Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published on July 16, 2005 all over the world. The previous book sold over five million copies in the first 24 hours but this book smashed those numbers, selling nine million copies. This was a record that wasn't broken until the final book was published two years later.
Awards won by this book include the following:
- 2005 Quill Awards for Best Book of the Year
- 2005 Quill Awards Best Children's Book
- 2006 British Book of the Year
- 2006 Royal Mail Award for Scottish Children's Book for ages 8-12
- 2006 American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
In this book Harry Potter learns about Lord Voldemort's lineage and childhood, as well as his early days during and after Hogwarts. Harry also learns that not all Slytherins are bad as he gets to know the new Potions professor, Horace Slughorn. But his biggest challenge is getting people to believe his theory that Draco Malfoy is a newly recruited Death Eater!
Many of the events in this book were set up or foreshadowed in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Draco attempted to fix the Vanishing Cabinet that Peeves the poltergeist broke in the second book, he bought and used the cursed opal necklace and Hand of Glory that were first seen in the second book, and Harry finally realizes that Ginny Weasley is the love of his life (she fell for him hard in the second book).
