Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
by J. K. Rowling
★ Top 5 book of 2005 · #2 on Best Books of 2005
Dumbledore arrives to collect Harry with a mysteriously blackened hand, while suspicion and rumor spread through the wizarding world. Harry believes Malfoy is a Death Eater and probes Voldemort's darkest secrets alongside Dumbledore.
Best for: Fans of the wizarding series who enjoy dark secrets and loyal friendship
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is #2 on BookWard's Best Books of 2005, out of 52 2005 books that cleared our data bar.
What Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is about
On a summer night, Dumbledore turns up at Privet Drive to collect Harry. His wand hand is blackened and shrunken, and he won't say what happened. Back in the wizarding world, rumour and suspicion are spreading, and even Hogwarts no longer feels safe.
Harry is sure that Malfoy carries the Dark Mark, and he wonders whether a Death Eater is hiding close by. With Dumbledore's guidance, he starts to dig into the darkest secrets of Voldemort's past. He will need strong magic and loyal friends to face what is coming. This book sits between the Order of the Phoenix and the Deathly Hallows, so it suits readers already invested in Harry and his world.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on the Best Books of 2005
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out in 2005. Of the 52 books first published in 2005 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #2 on our Best Books of 2005 list.
Why it made the list: 3,770 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (215 ratings); 213 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Reader favorite and being read right now.
Nearby on the 2005 list
- The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan, #1
- The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls, #3
- Looking for Alaska John Green, #4
See all Best Books of 2005 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2004 Best Books of 2006.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 3,011 want to read it, 213 are reading it now and 546 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 from 215 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 96 | 55% |
| Reader love | 100 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 96 | 20% |
Questions about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
When was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince published?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling was first published in 2005.
Was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince one of the best books of 2005?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is #2 on BookWard's Best Books of 2005, out of 52 2005 books that cleared our data bar. 3,770 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (215 ratings); 213 are reading it right now.
Why is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on the Best Books of 2005 list?
3,770 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (215 ratings); 213 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2005
- The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan, #1
- The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls, #3
- Looking for Alaska John Green, #4
- Eldest Christopher Paolini, #5
- Freakonomics Steven D. Levitt, #6
- Twilight Stephenie Meyer, #7
See the full Best Books of 2005, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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