While Voldemort's power grows, Harry and his friends try to find the objects he's used to hide part of his soul, which can make him immortal.

Although the book ends well, the first half, except for the story of the Deathly Hallows itself, is very slow. Whether it’s the book or the movie, it just isn’t interesting to sit in the woods all day, just so that the battle can take place at the end of the school year. Harry let all the students suffer for an entire year. I understand that it takes time to decipher things, but for the longest time they were just arguing, and that didn’t sit well with me. Once they started moving, however, learning things and doing something, then it got more interesting. Was Dumbledore’s early life necessary to the plot? Not really, but it was interesting, nonetheless. Not the best conclusion to the series, but once it got moving, it was worth the wait.

A chilling conclusion to the Harry Potter series, with as much depth as any of the previous books, and so much more than the movies.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Deathly Hallows movies, but I can tell that they barely touched the surface of what goes on in this book. It could have been a mini-series, for all the information and plot given here.

The book opens with more explanation than the movie, with the Dursleys leaving their home, Hermione casting the memory loss spell on her parents (temporary, we’re told), and the Order of the Phoenix turning themselves into Harrys so that the Death-Eaters would have multiple targets when they inevitably attacked.

I thought Hedwig’s death was a cheat to get the owl out of the way for the rest of the book, but I guess it would have been a hindrance to what he needed to do. I didn’t remember Mad-Eye Moody’s death, and it struck a chord.

The whole mystery of Harry’s wand, and Valdemort’s inability to destroy Harry, is a major plot point here, which I found interesting. Their flight into the wilderness was better represented in the book than the movie, in which I found it to be boring. And their visit to Luna’s father’s house was more bizarre than anything.

There is also a lot more made out about Dumbledore’s family, and his attitudes toward Muggles and how it changed. The way his sister died had a lot to do with it, though there is much scandal in the wizarding world when Rita Skeeter’s unauthorized biography comes out. I wondered that she never cared anymore that Hermione’s threat of exposing her as a changeling (from Goblet of Fire) didn’t bother her anymore.

Also interesting is the way Dumbledore gained the elder wand, defeating his old friend Grindewald in a duel. Considering that Grindewald and Dumbledore planned to take over the world together, it's amazing how Dumbledore's attitudes changed (which leads me to wonder why), that he would kill his best friend because of it.

The Deathly Hallows play a very interesting part here inside Harry’s mind. He wants to go after the three Hallows, but also the Hoarcruxes. Eventually he realizes that he can’t do both. If he goes after the Hallows, Valdemort will know that he’s still connected, and that will make him realize that Harry is after the hoarcruxes. So it’s a hard decision to make when Harry allows Valdemort to gain the Elder Wand.

It’s also interesting that Dumbledore was going to die regardless of whether or not Snape or Malefoy killed him. After trying to destroy the hoarcrux ring, Dumbledore released a spell that would consume him within a year anyway.

Malefoy’s story was a little confusing. It’s obvious that his parents are disillusioned about Valdemort this time, especially after they are humiliated so often. But Draco still wants to prove himself worthy, so he tries to sabotage Harry, but Harry saves him anyway, in the fire. When all is done, Draco’s mother spirits him away, just like in the movie. I thought it needed more resolution.

Nonetheless, the book was a good conclusion to the series.