“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the final book the J.K. Rowling series, has been universally lauded by critics as well as MSNBC.com readers. Below are a collections of thoughts by MSNBC.com writers, editors and a selection of young readers about the book.

After spending Friday night queuing up for the book, Saturday reading it, and Sunday mulling it over, I have mixed feelings about “The Deathly Hallows.” The final face-off between Harry and Voldemort satisfied, with the wordy exchange before the last wand-stroke capturing both characters perfectly. But before that, and immediately following it, it was a bumpy and uneven ride.

From the hurry-up-and-wait horcrux hunt, which dragged in the first half of the book, to the blink-and-you’ll-miss-them deaths of Lupin and Tonks, there were plenty of disappointments. Sloppy inconsistencies, like Hermione’s fluctuating abilities where memory charms were concerned, just bugged.

On the plus side, Harry’s tribute to Dobby, the annoying but heroic house elf, was touching and tear-worthy. And the action scenes in the latter half of the story made up for the sluggish start.

But then there was the epilogue. Rather than providing a satisfying summary of all the characters we’ve grown to love, which I really looked forward to, it was more of a brief and cheesy tack-on. All we learned is that the obvious couples hooked up and gave their kids unfortunate names. Poor Albus Severus Potter.
— Ree Hines, MSNBC.com contributor

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July in Seattle is usually a brilliant affair, the gray doldrums normally associated with our patchy corner of the country briefly swept away for beautiful skies and long, temperate days best spent outdoors. So, when the cloudy, soggy weather of March uncharacteristically rolled in this past weekend, I took it as nothing less than a sign that I was to spend my days ensconced in the last chapters of the saga of Harry Potter. After enduring several sleep deprived nights and twitchy hours when I was pulled away from the book to attend to more mundane Muggle tasks (like eating or work), I can finally say that it is a relief to be finished.

J.K. Rowling’s conclusion to the near decade long chronicling of the adventures of Harry and his friends is epic, entertaining, imperfect and, ultimately, fulfilling. The humor and effortless sense of voice of her writing is really at it’s best in “The Deathly Hallows,” as is her vivid imagination, taking readers for the first time outside of the cozy confines of Hogwarts school into the very real, if often allegorical, world at large. Rowling’s great strength, her attention to detail and intimate knowledge of the magical worlds she has created, can also get a bit tedious as Harry, Ron and Hermione spend several hundred pages hunting for secrets to triumph over Lord Voldemort.

Other than relief (and a desire to finally clean my neglected kitchen) I can’t help but feel a small sense of gratitude towards Rowling and her heroes. Whether or not you think Harry Potter deserves to be considered great, or even good, children’s literature, there’s no denying that Rowling has created a modern mythology, instructive without being moralizing, enriching as it is entertaining. Like the best fables, she’s plumbed the depths of our collective unconscious, without all the dangerous trappings of belief, to better make sense of a world that can so often defy logic. A committed bit of magic that even Harry’s mentor, the wizened Albus Dumbledore, would likely approve.
— Jim Ray, MSNBC.com producer

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As a friend said, "It's 'Return of the Jedi'. It's not the best part, just the last part."

Much of "Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows" was predictable (Snape not evil, Harry as horcrux, Regulus and the locket) and the less said about the trite Happy Families epilogue the better. But viewed as the last chapter in a series, J.K. Rowling did succeed in wrapping up an astonishing amount of detail from the last six books. Characters both major and minor got some terrific moments — there's pretty much no part of Harry, Ron and Hermione off in the woods together I didn't like but I was also pleased with Neville's big moment, and Dudley's and Narcissa's smaller ones.

While the ending was very deus ex machina (the wand transferred how again?), there were some fantastic action sequences along the way — the Gringotts break-in was spectacular — and lots of spooky ones as well. The movie should be a lot of fun.
— Lori Smith, MSNBC.com producer

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There's so much that's memorable about "Deathly Hallows," but it's the little details that stand out.

It will be a long time before I forget Hermoine's simple speech about how she modified her parents' memories and sent them to Australia, and if she died it would be OK because as far as they knew they'd never had a daughter at all. Dean Thomas finally got his 15 minutes of fame. The House-Elves vindicated Hermoine's S.P.E.W. efforts. Oliver Wood and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch alumni come to fight.

What the critics are saying USA Today: Rowling bring Potter to magical end N.Y. Times: An epic showdown Washington Post: Last time's the charm L.A. Times: Potter comes to a magical end Chicago Tribune: A dark, satisfying finish Amazon.com: Brilliant, breathtaking conclusion

And 16 years after being saved by the love of his own mother, Harry lives because of the love of his arch-nemesis for her own son. The pivotal scene with Narcissa Malfoy was fantastic.

I wish J.K. Rowling hadn't ended the final battle without telling us more about whether some of the more prominent students lived or died. Did Lavender Brown recover from her injuries, or did Ron's ex pay the ultimate price? How about the Patil twins, or Cho Chang, or the Quidditch team, or the rest of Dumbledore's Army?

But aside from those details, the only problem I had with the Harry Potter series finale is that it ended.
— Craig Berman, MSNBC.com contributor

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The following are things I spoke aloud while reading “Deathly Hallows”:

• “If I don’t read it, nobody has to die.” I said this in response to my roommate’s inquiry as to why I was carrying the unopened, 759-page tome around all morning. Upon opening the book, two things hit me: These people are actually about to die. And clearly, only I could save them. There was only one way to stop it: I snapped the book shut.
• “All right, Harry. It’s just you and me.” I said this as I tried to get the nerve to start reading. Three times, I opened and closed the book, never letting more than the first word register. But the fourth time, the first sentence wormed its way into my brain. And that, as any Harry fan knows, is all it takes to get hooked. I read the entire thing in two sittings.
• “Oh, no!” So many deaths. For the number of my favorite characters J.K. took, she’s lucky I haven’t hunted her down and Avada Kedavra’d her by now.
• “GASP!” And a happy gasp, at that. Perhaps this makes me a glass-is-half-empty sort of person, but I’d become convinced that Harry was a goner. And so I read the final few chapters in disbelief, wearing a huge, slightly goofy grin on my face. What a perfect ending.
  — Melissa Dahl, MSNBC.com intern

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