Now I know why Harry isn't in Ravenclaw

Okay, after having a night to let the latest book sink in, there is one thing that is bothering me. A lot. The entire conclusion of the book relies on Harry doing something incredibly stupid. He is specifically given something that he should use, but he doesn't even bother to open it until it is far too late--and unfortunately, Hermione doesn't know about it, and she can only work with what she knows. I know that Harry's heart and his bravery are his greatest gifts--not his brain--but still....I'm trying to decide if Rowling used this as a device to show that sometimes people get caught up in things and just don't see the obvious, or something to burden Harry with in terms of guilt, or what. It could easily have been left out completely otherwise. I can understand the mistakes Dumbledore makes--and I've seen those coming for a long time--but I don't understand this one. Perhaps that will become clearer in the next book.

Still, all and all I really enjoyed the book. One of my co-workers put a review on my desk this morning that describes it as wordy and full of cliches, and I can't say they're wrong. But I really did love every moment of reading, and at least I didn't get bogged down in something akin to the epic Quidditch sub-novel of last time. Rowling's strength, like most of my favourite writers, is her characterisation. She writes about people you can identify with, enjoy meeting in the pages of a book--or at least enjoy when they get their comeuppance, in the case of some of her more horrid characters, of which this book has a doozy of one. And frankly, I don't think most fans will care if its a bit unwieldy. My only regret is that we're two books away from the end, and then what will we do? :)