Literary Criticisms- Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

I have decided- this next series will be devoted entirely to literary reviews, criticisms and my uptake on all things bookish.
As an intro, here's a list of what I've been reading: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince- J K Rowling
The Princes of Ireland- Edward Rutherfurd
Blink- Malcolm Gladwell
Onwards to HP Part 6- went to B & N yesterday and decided to read it all in one sitting- interspersed as it was with about 2 hours of accumulated chatter from the daughter and assorted demands for movies, hot dogs and a brief conversation with a self publishing author, I took about 5 hours to read it. Not a personal best but then what can you do?
The book is well crafted and much more from the heart thanThe Order of the Phoenix which could easily have done with judicious editing...this one though sits well on Rowlings shoulders. Less onerous, more complex and very humorous- the gags were little jewels, set amidst a fog of words. Thus endeth my pathetic attempt at literature....
Dumbledore is fleshed out beautifully, as is Lord Voldemort- the Pensieve is a remarkable instrument and well named-I believe it's not what you write but how you write it...I do have issues with all those reviews where they have panned Rowlings for subverting and leading good Christians astray- it's fantasy- stop taking everything so seriously just because the author makes money off it. Go write your own Jenkins and LaHaye oriented novels if it bugs you so much. See if you get Left Behind... :)
Anyway, the Dumbledore sequence of retrieving one of the Horcruxes was spectacular. The imagery, the suspense and the emotion were perfect.
I think kids would like this one far more than the previous book- 800 odd pages of adolescent angst is a bit much for anyone...this book has first loves,snogging, passages of putrid prose and still manages to tell the tale of a coming of age story.
I like the way she weaves mythology, fantasy and modern day politics in this book- all soliloquys aside- and there are 3 in this one,it fits well.
All in all, full marks to Rowlings for managing to write a beautiful book amidst all the hype and expectations.
Shall now settle down for Goblet of Fire in the screen version- judging by the 3 previous films in the series, this one should pull out all the stops