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| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | 
 enlarge | Author: J. K. Rowling
Publisher: National Braille Press
Category: Book
List Price: $34.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3201 reviews
Sales Rank: 569047
Format: Braille
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 13.4
Dimensions (in): 15 x 12.2 x 12.1
ISBN: 0939173573
EAN: 9789573323570
ASIN: 0939173573
Publication Date: July 21, 2007
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Amazon.com
Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues. The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise. A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix's flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. --Daphne Durham Visit the Harry Potter Store
 Our Harry Potter Store features all things Harry, including books, audio CDs and cassettes, DVDs, soundtracks, games, and more.
Begin at the Beginning
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hardcover
Paperback | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Hardcover
Paperback |
Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
| | * Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat. | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
| | * The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
* Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
* The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms. | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
| | * Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
* Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
* The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape. | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
| | * Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
* Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
* Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge.
* Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses. | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
| * Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
* Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
* Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
* Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry. | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
| * The introduction of the Horcrux.
* Molly Weasley asking Arthur Weasley about his "dearest ambition." Rowling has always been great at revealing little intriguing bits about her characters at a time, and Arthur's answer "to find out how airplanes stay up" reminds us about his obsession with Muggles.
* Harry's private lessons with Dumbledore, and more time spent with the fascinating and dangerous pensieve, arguably one of Rowling's most ingenious inventions.
* Fred and George Weasley's Joke Shop, and the slogan: "Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You Should Be Worrying About U-NO-POO--the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!"
* Luna's Quidditch commentary. Rowling created scores of Luna Lovegood fans with hilarious and bizarre commentary from the most unlikely Quidditch commentator.
* The effects of Felix Felicis. | Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling
 "I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I'm sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.
Did You Know?  | The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child. |  | Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author. |  | Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer. | A Few Words from Mary GrandPre
 "When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPre.
Product Description
Note: This is the BRAILLE edition of the seventh Harry Potter novel! Bringing Harry to all readers! National Braille Press, through a special exclusive agreement with Scholastic Press, is pleased to announce that the braille edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be ready on the same day as the print edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3196 more reviews...
 A perfect ending to a glorious series July 21, 2007
540 out of 710 found this review helpful
Before the release of the seventh and last book of the Harry Potter series, I re-read all the preceding volumes. Throughout, I followed how the author developed her grand theme of Right vs Wrong, the strong vs the weak and the evils of the misuse of power. How was Rowling to end this series? Obviously, the Apocalypse was at hand, and the heroic struggle between Harry Potter and the evil Voldemort would be the climax of the series. While we waited for the last book, rumors abounded. Fake spoilers floated over the internet like the soul-sucking Dementors, threatening to extinguish the enjoyment people would get from this final volume. So, no spoilers from this reviewer. All I will say is that "Deathly Hallows" lived up to my expectations and in fact, ended pretty much as I imagined it would. Rowling keeps true to her theme right to the end and to her artistic vision as well. There is plenty of action right from the get-go. This is by far the most exciting of the seven books, with duels, battles, fights, daring escapes and amazing twists of fortune. There are plenty of surprises and also many reasons to weep. The action sometimes is non-stop, but from time to time, there are welcome respites in the action, times for moments of tenderness or friendship between surprising pairings of characters. The sub-theme of the redeptive power of Love is evident in these idylls. J. K. Rowling is a master writer who has created an amazing work of art with the Harry Potter series and just as any master craftsman, she has chosen the perfect finish for a fine series of books. I look forward to new series with entire new worlds or...perhaps this is really the end. Some authors do write themselves out when they've said their say. I don't know. But I do know this author is one I enjoy reading and I hope we have many more new adventures to discover from her pen. Bravo!Joanna Daneman
A stunning and thoroughly satisfying conclusion July 21, 2007
462 out of 540 found this review helpful
This is arguably the most "hyped" book in history, and if J.K. Rowling had to sneak down to the kitchen for a glass of red wine to calm her nerves while writing The Goblet of Fire (as she said she did), one wonders what assuaged her while writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The collective breath of tens of millions of readers has been held for two years...and now...was it worth the wait? Did Ms. Rowling live up to the hype? (For that, amongst hundreds of questions, is really the only question that matters.)
The answer, most assuredly, is YES.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is told in a strikingly different style than the previous six books - even different from The Half Blood Prince, and, I daresay, it's a better written, better edited, tighter narrative. And while the action is lively and well paced throughout, Rowling found a way to answer most of our questions while introducing new and complex ideas. What fascinated me was this: Some people were right, with regard to who is good, who is bad, who will live, who will die - but almost nobody got the "why" part correct. I truthfully expected an exciting but rather predictable ending, but instead was thrown for a loop. We've known that Rowling is fiendishly clever for years - but I didn't think she was *this* clever.
Not since turning the final page of The Return of the King twenty-eight years ago have I felt such a keen sense of loss. My love affair (indeed, everyone's love affair, I imagine) with all things Harry began somewhere in the first three chapters of The Sorcerer's Stone, and has lasted, on this side of the Atlantic, three months shy of nine years. For all that time we have waited and wondered - was Dumbledore right to trust Snape? Will Ron and Hermione get together? What's to become of Ginny and Harry? What really happened on that tower, when Dumbledore was blasted backwards, that "blast" atypical of the Avada Kedavra curse as we've seen it when used throughout the series. So many more questions than those listed here, and so many devilishly well-hidden hints. The answers, as I hinted above, will shock and awe you.
When first we met Harry Potter, he was "The Boy Who Lived", with an address of "The Cupboard Under the Stairs". Who could help but bleed sympathy for Harry, treated abysmally - abused, really - by the only blood relatives he had, and forced to live under said stairs by those awful Muggles, the Dursleys? It was a sensationally brilliant introduction, one that ensured that our heartstrings would be plucked and enchanted to sing. He was The Boy Who Lived.
Since reading that first book, we have enjoyed Rowling's spry sense of humor - portraits that spoke, stairways that moved at any given moment, Hagrid jinxing Dudley so that a pigs tail grew from his behind, Fred and George's fantastic creations, etc, etc., etc., and more etc's. There was a sense of wonder and magic in Rowling's writing, so thoroughly captivating that the recommended age group of 9-12 in no way resembled the book's actual audience. It was common to see adults walking about with hardcover copies of the latest book, sans dust jacket (to hide the fact that they were reading a "kids" book, I suppose). It was also common to hear of eight year olds sitting down with a seven-hundred-plus page book! By themselves! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.
As for Harry, we admired him. He wasn't afraid to stand up for what he felt was right, even if he found himself in detention for it. He was brutally honest, and immensely courageous and loyal. Harry came to embody, at times, who we would like to be. He wasn't perfect, of course. He suspected Snape of being the one who was after the Sorcerer's Stone, and in The Chamber of Secrets, he thought that Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin. This didn't diminish Harry in our eyes - it made him more human, more real, and even, perhaps, more enviable.
Endless fan sites have been erected. For an adult to go to any of them, and find that thirteen year olds are having an easier time parsing out the books plots, subplots, and mysteries, was (for me at least) humbling, but yet also a testament to Rowling herself, and her remarkable creation. She encouraged an entire generation of young readers to read and to think for themselves.
But the time has come to say good-bye, for this is truly the end.
So good-bye, Harry. Good-bye Hermione, Ron, Professor Dumbledore, *Professor* Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Hagrid, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Dobby (and all the house elves), even Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We will miss all of you, every character we encountered, from Muggle to Mudblood to hippogriff and owl, and everything about the world you all so vibrantly inhabit. And to Ms. Rowling: know that you have brought immeasurable joy to millions and millions of Muggles worldwide, and know that we cannot possibly thank you enough. What a tremendous gift you were given. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Absolutely brilliant! July 21, 2007
309 out of 477 found this review helpful
I live in Eastern Europe, where there has not been a six-month advertising campaign, where bookstores were not open at midnight, and where people did not spend three days in sleeping bags outside of shop doors. I did, however, buy the book within two minutes after the relevant bookstore opened, and I read it in one go. Magnificent, that's all I can say. Certainly I do not want to give up any of the book's many secrets, but I can say this: Everyone who appeared in the first six books reappears in this one, without exception, and sometimes in cameos which say "And there, standing before him, were Cho and Mary and Peter and David and Lee and Andrew and Susie and John." There to make the appearance, never to be seen again. Sort of like Miss Jeannie and her mirror on Romper Room. Second, JK Rowling said that people would die in this book, and she was right. Won't say another word about that. Third, this is the decisive battle between good and evil, and I won't be giving away plot points to say that in the end, good wins, but with several twists. Fourth, several baddies turn out to be good. Won't say which ones, because some baddies remain very, very bad indeed. Fifth, I think JK Rowling deserves every one of the gazillions of dollars she's earned for this series, and I am terribly, terribly sorry that it's finished now, but "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows" is certainly a heck of a way to go out with a big, big bang. Thank you, JK.
 Harry Potter and the Deus ex Machina July 21, 2007
225 out of 256 found this review helpful
I know many people won't like this review, so I prepare myself at the outset for a barrage of unhelpful votes. I am not planning any major spoilers, but be warned: this review is mainly meant for the consumption of people who've read the book. After all, how many people out there are really planning to base their decision to read this on the opinion of a few internet reviewers?
This book provides pretty much everything we've been promised from the outset: an ending, and a satisfying one at that -- but not without its price. Many die, not just the two Rowling mentioned in so many interviews. Many beloved characters die, and some of them die "off screen" as it were, so that we as readers aren't even privy to the details of their deaths, or their final moments of life. Some of these deaths will bring tears to the eyes of any loyal Potter devotee, I've no doubt of that. But as for the main death, the one so many have wondered over? Well, that's where Rowling falls back on a few too-worn literary devices, and where she loses one of her stars.
I found this book to be far too full of easy short cuts and simplistic cliches to give it five stars. Far too many times, Harry and his friends were "mysteriously" saved at the last minute. And the real answers to these so-called mysteries will fall much more easily into the hands of die-hard Potter fanatics who've spent hours studying the books and pouring over the fan sites than they ever do into the hands of the characters themselves. This is too often frustrating. Perhaps it's unfair to criticize or punish Rowling for the perseverance and intelligence of her fans, but the fact is that many of her secrets have been guessed. In fact, the few that haven't seem only to surprise because Rowling conveniently has them pop up for the first time in this book. Magical objects we've seen many times before suddenly have new and useful -- and VERY convenient -- magical properties. People we've only heard of have convenient new information and relevance to the plot.
She lost the other star because of omissions. Unexplained (and again, very convenient) plot twists, otherwise known as plot holes, are all over the book. A book this long that purports to be the end of an epic series should not have this many plot holes and inexplicable events. (None of which I can go into detail about without giving up major spoilers -- sorry.) And most damning of all, when some of the plot holes are explained, it's done in a manner resembling what the brilliant movie "The Incredibles" referred to as "monologuing" -- when one character (usually the bad guy) sits around explaining the whole plot and nothing bad happens to the good guys while all these lose ends are conveniently tied up. For some reason, the villain, no matter how vicious he has been throughout the story, always conveniently waits to attack until the hero's had plenty of time to get all the answers he needs to defeat the bad guy. The only change Rowling makes to this shopworn device is that she does it via magical means. (Though in her case, the magical mean in question is the Pensieve -- something shopworn in and of itself, considering the number of times it's now been used in this series to convey crucial information.) I was also sorely disappointed to realize that she left out a number of things she practically promised fans would be included in this book. For instance, many fans have asked her what Harry's parents did for a living. She always said she couldn't tell us because it would be too big a plot spoiler for the upcoming novels. Well, now the novels are all finished and we still don't know. Why didn't she include that in this final book, if it really was supposed to matter so much? And why did she leave so much crucial information out of her far too short epilogue?
There is no doubt that in Harry Potter Rowling has created a brave and endurable hero, one who will linger in the hearts and minds of readers for generations to come. But in this humble reader's opinion, she has also created one for whom the struggle ended a bit too quickly and easily, of whom too many things are left unknown, and for whom answers and help came too readily and too conveniently in the end.
Then again . . . maybe I just wanted it to last a little longer. Because it's over now, and nothing like Harry Potter is ever happening to this humble reader again.
 JKR has lost her mind July 21, 2007
176 out of 426 found this review helpful
Unfortunately, if I could give this book zero stars I would. I don't know where the magic of books 1-5 went. But Book Seven is such a disappointment. What a horrible way to end what could have been a great series. Instead of tying up loose ends, new magical objects are introduced, things that seemingly should have been explained are left untouched and basic theories of what magic is able and not able to do are changed, switched or totally ignored. There is no continuity. As to the characters, where do I start. What happened to the strong Hermione we all knew in Book 1-5. She has turned into a crying girl that does Ron's laundry. Ginny, which according to JKR, was supposed to be so powerful is non-existant in this book. She is only there to offer herself to Harry as a birthday present and that is about it. Her character got no more "development" than it did in HBP and is certainly not worthy of the hero. Harry has turned into a hormonally charged useless dutz that only defeats Voldemort out of sheer dumb luck...in fact, he doesn't even really do anything. Ron, apparently has decided that he wants to control witches with the help of a book and shares his knowledge with Harry. Dumbledore isn't the pilar of the earth we are led to believe for this entire series. The only person to actually show some guts here is Neville. In fact, this book should have been Neville Longbottom and the Deathly Hallows. This book is rifled with inconsistencies, grammatical erros, plot holes, cheesy dialogue and rushed and convuluted plot. In fact, many of the plot points have been guessed on fan sites for years. So no suprise there. Many of the things that JKR mentioned as important were not. Things that seemed critical to find out are a total let down. And lastly, this is a children's book supposedly then how come there is alluded nudity, swearing, sexual innuendos gallore. Really, this could have been a wonderful series standing the test of time...unfortunately, this is neither Narnia nor Lord of the Rings...not even close. And the epilogue does not even merit mentioning. That is what JKR was working towards for all these years?
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