Quite different in structure from the other six books, this last Harry Potter instalment ties up all threads that need to be tied. This includes, obviously, the final confrontation with Voldemort, but also some less important (though not necessarily less desperately needed) odds and ends.

It's a little long, to be sure, especially during the first endless journey, which takes up almost half the book and then ends quite unspectacularly.

Many people had problems with the resolution, but what should have happened instead? No, the message was inevitable from the beginning, and the method of delivering it is maybe a little too action-centered, but perfectly in tune with everything that has happened before. The only caveat is that Rowling gets rather careless with her characters and sacrifices a huge number of them during the big conflict – and not only the ones who deserved it.