storyline.

If Ginny is a really powerful witch and definitely Harry's match, why isn't she alongside him, just as important to the plot? It almost seems like Ginny could be in a coma for the duration of Deathly Hallows and it wouldn't make any difference. Yes, she's helping by being in Dumbledore's Army, but she's just one of many. Where's her turn in the spotlight? Even Dobby and Neville got their chances.

Karen

[Athena529]

I finished reading the book yesterday and felt exhausted! It was quite a feat- amazing to think one person wrote it all.

There were definitely characters I would have liked to have seen more of; however, when I think of the huge cast (and it's quite something to give personalities to so, so many) I felt satisified that Rowling did the best job possible with the staggering number of plot lines, settings, animals and people.

[Kai Posts: 94 Status: Offline I can't want to! WWW]

And what about Harry's wand?  I'm certain I was not the only one who experienced a moment of panic and dread that Harry could never pervail without his wand!  Tieing up that little piece of the story with Harry fixing his wand with the Elder Wand was terrific.

Rowling's character development is beyond superb.  I like the fact that Voldemort was so straight forward evil.  He'd torn his soul apart so much, it would have made it less believable for the reader if he had anything else left.  Yet we saw so much of his deep character as Tom Riddle. 

I love the fact that we all can read this book and I can decide Snape is still bad and others can decide to forgive him.  That means that Rowling has given her readers so much of a character that we can make the decision, she hasn't 'told' us how to feel.

KristyAnn-you are right:  As much as I want to write a GREAT book, I also love to read great books.  I hope that there isn't another "JK" out there ... I hope they are many, many more!

P

[LindaB Posts: 338 Status: Offline I want to write!]

I loved it. I loved it. I loved it!

I thought the ending was very satisfying. The only detail that I wanted to know was what Harry's job was 17 years later. I always thought he would make a great headmaster for Hogwarts.

I've read the final three or four chapters three times already and each time I catch a detail I missed before. I loved how she gave Dumbledore flaws. It made him so much more human. I hated seeing Fred die. I loved Percy coming back at the a crucial moment but I would have been much happier if she had killed off Percy instead of Fred. I loved Neville's grandmother. I wanted to cry when Dobby died. I don't know why that affected me so much.

I never liked Snape but seeing his motivation made me look at him in a different light. Still I was surprised when Harry named his son after Snape. But then, a man who would go willingly to his death to save others would be far more forgiving than I am. I think the way LV killed Snape showed how little LV regarded human life.

I think Rowlings is a brilliant writer. I was so sorry when I finished the book. I hope she writes something new soon even if it's not about Harry Potter. But I also hope she will revisit Harry Potter's world one day. I don't think the seven books are enough.

[AooH]

So, just out of curiosity, what's wrong with being a devoted wife and mother?  I don't think the male characters would have been excellent male characters without the strong support of the women behind them in these books.  I know there was a LOT more to Tonks and Lupin's story than Rowling was able to cram in- it's tantalizing, and it's a thread that wasn't neatly tied up.  No book should have everything explained to death.  The thing is, you can't write everything, and the focus of the books wasn't on many of these characters- it was on Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  The other characters added a richness to the story and fleshed it out.  If she'd tried to tell Ginny's story, and Neville's story, and everyone else's, we'd all still be reading, if we could even lift the book.
As a wife and mother, one of the most exciting things for me is to see my kids and my husband succeed in what they attempt, because I've been there supporting them.  Their successes are very much my successes, and so the book read very, very real to me. The female characters were not weak, or boring, but their character was such that it shone through the actions of the male characters who were the major players.  I don't think Ron would have had the strength he had without his mother's strong and proper love and upbringing of her children behind him.  Harry's desire for a mother was heartbreaking, and her sacrifice shaped who he was.  I have a feeling Ted will grow up with some of the same anguish, but the knowledge of what his parents sacrificed themselves for will do a great deal for building his character.
 Hermione could be bossy, yes.  Who'd want a perfect character?  I liked that character flaw in her, because as exasperating as she was at times, she was someone real and consistent.  And brainy and bookish is a problem?  How far would Harry and Ron have gotten if they'd had a ditzy, hormone crazed cheerleader type along with them?

[Z-cat]

I wanted to see the Hufflepuff common room! It's the only one we never got to visit!!!  

Loved this book.
-I was right about Snape. And I took a lot of heat for saying he was my favorite character. Until the last half of book 7, when Dumbledore
  finally becomes human,  he was the most complex, and least definable character in the whole wizarding world. Good or Evil? we didn't really 
  know until the very end.
- I was right about Aberforth! The first time I read #5, I remember thinking, "That barman's description sounds exactly like Dumbledore." Then
  when I reread it, and Moody was naming off all of the Order members, I knew it was him. I thought it was odd that Harry didn't ask Moody
  or Dumbledore about Aberforth.
-I was not right about much else, but it was still a great read. The fastest 750 pages I've ever read.

Only a scant few things dissapointed me.
- It was the fastest 750 pages I ever read. But there was no way I could have let it sit.
-For all the attention it got, I thought that Tonks/Lupin/Teddy subplot was going to be more important. Tonks was never one of my favorites,
  and I thought Teddy was going to be way more important down the road, since Lupin was the last of James' friends, and the one Harry spent   the most time with.
-That final showdown, when Harry really and truly comes face to face with Voldemort at the do-or-die moment was a teeny, tiny, slightly little bit
  anticlimatic. Just one blast, and Voldemort was done. I thought he would be a more clever opponent. Though I was so emotinoally exhausted
  at that point that I was just glad it was over.

Loved it. Now I am really interested to read something by Rowling that isn't Harry Potter.