I wasn’t really a big Harry Potter fan.  I did not read the books – I only watched the movies.  And even when the movies did come out, I wasn’t impressed with them – especially the first one. This is partly because the first “Potter” movie came out the same time “Lord Of The Rings (Fellowship)” did.  It wasn’t until the “Goblet of Fire” movie came out that I really got into the series.  But even then, I decided not to read the 6th book.

But after watching “The Order Of The Phoenix” two weeks ago, my curiousity about the series really got the best of me.  I bought the 6th book, “Half-blood Prince” and read it with much enthusiasm.  The book was very thick and daunting.  And yet, I slept a little late at night and during lunch, I would hurry up and run home to read a chapter or two. I wasn’t able to finish it in time for the 7th book release (July 21).  However, I did manage to finish the book last Sunday, whereupon I bought the last book of the series – “The Deathly Hallows”.

I can’t help but say that “Hallows” has got to be,… no…  it is…  the best book I have ever read (so far).  It was truly addictive and the action does not stop, from the very beginning up to the climax at the end.  And the ending, oh the ending…  Rowling couldn’t have made it better.  All of my questions (and everyone else’s) were answered in the end.  (No spoilers here) But YOU have to read it!

Harry and his friends are now older, though still teenagers, and as such are more intriguing.  The series really shows the “coming-of-age” of our beloved hero.  (Pictured on the right are the three whose friendship seemed to falter at times, but they nevertheless stuck with each other until the end – even ’till now!)  And although the story is a mere fantasy, I love the fact that Rowling really dug deep into the human aspect of things.  As the kids got older, they started to rebel and obey, fall in love, seek the truth, challenge themselves, be the outcast and yet the hero,… and find the meaning of it all.  There were parts of the book where I was, quite literally, almost into tears (I need to emphasize “almost” here).  Most specially the line “he was probably the bravest man I ever knew”.

What a classy ending!  I finished reading today.  It took me almost a week, but hey,…  I work too darn much!  And I know that I’m starting to sound like an overgrown kid, nerd, geek, (freak).  But the book really was that good!  I am saddened, however, by the fact that there is nothing else to look forward to but the movies.  I can’t wait for them to come out.