With his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in full swing, Harry Potter’s slow march toward an inevitable final confrontation with Lord Voldemort grows ever grimmer. So the Boy Who Lived and Professor Albus Dumbledore, the school’s ever-wise headmaster, attempt to discover the horrible secret behind the dark wizard’s power. Marked by magical journeys into the past, long-awaited revelations and a heartbreaking final twist, the penultimate installment in J.K. Rowling’s seven-book series expertly sets the stage for the story’s epic conclusion. Now shouldering the full weight of his destiny, Harry sheds the teenage angst of The Order of Phoenix to become the young leader he was prophesied to be. As readers debate the fate of their fandom in the wake of Rowling’s transphobic comments and writing, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince remains one of the books that carries the most emotional weight in the series. —Megan McCluskey
Buy Now: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Bookshop | Amazon
- How an Alleged Spy Balloon Derailed an Important U.S.-China Meeting
- Effective Altruism Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Women Say
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- 'Return to Office' Plans Spell Trouble for Working Moms
- 8 Ways to Read More Books—and Why You Should
- Why Aren't Movies Sexy Anymore?
- Column: Elon Musk Should Not Be in Charge of the Night Sky
- How Logan Paul's Crypto Empire Fell Apart
- 80 for Brady May Not Be a Masterpiece. But the World Needs More Movies Like This
