Awards-

• Best Fiction for Young Adults
  Young Adult Library Services Association
• Teen's Top Ten
  Young Adult Library Services Association

About the Author-

• J.K. ROWLING is best known as the author of the seven Harry Potter books, which were published between 1997 and 2007. The enduringly popular adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione have gone on to sell over 500 million copies, be translated into over 80 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. Alongside the Harry Potter series, she also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of Lumos. J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry's story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London in 2016 and is now playing worldwide. In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first in a series featuring Magizoologist Newt Scamander, which was inspired by the original companion volume. J.K. Rowling has also written a standalone novel, The Casual Vacancy, and is the author of the Strike crime series under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Both have been adapted for television. She has received many awards and honours, including an OBE and a Companion of Honour for services to literature and philanthropy. She lives in Scotland with her family.

Reviews-

• Art imitates life in the newest, darkest Harry Potter adventure as England--Muggles and Magickers alike--comes under attack from the forces of evil. Once again, Jim Dale's performance casts its spell, bewitching listeners with every nuance. His voice aches with appropriate adolescent longing as Harry, in his sixth year at Hogwarts, deals with Quidditch, love potions, and heartache, and he positively slithers with serpentine menace whenever Severus Snape's around. Dale has developed over one hundred new, fresh, and individual character voices in this Harry Potter series, making it perfect for audio. As Harry faces some of his most difficult challenges and the stage is set for the inevitable confrontation between Harry and He-who-must-not-be-named, Jim Dale's astonishing performance keeps hearts pounding and pulses racing right up to the final words. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 2006 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
• 

  Starred review from July 25, 2005
  Rowling's sixth book opens in the British Prime Minister's office after "a very long, tiring, and difficult week," words that cast an eerie light on actual events in London this summer. Yet from the first, the author has used the wizard world to offer insight into the goings-on in the real world, perhaps now more than ever. After the new Minister of Magic introduces himself to the Prime Minister, the scene shifts to Professor Snape's home, where Draco Malfoy's mother and aunt pay him a call, referring to a cryptic mission on which He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is sending Draco. Next, Dumbledore himself fetches Harry from the Dursleys, as the two begin a book-long quest to get to the heart of the dark wizardry impacting both the Muggle and magical worlds. Although You-Know-Who makes no appearances here, his henchmen gain momentum, and his past comes to light through multiple trips via the Pensieve; perhaps Rowling's most brilliant invention yet, the Horcrux, comes chillingly to the fore. Meanwhile, after winding up with a used copy of Advanced Potion-Making
  with notes from a mysterious Half-Blood Prince, Harry aces his Potions class, taught by the new Professor Slughorn; Snape is now teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts—what can that mean? Readers will have to madly flip the pages to find out. Rowling spends a fair amount of time in the set-up but she accomplishes a great deal in this book, pulling together threads from all the previous titles and expertly poising readers for the planned finale. Old friends such as Lupin and Dobbin make reappearances, love interests and subsequent tensions unfold. Harry, now restored to popularity, nonetheless finds Ron and Hermione wary of his new obsession with Draco Malfoy's activities. The situation at Hogwarts mirrors world events: even Dumbledore finds it difficult to distinguish the good from those who would unleash terror at the school and society at large. If Harry grew up in the last book, here he becomes a man, learning the true impact of the last book's prophecy, and the importance of love as the antidote to fear. All ages.

• 

  Starred review from August 1, 2005
  Dale gets his A game on once again, returning to the wizarding realm where his previous visits have earned him accolades that include a Grammy. By this sixth installment, Dale has created well over 130 different voices, shifting easily from his own slightly Americanized British accent to distinctive Scottish, French and regional English takes. In addition to keeping stars Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore and Hagrid firmly identifiable and in the fore this time, he serves up a delightful spin on Professor Horace Slughorn, the new teacher at Hogwarts. Slughorn's smarmy tone and Dale's guttural delivery are a winning and memorable combo. As Harry's saga darkens and his adventures become more perilous, Dale also gets to explore deeply villainous voices—with evil hisses and sharp edges—more than ever (but we won't tell you whose). Ages 9-up.

• The Times A marriage made in heaven, Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter.

Title Information+

• Publisher

  Pottermore Publishing

• OverDrive Listen

  Release date:

Digital Rights Information+