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Children's Book Reviews
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
by J.K. Rowling
Scholastic, July, 2005
Hardcover, 652 pages
ISBN: 0439784549
Ages 12 and up
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk
The sixth installment of the adventures of Harry Potter opens with one of
the funniest scenes in the series so far (a scene which Rowling has said she wrote
years ago, but which only now seemed to work as the opener).
The current Prime Minister of
England (and indeed, one does immediately picture the much put-upon Tony Blair)
is having a terrible week. The opposition is
blaming him for various natural disasters and his policies are under attack.
To make things worse, he is waiting for a phone call from "the president of
a distant land" and wondering "when the wretched man would call." But
these ruminations are interrupted by a portrait of a "froglike little man
wearing a long silver wig who was depicted in a small, dirty oil painting in
the far corner of the room." The painting addresses him as the Prime Minister
of the Muggles and insists that the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge must speak to
him at once. Whereupon readers are entertained with a very funny history
of how exactly the wizarding world interacts with the government of the Muggle
world -- the secret being passed down from Prime Minister to Prime Minister --
over time.
The news that en entire magical world exists right beside ours is enough to turn a
Prime Minister (or a President's ) hair gray shortly after being sworn in. The purpose
of the visit is to inform the Muggles that the war in the wizarding well is spilling
over into the muggle world. The Death Eaters who follow Lord Voldemort are escalating
the violence against wizards and muggles alike, and have threatened the Ministry of Magic
and the wizards who are loyal to Dumbledore (the newly reinstated Chief Warlock of the
Wizengamot) with more muggle deaths.
Because of the war, the very future of Hogwarts
is in question, as Harry Potter sets out for his new school term.
The older students start to realize that the results of their O.W.L.s (Ordinary
Wizarding Level) tests will likely determine their future places in
the wizarding world. Although usually brilliant at wizarding,
Harry has always been dismal at Potions,
but when he receives the used textbook of the Half-Blood Prince, suddenly
he's at the top of the Potions class. But dangerous Potions are only part of
what awaits Harry this term: terrorism hits Hogwarts as the Death Eaters
try to take out the Chosen One, who they believe is the chief threat to Lord
Voldemort. Harry will take private lessons from Dumbledore to prepare him for
his ultimate fight with evil. He will go on a dangerous and fascinating mission with Dumbledore to retrieve an object of great value to Voldemort, and, through the use of Dumbledore's amazing Pensieve, will also travel
into past memories as they try to piece together the past history of Tom Riddle,
the student who reinvented himself as the powerful "One Who Must Not Be Named."
In addition the growing danger, Harry and his friends are growing up and
romance is in the air at Hogwarts. The 16 year-old Harry is starting to
realize the price he is going to pay for his powers and his status as The
Chosen One. A beloved figure dies in front of his very eyes while he is powerless
to help, and the attacks by Voldemort's minions grow more fierce and more terrifying.
Rowling brilliantly weaves together the myriad threads and subplots from the
first five books, and sets the stage for the seventh and final book in the series. Essentially a coming of age story, it is also a detective novel, a
boarding school adventure and a brilliantly-executed fantasy tale. Rowling never
seems to run out of ideas: the book simply overflows with clever dialogue,
wit, humor and suspense. It's best to ignore all the hype and to just concentrate
on what these books really are: fascinating stories with engaging and believable
characters who just happen to be wizards. Rowling has accomplished something unique: she has created a classic piece of children's literature which is astoundingly popular during her own lifetime.
--Claire E. White
Across the Wall
by Garth Nix
Eos, August, 2005
Hardcover, 305 pages
ISBN: 0060747137
Ages Young Adult
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
|
Amazon.co.uk
This delightful short story collection from Australian children's author Garth Nix
begins with a meaty novella entitled "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case,"
which picks up right after the events in the Abhorsen, the third book in the
Abhorsen trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael and
Abhorsen). Nicholas Sayre barely
made out of the Old Kingdom alive, but now that's he's back in Ancelstierre, south of
the Wall which keeps the Charter Magic at bay, all he wants is to go back to the Old
Kingdom. As a wealthy son of an important father, Nicholas is invited to a
house party, which is a cover for a secret experiment run in the basement.
Going undercover for his father, Nicholas finds that the scientists are keeping
a dormant powerful Free Magic creature prisoner. When the creature escapes,
Nicholas must call upon every bit of his ingenuity and brains to save those in
its rampaging path back to the Old Kingdom. The story is fast-moving and
full of suspense and atmosphere. The only disappointment here is that the
story doesn't continue on for the rest of the book.
The rest of the stories are all introduced by the author with interesting little
notes and explanations. "Hansel's Eyes" is an edge-of-your seat urban retelling
of the Hansel and Gretel story in which a witch uses computer games and
junk food to lure unwary children into her story, and which will
linger in the reader's mind long after the story is over. The other stories vary in
style and length -- from differing twists on the Merlin legend to a moving story of
children and war, to the oldest
story in the lot, a very funny satire of the "chose your own adventure" games
called "Down to the Scrum Quarter."
Nix is one of the best fantasy writers working today, and this collection is a
must-have for fans.
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