<p>Went with D to bookstore and we each bought our books. Just finished it. Interestingly, D is much better versed than I, but I was right about who the Half Blood Prince is, and who dies.</p>
<p>Sat up all night and have just finished it!</p>
<p>You beat my D! She was at page 350 at about 5 a.m. but crashed and burned.She wants to read it twice back to back and then give it to her mom. By tonight. LOL. You people are nuts.</p>
<p>Even as a kid, I couldn’t go to sleep until I finished a book. Would read under the covers with a flashlight.</p>
<p>Now, for the next year or two, people will be wondering who the new mystery person is…D has an idea, and I think she may be right.</p>
<p>what’s your daughter’s idea???</p>
<p>Sorry it took so long to respond - had to get some sleep. She thinks of everyone in the book, Regulus Black, although we don’t know his middle name. Any other guesses for RAB?</p>
<p>Rats, I was trying to play a trick on D and I read her the question. She said “Regulus Black” without batting a eyelash. LOL. Jeez.</p>
<p>Lol-and I thought i was the only one to think abt Regulus :p</p>
<p>The only RB in the series, it would appear.</p>
<p>someone told me Snape kills DUmbledore and he i sthe half bloodprince</p>
<p>Just finished. I am a bit surprised about Harry’s future plans. Wonder what he’ll do with Grimmauld Place and Kreacher (loved the interaction between Dobby and Kreacher!).</p>
<p>Still think Snape is on the side of good. (I have a theory about him and Lily)</p>
<p>Ah, I liked the book very much. I bought it, read it and finished it in 6 hours – not bad considering I was dozing off despite my best efforts at around 7am!</p>
<p>I am disappointed that a spoiler that leaked before the book’s release was actually true, but it didn’t ruin the book for me.</p>
<p>I’d have to say my biggest reaction to the book was shock. From the very beginning, I could tell it was a MUCH different book – it almost felt like fan fiction sometimes – and was going to be MUCH darker, and I wasn’t disappointed.</p>
<p>I am really wondering how she’s going to tie everything together with just one book left, though…</p>
<p>Yes, Snape is the Half-Blood Prince - his mother’s maiden name was Prince, and his father a muggle. Harry gets a used potions textbook that belonged to him, with notes all over it that helps him with new spells and potions. Snape does kill Dumbledore - I admit I still hold out hope that he is still alive and that it was all an act to let Voldemort think that Dumbledore is dead, but the crying of the phoenix put an end to that theory, I believe. Malfoy’s the one that threw me - as wicked as he is, he can’t kill. And yes, this book is the best of the series. One book left? How? And then, what? Do we go into detox with no more to wait for? Millions will have DT’s! I still think that Harry should have told McGonagall about the horcruxes. Oh, well, he’s still only 16.
So what’s the theory? Lily and Snape are really Harry’s parents? No way! I have heard that one, but he looks too much like James, even the crazy hair. My D thinks that Wormtail will help Harry next book because he saved his life. He is a coward, so he may do it out of self-preservation. Somehow, he will need to be dealt with in the next book, however,so perhaps she is right.</p>
<p>D and I also believe that Dobby will continue to help Harry.</p>
<p>There’s no real comparison, but I keep thinking of Gandalf “dying” in Lord of the Rings…quite likely I want Dumbledore back bad enough that I’m grasping at straws…I so don’t want him to have died!</p>
<p>I absolutely loved this book…I find the comments on the other thread about “they’re all the same” incomprehensible…well, another two years (give or take) to wait for the grand finale…I wonder what lengths I’ll go to then to get my hands on the book instantly!!!</p>
<p>Oh heavens no - I didn’t mean to imply that Snape and Lily were Harry’s parents! My theory is that Snape was in love with Lily (unrequited!), and returned to the good side when Voldemort killed Lily. Remember Snape’s pensieve memory - Lily defended him from James. It was also mentioned somewhere that Snape returned to the good and helped round up the remainder of the Death Eaters.</p>
<p>She really does give us twists and turns! And that’s a good theory, fire. Of course, he resented her interference, and her marriage to James, but I agree that he loved her. And Dumbledore knew Snape would have to kill him once the oath was taken. Dumbledore said he also had a reason for trusting Snape - Dumbledore’s all encompassing belief in love conquers all? And he really didn’t train Harry - he just gave him his own memories so he could understand, as Dumbledore did. But is Harry mature enough to understand all this? Wait for the next installment (with baited breath). When I think that those many years ago, with the controversy about the books, that I, as a concerned parent took up the first one to see if it was something my D should read, who would have thought I’d be at the book sotre in the middle of the night to get my own copy? And these are children’s books??? Universal appeal. Anyone else going to watch the Curic interview with Rowling tomorrow eve? 7p eastern, 6p central.</p>
<p>Is anybody else wondering about who died last - James or Lily? When Harry and Voldemort used their wands against each other, the spirits of those killed by Voldemort’s wand were released in reverse order, and James emerged BEFORE Lily.</p>
<p>I always believed that James died first. If not, then it wouldn’t have been Lily who saved Harry - James would have been trying to save both of them. The order in the wands confirms this.</p>