Bibliographic Information: Rowling, J. (2007). Harry Potter and the deathly hallows. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
Plot Summary:
Dumbledore is dead, Snape killed him, and Voldemort is continuing to
gain power. As his seventeenth birthday approaches, Harry’s prepares to
leave the Dursley’s on Privet Drive for the last time. Led by Alastor
“Mad Eye” Moddy, the Order of the Phoenix arrive to lead Harry from the
Dursley’s to safety at the Weasley home. They experience difficulty in
their travels, as Snape leaked the plan to move Harry to Voldemort.
Fortunately Harry arrives unharmed, and he, Ron, and Hermione prepare
for their journey to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes. Bestowed
with the item left to them by Dumbledore, they begin their mission and
encounter multiple obstacles: Death Eaters, sneaking into the Ministry
of Magic, stealing from Gringotts, betrayal, kidnapping, and torture.
Snape is cornered by Voldemort and killed in order to become the true
owner of the Elder wand. Witnessing this act, Harry rushed to Snape’s
side where Snape gives Harry a memory to watch in the pensieve before
dying.
Much
to his astonishment, Harry learns from Snape’s memory that he is the
seventh Horcrux, and he must let Voldemort kill him, if Voldemort is to
be destroyed.
Critical Evaluation: In Rowling’s last installment of the Potter
series, the theme of sacrifice is evident. Several characters
sacrifice their lives for Harry and his mission to defeat the evil
Voldemort. This was how the story began, with Lily Potter sacrificing
her life to save Harry. Now that Harry knows he is the final Horcrux,
he is faced with the biggest decision of his life: Fight for his life
and risk an ever-present Voldemort, or sacrifice his life for the
elimination of the Dark Lord. This decision has been years in the
making. When Harry first arrived at Hogwarts, he was unsure of himself,
having been mistreated his entire life. Learning that he was someone
special was a lot for him to handle. Over the years we saw Harry learn
to accept his calling as the Chosen One, and fight the evil forces
lurking about. This last and great battle between he and Voldemort is
the most important, and potentially last, one of his life. Rowling did a
stupendous job bringing to light Snape’s true allegiance, something
readers were only able to hypothesize. Another theme throughout the
whole series is good vs. evil, a battle that continues throughout
history. The result of this battle lies in Harry’s hands, and he
doesn’t take the issue lightly.
Reader’s Annotation:
Dumbledore is dead, and Snape killed him. How did Harry let this
happen? How can he defeat Voldemort without Dumbledore’s strength and
wisdom?
Information about the author: JK
Rowling, born Joanne Rowling, assumed the pen name “JK” after
encouragement from her publisher in hopes to appeal to young boys- their
target audience. Rowling’s writing career blossomed from humble
beginnings. After graduating from Exeter University with a degree in
French and Classics, she moved to Portugal to teach English as a second
language. There she met Jorge Arantes, and they married in 1992. Their
daughter, Jessica, was born in 1993, and eventually their marriage
ended in divorce, and Rowling moved to Edinburgh near her younger
sister (Rowling, n.d.).
Rowling supported Jessica and herself on welfare while she worked on Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. The book was published in 1997, and the Harry Potter series dominated book sales for the next ten years.
Rowling recently published her first non-Potter and adult novel, Casual Vacancy, which has been received with mixed reviews (Bio, n.d.).
Genre: Fantasy
Curriculum Ties: English (literature)
Booktalking ideas (one or two):
1. Daily Prophet: Dumbledore is dead!
2. Harry’s perspective.
Reading level/Interest age: 10+
Challenge Issues:This novel contains magic, which is considered offensive by some.
To defend challenged material I would:
1. Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.
2. Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.
3. Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
4. Refer to the collection policy of my library.
5. Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material
Why I chose this book: This book is the much anticipated resolution to the Harry Potter series, and provides the closure readers have been waiting for over nine years.
Why I chose this book: This book is the much anticipated resolution to the Harry Potter series, and provides the closure readers have been waiting for over nine years.
References:
Rowling, J. (n.d.) Biography. J.K. Rowling. Retrieved 1 May 2013 from
Bio. True Story (n.d.) J.K. Rowling biography. A+E Television Networks, LLC.
Retrieved 1 May 2013 from
http://www.biography.com/people/jk-rowling-40998?page=2
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