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: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Summary: 5 Stars
The genre of this book is historical fiction because a lot ofthis story is true in different places such as castles which are inmany different places of the world. Three headed dogs have existed before while just this summer a two headed cat was born. With so many "legends" of witches and wizards, they must be real or where did they get the idea? Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it isn't there. It is also fiction because it came out of the author's head. There are many great characters in this book. The main main character is Harry Potter who is the boy that lived. He was the only person to survive Lord Voldemort. He got a scar but his parents got murdered. Harry discovered he was the most famous wizard when he was 10 years old. He goes to Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Throughout the book he becomes the first first-year student in the century to become a Quidditch player. He keeps Lord Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone which would have let him live forever. Ron is Harry's best friend. He has 7 brothers and sisters that are mentioned throughout the book. Fred, George and Percy are the only ones who are still in Hogwarts. Hermione is the straight A student who saves Harry's neck millions of times. Snape is the Potions Master who hates Harry because he hated his dad, James Potter. Voldemort, A.K.A. YOU-KNOW-WHO, A.K.A. HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED, tried to kill harry as a baby and wants to live forever by stealing the sorcerer's stone. Voldemort gets Professor Quirrell to do his dirty work for him. The plot line is hilarious. For instance, Harry unleashes a boa constrictor, who has never seen South America, on his bratty cousin, Dudley. Harry's best friend, Ron, has twin brothers who always make wise cracks like mixing their names up into Gred and Forge instead of Fred and George. Another time in a game of Quidditch, Harry almost swallowed the Snitch, which is a small, walnut sized, very fast, flying ball with wings. The plot line is always surprising. Sometimes incredibly normal things happen, and sometimes, just plain old weird stuff happens. Harry nearly gets killed twenty times. For starters, Quirrell tries to curse his broom in a Quidditch match. Snape performs a counter curse and Hermione bumps into Quirrell so he can't perform the curse. Another time is when Marcus Flint blocks Harry and nearly knocks him off his broom. Harry nearly gets smashed into oblivion when he and Ron save Hermione from a troll. Harry almost got crushed in the Devil's Snare while he was trying to catch Snape. When Harry is in the Forbidden Forest, a Centaur saves him from Lord Voldemort's possible spell. I recommend this book to anybody because its plot line is easy to follow, it's hilarious, filled with adventure, near death experiences and plain old fun. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, I give it an 11!Book Review: Summary and Why I Like it
Summary: 5 Stars
This review is broken into two parts, the first section is why I enjoyed the book the second part is the book summary (DON'T READ THE SUMMARY IF HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK AND PLAN TO!)WHY I LIKE IT
Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone is probably the best book I have ever read. The story keeps you reading page after page. This book is humorous, haunting, and suspenseful all at the same time. Even though there is no such thing as magic you can easily relate to the story. One example of something that you can relate to is Harry's commitment to sports when he has to get up for 6:00a.m for practice. Another thing that you can relate to is the rivalry between each house at Hogwarts (Hogwarts is divided into four houses which compete for house points and in Quidditch matches). This rivalry is similar to the rivalry between schools. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a humorous, fascinating, and captivating story to read. This book would be good for anyone whether magic is a topic of interest to you or not.
SUMMARY
Harry spends the first 10 years of his life sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs of a family who could not stand him. He believes his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon when they tell him that his parents had died in a car crash, and this is also how he received his lightning shaped scar.
A mysterious letter is delivered by the friendly giant named Hagrid. Hagrid informs him that he has been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hagrid also explains to Harry that his parents had died because of the evil powers of Lord Voldemort. The giant tells Harry is famous in the world of magic because he is the only one ever to survive after trying to be killed by Voldemort. The curse he attempted to set on Harry backfired at Voldemort and caused him to become so weak that he must live inside someone else.
Soon enough, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts with his owl Hedwig and that's where the real adventure begins. Hogwarts is a lot like English boarding schools, except that instead of classes in math and grammar, the curriculum features courses in Transfiguration, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry becomes the star player of Quidditch, a sort of mid-air ball game. With the help of his new friends Ron and Hermione, Harry solves a mystery involving a sorcerer's stone, a substance with astonishing powers that can make a potion that will make the drinker immortal. Harry must stop Professor Quirrell from reaching the Sorcerer's Stone so he does not give it to Lord Voldemort. To reach the Sorcerer's Stone, you must make your way through a maze which takes you past Fluffy, a giant three headed dog. You must try to find the correct key to the door out of hundreds of keys, and win a game of wizard's checkers against live pieces that could leave you flattened with one wrong move.
Book Review: Lovely
Summary: 5 Stars
The Harry Potter series have been the biggest literary phenomenon in a very long time, if not ever. What makes these "childrens" books so popular? The really cool plot? Is it the neat covers? The kind and sympathetic protagonist or school which he attends? Everyone has asked this question to themselves...until of course, they read them. This book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (Philosophers in Britain) is the book that started it all. I remember distinctly strolling through a bookstore, and seeing a surprisingly colorful book on the New York Times Bestseller list shelf. I picked it up (realizing that it was a childrens book) and read the front cover. I decided that it looked interesting enough and I (was indeed) judging a book by its cover. That night, I turned off the television and sat on my couch wondering what I should do for the next hour. I looked at the mess of books laying in front of me and decided to pick up the one with the lovely cover called "Harry Potter". I read the first page slowly and then faster, loving every word. It was so carefully written, I could almost feel the energy that Rowling had put into it coming out through each word. As I completed the first chapter, I knew that putting this book down was not an option. The beautiful scenery described was so perfect, that I still wonder is it possible that everyone sees the same thing? Yes. With a few variations, Rowling so masterfully describes the castle, the grounds and Platform 9 3/4 that even those of us with the wildest imagination can't change what it looks like. They feel like real places. The three dimensional characters were overwhelming. Every character has a name, and an obvious past that will slowly be told. Whether it is filled with dark secrets, and mysterious happenings, or just an ordinary life of an average brittish seemingly-muggle child. Each person has emotions, which the reader has to pick up just as they would in real life. You know what Harry feels, but no one else. The situation is described, and it is left to your imagination to say what vibes the person is putting out, or what is going on behind their words. By the time I finished this amazing book, I did not want to say good bye to my friends. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Hagrid...all of those people who had made Harry Potter book 1 so real to me. So I waited until the second book came out, and read that as well. But Harry Potter and the Sorcerers (philosophers) Stone will always have a special place in my heart. The wonderful thing about these books is that they become a part of you. Once you read the first one it stays with you forever, and something will always draw your fingers across the cover just to feel lthe lovely pattern. Ms. Rowling must have attended Hogwarts, her pen is her wand, and her paper is the hat which she pulls this magical world out of.Book Review: A universally-appealing book...
Summary: 5 Stars
As a die-hard fantasy fan who has long outgrown his childhood, I first eyed the Harry Potter books with askance. They seemed to me to be more suitable for little kids and hardly the material that an adult would read, especially one who has long since been jaded by the typical fare produced by Tolkien-esque authors drawing upon Celtic-Nordic traditions.However, I was soon persuaded by the many positive reviews of this series, both by my friends and by book critics everywhere. Deciding that this would be a quick read and that I would not waste much time if it turned out to be another dud, I picked up the book...and didn't put it down until I finished it.
While the fantasy genre is composed of hackneyed plots and themes, regurgitated by the many different authors out there, each cranking out thousand page novels, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone proved that succinctness is indeed a virtue. All of the stereotypes are here, but instead of just rehashing the same old fare that Tolkien dished out, Rowling re-defines it. And while many readers, especially those, like me, who are well-read in this genre, will recognize in Rowling's novels elements that have appeared in countless other stories and myths, Rowling does not use these as crutches to drive her story where none existed; rather, these are bridges she uses to communicate to her readers, common archetypes that exist in the minds of all. Hers is far more than one author's interpretation; it is a book that has captured the imagination and echoes the awe of the fantastic that resides within all of us
Seldom has an author written with such clarity that her words flow so smoothly from the page into our thoughts. The fantasy genre owes its revival in large part to Rowling's gift of gab. Instead of alienating most readers as many other authors do, Rowling appeals to the mundane, beckoning them, in their own language, to visit the world of the incredible, the fantastic, the impossible that nevertheless seems so real.
Harry Potter is a character of the new millennium, and his exploits usher in a new philosophy of fantasy. An orphaned child living in adverse conditions, Harry discovers that he is truly extraordinary; he is a wizard. Thus begin his adventures and his escape from his cruel life. He makes us all seek within ourselves that spark of magic that will allow each of us to transcend the mundanity and normalizing pressure of society, to become true individuals, unique to one another, and special, each in our own way.
Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone is a promising beginning to what I have found to be, thus far, a fantastic series, perhaps one day as defining as Tolkien's contribution to fantasy literature. Certainly, it is a worthy addition to everyone's bookshelves, young and old alike.
Book Review: Magical Modern-day Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
I, like so many others before me, found myself absolutely charmed by this whimsical, yet vital, book. Being an adult, the obvious resistance to reading a "children's book" was evidently there, but once the barrier was broken down, the first chapter read, I was hooked.'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' is the first of seven books (four completed at the time of this review) which center around a young boy named Harry Potter. He is a wizard (though he doesn't know it yet), and comes from wizard parentage. His parents are dead, having been killed when he was a year old by an evil Dark Lord, Voldemort. Harry was the only one to survive the attack by Voldemort, which left him with a lightning scar on his forehead. Voldemort's failure to kill Harry pushed him into hiding, and the wizard world has been a fairly safe place in his absence.
The book begins on Harry's 11th birthday, when everything starts falling into place. He begins to learn about his true identity, and is soon whisked off to Hogwarts (the school of wizardry). How he gets there, and what happens *after* he gets there, I will not disclose here - that is the entire fun of this wonderful book.
Though this is supposed to be a "children's book", I found it terribly engaging as an adult, and even wondered if some aspects of it would go over the heads of alot of kids. It is written crisply, cleanly, and with much heart. I was awed by so many of the things which happened in the story, every chapter revealing a new magical journey. The author, J.K. Rowling, has invented some new wizards and creatures, but has also borrowed some, most notably from Greek mythology. They are all meshed together well into a beautiful book full of good values, and a smashing showdown between good and evil.
Parts of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' were sometimes frustrating, because you wanted to yell at the protagonist kids "Go and tell one of the adults what's going on!" The book is littered with wise wizard professors, but rarely do the kids (who are, of course, the main players) go to them for guidance. I found that aspect a little grating, but then realized that this is a "children's book", and as such, the "children" must be the heroes, solving the puzzles (mostly) on their own.
The book works well on its own, so even though it is the first part of a seven-part work, you will not be left with huge loose ends. However, *some* things are left unanswered, and the desire to read the second entry, 'The Chamber of Secrets', is most high. This is a nice, magical, adventure-filled story which has alot of proper values to teach to children, underneath all the magic. I also suggest reading it aloud, if you have a reading partner (child *or* adult) - it makes the experience that much the better.