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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) |  | Author: J.K. Rowling
Brand: Scholastic
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
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Seller: barbarycoastbooks
Rating:  3518 reviews
Sales Rank: 266
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 784
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.2 x 1.8
ISBN: 0545139708
EAN: 9780545139700
ASIN: 0545139708
Publication Date: July 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This is the latest in Harry Potter technology! It's a book!
Amazon.com Review
Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues. The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise. A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix's flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. --Daphne Durham Visit the Harry Potter Store
 Our Harry Potter Store features all things Harry, including books, audio CDs and cassettes, DVDs, soundtracks, games, and more.
Begin at the Beginning
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Hardcover
Paperback |
Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
| | * Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat. | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
| | * The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
* Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
* The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms. | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
| | * Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
* Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
* The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape. | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
| | * Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
* Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
* Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge.
* Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses. | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
| * Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
* Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
* Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
* Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry. | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
| * The introduction of the Horcrux.
* Molly Weasley asking Arthur Weasley about his "dearest ambition." Rowling has always been great at revealing little intriguing bits about her characters at a time, and Arthurs answer "to find out how airplanes stay up" reminds us about his obsession with Muggles.
* Harry's private lessons with Dumbledore, and more time spent with the fascinating and dangerous pensieve, arguably one of Rowlings most ingenious inventions.
* Fred and George Weasleys Joke Shop, and the slogan: "Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You Should Be Worrying About U-NO-POO--the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!"
* Luna's Quidditch commentary. Rowling created scores of Luna Lovegood fans with hilarious and bizarre commentary from the most unlikely Quidditch commentator.
* The effects of Felix Felicis. | Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling
 "I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. Im sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.
Did You Know?  | The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child. |  | Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author. |  | Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer. | A Few Words from Mary GrandPré
 "When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 3518
 A stunning and thoroughly satisfying conclusion July 21, 2007
Jonathan Appleseed
659 out of 733 found this review helpful
This is arguably the most "hyped" book in history, and if J.K. Rowling had to sneak down to the kitchen for a glass of red wine to calm her nerves while writing The Goblet of Fire (as she said she did), one wonders what assuaged her while writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The collective breath of tens of millions of readers has been held for two years...and now...was it worth the wait? Did Ms. Rowling live up to the hype? (For that, amongst hundreds of questions, is really the only question that matters.)
The answer, most assuredly, is YES.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is told in a strikingly different style than the previous six books - even different from The Half Blood Prince, and, I daresay, it's a better written, better edited, tighter narrative. And while the action is lively and well paced throughout, Rowling found a way to answer most of our questions while introducing new and complex ideas. What fascinated me was this: Some people were right, with regard to who is good, who is bad, who will live, who will die - but almost nobody got the "why" part correct. I truthfully expected an exciting but rather predictable ending, but instead was thrown for a loop. We've known that Rowling is fiendishly clever for years - but I didn't think she was *this* clever.
Not since turning the final page of The Return of the King twenty-eight years ago have I felt such a keen sense of loss. My love affair (indeed, everyone's love affair, I imagine) with all things Harry began somewhere in the first three chapters of The Sorcerer's Stone, and has lasted, on this side of the Atlantic, three months shy of nine years. For all that time we have waited and wondered - was Dumbledore right to trust Snape? Will Ron and Hermione get together? What's to become of Ginny and Harry? What really happened on that tower, when Dumbledore was blasted backwards, that "blast" atypical of the Avada Kedavra curse as we've seen it when used throughout the series. So many more questions than those listed here, and so many devilishly well-hidden hints. The answers, as I hinted above, will shock and awe you.
When first we met Harry Potter, he was "The Boy Who Lived", with an address of "The Cupboard Under the Stairs". Who could help but bleed sympathy for Harry, treated abysmally - abused, really - by the only blood relatives he had, and forced to live under said stairs by those awful Muggles, the Dursleys? It was a sensationally brilliant introduction, one that ensured that our heartstrings would be plucked and enchanted to sing. He was The Boy Who Lived.
Since reading that first book, we have enjoyed Rowling's spry sense of humor - portraits that spoke, stairways that moved at any given moment, Hagrid jinxing Dudley so that a pigs tail grew from his behind, Fred and George's fantastic creations, etc, etc., etc., and more etc's. There was a sense of wonder and magic in Rowling's writing, so thoroughly captivating that the recommended age group of 9-12 in no way resembled the book's actual audience. It was common to see adults walking about with hardcover copies of the latest book, sans dust jacket (to hide the fact that they were reading a "kids" book, I suppose). It was also common to hear of eight year olds sitting down with a seven-hundred-plus page book! By themselves! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.
As for Harry, we admired him. He wasn't afraid to stand up for what he felt was right, even if he found himself in detention for it. He was brutally honest, and immensely courageous and loyal. Harry came to embody, at times, who we would like to be. He wasn't perfect, of course. He suspected Snape of being the one who was after the Sorcerer's Stone, and in The Chamber of Secrets, he thought that Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin. This didn't diminish Harry in our eyes - it made him more human, more real, and even, perhaps, more enviable.
Endless fan sites have been erected. For an adult to go to any of them, and find that thirteen year olds are having an easier time parsing out the books plots, subplots, and mysteries, was (for me at least) humbling, but yet also a testament to Rowling herself, and her remarkable creation. She encouraged an entire generation of young readers to read and to think for themselves.
But the time has come to say good-bye, for this is truly the end.
So good-bye, Harry. Good-bye Hermione, Ron, Professor Dumbledore, *Professor* Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Hagrid, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Dobby (and all the house elves), even Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We will miss all of you, every character we encountered, from Muggle to Mudblood to hippogriff and owl, and everything about the world you all so vibrantly inhabit. And to Ms. Rowling: know that you have brought immeasurable joy to millions and millions of Muggles worldwide, and know that we cannot possibly thank you enough. What a tremendous gift you were given. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Nice CD set! July 21, 2007
Julie Neal (Sanibel Island, Fla.)
98 out of 113 found this review helpful
This 17-disc audio version of the final Harry Potter book is a worthy way to experience the story without reading it. It features the rich baritone of narrator Jim Dale, who tells the tale with just the right understated touch, supplying all of the characters' voices.
As for Dale's accent, it's appropriately British but not at all too thick. Each word is clear and easy to understand. If you've bought any of the earlier Potter audio CDs you know what to expect: Dale narrated all of those, too.
By the way, note that this is an UNABRIDGED audio book. Listening to it all takes 21 hours!
The story is dark, and too violent for younger kids, but overall one of the best in the Harry Potter series. Nothing seems forced or thrown together. Author J.K. Rowling wraps up her many plot points and reveals the fates of her characters in ways that almost always surprise you, but afterward seem inevitable.
And how she does it is so inventive! Many throwaway moments and whispered remarks from earlier books foreshadow what happens here, and devices that had little importance before, such as Sirius's flying motorcycle, now play key roles. While creating yet another gripping tale, the author also ties her entire epic together with the skill of a true literary master. As a writer myself, I really admire her skill. (Last time I checked, Rowling was outselling me by about, oh, a billion to one.)
In addition, the book treats its title character with the complexity he deserves. It portrays the (now) young man as disillusioned, full of doubt, overwhelmed -- a tortured soul who, though a responsible leader in an all-out war, often seems to yearn to do nothing more than sweet-talk Ginny Weasley.
Parents should know, however, that this one is a real creepfest, with the most explicitly violent scenes of any book in the series. It's way too brutal for grade schoolers. Also, unlike the earlier Potter tales, the far-reaching vocabulary requires about a 6th-grade education.
For those of us that grew up with Harry... July 23, 2007
Chelsea
40 out of 47 found this review helpful
*SPOILERS: please don't read if you haven't finished the book*
After reading the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series, as well as many of these reviews, I simply cannot believe that anyone would rate this book with less than 5 stars. I have read reviews where people say that the ending is too "light and fluffy", or that "Harry should have died", and that the whole deathly hallows part of the plot is pointless because, in the end, Harry does not keep the hallows. Can no-one here see why JK Rowling ended the series as she did? I grew up with Harry Potter, the first book having been released when I was about 9 or 10. I cannot express how depressing it would have been had Harry died, for(forgive me for the cheeziness) if Harry had died surely there was no hope for the rest of us. Furthermore, the ending is not "light and fluffy". Harry overcomes Voldemort as his character develops, as he finally understands how to finish the Dark Lord once and for all- as he allows himself to be sacrificed for the benefit of "the greater good". The deathly hallows merely stand as the temptation for Harry to become all-powerful, to make the same mistake that Voldemort and Dumbledore(when he was young) made. His choice to turn down the opportunity to evade death not only speaks on his true character, but sets him apart from those who would try to harness this power. Even if Harry had chosen to keep the Hallows for good purposes, would he not eventually turn into the same type of tyrant as Grindelwald, as Voldemort, and as Dumbledore would have become? Yes, the hallows did appear and disappear in this one book, but because Harry chose NOT to keep them for himself, he chose the path of the pure-hearted. By this action, we truly see how much Harry has grown and matured. We also see just how different Harry really is from Voldemort, a question Harry himself had been wondering for some time.
So for those of you that bash this book for not ending in total destruction, and claim that "life is not fair and evil really does win", please remember that life is only what you make of it. Only those of us who grew up with Harry can really say just how much his life means to us, and I would just like to thank JK Rowling for this wonderful finishing piece of the Harry Potter series.
Please deliver to Miss Hermione Granger July 30, 2007
D. N. Stone (Stamford, CT United States)
20 out of 22 found this review helpful
Dear Miss Granger,
Now that you have completed your seventh year of Hogwarts (I assume you got academic credit for your interesting "internship" hunting Horcruxes and Hallows) and are preparing to join the working world, I am writing to offer you the post of my assistant librarian. Your conduct in Book 7 of the Harry Potter series has convinced me that you would make a superb Assistant Stern Librarian:
Your love of books was never more apparent than when you packed your magical backpack and spent so much time deciding which volumes should be taken along with the tent, clothes and food. That is just like me packing for vacation.
Your wide reading always seems to save the day--case in point, when a certain otherwise superb wizard did not know the importance of Godrick's Hollow, your knowledge of Bagshott's The History of Magic kept him on the right track.
Your ability to whip up a good dish from scrounged mushrooms shows you can get by on a librarian's salary.
Dumbledore left you a book in his will--and as far as I am concerned that says everything about your mission in life.
As the main Muggle-born character you embody the soul of this series' message of tolerance and you are the one character who NEVER abandons Harry Potter in the Deathly Hallows.
Oh, and slightly off the topic, since you seem to have moved on, could you tell Victor Krum I am a huge fan and give him my number! Your peer in reading,
The Stern Librarian (I could also use your help with my Silencing Spells).
A Worthy Mature Finale to a Multi-Layered Series July 22, 2007
Lisa Shea
51 out of 63 found this review helpful
NOTE: This is a spoiler-free review.
The bar of expectation has been set phenomenally high for the last book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Released only a short while after Book 5's movie was released, the last 3 novels are much more dark and mature than the first book, where Harry Potter was but a young boy learning of his magical heritage. Where books 1 and 2 were fine fodder for young children, these later stories are definitely written with teenagers and up in mind.
The themes being examined here are quite mature - how government can have mixed motives and can twist the truth, how newspapers can become the voice of the government and feed mis-information for political reasons, how adults that you trust and look up to may have dark pasts and not-so-pure motives. We're past the "simple" issues of revenge and love and into far more complex agendas.
Many children's books have clear morals and well defined heroes and enemies - the wicked stepmother, the beautiful fairy. Harry Potter's final tome is far more grey than that. This can be very confusing (and unsettling) for younger children who still need to feel secure in a world where grown-ups can be trusted. For more mature readers, this is a beautiful example of peeling back the layers of the onion to see the underside of life. We began with a very innocent, simple view of the world, naturally coming from the young view of Harry Potter. As he aged and matured, so did our ability to see what was going on around us in the Harry Potter universe - to understand the reason for the actions of his teachers, his friends' parents, and other characters in this multi-leveled universe.
With Deathly Hallows, Harry is now an adult. He has turned 17, the coming of age time for wizards. He is no longer safe with his aunt and uncle as a result. He is no longer required to go to school, and can take control of his own actions and path in life. As adult readers know, this is hardly the freedom or release that teenagers often think it will be. With that freedom to rule your own life also comes great responsibility. You are now responsible for how your actions will affect those around you that you care for. Harry's choices are going to have a huge impact on Hermoine and Ron, who valiantly want to stand by their friend.
In one sense, Harry has been set on a path by Dumbledore, and you could claim that all that happens is Dumbledore's fault. On the other hand, Harry has free will, and Dumbledore's instructions have always been vague at best. Harry has quite a lot of range of choice in what he does and does not do - and some of those choices are difficult at best.
There are meditations here on the meaning of death and life, on the value of sacrifice. Every character has known pain and has made decisions for selfish reasons. There are celebrations of new beginnings, and yes, there are some endings as well. Not to be overly hokey, but there's a reason the "circle of life" cliche shows up so often in fine literature. This imagery has been around since mankind began civilization and it is an integral part of how our society works.
People looking for the non-stop comic action of high school hijinx and game competitions will be disappointed. This final novel is nothing like that. In fact, there are long stretches where the characters feel stymied, where it feels like no progress is being made. The book forces you to slow down, to really think about what is going on, to feel the strain and pressure of achieving an extremely difficult goal. Yes, there are action sequences and well described battles - but those are the exception, not the rule. Deathly Hallows is about internal struggles and emotional challenges.
The vocabulary reflects this as well. This book is written at a high school level and was not meant to be skimmed or jumped through. The wording and the sentence structure encourage you to go slowly, to contemplate, to think about what is being said. While Harry spends weeks contemplating issues and trying to figure out how he feels about an issue, you, the reader, are encouraged to do the same. It's an avenue of self exploration.
At the risk of offending the Harry Potter fanatics, I do want to mention just a few things. I'll do this without spoilers on Amazon and be more clear on my website - on a separate page - for those who have read the book. First, a few sequences in this book felt very much deus ex machina. Yes, explanations are provided later in the book, but the same things could have been arranged in a much more probable manner. The way certain sequences run, it's almost as if she had Chapter X and Chapter Y and then had to figure out some way to connect them. Next, certain key character's personalities change in leaps without that development being shown. We have developed such a connection with those characters over the years that it would have been wonderful to see that maturation, but instead it just seems to "happen".
Still, as I mentioned at the beginning, the bar was set exceedingly high for this book. It was expected to be exactly perfect, a stunning work of literature appropriate for every age group. It was expected to satisfy both those who wanted a Hollywood Ending as well as those who feel realism requires death, destruction and bleak despair. While it is not going to achieve all of those goals - really, can any single book do that? - it is an extremely good read which has exposed millions of people to questions and issues they might not have otherwise encountered. It encourages those people to think - critically - about the world they live in. And really, you cannot ask any book to do much more than that.
Highly recommended.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 3518
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