Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J. K. Rowling, 2007
★ 4.62 from 4.3m ratings on Goodreads
Fantasy Young adultMystery, thriller & crime
A fugitive year spent hunting the pieces of a divided soul, while the wizarding world chooses sides and every friendship is tested. A long fugitive chase through a worried, plain-spoken world, with dread pressing in and friendship holding the center.
Feels like dread, wonder and grief. About friendship, power and morality.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you have followed the series and want a darker, more unsettled final stretch with the trio on the run. Some middle stretches move slowly, and a few solutions can feel too convenient.
Why read it
It gives the long story a grounded, anxious shape and pays attention to loyalty when the world is splitting apart.
A page from the book
What a friend paints on her ceiling when she misses you.
Luna had decorated her bedroom ceiling with five beautifully painted faces: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. They were not moving as the portraits at Hogwarts moved, but there was a certain magic about them all the same; Harry thought they breathed. What appeared to be fine golden chains wove around the pictures, linking them together, but after examining them for a minute or so, Harry realized that the chains were actually one word, repeated a thousand times in golden ink: friends...friends...friends...friends... Harry felt a great rush of affection for Luna. What readers say
Readers are deeply moved by the finale, often crying over deaths and feeling nostalgic about the series; many praise its emotional payoff and friendships. Some found parts slow or overly convenient, though many still value the conclusion.
J. K. Rowling.Deathly Hallows sold 15 million copies worldwide in its first 24 hours, the fastest-selling book on record at the time.
Books that feel like this
More by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J. K. Rowling, 1997
A boy who has never been loved learns he is a wizard, enters a castle school of moving staircases, and finds the first friends who choose him.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J. K. Rowling, 1998
A second year at Hogwarts turns sinister when a hidden chamber opens, a voice hisses in the walls, and everyone suspects Harry—while a vain new professor steals the credit.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
J. K. Rowling, 1999
A prison break, soul-draining guards, and a map that insults its readers: Harry's third year at Hogwarts.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for me?
- You may like it if you have followed the series and want a darker, more unsettled final stretch with the trio on the run. Some middle stretches move slowly, and a few solutions can feel too convenient.
- What is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows like?
- A long fugitive chase through a worried, plain-spoken world, with dread pressing in and friendship holding the center. Feels like dread, wonder and grief. About friendship, power and morality.
- What should I read after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?
- If you liked Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, try Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins), The Hunting Party (Lucy Foley) and The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien).
A taste of the feed
What it costs to stop believing your own species deserves to survive.
I no longer feel any allegiance to these monsters called human beings, despite being one myself. I think that Peeta was onto something about us destroying one another and letting some decent species take over. Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children’s lives to settle its differences.
Mockingjay · Suzanne Collins
How little pressure it takes to find out what someone really is.
Some people, given just the right amount of pressure, taken out of their usual, comfortable environments, don’t need much encouragement at all to become monsters. And sometimes you just get a strong sense about people, and you can’t explain it; you simply know it, in some deeper part of yourself.
The Hunting Party · Lucy Foley
What it takes to imagine an enemy's life instead of his death.
It was Sam’s first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace.
The Two Towers · J.R.R. Tolkien
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