J. K. Rowling continues her enormously popular series about a young, orphaned wizard with her sixth novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005). Once again breaking sales records on both sides of the Atlantic, Rowling's second-to-last Harry Potter book keeps readers on the edge of their seats by killing a beloved character at the end, as she warned she would.

Harry, now sixteen years old, nears maturity in the wizarding community and begins to experience the complexities of adult life. He tackles much more difficult lessons at school, matures in his understanding of evil in the world, and even finds love during this eventful year at Hogwarts. Rowling delves deeply into Voldemort's past, and examines the path that takes a young, orphaned Tom Riddle and turns him into the most evil wizard in history. Harry studies this path under the guidance of a more forthcoming Albus Dumbledore, and he learns how long and difficult his journey will be to defeat the Dark Lord. Despite the growing complexity and darkness of the series, Rowling nevertheless includes her trademark humor and whimsy within its more than six hundred pages. Readers continue to delight in the many fantastic creatures and marvelous mysteries of her magical world.

As with each previous novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince caused a frenzy of anticipation. With only the final story remaining, Harry Potter fans show no indication of losing interest; in fact, the movie adaptations and series merchandise, in addition to numerous language translations of the series, continue soar in popularity. Rowling satisfies her readers' expectations with this tale of an action-packed year of young Harry Potter's schooling, and leaves them with a shocking cliffhanger, thirsty for the series finale.