Yup, I finished the book on Saturday afternoon but I was waiting for other people to finish reading it before I posted about it. Luckily one of my friends has finished so we have been discussing it, while I wait for my boyfriend and my best friend from college to finish reading it!
The books definitely get better, starbug. I wasn't that impressed with the first two books either, but I kept on reading and LOVED the third book. The first book I gave a pass since there was so much background/setup to cram into one book. The second one I liked even less (almost to the point of disliking it), but I could see the appeal of the books for kids - there is an entire magical world that we don't know about! The third book sealed the deal for me. I really loved it, but then the fourth one seemed too bloated. I thought her editor should have been firmer and made it at least 100 pages shorter. The fifth one was even longer, but it went quickly and didn't seem like it was too long (if that makes any sense). It also advanced the story a lot and took a very dark tone. The sixth was similar to the fifth in that it was long, but it didn't seem gratuitiously long (unlike He's Just Not That Into You which could have been condensed down to an article in Cosmo instead of a $20 hardback book with huge fonts) and Harry is becoming even more of an adult, taking on responsibilities and risks that many of the adult characters do not dare. Unlike the earlier books where he seems to fall into these situations, Harry is now choosing to put himself in these situations.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot points in case you do decide to read the rest of the books, but one of the reasons why I like these books is that Harry has continued to develop as a character throughout the series instead of remaining stagnant while having more adventures (think: Nancy Drew). For example, in book 5, he had a lot of teenage angst and anger but in book 6 he has learned to control his temper. That's a huge oversimplification but I like that Harry continues to change and grow, even if I don't always agree with his choices.
I remember there was a hilarious article a few years ago that said Harry Potter wasn't "the boy who lived" (as he is referred to in the wizarding world) but the boy who didn't die. The article went on to say that he always gets help from his friends and isn't the great hero that people believe he is (strangely, the dig about his friends reminded me about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the possibility that she lived longer than some of the other Slayers because she had friends and family). In the earlier this books, this may be true but now Harry is consciously making choices to what is right, rather than what is easy. Instead of stumbling upon dangerous situations and saving his own neck, now he is deciding when and where.
One thing that I am ambivalent about is how dark the books have become. I don't mind it at all, and I like that there has been a gradual shift to that, but it concerns me to think that the little five year old boy I saw at the Harry Potter party will read this book at such a young age.
The party was lots of fun though. We made some awesome wands and they had tons of activities, like guessing how many Bertie Bott's Beans were in a jar. I just wrote down a number, but there were some math nerds trying to calculate exactly how many jelly beans were in the jar. They had a costume contest (which I didn't enter), and they had some worksheets with wordscrambles, crossword puzzles, etc. that were a lot harder than I thought they would be! They also had readings from the first five books and face painting. I asked the guy to do a cat face on me, thinking it was the simplest choice possible (paint on a nose and some whiskers, voila!) but as he started painting my face, he admitted that he'd never done any face painting before that night and he wasn't sure how to do a cat.
He decided to give me a cat muzzle (which looked like a blue goatee) and strange slanted blue eyebrows about an inch over my real eyebrows. I don't care about looking like an ass in public though, and obviously I was surrounded by lots of people in costume so I blended right in! Mr. CG opted for a simple lightning bolt tattoo on his forehead.
I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to read and then stopped about 100 pages before the end because I could tell it was about to get good. I knew if I didn't stop there, I would have to finish the book. I finished reading the next day after lunch and I was so glad that I waited.
[spoiler]I had no idea Dumbledore was going to die. Months before #5 came out, there were articles everywhere quoting the JK Rowling interview where she said she cried after writing the scene that killed off an important character. I was prepared for someone to die in #5 because of all the press. In fact, every time someone tripped or stubbed a toe, I was convinced they were going to get it. For book #6, I was completely unspoiled and she didn't mention in any of her recent interviews that there was a big death in this book so Dumbledore's death was shocking. I know I'm a big baby, but I cried when Harry had to force Dumbledore to drink the potion and then I cried when Dumbledore died and I cried some more at Dumbledore's funeral. I kept trying to think of an explanation that would allow Dumbledore to live, but once his portrait appeared in the office I knew he was really gone.
That leads us to Snape. Is he really evil? I have thought about it a lot over the past two days and I have come to the conclusion that no, he isn't. I interpreted the conversation that Hagrid overheard between Dumbledore and Snape this way: Dumbledore knew about the Unbreakable Vow that Snape had made with Narcissa Malfoy. Snape was just trying to preserve his undercover position with the Death Eaters when he took the vow because refusing to do so would have raised questions about his loyalty. He has kept Dumbledore informed about all of this DE activity, so Dumbledore knew that Snape's vow meant Snape might have to kill Dumbledore. During the argument that Hagrid overheard, Snape was indicating that he could not kill Dumbldore and Dumbledore was insisting that if the time came, he must do it. They are both very good at legilmancy, so it's very possible that they were communicating in the Astronomy tower in front of Harry, Draco, and the Death Eaters. When Dumbledore later pleaded with Snape, he was saying, "Please do what you promised to do." As to why this was necessary - the Unbreakable Vow is just that: unbreakable. If Snape did not fulfill his end of the vow, he would die and the Order of the Phoenix would lose their most valuable spy. In addition, by refusing to uphold his end of the vow he would give Voldemort and the Death Eaters to suspect his motives and loyalty over the last two years, possibly changing their plans/locations which would render any information the OotP had on them useless. Dumbledore knew, as Sirius did, that "there are things worth dying for." Dumbledore was willing to die for the greater good, protecting Snape's identity as a spy and allowing the Order of the Phoenix to continue their fight against Voldemort. It's also possible that he knew his injury from destroying the Marvolo ring horcrux/drinking the potion was fatal.
JK Rowling explained that the portraits, like the Marauder's Map, do not keep the wizards alive within them. She said it's more like leaving behind a recording of your voice. They will still be able to communicate with Dumbledore, but to what extent? Will he be able to tell them everything he knows?
R.A.B. - Regulus Black, the younger brother of Sirius who was killed by Death Eaters after trying to leave Voldemort's fold? Remember the heavy gold locket they found but no one could open in 12 Grimmauld Place in #5? Hopefully Mundungus didn't steal it along with all the Black family silver.[/spoiler]