Leaving Hogwarts...

Wow. I finished J.K.Rowling's 7th Harry Potter novel this afternoon. I'm exhausted! Not because it kept me up, but because of the range of emotions I've experienced since late Friday night. Anger, desperation, fear, devastation, hope, grief, jubilation...I've felt them all repeatedly. I've been hungry, tired, hexed, trapped, confused, resigned, and relieved; annoyance has festered as things didn't move as quickly as I'd hoped, and then the realization came that it couldn't have moved any quicker or the story wouldn't have come together as it did in the end. 759 pages later, I'm so grateful to have experienced this set of books, and I cannot imagine not going back to Hogwarts with Harry.

I won't go into specifics in reviewing Deathly Hallows because I know there are still people out there reading. I will say that the action toward the end is fast and furious and makes so much sense after all of the preceding books and events. Rowling must be a genius to have plotted this book out so intricately! I was a bit irritated in the first half of the book that things weren't moving faster; however, I was conscious as I read that if things did move faster, the book would end even sooner than I was dreading. Without giving anything away, I will say this is indeed a quest, and Harry faces his future with courage and fortitude. Where is the little guy we saw as he first got on the Hogwarts Express? Luckily, Rowling included enough references to him and his friends over the years that those memories kept reminding me along the way of why I love these characters and this setting so much. Keep tissues handy; Rowling tried to prepare us ahead of time for the losses but I am still reeling. Finally, the ending is what I'd hoped it would be, and I am satisfied.

I haven't reviewed this book on amazon yet; I'm waiting for all the teenyboppers who like to vote NO just to be voting to calm down and quit checking the review pages. Maybe in a couple of weeks I'll be ready to post my final thoughts on this book. I know for certain I won't be letting go of the story or the emotions. Gut-wrenching, gripping, and grand, this is a book not to be missed. Read it, savor it, then revisit Hogwarts often. I will.

~taminator40