Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Finally, I've read Harry Potter! Wow, what great characters! I loved Hagrid, the giant "gamekeeper," who befriends Harry and sees him through his first year at the wizards' school, Hogwarts. Harry's story as "the boy who lived" is so endearing yet sometimes I found him dry... that is, until he meets Ron and Hermione and they get into some close calls while tracking mysterious happenings at the school. Need a plot summery? Click here.

The interactions between characters felt so real and there was some great dialogue. Despite the fact that they have magical abilities, it felt like I was reading about otherwise normal kids who worry about wearing hand-me-downs and meeting expectations. The professors were equally as interesting. I liked never knowing what to think about professor Snape - is he good, bad? Don't tell me! I want to read the books without spoilers!

The Hogwarts world is very creative with it's own candy, newspaper and sport, quidditch. Reading about the quidditch tournaments was a little boring for me but they worked into the plot of the story so well that I was soon happily reading again. I enjoyed the academic environment of Hogwarts and got a chuckle out of the library scenes with magical books and a very old-fashioned librarian guarding them.

There were a few dark moments (that unicorn scene, ick!) but that's the nature of fantasy. In order to have an epic tale of good vs. evil there must be dark moments. I didn't find the dark parts too overwhelming for young readers.

I'm glad I made time for Harry Potter. I'll slowly make my way through the series. Has anyone listened to them on CD? Are they any good?

Publisher: Scholastic, 2008     Pages: 330
Stars: 4                                          Source: Public Library