I like Harry.
I'm kind of surprised that I like Harry because he is a bit of a cad and reminds me a bit of the type of boy I hated when I was eleven. But he isn't being given the Mary Sue treatment and that makes me like him even more. Even his peers go back and forth between loving him and hating him...and they (so far) have had very good reasons to feel both of those ways about him.
I was also really surprised by the dynamic of the Harry/Hermione/Ron trio...I had no clue that Hermione wasn't their friend from the onset. I actually really enjoyed that aspect to it. Her transformation is believable and heartwarming. She's a sweet girl and I like her. But, out of everyone...I love Neville Longbottom. I wish these books were about Neville, not Harry. I kind of want to take him aside, hand him some treacle tart and tell him he's worth ten of everyone at the school...combined. Love.
The Tolkienness of the story did tone down once Harry got to Hogwarts, but it's still there. Most notably with the inclusion of the mirror. A mirror that doesn't show you reality? A mirror whose images could consume your thoughts if you let it? A mirror that is both dangerous and valuable? Nope, doesn't sound familiar at all! ;)
The bit at the end with Voldemort kind of lost me, but I absolutely loved the tasks they had to go through to get to the end. Felt kind of videogame-ish, but I love videogames, so I loved this. And Dumbledore assigning the last winning ten house points to Neville Longbottom made me break out in a huge grin. Neville really did get most of my strong reactions. The one time that I really laughed literally outloud was when Neville ran off still wearing the sorting hat. What a little goof. Love him.
The strange enemy relationship between Harry and Draco confuses me. I kept trying to figure out why it started, because nothing big enough really happened to fuel that kind of hate they both have for the other. I can, kind of, get why Draco would immediately dislike Harry...he's a spoiled boy that does not being outshined and would resent Harry's popularity. And, knowing what I do about the Malfoy's more sinister connections, there could be an element of that to it as well. Draco knew of Harry long before he met him and it's very possible that not everything he heard was favorable. But Harry really had no reason to respond to Draco in such a negative way aside from associating Draco with his cousin. Which really isn't fair, but that harkens back to some of Harry's flaws. He's no saint, and I like that.
I really look forward to seeing more from Snape. His backstory intrigues me. He had precious few mentions in this book, but even that limited offering exposed such depth to him. He seems so cerebral and I can't wait to see want of mental torment he puts himself through.
Oh, and I want an invisibility cloak.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Oh, god, depth? Snape's emotional growth was halted around the age of 16. That's his "growth". And, you know, I hate Snape so much that for a while I actually couldn't remember whether he turned out good or evil in the end. Even now I only have a vague idea (I read book 7 when it came out and haven't reread it since), whereas I could write detailed biographies of almost all the other characters through the books.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Snape, though... I have to find that fanfic where Snape and Harry screw like bunnies while Harry is wearing a pink frilly dress and is pretending to be Snape's niece, named Mary. It's so not fair that I'm the only one who suffered actually having read some of it.
Neville is a peach. It's funny that you say you wish the books were about him, because...well, I suppose I can't say it without giving something away. You'll understand what I mean in due time, I guess.
ReplyDeleteKacper, I can't believe that you hate Snape. I love Snape. I do prefer Movie Snape over Book Snape, but still. Snape is Snape, and Snape is awesome.