Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Once upon a time, around the dinner table at my house, we were talking about books. By then, I had told my parents about my newfound love for them. So my father asked me if I was planning on reading Harry Potter, because he had heard it was really well written. I tried acting indifferently, but I'd been considering it for a while. Naturally, I turned to my mother, the book-banner in our family. When I was younger, the magical books had been on top of the list of do-not-read-in-this-house, so I was expecting her to immediately disapprove of them. I was surprised by her permission. No, not surprised. I was reading the Host, so it was more like THERE IS AN ALIEN HOST IN YOUR MOM GET OUT OF THE ROOM AND CALL THE MILITARY BEFORE IT DELETES HER PERSONALITY!!! Anyway, after calling UNESCO to ask them to put it on the World Heritage Site, I knew I had to read these books. And now, the time has come to select one courageous young wizard and his friends to represent Hogwarts in the 1st bestselling Harry Potter book.
I'm not going to bother with a summary, because if you don't know what Harry Potter is about, I'm officially accusing you of having lived under a rock your entire life.
Rating:
5 stars.
THE SPOILER SECTION STARTS HERE BUT YOU HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY READ THIS BOOK BECAUSE LITERALLY EVERYONE HAS.
With this book I went through something I had missed for so long: complete obsession from page one and being very absorbed in the concept, world, and story line for the duration of this book. I haven't been so engaged in a book series since the Hunger Games.
But this is an entirely different case. First of all, this is a lot less depressing than what I normally read. (Yes, I have been spoiled, I know SPECIFIC AWESOME PEOPLE are going to die in other SPECIFIC AWESOME BOOKS.) Despite the Dark Lord's scary scenes, there is so much more lightness in this book. Normally, there's no hope, kids die, people starve, and there's mass murder. Yes, we've killed unicorns, but that means two unicorns vs. buckets and buckets full of starving, mass murdering people. You do the math.
Seriously, why is everyone so awesome in these books? First of all, I love Hermione's character. And I'm only a little ashamed to say that's because I'm kind of the Hermione in my group of friends. You know, that annoying person who reads too much and always starts learning for her tests on time and corrects your grammar mistakes every other sentence. She made me proud to be a know-it-all.
I love Dumbledore! He's so nice and patient with everyone.
The tension between Ron and Hermione is so funny. I really look forward to seeing them fall in love.
Professor McGonagall reminds me a lot of one of my teachers. I love how she gives Harry the broomstick.
Oh, Snape, I thought you would be the good guy. The only thing I knew about Snape in advance was that he was going to say the famous word later in the series, and since I love that sentence, I already loved him before we meet him in the book. And then suddenly he is the mean teacher?! I'm so confused!
Part that scared me to death: the unicorn blood drinking of Voldemort. I read it in the dark at night and I'd just seen the Crimson Peek trailer with the hand on the shoulder of the girl. I have a very vivid imagination. It just gave me the chills.
Part that almost made me tear up: I loved the mirror and Harry's family in it! It's so sweet to just imagine him sitting in front of it.
Another thing I really like about this crazily detailed world compared to other things I've read, is how broad your perspective is. With a dystopian novel, no matter how much I love them, you're bound to this 'normal' human perspective. Plot twists are confined to these borders of the Muggle world. At Hogwarts, there are always loads of things you don't know yet. You're not restricted to normal reasoning, making for a more miraculous plot and less plot holes.
The one issue this girl had with Hogwarts: What do you mean with 'child endangerment'?
No, seriously, they need to get their priorities straight over there. You might not survive detention and the school teams compete in a game where they fly in the air and can be hit with big angry flying balls.
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