And All Was Well

Every decade or so a book--or in this case, a series of books--comes along that for some reason gains incredible popularity and inspires a generation to read, write and talk about. Harry Potter is that series for my generation. Having read the first book and fallen in love with Harry Potter when J.K. Rowling was still an unknown author, after ten years to see the series come to an end was a bittersweet event. I had grown up with Harry quite literally. As luck would have it I was usually the same age as him as each new book was released. But it's the series' versatility and appeal to all generations that makes it so wonderful.

"Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows" was all of the previous books combined. Curiosity, rule breaking, adventure, magic, trial and error, touching moments and the occasional laugh made this book a whirlwind of emotions for its readers.

In the final book of the series Harry and his closest friends set out to complete the mission Dumbledore had left them in the previous book. If not for Hermione's foresight they would have been very unprepared for their fifteen chapters of camping. As they travel, constantly on the run from the Ministry of Magic and Death Eaters, strains on their relationships with one another begin to threaten not only the task at hand but their friendship as well. As the tale progresses however, love conquers all and brings the trio to the fateful battle for Hogwarts.

Jumping ahead to the epilogue--so as to avoid spoilers for anyone that hasn't quite read the books yet--that's where the book seems to fall apart. While it is nice to find out who marries who, and how many children they had the epilogue itself reads like a piece of fanfiction ending with the phrase "all was well."

Overall, the book is the perfect ending to a series that has inspired many of my generation to read.