Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) by J.K. Rowling
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Book Reviews of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)
Book Review: Great book!
Summary: 5 Stars
Great book! I actually read the book AFTER I'd seen the movie and the book of course adds much more detail (there's only so much you can squash into a two-hour movie). The book is a wonderful read for kids and adults alike. Harry is a loveable, loving, endearing character and I like how sweet and polite he is. I loved the scene where at the zoo; parts of it was funny. It was touching, though, how Harry had empathy for the poor snake and it was cute how he says softly, "It's annoying, I know, having stupid people banging..." (Dudley & Vernon pound on the glass of the cage and in the movie, Harry gets sick of it and tells them, "He's asleep!") The Dursleys reminded me of many narrow-minded, judgemental people I've encountered in the world, including people who feel threatened by those who are "different" (Harry's awful aunt and uncle call him "strange and abnormal" in a very cruel way right to his face). J.K. did a wonderful job creating little Harry, right down to the glasses and thick, dark, rather unkempt hair. Apparently the reviewer who said didn't like Harry and claimed that he "became self-centered and unwilling to follow rules and expects Dumbledore to save his butt" and "treated rivals badly" didn't get the depth of Harry's character. Harry is the LEAST self-centered character I've ever read about; the only rules he breaks is maybe being out of bed at night (a rule not really strictly enforced at Hogwarts) The times Harry does get into trouble (most kids do from time to time, he accepts the consequences willingly, even if it means serving detention with Malfoy for a weekend. Harry NEVER mistreats his rivals; he just refuses to butter Malfoy up. Harry's reasons for sneaking out of bed at night reflects his deep caring for his fellow students and for the future of Hogwarts; it's not just idle curiosity that he's creeping around the restricted section of the library at night (in the movie, he's so frightened he swallows when he almost runs into Snape and Filch). The ending was sooo sweet and touching when he's recovering from his confrontation with Voldemort and Dumbledore comes to visit and tells him about his mum's great love for him and saved him and Harry is overwhelmed with emotion and can't hold back the tears (a scene they unfortunately deleted from the movie, which I wish they'd included). I could picture Dumbledore holding his hand as he cried, then took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. I like how each of the Hogwarts Houses were described; the Slytherins weren't necessarily meant to be all-evil; they were noted for "cunning" which could be either a good or a bad trait. It was Malfoy and some of his cronies that brought down that particular house. It was good to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione recognized for their courage, even if they did have to skulk around to do it. I think if anything, the book teaches that sometimes kids won't always do the expected thing, but 90 percent of the time, it's for a good reason, not because they're just being "bad." The book delves more into the psychology of the characters. I can't wait to read the other books; I do hope they have more of Ginny Weasley in it; she'd make a good companion for Hermione.Book Review: I Never Put It Down!
Summary: 5 Stars
Why Do We Love It?J.K. Rowling's exciting, award winning novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is about an eleven year old boy named Harry Potter who lives with his dreadful aunt and uncle, until a letter is delivered to him by an owl, inviting him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Learning that he is an actual wizard himself, Harry decides to attend Hogwarts, where something very valuable and special is being guarded - the legendary Sorcerer's Stone. When Harry and his friends suspect someone is trying to steal the mystical stone, only then do their adventures really begin. This page-turner has become so popular with readers of all ages because the elements of magic intrigue and captivate the reader, while the incredible suspense leaves the reader wanting to know more. Magic has always been a subject of interest for people of every age, and this imaginative novel is saturated with it. In the reader's mind, the delightful possibility of magical concoctions means that practically anything is possible at Hogwarts, which will spellbind them even more. Since magic sometimes breaks the laws of science, it is very appealing to the imaginative reader,who willingly escapes the world of reality and enters a world where anything is conceivable, with Harry Potter as the hero, of course. The second reason people love this book so much is because of the ever-increasing amount of suspense, which grips the reader and doesn't let go until the very last page. From the very beginning of the novel, the author creates suspense when she describes Harry's mysterious past, the death of his parents, and Voldemort, someone who did something so wicked that wizards don't like to say his name. However, not until a few more chapters does the reader really begin to understand the truth. Throughout the novel, the author uses this device that is very important in keeping the reader's attention. People, not matter how old they are, love to be on the edge of their seat, yearning to know what is going to happen to their beloved hero. Suspense also allows the reader to be surprised by the unexpected. For most readers, their definition of a good book is a story that they become engrossed in, which requires a certain amount of suspense and excellent subject matter, in this case, magic. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone definitely fits that description, if not surpasses it. Magic is, by definition, the use of charms and spells to control events, something that humans cannot do. However, the fact that this story turns the impossible into the norm is very fascinating to its readers, and it appeals to many people, anyone who can read. Readers delight in the uncertainty of suspense because it helps them to relate to the characters, and often they feel as if they were actually experiencing what the protagonist is going through. Readers who thoroughly enjoy the book can't seem to get enough of Harry -- everyone is clamoring to read its sequels, too!
Book Review: More Adult Muggles Should Read This Book!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was in middle school I was fortunate enough to fall into a series of books by Piers Anthony. The adventures of the generations of characters in the magical otherworld of Xanth swept me along adolescence. I read and re-read "A Spell for Chameleon" and "Castle Roogna" and wanted to learn from Good Wizard Humphry and try and avoid dragons and ogres in a land that strangly resempbled the Florida peninsula. I would become addicted to the fantasy genre. These books were funny, whimsical, and loved to poke fun at the unmagical, "normal" world of Mundania. I heard about the Harry Potter series a couple of years ago and I was reminded of my young love for the land of Xanth. In many ways, us adults could learn much from our young people. After reading "The Sorcerors Stone" I know that I will run out and get the other 3 books and the rest of the series to come. We should hold on to those fantastic childhood imaginations.
We have too many Muggles (unmagical persons) today. They have lost that magical enjoyment from their childhood. Remember when we were kids we would have vivid battles against wizards and dragons and knights--riding to the next castle for another adventure? Sometime around 5th grade we begin to become conscious of the "adult" world and want to read "young-adult" books & magazines. We began to dream about having a nice hot-rod or falling in love. We desired to be adults and began to act older--or tried to. But in the growth we began to lose the "magical qualities" in our imagination. Heck, anymore I am noticing parents, like myself, of young children who actually want their kids to "get ahead" on their education with prestigious schools or day-cares. Or they put them in skating or swimming or gymnastics classes at age 3 and competitive sports camps in the summer. They are starting earlier in robbing their kids' magical childhood!
Now consider this--what if about that same year--about age 11, you were sent to a school that would not allow you to lose your magical talents? Not only that, it encouraged it. HA! I would have wanted in that school in a heartbeat. The funny thing is, that with how many parents want their kids to grow up too soon, I can understand how their own kids have made the adventures of Harry Potter even bigger. He's the hero they may have always wanted to be.
This is a great book because it is a great story. It's simple (why do too many Muggles think great books have to be complicated?), the characters are thought out (simple? yes, but NOT two dimensional like in some young adult stories) and lovable. And the greatest praise one can heap on to any fantasy classic from "The Hobbitt" to the C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" Series to Terry Brooks' "Shannarra" Series (and my favorite Xanth books) and the Potter books is that they are BELIEVABLE! All great novels are believable, but for a fantasy book it is what makes it an absolute classic.
Book Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Rowling
Summary: 5 Stars
When I read a book, I get absorbed into a different life for an hour, maybe two. When I read a good book, I get drawn into a different reality for a few days, and always hate to return to my own. When I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I disappeared, willingly I might add, into a time when my heroes were Nancy Drew and Enid Blyton, and I longed for the day when I would find myself a wardrobe and disappear into the Narnia of C.S. Lewis. But with age comes peer pressure, with that comes disillusionment, accompanied by an attitude of being too mature for fairy tales and imaginary worlds. But, from the moment I opened that book, I was caught in the carefully woven trap of fantasy that J.K. Rowling had expertly crafted. I was engrossed in the story of a boy whose home life had shades of Dahl's Matilda meets Dickens' Pip, and whose true identity is like an Ugly Duckling for all ages. Through Harry, I saw lives that I thought authors had stopped writing about seventy years ago, a parallel universe that didn't have guns or war planes or invading aliens, but an everyday world, on the outskirts of an extraordinary one. The extraordinary secret of these books is how Rowling makes us believe that magic can truly exist in this Muggle world of Mundania. It doesn't matter whether you are six or sixty, whether you have lived through Disneyworld or the Depression; the irresistibility of the Harry Potter books is based in the human desire to believe in the unbelievable, no matter how fantastical or magical it may be. That is what makes a children's book so special for adults everywhere. But, for me personally, this magical fantasy is only a part of the reason why I love Harry Potter. It wiped away all the cynicism I had carefully cultivated over the years, and grabbed at a piece of me I thought I had lost when I was ten. Not only did it provide a magical world for me to base my reality in, but it also provided an entirely new perspective on that reality. For example, when I went to Duke, I was expecting at least a minimal amount of racism in the "Deep South". Instead, one girl who asked me about the book was a blond, blue-eyed child with a Southern drawl that would have put Scarlet to shame. I could start whole conversations, with adolescents no less, based on the parallel universe of Harry Potter. Those incidents gave me faith that there are a few things that can, at the very least, minimise the social chasms that exist in the world. If we have to start with fantasy and magic, then so be it. Maybe it's healthier for adults to believe in unreality just as strongly as children can. It will provide for us, as it did for me, something to smile about when I think the world leaves no room for joy, to recognise that, amidst all of the mundane realities that we face, all the pollution, all the crime, everything that critics claim is collapsing our society, there is one place where magic will always exist for me - in the wonderful world of Harry Potter.Book Review: great book!
Summary: 5 Stars
J.K. Rowling was a struggling single mother looking for a way to entertain her children with bedtime stories that would help them escape their tough reality. She not only provided escape for her own children but also for millions of people, children and adults, around the world. Rowling created Harry Potter. This book is the first of seven in the Harry Potter series. In this book, we are not only introduced to Harry and the world of wizardry, but we are plunged into a mystery regarding the Sorcerer's stone. I had originally picked up this book because everyone around me was raving about it. I soon discovered that their positive reviews were with good reason.
Harry had spent his first 10 years of life with his aunt, uncle, and despicable cousin, not knowing his true identity as a wizard. Then, one day, he receives an acceptance letter to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of the finest schools for wizards. Even the journey from home to school is an exciting journey. Once at Hogwarts, this element of fantasy is abundant. Rowling immerses us into the life of a wizard. The reader's imagination is stretched to the limits with the descriptions of the people, the buildings, and mostly the magic. The tables set themselves, the pictures talk, ghosts wander the halls. This place is definitely worlds apart from the cramped room Harry was used to.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is not merely an introduction to the following six books in the series. Instead, this book sets the bar for the books to follow. In this book, Harry begins to discover the meaning of the scar on his forehead; a permanent reminder of the day his parents died. He also meets Hermione and Ron, his two best friends and cohorts against evil. This book truly takes you to another place. Though this book may seem a bit long for a children's book, I didn't even notice the length once I was whisked away into Harry's world. The twists and turns that Rowling puts in the story kept me turning the page until I was finished, and none of the pages include "fluff". I don't think Harry Potter is simply the new craze. I think this book is a classic in the making.
If I had to choose something negative about it, it would be that some themes are recycled from other great fantasies like the Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia. The idea that a mistreated, orphaned child can become a great hero is an idea that many writers have played with. However, I believe that most stories are interpretations and adaptations of new ones anyway, and this is Rowling's perspective on these ideas. Personally, I could read stories like these again and again without tiring of their repeated themes. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in no way lacks originality. The main characters are so real and unlike any others I've read about. Harry Potter will have even the most stubborn readers begging for more - luckily, there are six more books following this one.