book review of harry potter by jk rowling

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HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

From the harry potter series , vol. 1.

by J.K. Rowling ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

It’s slanted toward action-oriented readers, who will find that Briticisms meld with all the other wonders of magic school.

In a rousing first novel, already an award-winner in England, Harry is just a baby when his magical parents are done in by Voldemort, a wizard so dastardly other wizards are scared to mention his name.

So Harry is brought up by his mean Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia Dursley, and picked on by his horrid cousin Dudley. He knows nothing about his magical birthright until ten years later, when he learns he’s to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts is a lot like English boarding school, 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 that ultimately takes him to the evil Voldemort. This hugely enjoyable fantasy is filled with imaginative details, from oddly flavored jelly beans to dragons’ eggs hatched on the hearth.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

ISBN: 978-0-590-35340-3

Page Count: 309

Publisher: Levine/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1998

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

More by Soman Chainani

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Julia Iredale

Netflix Drops ‘School for Good and Evil’ Trailer

BOOK TO SCREEN

THE LAST EVER AFTER

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 3.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2015

Ultimately more than a little full of itself, but well-stocked with big themes, inventively spun fairy-tale tropes, and...

Good has won every fairy-tale contest with Evil for centuries, but a dark sorcerer’s scheme to turn the tables comes to fruition in this ponderous closer.

Broadening conflict swirls around frenemies Agatha and Sophie as the latter joins rejuvenated School Master Rafal, who has dispatched an army of villains from Capt. Hook to various evil stepmothers to take stabs (literally) at changing the ends of their stories. Meanwhile, amid a general slaughter of dwarves and billy goats, Agatha and her rigid but educable true love, Tedros, flee for protection to the League of Thirteen. This turns out to be a company of geriatric versions of characters, from Hansel and Gretel (in wheelchairs) to fat and shrewish Cinderella, led by an enigmatic Merlin. As the tale moves slowly toward climactic battles and choices, Chainani further lightens the load by stuffing it with memes ranging from a magic ring that must be destroyed and a “maleficent” gown for Sophie to this oddly familiar line: “Of all the tales in all the kingdoms in all the Woods, you had to walk into mine.” Rafal’s plan turns out to be an attempt to prove that love can be twisted into an instrument of Evil. Though the proposition eventually founders on the twin rocks of true friendship and family ties, talk of “balance” in the aftermath at least promises to give Evil a fighting chance in future fairy tales. Bruno’s polished vignettes at each chapter’s head and elsewhere add sophisticated visual notes.

Pub Date: July 21, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-06-210495-3

Page Count: 672

Review Posted Online: June 25, 2015

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muddledmumbles

Book review: the harry potter series by j.k. rowling.

Over the last month or so I have re-read the entire Harry Potter book series by J.K. Rowling . Something I haven’t done since I was a child. It reminded me why I feel in love with reading, a throwback to my childhood. A must read for everyone everywhere.

The series consists of seven books. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the first book in the series. I gave it 5 stars. From the first chapter you are drawn into this fantastic world and that you just want to be part of. An adventure from the beginning to the very end. The friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione is also developed so naturally. I also love how much more assertive Harry is compared to the films.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the series. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book as it is my least favorite film in the series; I gave it 3 stars. There is so much cut out of the film compared to the book. I also love the introduction of Tom Riddle . Every villain needs a beginning.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a 4-star read. I only marked it down as it did drag a tiny bit. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black are brilliant additions to the world. They provide a new layer of History to the world. They add back story and a new list of emotions for Harry to deal with.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 5-star read. J.K. Rowling really stepped up her game with the introduction of the Triwizard Tournament ; I was hooked. I really enjoyed how the friendship between Harry and Ron was tested and how the relationship between Hermione and Harry blossomed. You really felt that they were friends through thick and thin. This book contained so much in its pages and all of it seemed relevant. The ending was so shocking, I couldn’t wait to pick up the next edition in the series.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was really long. The narrative was interesting, but I found it drawn out in parts. I only gave it 3 stars. I may have just be overloaded with info, but I found the climax hard to follow. There were a lot of characters and I felt it difficult to follow each strand of the battle. The ending was heart-breaking, another loss for the boy who has lost so much already.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was a 4-star read. I loved the expansion of the friendship group into the other houses besides Gryffindor lot. I felt in this book you got a real sense that the characters had matured. The twist and turns still surprised me after all these years. The twist at the end made me tear up. A twist that I didn’t see coming.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a fantastic end to the series. A 4-star read, I only marked it down as I felt that it was a slow start to the action. This book had more twists and turns than a roller coaster. It incorporated so much and made a call back to each and every book in the series. I felt I didn’t fully appreciate this book the first time I read it. The characters throughout the series all play such critical roles both big and small.

book review of harry potter by jk rowling

J.K. Rowling has created something amazing with this series. Stories that don’t age and can be passed down. There is no age limit, they can be enjoyed by young and old. I think I’ll make it an annual read. I think I might even treat myself to the illustrated version for my next excursion into the fantastic wizarding world of Harry Potter .

Reviews of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. (Joanne) Rowling

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone

1st Published in UK as Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone

by J.K. (Joanne) Rowling

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' Opinion:

Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History
Young Adults
UK (Britain) & Ireland
Contemporary
1st in Series
Magical or Supernatural

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About this Book

Book summary.

Harry hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years - but all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives with an invitation to an incredible place.

Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility. All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley - a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry and anyone who reads about him - will find unforgettable. For it's there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him... if Harry can survive the encounter.

Chapter Two The Vanishing Glass

Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets - but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at ...

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling (Harry Potter: Book 1)

The Philosopher’s Stone is the first in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series of seven novels that have made her the most successful literary author of all time, selling in excess of 400 million copies world-wide. The books are read and enjoyed by children and adults alike and have also been made into hugely popular films.

Do the Harry Potter books live up to the hype? When I first began reading the Philosopher’s stone I was immediately struck by how good - and laugh-out-loud funny - the humour was. You usually need to read a Terry Pratchett novel to ensure constant laughter throughout but Rowling has managed to infuse this book with a lovely wit and charm that will both amuse and delight adults and children.

Here is an example, with the ending being particularly good:

"Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large, pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes and thick, blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel – Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig." Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: The Vanishing Glass

There are characters in this book that will remind us of all the people we have met. Everybody knows or knew a spoilt, overweight boy like Dudley or a bossy and interfering (yet kind-hearted) girl like Hermione. A large number of the younger readers will also be able to easily identify with Harry, especially with his initial feelings of isolation and not belonging, and then through to his excitement at finally leaving that life behind in favour of one where he belongs and will be happy.

When Harry begins his first term at Hogwarts (a wizarding school) he is not alone in being overawed:

‘Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight of Hogwarts in a sec,’ Hagrid called over his shoulder, ‘jus’ round this bend here.’ There was a loud ‘Oooooh!” The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

Hogwarts is a truly magical place, not only in the most obvious way but also in all the detail that the author has gone to describe it so vibrantly. It is the place that everybody wishes they could of gone to when they where eleven. And there many adventures befall the trio (Harry, Ron and Hermione) and the stone in the book's title is centre to all that happens. The story builds towards and exciting conclusion that has the ultimate feel-good factor.

J.K. Rowling should be commended for getting so many people reading and excited by books. The biggest surprise must be the effect that this novel had on the adult population, both male and female - at the time the books were published many a commuting train was spotted with Harry Potter books providing world-weary workers with a wonderful sense of escapism. This book is highly recommended to anybody between the ages of 8 and 80.

Is all the hype about the Harry Potter books justified? In a word, yes, the books are a joy to read and possibly the most rewarding young adult’s book since The Hobbit.

9/10 A rewarding read, a classic for children.

Buy on Amazon

Review by Amanda White

136 positive reader review(s) for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

380 positive reader review(s) in total for the Harry Potter series

JK Rowling biography

Noona from Australia

This book is satisfyingly good, the entire idea of having a young boy who’s parents die in the hands in an blood thirsty super villain isn’t that unique... *cough* *cough* *Batman*. But she makes it so original with hoggwards and the mirror makes this book so good

Athena-Jayde from New Zealand

Best book of all time love the writing and the dream J.k Rowling is my all time favorite writer

Anon from UK

I never thought I'd enjoy Harry Potter so much! It's become my favourite series and absolutely LOVE the magic and everything about the book honestly. You can never get bored and all the chapters always leave you asking tons of questions! Love it! P.S. Joanne Rowling- I love your books. Keep on doing, what you're doing! You are such an amazing author and angel. 😃

Samuel from Australia

Could not tear my eyes away from this book.

Haniya from Pakistan

Harry Potter is the best English novel I read.

Priyal from India

We all know that the book is fab, but have you ever wondered , what if J.K. Rowling ended the book with the the last line saying- '' and then Harry woke up from the dream lying in the cupboard under the stairs....''

Great book for young and old, I have read it so many times i could say it word for word. I think that it is one of the best books that I have ever read.

Anonymous from Rather not Say

An interesting beginning for the award-winning series. This, unlike the other Harry Potters, wasn’t that good. Nearly each on got better. But some kids may find this book boring and lose interest. It just doesn’t have the action and sci-fi like the rest. Philosopher’s Stone: 6/10 Chamber of Secrets: 7/10 Prisoner of Azkaban: 9/10 Goblet of Fire: 9/10 Order of the Phoenix: 10/10 Half-Blood Prince: 6/10 Deathly Hallows: 9/10 Cursed Child: 2/10 Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: 5/10 The Tales of Beedle the Bard: 4/10

Beauty Queen from India

It was very nice book. I am still reading it even after 100 times. It interesting you see I am a fast reader so I completed the book in 1 day. It tells about how Harry Potter a wizard and how his parents were murdered so he had only one relative his mom's sister Aunt Petunia and her family. Then a letter arrives at his house but his uncle won't let him see it but a giant named Hagrid the gamekeeper says the truth that he was an wizard like he studied in the school Hogwarts the magic school and made some friends too. But he needed to save the philosopher stone from the deadly wizard named Lord Voldemort but the problem was his least favorite teacher Snape who Harry thinks works for Voldemort but that isn't the end but I don't want to be a surprise spoiler so read it yourself I felt it was a good book. How about you?

Anoymous from Somewhere

Very good book. I had read it for more than 5 times.

Anonymous from Somewhere

It’s OK. There’s been better Harry Potters. But Artemis Fowl is more enjoyable.

Mia from Australia

This is the Summary Harry Potter he a kid on his eleventh birthday a big giant man name Hagrid told him that he was a wizard and his parents were witch and wizard too he never knew that he was famous. He started at Hogwarts. Harry made some new friends name Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger there found a three head dog name Fluffy and there need to find out what in that trap door let the magic begin. This is plot When Harry Potter start Hogwarts school of wizard and witchery and Find out what happen to his parents and he find the murder of his parents his name is Voldemort. This is imagery and symbolism That in Harry Potter has a lot of bright colours and some dark colours. Book is mostly about how Harry starts and through the year of Hogwarts. One of the may symbols are Harry scar because he the boy who lived right after Voldemort disappeared. Themes are magic, Friendship and Love because it shows the magic in Hogwarts, friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione and love between Harry and his mother and father who Harry lose.

Bill from UK

Harry Potter are the greatest books ever. I really enjoy these books the most book I like is The Prisoner of Azkaban because Buckbeak who is a magical creature is cute and the best it is the best book I have.

Sanu from Australia

It enthralled me and I finished all the books in grade 3. But I re-read them and still do! These wonderful masterpieces are perfect for kids and adults. Take a look at it.

Samiya from Bangladesh

Only one thing can say, the book is awesome and every moment and every chapter is incredible. It is the best book I ever read.

Harry Potter are the greatest books ever. I really enjoy these books, the book I likemost is The Prisoner of Azkaban because Buckbeak, who is a magical creature, is cute and the best. It is the best book I have.

Rose from Holly wood

Maria from Pakistan

This book has had me taken into another land in which i remain till now...even though i finished the whole series! I simply cannot get enough of harry potter and i highly recommend this book if you guys love fantasy and a bit of wizard action!😍😍😘😊

Rachel from United Kingdom

Simply the best!

Anna from United States

I don't like fantasy books. This is my one time I have to go against it. Harry Potter is in my top 2 favorite books of all time. It's amazing with all the unique things that you see around the magic world. You will have to think again when you chose a favourite book.

Suzanna from Wales

One of the best book series ever!! Charming and Witty, you just cant put the book down.

Nicole Fernando from Sri Lanka

Harry’s perfectly normal life at number 4 privet drive becomes extraordinary when he finds out that he is a wizard and Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry will teach him all he needs to know.Ignoring his aunt’s and uncle’s(Mr. and Mrs.Dursley) screams of protests Harry ventures into the wizarding world. But even in The wizarding world bad things happen like, the evil wizard ,Voldemort who killed who many innocent people( including Harry’s parents ) coming back to life.Even though Harry escaped from Voldemort once, Harry is not certain he can do it again.Join Harry Potter and his newly found friends Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger to save the wizarding World.Can they do it? Find out in Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone . This book is great for all ages.The author J.K Rowling created a world full of adventure,fun and mystical places and creatures.This is only the first book from a set of seven.People all around the world would love this series.This book is one of the greatest books I have ever read.

Anna from UK

It’s very good because I enjoy it and it makes me wanna read it a lot and see what happens next.

Anjitha from India

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is one of my favourite books in the Harry Potter series. Reading this book has made me crazy about Harry Potter and I wish to be one among the magical community. I can't imagine how thrilled I would be if I get a letter from Dumbledore saying that I am admitted to Hogwarts!!!!!!!

Cira from Canada

This book made me feel like I was taken to another land. I love it and others should too. I really enjoyed the humpr and thrill that were somehow mixed together into a perfect story. J.K Rowling has that little touch that makes everyone LOVE her books. EVeryone needs to buy it!

Risha from India

One of the best books I've read. Highly recommend it. It's for all ages and it's the best! Humour, thrill, action and a little love. A combo of everything.

Amber from India

It was the best book I had ever read. The first book was a blast. J.k Rowling has really outdone herself this time.I am reading the 7th book now, and it seems to be really interesting. Young readers, I am advising you to start reading Harry Potter, as it is truly amazing and interesting to boost your imagination..... The magical world of Harry Potter is includes dangerous, fun and legendary adventures, starring Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, who are three best friends in this fabulous story. They fought together against many fantastic and dangerous creatures, and came across many obstacles. Finally, it was the time, for Harry Potter to fight against the most powerful, dangerous wizard all the magical people could think of. You wanna know more about this legendary adventure, then reading the Harry Potter series is the best way possible.

Jotaro from Japan

It is very good.

Samit from India

Truly amazing

Neil from Malta

Purely amazing.

Sofia from Mexico

It was good.

Ava from Australia

Get ready to wave your wand, for this wizardry adventure. It start off with a young boy not knowing that he's a wizard until his 11th birthday, on his journey to Hogwarts Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) makes amazing friends with Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Wealsy (Rupert Grint). On learning how to prounce the famous spells like wingardium leviosa, lumos and alohomara, but in every story there's a troubling part were Harry fights for his life.

Jade from UK

This book is the only book I read because nothing else is interesting for me and I could never stop re-reading it.By now I must of read the Harry Potter series 20 times,they are just WOW and AMAZING.I would recommend this book to anyone!

Aoife from Ireland

Just perfect.

Amaal from Austrailia

It is definitely the best book I've ever read! I need to read all!!!! :) SO AMAZING! I now know 100% understand why J.K. Rowling is the most successful and richest author there is! 9.9 STARS!

Palak from India

i have read harry potter book it was amazing i like it

Sofia from USA

Harry Potter and the philospher's stone is one of the best series I have read it more than 8 times

Namratha from India

This is amazing I love it 😙😙😙😙😙😙

Shravani from India

I really loved Harry Potter series. It is one of the greatest fictions for children. The writing, the character development is very good. I really liked it.

Harry from Australia

Best book series if you ask me. I have read each book over 15 times except The Order of the Phoenix and Goblet of Fire. JK Rowling's writing is better than any other writing. I love Emma Watson / Hermione Granger. I have loved Harry Potter since I was in year 2.

Manya Rathore from India

It is the most interesting book I have ever read and It is a wizard story and is a inspirative story.

carissa from singpore

I LOVE harry potter so much that I can read the whole book series like about 20 times. I think that everyone should a lest try reading Harry Potter .

Mubeen from India

When i started reading harry potter and the philosophers stone i was unable to stop myself by reading i read it continously and i hd cmpltd it in just one day without getting bored.....these are the amazing book series i hv ever read....i would luv to read it again and again..

Juveriya from India

I love the harry potter series

Katie from 1 Direction Fandom

Get ready for swish and flick and wingardium leviosa! The best part is the last against Lord Voldemort.

Imogen from UK

Good book =-)

Electra from Greece

I love Harry Potter and I love the Philosopher's Stone so much because it is the book where all the magic began.

Olivia Myers from Australia

I love Harry Potter but I would rather watch the move than read the book :}

Heramb from Australia

Harry Potter was the best book series I've ever read and it is beast. If I could I would rate this 2,000,000 stars out of ten!

Ben from UK

Definitely advise reading these books.

Sanjanaa from India

I like Harry Potter.

Thomas from America

AMAZING! RECOMMEND IT!!!

Aaradhana from India

Whatever it has use for us , whatever it teaches , friendship , believe in magic , confidence in ourselves , whatever , its the craziest thing i have ever read or ever known in my life...I just go mad and imagine myself in that world and actually i wont ever be tired of reading it if its even 100 times 😃😃😃😇😇😌😌 I just love it n u r the most imp part of life-review of others who just shown me that its what makes the harry potter the best story ever atleast fr me... its my life. If i would even be of 50 yrs or more i won't stop admiring it and readinb... yes i am not the best fan but fr me its the best book/series 😁😁 Love u harry pottrr stories.... and yeah 1 thing i forgot to tell u i am really a great fan of Draco Malfoy/TOM FELTON....😍😍�...😄......was that too much to read!!!!�......

Rachana from India

What a nice book it was!

Keira from Canada

This book review is magical and helps me understand what this book is about. Also in my class we are making book reviews and you have helped me alot with exmaples! Thanks.

Frutopia10 from New Zealand

It was awesome! A book that is unforgettable! Even though the series gets better and better this book is a all time favorite for me.

Hemanth from India

This is the book that everyone has to read in their lifetime and the graphics are awesome. Thanks to J. K. Rowling for giving us a awesome book and after reading I realised why the book is so famous.

Akash from India

This book is so amazing. That I can't narrate and Ys I have decided to know what people are so much crazy about these series. At last the thinking of writer is lunatically awesome!!!!

Abcd1234 from Israel

An amazing start for an equally amazing series . The plot is immersive, it takes you by the hands and pulls you into the books. I Read the whole seven books in a row. Must read!!!

Lily from Australia

OMG! this book is amazing. JK Rowling is really good with words i have read this book 100 times i love it keep up the good work JK

Sahla from UK

The magic begins!!! This book is bewitchingly beautiful. I have read all of the Harry Potter books including the Cursed Child and I have to admit that this one never gets old! All book lovers across the world, children or adults, can enjoy this book. Honestly I believe no one can ever say they hate this book true to their heart unless their pathological liars.

Annie from India

This book is amazing. I really like that and I think everyone also like this boo . This book show a philosopher's stone that amazing and their wand spells superb . Thanks to J.K Rowling that gives us very interesting book.

Savannah from Australia

This book is amazing.

Satwika from India

AMAZING!!! I love the book. It is my all time favorite. I am dieing to go to a magical school like Hogwarts. I am inspired to write a fantasy novel.

Harry Potter Fan😍 from Hogwarts

I love this book. I saw the movie and have read the book a million times now!!! (LOL)😍😃😘

Ahmed from Saudi arabia

Awesome Book but chapter one was very boring plzz in the next series dont write all those kind of stuffs. Plzz begin the story neatly and nicely

Sohini from India

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is written by J.K Rowling. Even By reading this small summary I am well liked of the story. And really from now I like Harry Potter.

N from Ireland

AMAZING 😁

Sophie from UK

It was Fantastic!

MAISHA from INDIA

It's a fabulous book, I had heard about it from my friends, and when I found it very interesting. It was like I am in the story watching everything happening. I will now start to read the second book. From my point of view, I feel that JK ROWLING IS THE BEST WRITER IN THE WORLD IN THIS GENERATION.

David from US

The first book in the Harry Potter series has much going for it but I think it is the humour that stands out most for. It is many things but I just found it plain funny. Consistently. This is fantasy in its purest form and it offers wonderful escapement and wish-fulfilment. When a book becomes as massively popular as this those who do not like it tend to really hate it. But make up your own mind - if a school for wizards and oodles of adventure and excitement sound like your type of thing then your not going to find much better than this.

Great story mixed with fantastic world - building combine to form a literary classic of immense proportions.

Emma from America

Chamber of Secrets is the classic that started a classic story about the boy who lived. The book features well rounded characters, a mysterious plot, and heartwarming world-building.

Jessica from Australia

It's amazing! I recommend this book to all ages ❤️

Indrajeet from India

Best book in my life I have ever read before and I have all the version in my home and I read it in leisure time.

Sindhu from India

This wonderful book takes us on a magical journey you can't help falling in love with. The plot, the characters, the tiny details that Rowling so masterfully brings together... mindblowing. Easily the best book series I've ever read. Recommended for everybody- young and old.

ledi from Albania

I love this book because it is a very interesting, mysterious and thrilling book.

Lavisha Malik from India

I like this book. I thank the writer to write such a interesting type of book.

Houssem from Tunisia

What an amazing and fascinating book ! Wow. The journey passed so fast, how you dive into the pages,sink in the events and travel with the characters, how fantastic that is, purely wonderful ^^

Sashreek Havelia from India

This was an amazing book and was my second novel ever. I find myself in a stronghold of books just because of this wonderfully written and out of the box book. I must congratulate author J.K.Rowling on the success of all her books and her skill as an author.

Disha from India

It is very nice.

Harry from UK

I quite liked the book it was interesting I am now on the 2nd book of Harry Potter.

Trevor from US

The only people who don't like Harry Potter books are adults who seem to think that admitting they like Harry Potter makes them less of an adult. Oh, it's a great children's book. STFU. It's not a great children's book. It's just a great book. PERIOD.

Safia Ali from India

I just want to say that I AM MAD ABOUT THIS MAGICAL WORLD AS IT DID A GREAT MAGIC ON MY MIND AND HEART. JUST LOVE IT!

Brychan from UK

An excellent book combining magic and reality in a sensational mix. J.K Rowling has definitely succeeded in writing a brilliant book perfect for all ages. She has created a combination of happy, exciting and sad scenes to create an amazing book. If you have not already read the series then I definitely recommend that you read it as soon as possible. 9/10

Jasmine from India

This book is the best book I have read in a entire life. Love u JK Rowling.

Potter fan from India

Good book but lacks action...

Navneet from India

It really is the most fantastic book which I have ever read in my life.

Michael Anthony from US

Great book!!! Love it.

Himansh from India

Great book! I had read this book almost 10 times but am not at all bored of it. People who feel bored are dumb. The only word for this book is - awesome!!! But the Deathly Hallows is the last part. I'll miss Harry Potter!!!

#potterhead from Pakistan

Oh my god! These books are life. I just cannot describe how amazing they are. I've read them like a million times and I'm still not tired of them. Favourite books and I also lovvveeeee the movies. Potterhead for life!

Priyanka from Dubai

It is such an awesome book, I felt so sad when it was coming to an end. I wish there were more than 7 Harry Potter books.

Gordon from England

It is very funny those who give this book a bad review have a very poor grasp of the English language. Maybe they lack the intellegence to appreciate literature beyond wiser and chips? Totally awesome book.

Faizan from India

Excellent! Wonderful! I love the series of Harry Potter. I have read it 7 times continuously. No words to appreciate. Just enjoy the fantasy world of magic.

Sheepish from India

It is a nice and thrilling book which I had never read in my life. I love this book, thanx for this, bye.

Anakha from India

I love it. An amazing book!

Annastacia Buckley from Singapore

I absolutely loveee this book!! But, I would give it a 10 if the review was longer and have more coverage! Awesome book!

Gregory from Australia

This book was very impressive... how can people hate this book?

xxpa from canada

Great book, I couldn't put it down once I started reading this book. Dark, amazing, fast and thrilling. A must read for all!

Jack from US

It's so good, thanks, you gave me an idea for a book review.

Gunnhildur from Iceland

I loooooved this book! Those dumb Harry Potter haters don´t understand what they are missing! I really hope J.K. Rowling writes more of these, I have read all of them twice! Maybe some stories about Harry and Ron doing Aura business and other stuff!

Deepika from India

The only review is that they are... AWESOME!!!

Pinky from India

I can't give 10 points because it's not enough! Hey! I've started reading Chamber of Secrets. After I completed reading I came to this website. Ah! This book has fans all over the world.

Ramya from India

The best ever book I've read. Fascinating, mesmerizing, so on!!! No other words I've to describe it. I normally hate books but this is the one which gave me the interest to read novels. I'll say this book is best because it's SIMPLY GREAT GREAT GREAT... VERY GREAT!!!

Trina from US

You can't put it down. I really recommend this book, it's filled with enjoyment and it's fascinating. OK, I don't want to say really smart words but just kick back your feet and read - it is so good.

Harry Potter (wink wink) from Privet Drive

i just finished it and it only took me a day.... i couldn't put it down it was AMAZING. I came to this website before I read it just to be sure it is worth while. If you're doing this now... STOP and read it. No words can explain how good it is, I have already started Chamber of Secrets. There is so much detail in JK Rowling's books! I recommend read this first then watch the movie. It's a great book for all ages :)

Aymar from Canada

Honestly loved the first the most. But the entire series was the best series I have a ever read!

Xavier from Austria

Although I am not totally enamoured by the series as a whole I think the Philosopher's Stone is a beautiful stand-alone book. It oozes charm and offers wish fulfilment on a level I've only ever encountered in the Lord of the Rings. At turns funny, heart-warming, exciting and full of tension it is a book that everyone should read. Even if it is just to find out what the fuss is all about. A great book to read every Christmas.

Ilma from Bangladesh

The best book I've read!

Himika from India

This book taught me to love fantasy! I have read many books ever since, but HP for me is always special!

Rithu from India

The most exciting and interesting to all class of people.

Dang Trung Hieu from Vietnam

Great book!

Iris from Mexico

It was the book that taught me to love reading. And discover the feeling not to be able to leave the chair until you have finished the book. Highly recommended.

Harihara from India

No words can say how much I like this. The best series ever.

Sweata from India

It is a very thrilling book and also it has an interesting mythology... I loved this book very much... I thank J.K. Rowling for writing such a great book...

Samantha from Canada

Amazing, gripping, magnificent.

Sathwik from India

Harry Potter is awesome. It has a lot of action.

Joshua from England

Harry Potter to some is a "boring", "overexaggerated" book with no life in it whatsoever. Those people are absolute idiots. J.K. Rowling's books are gripping, stunning and filled with so much literature. The magic between the pages is just thrilling, when I started reading this particular book in my youth - around 4 years ago, I'm 13 now - it was impossible to put down, I would not sleep until it was finished. Lucky for me I'm a fast reader. In a few words Harry Potter is amazing: gripping and intelligent.

Shubham Mk from India

Just one word... CLASSIC!!! Thumbs up!!

Sarah from Pakistan

I liked this book very much, but this is my first book in the Harry Potter series and now I am very excited to read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets which I've got to read in the school holidays but this book is really awesome and I hope Chamber of Secrets will also be as interesting as this!!!

Julia from America

I thought it was brill!

Jimwel from Philippines

I really love the Harry Potter books, in fact I already finished reading all those 7 series and I really crave for more books. Hope J.K. Rowling make additional series but I don't suppose she will. But who knows?

Tom Marvolo Riddle from England

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the best book of all time!

Ieuan Jones from UK

I love Harry Potter but I think the first one lacks some action, where as the others have a lot of action from near the start, like Chamber of Secrets - there's the bit near the end where Harry kills the Basilisk and the Prisoner of Azkaban, there's the Womping Willow, whereas the first one isn't very exiting because all it is the first part of the end they get through that in like 2 mins of the film and then all they do is play chess and then Harry goes on to get bought in a fire for like a minute and then all it is is him in bed and Dumbledore steeling his sweet. So yeah, it isn't the best book but I think I would put it about 6th out of the eight :D

Amelia from Australia

I LOVE THIS BOOK AND ALL THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES!! They are so engaging and make the reader actually want to be a wizard!! I am absolutely crazy about Harry Potter!! My room is filled with Harry Potter stuff because I am so in-love with these books!!!

Andy from Reading

I have heard a lot of criticism of these books by quite a few adults, and whilst the writing may not be the best they are quite clearly wrong. These books have successfully engaged not just millions of young people across the world but millions of adults as well. Any author who can achieve such a following must be doing something right. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the story and go with the flow, yes there are shortcomings, however in this case it doesn't really matter if it gets millions of people engaged in reading.

Sarah from London

GREAT! That's all I can say!

Cat Fitzpatrick from London

A children's classic, what more can you say? Luckily I was eleven when the first book came out so I was the right age to follow them over the years, but I go back to them again and again even though I'm an adult because there's so much joy to be had in this magic, vivid world. It's funny, charming, heart-breaking and utterly wonderful.

Visenna from Poland

Really great, but still rather for younger readers.

Ankita from India

I love to watch the Harry Potter series.

Adam from Gregory

J.K. Rowling has sharp, lucid prose that carries Harry Potter beyond the realms of simple children's fantasy and into that of timeless literature. It's accessible and clear but at times it can be poetic and downright funny. In addition to her concise writing style, Harry Potter is populated with interesting and relatable characters that the reader can (and will) fall in love with. Yes, you could argue the plot devices are nothing we haven't seen before. Sometimes they even border on cliche. And yes, you could also argue that the villain is a bit too simple on the morality side of things. But none of this really matters, because the Harry Potter series are a helluva lot of fun to read and have a blast-ended-skrewt-sized heart.

Ian from Lisburn

The greatest fantasy series of a generation. If you haven't read these books yet please come out of your cave and rejoin the rest of the world!!! They reminded me why I love reading and fantasy.

Sharnali from London

The Harry Potter books to me are AWESOME!!! They are legendary. J.K Rowling is an inspiration, a William Shakespeare of the present day! ;]

Leisale from Vanuatu

The only word I have for the Harry Potter series is that they are... AWESOME!!!!

Kaan Can from Turkey

Harry Potter's magical world was created perfectly by JK Rowling. It's really interesting!!! The book series and movies are great!! This is a world phenomenon!! Read these books!

Samir from Oran

I wasn't going to read the Harry Potter series because I thought it was an overrated children's book. But one day, I decided that I had to see for myself why so many people liked this series. I couldn't be more wrong. It's an amazing fantasy series with a very solid and interesting mythology. The first book is great but the following books are even better.

Laura from England

I love Harry Potter, I started reading it in primary school and I keep re-reading the whole series - it's amazing! I love the magic of it all, it's so unique. I must have read the series through at least 6 times now, and I don't get bored! They are brilliant. I love all the characters, they're so interesting. This book is just....wow! Not my favourite of the series but I still love it... I like it when they go through the trap door, it's hard to stop reading :)

9.7 /10 from 138 reviews

All JK Rowling Reviews

Harry Potter (Harry Potter)
The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Harry Potter Companion)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter Companion)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter: Book 1)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter: Book 2)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter: Book 3)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter: Book 4)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter: Book 5)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter: Book 6)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter: Book 7)

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling | Book Review

The Children’s Book Review | July 31, 2018

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Written by J.K. Rowling

Age Range: 8 and up

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; Reissue edition (June 26, 2018)

ISBN-13: 978-1338299144

What to Expect: Fantasy and Magic

It is July 31. That means that it is Harry Potter’s birthday and the the perfect opportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone .

Get your tickets ready. The grand, shiny red Hogwarts Express is ready to depart from platform 9 3/4, and you won’t want to miss the enchanting ride into the spellbinding wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Harry is an orphan who has been living with Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley Dursley since he was a baby. The Dursleys are plain despicable and make Harry sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. On Harry’s eleventh birthday, mysterious letters addressed to Harry Potter begin arriving at the house, and his aunt and uncle try everything they can to keep them from Harry. That’s when a very large looking man, Hagrid, shows up to deliver the letter in person, along with a very important message: “You’re a wizard, Harry!” Unknown to Harry, he isn’t just any wizard, he is a very famous wizard with a destiny waiting to be fulfilled; a destiny that explains the peculiar lightning bolt scar he has on his forehead. Harry’s whole world will be turned upside down as he embarks on a new and exciting journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

J.K Rowling’s writing is as magical as the story itself. The settings and locations provide rich backdrops for the page-turning drama that unfolds—Hogwarts is located in a remote location in a majestic castle nestled against the Forbidden Forest. Feel-good moments soften, and also propel, the ever-growing tension—amidst the flurry of new magical activities (flying broomsticks and playing the wizarding sport of choice, Quidditch) and lessons (‘Care of Magical Creatures’ and ‘Defense Against the Dark Arts’), it becomes apparent that a dark power is growing stronger … the kind of power that could only come from the most feared wizard … He Who Shall Not Be Named. Could Harry and his lightning bolt scar be somehow connected to this dark wizard? This question and more make it near impossible to stop at just one or two chapters a night!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is not to be missed by any reader, young or old. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this story, Scholastic has released new covers for the series, illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winning artist Brian Selznick. The covers are a kind of magic in their own right: when placed side by side, the seven covers make one spectacular picture that highlights the arc of the seven book series. Selznick’s artwork is fantastical and the cover design concept is genius!

Of course, there’s only one thing to do: Grab your invisibility cloak, and jump headfirst into this adventurous, mysterious, perilous, and highly entertaining book about muggles (non-magical) and magical folk.

Available Here:

About the author.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the record-breaking, multi-award-winning Harry Potter novels. Loved by fans around the world, the series has sold over 450 million copies, been translated into 80 languages, and made into eight blockbuster films. She has written three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos), and The Tales of Beedle the Bard (in aid of Lumos), as well as a screenplay inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , which marked the start of a five-film series to be written by the author. She has also collaborated on a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two , which opened in London’s West End in the summer of 2016. In 2012 J.K. Rowling’s digital company Pottermore was launched, where fans can enjoy news, features, and articles, as well as original content from J.K. Rowling. J.K. Rowling is also the author of The Casual Vacancy , a novel for adult readers, and the Strike crime series, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. She has received many awards and honors, including an OBE and Companion of Honour, France’s Légion d’honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

About the Illustrator

Brian Selznick ’s books have garnered countless accolades worldwide, and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He is the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of the #1 New York Times bestsellers The Invention of Hugo Cabret , adapted into Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning movie Hugo ; and Wonderstruck , adapted by celebrated filmmaker Todd Haynes, with a screenplay by Selznick; as well as The Marvels and Baby Monkey, Private Eye (co-written with Dr. David Serlin). Selznick divides his time between Brooklyn, New York, and San Diego, California.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone , by J.K. Rowling, was reviewed by Bianca Schulze. Discover more books like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with Books About Witches , Brian Selznick , Fantasy , Harry Potter , J.K. Rowling , Magic , and Wizard Books .

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Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother and children’s book lover. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, the goal is to share her passion for children’s literature to grow readers. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

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Supposedly Fun

Book review: harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone, by j.k. rowling.

Perhaps nostalgia is a powerful steam engine, but I got lost in the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone every bit as easily as I did back in the day. There was definitely an element of comfort and familiarity at play as I got pulled back into the story. Pulling this book off the shelf was like visiting with a beloved friend you haven’t seen in a long time for a hearty meal.

But you can’t put it all on nostalgia. That takes away from the effortless charm and breezy wit Rowling employs in building the world of Harry Potter in this first installment. She makes this introductory volume less plot heavy in order to focus on world building without overwhelming the reader. The plot isn’t so much about a hero and a villain like all the others would be (the villain is practically an afterthought). Here, the plot is about Harry’s first year at Hogwarts. As such, we get to follow along on the journey and get to know all about what it is to be a student at Hogwarts–and a wizard living in this world. With this framework established, Rowling would be able to play about more boldly in subsequent books.

It also allows Rowling to keep the focus light and airy. Sorcerer’s Stone is solidly in the intermediate level. As the series progresses it will get darker, trending further and further into the young adult level–aging along with Harry himself and the seriousness of the dangers he faces. In comparison to where we’re going, Sorcerer’s Stone is practically a children’s book. Even Harry’s concerns in this book are childish. His biggest goal here, at age 11, is winning the house cup for Gryffindor. For context, by the time Harry is fourteen in book four the house cup will barely even rate a mention. Even Quidditch will barely factor into the later books. To be fair, by the end a lot of heavier plot devices have been set in motion that make it impossible to include everything that happens in a school year. But the point stands: at this point in time, Harry has a lighter view of the world and lighter cares. Winning the house cup means the world to him because he can’t imagine anything worse than being a loser anymore.

The fact that Rowling makes plot take a backseat to world building is probably a smart decision in the long term, but there’s no denying that it makes the conclusion problematic. Because there has to be a showdown of some sort, and she needs to get to work setting up Voldemort’s eventual return, otherwise Sorcerer’s Stone would go nowhere and it wouldn’t do a proper job setting up the conflict Harry will face over the course of seven books. So the villain plotline is relegated to a subplot that gets teased out in hints and details here and there, finally coalescing into something actionable only in the last forty pages. At that point it feels rushed, slightly haphazard, and doesn’t come together. Just as it’s forming, we get a deus ex machina to take care of everything. I suppose that makes sense considering that Harry only just learned that he’s a wizard–there’s no way he would be able to believably win a fight against a powerful wizard, especially one powered by Voldemort. Employing a deus ex machina allowed Rowling to hew closer to the reality of Harry being a child. Having someone else essentially fight the battle here makes it more effective when he grows up and fights his own battles beginning in the next book.

Except there’s also no denying that the plot, as much as there is one, doesn’t make much sense if you stop to think about it. There are entire plot points built around the flimsiest of premises. So when we’re expected to follow the reality of Harry’s youth sidelining him from the big fight at the conclusion just as it’s about to get interesting, we’re also somehow expected to believe that Harry, who has never flown on a broomstick, is such a natural at it that he’s not only good at it but he becomes the youngest player on his house’s Quidditch team and gets himself out of serious trouble simply by being so inherently good at it. That’s problematic. More problematic for 33 year-old me to accept than 18 year-old me. I was more willing to check my brain at the door and go with the flow as a youth, I suppose.

To be fair, it doesn’t help that the market is currently saturated with “chosen one” stories that have essentially ripped off Harry Potter. 18 year-old me would naturally have an easier time going with the flow in a story like this because I wouldn’t have learned to be jaded by all the low-quality imitators glutting the market. The very fact that Rowling attempts a balance puts Harry Potter head and shoulders above the pretenders to its throne (most of whom now also wear the dystopia badge after The Hunger Games ). Even here, when she is introducing her protagonist, Rowling was never interested in making Harry perfect. Yes, he’s impossibly brave and noble. Yes, he tends to make the difficult choices in order to do what’s right. But he’s also impetuous. He has a temper at times and can be stubborn. He can be misled. He can even be rude and thoughtless.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Sorcerer’s Stone is still great, charming fun, even if it was a little disappointing to realize how shallow it is. It does an excellent job of setting up the drama to come, but that’s about it. I’d probably grade it a touch lower, but in the end I appreciate that the time Rowling spends establishing what a typical year at Hogwarts is like in this book allows her to use that framework to break those very boundaries in subsequent installments.

Read on for more about this installment. Or check out my Harry Potter page for more. Up next: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets .

New Characters

Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher

Professor Quirrell has precious little to recommend him or make him memorable, despite his passion for turbans and his zest for garlic. Until his villainous reveal, that is. But since the action of Sorcerer’s Stone is relegated to the background until the final forty pages–and Quirrell only spends twenty of those pages in the spotlight. As DAtDA professors go, Quirrell is far and away the most forgettable of the lot. Which shouldn’t really be allowed to happen since the dude has Voldemort living on the back of his head . I mean, that should count for something, right? Grade: 2/5

Special Artifacts or Spells

Harry spends most of the book obsessed with his Nimbus 2000 broomstick, but of course the entire book hinges on the safety of the titular Sorcerer’s Stone (known in the UK as the Philosopher’s Stone). The Sorcerer’s Stone is the creation of alchemist Nicolas Flamel and using it can grant a person immortality. Dumbledore has it moved to Hogwarts to protect it, but Professor Quirrell and his oversized Voldemort pimple quickly infiltrate the school and conveniently take the entire school year to figure out how to get beyond the defenses Dumbledore set up around it. Nevermind that the centerpiece of those defenses, the Mirror of Erised (which shows you your heart’s deepest desires) spends half the school year located somewhere else so Harry can stumble on it, see his parents, learn an important lesson, and understand how the mirror works when he encounters it in the final showdown. Harry also gets his first uses of his invisibility cloak , a tool which will allow him to sneak about the school for years to come.

The State of Harry’s Legacy

Solid as a rock. In this super-wholesome entry everything is sunny all the time, so no one other than Draco Malfoy or Severus Snape (or the Dursleys) would dare question Harry Potter’s noble intentions or do anything but admire him for being ‘the boy who lived.’ Harry won’t get his first taste of suspicion or fear until the next book in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , and even that will look tame compared to what lies in store in the future.

Dumbledore Wisdom

In his introduction Albus Dumbledore remains a peripheral character, albeit one of striking nobility, honor, wisdom, and wit. It’s no mistake that Dumbledore serves as the novel’s deus ex machina. The impression he makes on Harry Potter–and us–will have repercussions throughout the series. Rowling goes to great pains to establish Dumbledore as a great and honorable man, then in the later books will force us to question his every method, just as Harry will be forced to do the same. But that’s later. For now he’s just lovable old sweets-loving Dumbledore, spouting wise turns of phrase like a fortune cookie. Here are his best bits of wisdom from Sorcerer’s Stone :

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An Epic Showdown as Harry Potter Is Initiated Into Adulthood

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By Michiko Kakutani

July 19, 2007

So, here it is at last: The final confrontation between Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the “symbol of hope” for both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, and Lord Voldemort, He Who Must Not Be Named, the nefarious leader of the Death Eaters and would-be ruler of all. Good versus Evil. Love versus Hate. The Seeker versus the Dark Lord.

J. K. Rowling’s monumental, spellbinding epic, 10 years in the making, is deeply rooted in traditional literature and Hollywood sagas — from the Greek myths to Dickens and Tolkien to “Star Wars.” And true to its roots, it ends not with modernist, “Soprano”-esque equivocation, but with good old-fashioned closure: a big-screen, heart-racing, bone-chilling confrontation and an epilogue that clearly lays out people’s fates. Getting to the finish line is not seamless — the last part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final book in the series, has some lumpy passages of exposition and a couple of clunky detours — but the overall conclusion and its determination of the main characters’ story lines possess a convincing inevitability that make some of the prepublication speculation seem curiously blinkered in retrospect.

With each installment, the “Potter” series has grown increasingly dark, and this volume — a copy of which was purchased at a New York City store yesterday, though the book is embargoed for release until 12:01 a.m. on Saturday — is no exception. While Ms. Rowling’s astonishingly limber voice still moves effortlessly between Ron’s adolescent sarcasm and Harry’s growing solemnity, from youthful exuberance to more philosophical gravity, “Deathly Hallows” is, for the most part, a somber book that marks Harry’s final initiation into the complexities and sadnesses of adulthood.

From his first days at Hogwarts, the young, green-eyed boy bore the burden of his destiny as a leader, coping with the expectations and duties of his role, and in this volume he is clearly more Henry V than Prince Hal, more King Arthur than young Wart: high-spirited war games of Quidditch have given way to real war, and Harry often wishes he were not the de facto leader of the Resistance movement, shouldering terrifying responsibilities, but an ordinary teenage boy — free to romance Ginny Weasley and hang out with his friends.

Harry has already lost his parents, his godfather Sirius and his teacher Professor Dumbledore (all mentors he might have once received instruction from) and in this volume, the losses mount with unnerving speed: at least a half-dozen characters we have come to know die in these pages, and many others are wounded or tortured. Voldemort and his followers have infiltrated Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic, creating havoc and terror in the Wizard and Muggle worlds alike, and the members of various populations — including elves, goblins and centaurs — are choosing sides.

No wonder then that Harry often seems overwhelmed with disillusionment and doubt in the final installment of this seven-volume bildungsroman. He continues to struggle to control his temper, and as he and Ron and Hermione search for the missing Horcruxes (secret magical objects in which Voldemort has stashed parts of his soul, objects that Harry must destroy if he hopes to kill the evil lord), he literally enters a dark wood, in which he must do battle not only with the Death Eaters, but also with the temptations of hubris and despair.

Harry’s weird psychic connection with Voldemort (symbolized by the lightning-bolt forehead scar he bears as a result of the Dark Lord’s attack on him as a baby) seems to have grown stronger too, giving him clues to Voldemort’s actions and whereabouts, even as it lures him ever closer to the dark side. One of the plot’s significant turning points concerns Harry’s decision on whether to continue looking for the Horcruxes — the mission assigned to him by the late Dumbledore — or to pursue the Hallows, three magical objects said to make their possessor the master of Death.

Harry’s journey will propel him forward to a final showdown with his arch enemy, and also send him backward into the past, to the house in Godric’s Hollow where his parents died, to learn about his family history and the equally mysterious history of Dumbledore’s family. At the same time, he will be forced to ponder the equation between fraternity and independence, free will and fate, and to come to terms with his own frailties and those of others. Indeed, ambiguities proliferate throughout “The Deathly Hallows”: we are made to see that kindly Dumbledore, sinister Severus Snape and perhaps even the awful Muggle cousin Dudley Dursley may be more complicated than they initially seem, that all of them, like Harry, have hidden aspects to their personalities, and that choice — more than talent or predisposition — matters most of all.

It is Ms. Rowling’s achievement in this series that she manages to make Harry both a familiar adolescent — coping with the banal frustrations of school and dating — and an epic hero, kin to everyone from the young King Arthur to Spider-Man and Luke Skywalker. This same magpie talent has enabled her to create a narrative that effortlessly mixes up allusions to Homer, Milton, Shakespeare and Kafka, with silly kid jokes about vomit-flavored candies, a narrative that fuses a plethora of genres (from the boarding-school novel to the detective story to the epic quest) into a story that could be Exhibit A in a Joseph Campbell survey of mythic archetypes.

In doing so, J. K. Rowling has created a world as fully detailed as L. Frank Baum’s Oz or J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, a world so minutely imagined in terms of its history and rituals and rules that it qualifies as an alternate universe, which may be one reason the “Potter” books have spawned such a passionate following and such fervent exegesis. With this volume, the reader realizes that small incidents and asides in earlier installments (hidden among a huge number of red herrings) create a breadcrumb trail of clues to the plot, that Ms. Rowling has fitted together the jigsaw-puzzle pieces of this long undertaking with Dickensian ingenuity and ardor. Objects and spells from earlier books — like the invisibility cloak, Polyjuice Potion, Dumbledore’s Pensieve and Sirius’s flying motorcycle — play important roles in this volume, and characters encountered before, like the house-elf Dobby and Mr. Ollivander the wandmaker, resurface, too.

The world of Harry Potter is a place where the mundane and the marvelous, the ordinary and the surreal coexist. It’s a place where cars can fly and owls can deliver the mail, a place where paintings talk and a mirror reflects people’s innermost desires. It’s also a place utterly recognizable to readers, a place where death and the catastrophes of daily life are inevitable, and people’s lives are defined by love and loss and hope — the same way they are in our own mortal world.

Follow Michiko Kakutani on Twitter: @michikokakutani

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

A novel that needs no introduction is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. It is the novel that has shaped the lives of millions of readers and is still one of the most read novels today! Keep reading to find out why this novel and series is as popular as it is.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Summary

On his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter finds out he is a wizard and will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before then, Harry did not even know that magic was real or that he was famous. As Harry learns about his past and his parents who died protecting him, he prepares to embark on a new journey.

Harry arrives at Hogwarts and becomes friends with two of his classmates Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. The trio all are members of house Gryffindor and help each other pass the first year at Hogwarts. But as they find out throughout the course of the year, they will face many challenges and enemies.

Suspicious activity at Hogwarts like a three-headed dog guarding a trap door and a troll somehow entering and attacking Hogwarts makes the trio suspicious. Harry, Ron, and Hermione soon discover Professor Dumbledore is hiding something at Hogwarts and someone is trying hard to steal it. As the first years try to manage the workload, they must also stop whoever is after the secret artifact before it is used by the dark forces at the school.

Originally published as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the United Kingdom in 1997, within the first six months of release, the children’s book took off. When Scholastic bought the U.S. rights, Scholastic’s Arthur Levine believes that the title wouldn’t work for American readers. After some discussion, the novel’s title was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone which was suggested by Rowling.

Rowling went on to say that she wished she hadn’t changed it but since it was her first novel, she didn’t have as much leverage. The title change was not necessary and makes it a bit confusing for some people. The good thing is that that is the only novel where that happened. Maybe Scholastics should give readers a little bit more credit.

I was first introduced to the Harry Potter world by the movies. As a kid, I was always intimidated but the size of the Harry Potter novels and did not believe I would be able to read a book that big. It was later on in my life that I tackled bigger novels and even later when I finally read the Harry Potter novels.

I fell in love with the novels wholeheartedly. The writing is great, the characters are wonderful, and the overarching plot and how everything connects was done perfectly. One thing the movies never did well was showcase Harry’s struggle of not having a family and his loneliness. In the novel, we see how they affect Harry’s state of mind and acting out because of those feelings, something the movies don’t do that well.

This novel and the whole Harry Potter series should be read by every reader in my opinion. Not everyone has to like it but reading it and finding that whether you do or not should be a test given to everyone. It will get a lot if children into reading and that is always a great end result. Expect reviews for all the novels in the series in the coming months!

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In the first paragraph u wrote eep instead of keep… XD

Thanks I’ll fix it now 🙂

I used to be a huge fan of the movies but never read the books. It’s always interesting to hear the differences. Good to know that the book expands on the characters a bit more!

The entire series ends differently in the books than in the movies. the boom ending in Deadly Hallow makes much more sense.

My daughter made sure all her copies were the the UK versions

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these series made a reader out of me, thanks for sharing 🙂

Thanks for reading! 👍

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I also saw the movies first. It wasn’t until after “The Goblet of Fire” film came out that I started reading the books. But I read the 4th one first, and the rest out of order, until “The Deathly Hallows” book was released. Not too long ago, I started rereading the 1st “Harry Potter” novel, and picked up on some new details and moments that I’d missed before, including some dark ones.

Rereading them now and there’s a lot that you realize that you missed. Rowling thought it all out!

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I love Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone also known as. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

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The cover was good, but I read a little, and I thought that if I read more it would be more interesting. Well, beyond interesting, but my new favorite book!

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1) Hardcover – October 1, 1998

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Book 1 of 7 Harry Potter
Print length 320 pages
Language English
Grade level 4 - 7
Lexile measure 880L
Dimensions 6 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
Publisher Scholastic Press
Publication date October 1, 1998
ISBN-10 0590353403
ISBN-13 978-0590353403
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A mysterious letter, delivered by the friendly giant Hagrid, wrenches Harry from his dreary, Muggle-ridden existence: "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Of course, Uncle Vernon yells most unpleasantly, "I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" Soon enough, however, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts with his owl Hedwig... and that's where the real adventure--humorous, haunting, and suspenseful--begins. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , first published in England as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , continues to win major awards in England. So far it has won the National Book Award, the Smarties Prize, the Children's Book Award, and is short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, the U.K. version of the Newbery Medal. This magical, gripping, brilliant book--a future classic to be sure--will leave kids clamoring for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban . (Ages 8 to 13) --Karin Snelson

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From school library journal, from booklist, from kirkus reviews, about the author.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the seven Harry Potter books, which have sold over 500 million copies, been translated into over 80 languages, and made into eight blockbuster films. She also wrote three short series companion volumes for charity, including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , which later became the inspiration for a new series of films. Harry’s story as a grown-up was later continued in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , which J.K. Rowling wrote with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany.

In 2020, she returned to publishing for younger children with the fairy tale The Ickabog , which she initially published for free online for children in lockdown, later donating all her book royalties to help vulnerable groups affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honors for her writing, including for her detective series written under the name Robert Galbraith. She supports a wide number of humanitarian causes through her charitable trust Volant, and is the founder of the children’s care reform charity Lumos.

For as long as she can remember, J.K. Rowling wanted to be a writer, and is at her happiest in a room, making things up. She lives in Scotland with her family.

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Product details.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Press (October 1, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0590353403
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0590353403
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 7+ years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 880L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.55 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
#63 in Children's Friendship Books
#68 in Children's School Issues
#89 in Children's Fantasy & Magic Books

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About the authors, j.k. rowling.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels for adults and children, and a bestselling crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been translated into 85 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers.

Alongside the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of her international children’s charity, Lumos. The companion books and original series are all available as audiobooks.

In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London, and is now thrilling audiences on four continents. The script book was published to mark the plays opening in 2016 and instantly topped the bestseller lists.

In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Inspired by the original companion volume, it was the first in a series of new adventures featuring wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018 and the third, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released in 2022.

The screenplays were published to coincide with each film’s release: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Original Screenplay (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay (2022).

Fans of Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter can find out more at www.wizardingworld.com.

J.K. Rowling’s fairy tale for younger children, The Ickabog, was serialised for free online for children during the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and is now published as a book illustrated by children, with her royalties going to her charitable trust, Volant, to benefit charities helping alleviate social deprivation and assist vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.

Her latest children’s novel The Christmas Pig, published in 2021, is a standalone adventure story about a boy’s love for his most treasured thing and how far he will go to find it.

J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. The first of these, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published to critical acclaim in 2013, at first without its author’s true identity being known. The Silkworm followed in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. The series has also been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO.

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.

As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling has received many other awards and honours, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Award.

J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children’s charity fighting for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.

www.jkrowling.com

Image: Photography Debra Hurford Brown © J.K. Rowling

Mary GrandPré

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

By j.k. rowling.

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' is significant because of how well there is a transition in the relationships between several major characters in this book.

Article written by Mohandas Alva

M.A. Degree in English Literature from Manipal University, India.

‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ‘ by J. K. Rowling does a wonderful job as the penultimate book of the renowned Harry Potter series. Not only is it a book that ties up the plot together between the first five books and the final one, but it also creates significant conflicts for the final book by changing the nature of relationships between several major characters. This subtle yet strong transition between the characters defines the nature of the plot of the final book, ‘ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .’

Furthermore, ‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ‘ works really well on its own accord, creating several emotional and significant scenes that resonate feelings that have remained unacknowledged in the whole series.

Complexity of Relationships

‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ‘ is the most important book when it comes to the exploration of relationships in this book series. It deals with a lot of significant relationships and is considered the pinnacle of change in terms of relationships between characters in this book series .

Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter has been under the constant protection of Albus Dumbledore since the beginning of this book series. However, in this book, for the first time, in the cave where Voldemort ’s Horcrux is hidden, Dumbledore is at his most vulnerable and looks to Harry for protection. The frame of the relationship is shifted swiftly, and Harry is forced to become the protector of Dumbledore.

As Harry forces the dangerously painful liquid into Dumbledore’s mouth, he grapples between his need to not cause pain to Dumbledore physically by letting him drink it and the need to stick to his word, the need to render his promise. It is never easy to be faced with such situations, but it is necessary to make firm choices instead of half-hearted attempts at neither, thereby reducing either possibility from realizing – something that Harry learns through this endeavor.

Harry Potter and Severus Snape

Another example of a very similar yet mysterious relationship that changes frame is that between Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore. While the events of the final book will clear up the confusions that persist in the minds of the reader about this relationship, there is a significant shift in their approach towards each other in this book.

Throughout the book series, Dumbledore has always been the higher authority on anything concerning Snape, and despite constantly defending his past, Dumbledore has always held Severus Snape under his control by not entertaining his constant pursuit of wanting to teach the Defence Against the Dark Arts, and by not indulging him in his constant disapproval of Harry. However, in the story of ‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ,’ from the very beginning, the frame is shifted, as Snape has finally got what he wants. He has become the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and he eventually ends up shooting the killing curse at Dumbledore, a man he always obeyed without question.

Harry Potter and Voldemort

The primary relationship that causes the plot of this entire book series to unravel, that between Harry Potter and Voldemort himself, is also subject to the changing frame in ‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince .’

Till this point, Harry had only seen Voldemort as the murderer of his parents and an untrustworthy, completely evil being who had to be vanquished for good. However, in this book, after his constant visits to the Pensieve and his exposure to Voldemort’s origins, Harry is humbled by how complex even ‘evil’ is within the ethics of its existence. Harry cannot help but feel sorry for and relate to young Tom Riddle, who had a very difficult childhood as an orphan, just like Harry.

This book humanizes Tom Riddle and portrays him in a light that understands the complexity of the human condition instead of one that villainizes him by default – something every book prior to ‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ‘ has done.

Other Significant Transitions in Relationships

Some other transitions in relationships that define ‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ‘ include the relationship between Harry and Draco, which, after Harry attacks Draco with the spell ‘Sectumsempra,’ sees Draco hesitating to kill Dumbledore, changes from pure hatred to a slight sense of empathy. Furthermore, both Harry and Ginny and also Ron and Hermione eventually end up getting together, respectively, after their romance has long been teased throughout the book series. All these new relationships, too, end up being really important and are a cause of severe tensions in ‘ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. ‘

Is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a good book?

Yes, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood is a very good book in that it has a very interesting plot and is also a crucial book in the series. It anchors the plot and events of the first five books to the finale of the series, which ties all loose ends and cliffhangers that leave the readers hanging. Furthermore, ‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ‘ does a great job showing several of its ‘negative’ characters in a positive light, humanizing them further in the eyes of the reader.

Why did Voldemort make seven Horcruxes?

While it is not clear as to why Voldemort made an exact number of Horcruxes, it is clear that he chose seven because he thought that to be a significantly big amount of partitions for his soul to hide in. He was confident that it was impossible for anyone to find all seven of his Horcruxes and destroy them, let alone figure out what Horcruxes are in the first place.

How does Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince end?

‘ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ‘ ends with the death of Albus Dumbledore in the hands of Severus Snape, someone whom Albus Dumbledore trusted all this while. Furthermore, Dumbledore’s funeral is held at Hogwarts, which is attended by several people from all across the globe. At the end of the book, the trio is left with the choice of attending Hogwarts for their seventh year or looking for the remaining Horcruxes to destroy. They end up choosing the latter.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: A Pioneer in Character Development

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Digital Art

Book Title: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Book Description: 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' excels in character development, revealing deeper motives, humanizing villains, and introducing pivotal, emotionally charged plot twists.

Book Author: J.K. Rowling

Book Edition: First Edition

Book Format: Hardcover

Publisher - Organization: Bloomsbury Publishing

Date published: June 21, 2005

ISBN: 978-0-439-35806-5

Number Of Pages: 672

Writing Style
Lasting effect on the reader

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a pioneer in character development as it digs very deep into the source of the characters’ purposes in the entire series. Furthermore, it humanizes several of its negative characters, surprises readers with sudden twists in the plot, and engages the reader emotionally through significant events that change the course of the series.

Has a very rich array of characters, especially the antagonists.
It has very good character development, and it shows the other side of the antagonist’s purpose, thereby humanizing him.
The relationships in this book define the evolution of the series from that of children’s books to young adult or even adult books.
It is a very long book and therefore feels overdrawn at times.
It deals with romances a lot more than focusing on the major plot, sometimes making it unnecessarily dramatic.
Some parts of the plot are very predictable, thereby reducing the interest of the reader.

Harry Potter Quiz

Summon your wit and wisdom—our Harry Potter Trivia Quiz awaits you! Do you have the knowledge to claim the title of Master Witch or Wizard? Take the challenge now!

1) What form does Hermione Granger's Patronus take?

2) What specific type of dragon does Harry face during the Triwizard Tournament?

3) What potion is known as "Liquid Luck"?

4) What creature is Aragog?

5) Which spell is used to open the Marauder's Map?

6) Which creature can transform into a person's worst fear?

7) What does the incantation "Obliviate" do?

8) What is the name of the goblin who helps Harry, Ron, and Hermione break into Gringotts?

9) What was the last Horcrux to be destroyed?

10) What are the dying words of Severus Snape in both the book and the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"?

11) What is the effect of the Cheering Charm?

12) Who is the Half-Blood Prince?

13) What is the name of the goblin-made object that is supposed to bring its owner prosperity, but also brings them into conflict with goblins?

14) Which potion did Hermione brew in her second year that allowed her, Ron, and Harry to assume the identities of Slytherins?

15) Who was the Peverell brother that owned the invisibility cloak?

16) What is Dumbledore's full name?

17) What is the name of Harry Potter's pet owl?

18) What is the core ingredient of the wand owned by Harry Potter?

19) What is the name of the book Hermione gives to Harry before his first ever Quidditch match?

20) In which Harry Potter book does Harry first speak Parseltongue?

21) What animal represents Hufflepuff house?

22) In the "Order of the Phoenix," who is NOT a member of the original Order of the Phoenix shown in the old photograph that Moody shows Harry?

23) Who teaches Herbology at Hogwarts?

24) Which object is NOT one of the Deathly Hallows?

25) What is the name of the train that takes students to Hogwarts?

26) Who originally owned the Elder Wand before Dumbledore won it?

27) What does the Mirror of Erised show?

28) Which character is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in the Battle of Hogwarts?

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About Mohandas Alva

Mohandas is very passionate about deciphering the nature of language and its role as a sole medium of storytelling in literature. His interests sometimes digress from literature to philosophy and the sciences but eventually, the art and craft of narrating a significant story never fail to thrill him.

About the Book

The Harry Potter section of Book Analysis analyzes and explorers the Harry Potter series. The characters, names, terminology, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros ©. The content on Book Analysis was created by Harry Potter fans, with the aim of providing a thorough in-depth analysis and commentary to complement and provide an additional perspective to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

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In My Own Words
Younger Readers

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

When mysterious letters start arriving on his doorstep, Harry Potter has never heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

They are swiftly confiscated by his aunt and uncle.

Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a strange man bursts in with some important news: Harry Potter is a wizard and has been awarded a place to study at Hogwarts.

And so the first of the Harry Potter adventures is set to begin.

Publishers: UK Print – Bloomsbury US Print – Scholastic eBook – Pottermore Digital Audiobook – Pottermore UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury US Illustrated – Scholastic UK MinaLima edition – Bloomsbury US MinaLima edition – Scholastic

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The covers for the seventh and final novel in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling review – a send-off fit for a wizard

Catherine Bennett sees the real world intrude into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last of JK Rowling’s brilliant series

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

by JK Rowling

608pp, Bloomsbury, £17.99

There are still one or two questions left unanswered at the end of Harry Potter's last adventure. It cannot be giving anything away to reveal that we never discover how Eloise Midgen can be a martyr to acne at Hogwarts, a place where bones can be grown back and complex orthodontics effected with the wave of a wand.

With JK Rowling it has generally been niggling little questions of internal logic that give the reader pause, rather than the mysteries of her grander scheme in which that prime specimen of embodied evil, Lord Voldemort, slowly acquires the power he needs to defeat Harry Potter, his only adequately qualified adversary. By book seven, if you are familiar with Rowling's vast, ever-expanding parallel universe, it seems only to be expected that this wizarding terrorist should, by now, be close to completing a fascist-style takeover of the UK (both material and magical sections), in the course of which non-wizards and half-wizards are being rounded up for questioning by "pure bloods" and sent off - if they survive their show trials - to a wizard-run concentration camp. Now that the 17-year-old Harry has abandoned school for his dreadful, extramural quest, only he can determine whether the lights will go out all over the democratic wizarding world.

To anyone unacquainted with the epic so far, the latest tale will be incomprehensible. In earlier volumes, Rowling made heroic efforts to initiate new readers, but since this process would now require, at a minimum, a glossary, rule book and catalogue of magical objects, she seems to have given up the task as hopeless. But some regular readers may also be disconcerted by a tranche of Hogwarts in which there is neither Quidditch nor lessons. All the familiar Harry scenes have gone missing, from the inaugural, always comforting comedy inside No 4 Privet Drive and the annual bullying bout on the Hogwarts Express, to Mrs Weasley's Christmas jumpers and - more mercifully - Hagrid's inevitable adoption of some tiresome magical creature whose assistance will later prove critical. There was a time when you could set your clock by it.

To go into detail about the questing and battles that have replaced the usual timetable would probably be unfair: even a week after publication there may still be one or two children as innocent of Harry's fate as the American crowds who gathered at the New York harbourfront in 1841 to ask disembarking passengers from England, "Is Little Nell dead?" But only Quidditch fans could complain about the outcome: Rowling has woven together clues, hints and characters from previous books into a prodigiously rewarding, suspenseful conclusion in which all the important questions, including the true nature of Severus Snape, the fates of Crabbe and Goyle, and the presence of the dark wizard Grindelwald on a Chocolate Frog card in book one, are punctiliously resolved.

The author was surely right, on the eve of publication, to implore journalists not to spoil the surprise for a generation who have enjoyed something unique in children's literature (where the characters tend to stay the same age, like William Brown, or, if they do mature, to do so as hobbits, Romans or Aslan worshippers): a chance to grow up, in real time, with their heroes. But Rowling was duly accused of colluding with a ruthless marketing operation, which led to 2m copies of her book being sold within 24 hours of publication.

Although her sales techniques do contrast sharply with arrangements in Harry Potter's Nintendo-free world, it is curious that Rowling should be so harshly judged for her engagement with the book trade. Didn't most eminent Victorian novelists fight just as greedily for their profits, become, in several cases, international celebrities, and see their better cliffhangers and denouements stimulate the nation into moments of collective delirium?

But as her critics point out, Rowling is no Dickens. That the welfare of Harry Potter should, each year, become a question of national importance has only deepened a suspicion, in some quarters, that Rowling's writing is not merely mediocre but contaminated by her participation in a crass celebrity culture. In 2000, Harold Bloom despaired for her readers. "In an arbitrarily chosen single page - page 4 - of the first Harry Potter book", he objected, "I count seven clichés, all of the 'stretch his legs' variety".

If his computations had continued, Professor Bloom's cliché tally might by now have run into the thousands; the books have got so long and Rowling's style has remained unsophisticated, with an irrepressible tendency to show and tell. You feel that simply by cutting intra-paragraph repetition and the number of times she describes an angry Harry saying something angry angrily, Rowling and her editors might have saved 10,000 trees.

But colossal energy and wit have gone into other things: writing at speed, almost before her readers' eyes, Rowling has willed into fictional being, in every book, legions of new characters, places, spells, rules and scores of unimagined twists and subplots. This is altogether a towering fictional edifice whose vividness and sheer scale are enough to compensate, for many of us, for any deficiencies in design. Anyone who, as a child, never wanted a favourite book to end, must envy the Potter cohort a magical world that has grown by hundreds of pages a year; a world whose arrangements Rowling has depicted in such sublime, almost manically generous detail, that for 10 years her readers could more or less live inside it.

Equally enchanting for younger readers, Rowling appears genuinely to like and respect children, to cherish them, almost, for their moods, faltering courtships, naive political ideas, mistrust of adults and, in the new book, a vocabulary that includes the word "toerag". Only her teenagers can save their parents' generation from Voldemart's schemes for a master-race - in itself the consequence of the older wizards' conceit and their cruelty to supposedly inferior beings, the gnomes and house-elves. As well as saving adults, Harry the freedom fighter subjects them to homilies, in which he urges remorse, courage, good parenting: "Parents", Harry tells an errant father, "shouldn't leave their kids unless - unless they've got to."

His, then, is a most instructive mission that might be as nauseating as anything in Heidi, were Rowling not free with deflating asides from various members of the Weasley family. "Overkill, mate", remarks Ron, just as Harry's bonding session with a mistreated elf teeters on the brink of mawk.

It is a key element in Rowling's own myth that she plotted the entire Potter series before she started, and on its completion, you can see that the protagonists, the principal families and their allegiances, the design of Hogwarts public school, and the grand plan for a final confrontation between goodness and badness were, as alleged, always in place. But since book three there has been more and more evidence of (occasionally helpless) ad hoc-ery. Everything must have changed once it became clear to Rowling and her publishers that her readers - adults as well as children - would gobble up as much Potter as she could bear to produce. Hence such things as the tri-wizard tournament and an excursion to Downing Street to meet a Muggle prime minister whose original has also disappeared without trace. Even the newly arrived Hallows, some nifty plot accessories that allow for all kinds of crises, personal challenges and protracted revelations, point at a desperate struggle, once Rowling had arrived at the middle of the last book, to hold off the final act.

By itself, the cheeky Hogwarts motto (Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus) that ornamented the title page of The Philosopher's Stone is enough to suggest that Rowling did not, back in 1997, plan to end her series with a protracted meditation on death, prefaced by a few lines from Aeschylus: "Oh, the torment bred in the race, the grinding scream of death." The Potterati, scanning the text for learned allusions (and there are plenty, from Dante and Orwell to Jesus Christ and Tinky Winky), may well see in its genocidal, dystopic shadows the intrusion of a real world that became, not long after Harry Potter arrived in it, a far more frightening place. But the book's resounding melancholy may derive from something simpler. Whatever happens in the last of these brilliant adventures may matter less, for the millions of children who grew up with Harry Potter, than the end of his companionship and with it, the end of their childhood. Which is a much more wholesome story than Peter Pan's, but sad, all the same.

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Best Books for Kids » Harry Potter Books

Harry potter: the complete series, by j.k. rowling.

It’s quite fun to acquire the books in the Harry Potter series one by one , but if you want to get them all in one go, there’s a variety of boxsets to choose from, including fancy gift sets and versions that are specifically for adults. If you’d like to listen to the Harry Potter books as a set of audiobooks, they are all read by British actor Stephen Fry, but there does not seem to be an option to buy them as a complete set.

Recommendations from our site

“I’ve always felt that Hermione was unjustly side-lined. She’s clearly the most intelligent member of those three. She’s the brightest witch of her generation. I really connected with her as a smart kid who was teased at school for being too smart. But she has all these amazing characteristics that the group needs to get through their adventures. It’s always Hermione who comes up with the answer; she knows the facts, and she has the great ideas. I think that the Harry Potter books are really mystery stories” Read more...

The best books on Kid Detectives

Robin Stevens , Children's Author

“Harry has to keep getting away from Voldemort who is trying to kill him. What I like about this series is that at the end everything comes together, like pieces of a jigsaw. Once you start reading it, you don’t want to stop. Sometimes I read it in the car on the way to school, and I get really disappointed when I see school, because I have to stop reading and put the book down. Then I read again on the way home.” Read more...

Best Series for 10 Year Olds

Izzy , Children

Other books by J.K. Rowling

Harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban by j.k. rowling & minalima (illustrators), harry potter and the order of the phoenix by j.k. rowling & jim kay (illustrator), harry potter and the philosopher's stone by j.k. rowling & levi pinfold (illustrator), more books like harry potter: the complete series.

Have you already read and loved Harry Potter: the Complete Series?

We think you’ll like these books too.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

The Lost Twin (Scarlet and Ivy, Book 1) by Sophie Cleverly

The Magician's Nephew by C S Lewis

The Secrets of Vesuvius by Caroline Lawrence

Our most recommended books, harry potter: a history of magic by british library, harry potter and the philosopher's stone j.k. rowling & minalima (illustrators), the tales of beedle the bard j.k. rowling & chris riddell (illustrator), fantastic beasts: the wonder of nature by natural history museum.

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Audio CD Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets Book

ISBN: 080728601X

ISBN13: 9780807286012

Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets

(book #2 in the harry potter series ).

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Select condition, recommended.

Format: Audio CD

Condition: Good *

*Best Available: ( ex-library )

Book Overview

Award-winning artist Jim Kay illustrates year two of Harry Potter's adventures at Hogwarts, in a stunning, gift-ready format.The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter... This description may be from another edition of this product.

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"good condition", disappointed, great condition with dust jacket, missing pieces, different edition, disappointed, ordered good, looks fair/acceptable, parts of paper spine missing and dust jacket is, great book., not what i ordered at all, no dust jacket, absolutely lovely, not what i ordered, what i ordered, don’t mind the look of worn, there was missing the first two discs. i will wait for the paperback., covered in mold, really good quality, package and book came damaged, great book, best of the bunch, chamber of secrets, love harry potter, i have it; great book., excellent book, poor translation, j.k.rowling did it again, harry potter and the chamber of secrets, popular categories.

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JK Rowling reveals how family reacted to her speaking out on trans views

Harry potter author jk rowling first made her views on transgender people public back in 2019.

Rhiannon Ingle

Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the trans community which some readers may find distressing.

JK Rowling has revealed how her family reacted to her speaking out about her views on transgender people.

Rowling first made her stance about transgender women public nearly five years ago back in December 2019.

JK Rowling first made her views on transgender people public back in 2019. (Mike Marsland / Contributor / Getty Images)

The Harry Potter author took to X to defend researcher Maya Forstater who was fired from her job due to a series of tweets which saw her question government plans to allow individuals to self-identify as another gender.

Then, some months later in June 2020, Rowling took to X once again to hit out at the term 'people who menstruate'.

That term in question is used in order to include transgender and non-binary people when discussing the topic of menstruation as, for example, a trans man may still menstruate.

She wrote: "'People who menstruate'. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"

This prompted backlash among fans and others alike who called Rowling out for being a 'TERF' - a trans-exclusionary radical feminist.

Writing in an extract from a new book of essays, The Women Who Wouldn’t Say Wheesht, Rowling opened up about why she initially kept her views on trans people to herself 'because people around me, including some I love, were begging me not to speak'.

The Harry Potter was dubbed a 'TERF' following the backlash. (Jeff Spicer / Contributor / Getty Images)

She continued: "So I watched from the sidelines as women with everything to lose rallied, in Scotland and across the UK, to defend their rights.

"My guilt that I wasn’t standing with them was with me daily, like a chronic pain.

"I believe that what is being done to troubled young people in the name of gender identity ideology is, indeed, a terrible medical scandal."

Rowling then went on to claim: "I believe we’re witnessing the greatest assault of my lifetime on the rights our foremothers thought they’d guaranteed for all women.

"Ultimately, I spoke up because I’d have felt ashamed for the rest of my days if I hadn’t. If I feel any regret at all, it’s that I didn’t speak far sooner."

Stars from the beloved Harry Potter franchise, including Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson and Rupert Grint subsequently shared statements condemning Rowling's comments.

Radcliffe wrote in a statement shared with The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organisation focused on suicide prevention efforts among the LGBTQIA+ community: "Transgender women are women… Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I."

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have shared statements condemning Rowling's comments. (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

In The Times extract, Rowling continued: "People who’d worked with me rushed to distance themselves from me or to add their public condemnation of my blasphemous views (though I should add that many former and current colleagues have been staunchly supportive).

"The thing is, those appalled by my position often fail to grasp how truly despicable I find theirs."

Elsewhere in the extract, she went on: "I’d come to believe that the socio-political movement insisting ‘trans women are women’ was neither kind nor tolerant, but in fact profoundly misogynistic, regressive, dangerous in some of its objectives and nakedly authoritarian in its tactics."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]

Topics: JK Rowling , Celebrity , TV And Film , Books , Harry Potter , LGBTQ+

Rhiannon Ingle is a Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from the University of Manchester in 2021 in English Literature. Alongside her studies, she was the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the largest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. Her favourite topics to write about include sex and relationships, bizarre lifestyle trends and all things travel.

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The gruesome netflix blockbuster has knocked fans for six and is getting a sequel.

Viewers ‘f*****g obsessed’ with ‘insane’ raunchy period drama Bridgerton fans should watch

This should help keep you occupied while you wait for the next part of bridgerton's latest season to drop.

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JK Rowling says why Harry Potter stars shouldn't beg for her forgiveness

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JK Rowling says loved ones ‘begged’ her to keep trans views to herself

‘harry potter’ author initially kept her opinions on trans women private following pleas from close friends and family, article bookmarked.

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JK Rowling has said that her loved ones had pleaded with her to keep her polarising views on transgender women to herself.

The Harry Potter author has been met with strong backlash in recent years over her outspoken stance on trans women, and her claims that trans women “are not women”.

In an extract from a new book of essays, The Women Who Wouldn’t Say Wheesht , published in The Times , Rowling wrote that she initially kept her thoughts on the matter to herself “because people around me, including some I love, were begging me not to speak”.

“So I watched from the sidelines as women with everything to lose rallied, in Scotland and across the UK, to defend their rights. My guilt that I wasn’t standing with them was with me daily, like a chronic pain.”

The book is a collection of more than 30 essays and photographs from women in Scotland who claim to be on “the frontline of the battle for women’s rights”. It includes the views of women who are opposed to the Scottish government’s gender reform plans, like Rowling, who has previously argued that the proposals infringe on women’s safety.

Rowling first made her stance on transgender women public in December 2019 when she tweeted in support of researcher Maya Forstater , who was fired from her job at a think-tank, Centre for Global Development, over a series of tweets questioning government plans to allow people to self-identify as another gender .

In June 2020, Rowling publicly criticised the term “people who menstruate”, writing on X/Twitter: “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

Rowling said her loved one’s pleas held her back from publicly sharing controversial views on trans women

Individuals and organisations often use the term “people who menstruate” to include transgender and non-binary people, for example, a person who now identifies as a man but still menstruates.

These initial remarks prompted backlash from fans of the author, who labelled Rowling a TERF – an acronym that stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist – a label that Rowling has said she also takes issue with.

The author went on to post an essay on her website titled “TERF Wars” about gender identity ideology, in which she outlined five reasons to be “worried about the new trans activism”.

The LGBT+ rights organisation GLAAD responded to Rowling’s comments, explaining that the author’s tweets align her with ideologies that “willfully distorts facts about gender identity and people who are trans. In 2020, there is no excuse for targeting trans people”.

After Rowling’s essay was published, stars of the Harry Potter franchise, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson , condemned her comments and distanced themselves from the author and her work.

In a statement shared with The Trevor Project, Radcliffe wrote: “Transgender women are women…Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

Rowling has denied being transphobic, but has previously stated that she would rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns.

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J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter author close to reaching billionaire status

J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, is close to reaching billionaire status, according to The Sunday Times rich list.

The Scottish writer, who made her fortune publishing tales about a fictional wizard, is said to have a net worth of £945m.

The 58-year-old was ranked 195th on the list of over 1000th of the wealthiest people in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth, up from 191th last year.

How did J.K. Rowling make her fortune?

The author made most of her money from the Harry Potter book series, and even though the last book was published years ago, the money is still flowing.

A new TV adaptation of Rowling’s Potter books is set to air in 2026, keeping the royalties from her Hogwarts tale rolling in for the years to come.

A stage production of Harry Potter also currently runs in the West End and in Tokyo, Hamburg and New York.

J.K. Rowling also published a novel, The Running Grave, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It was published last September and is the seventh novel in the Cormoran Strike series.

The tale follows the story of a war veteran, and the BBC has dramatised several of the stories.

Despite being one of the UK’s most loved novelists, in recent years, Rowling has been accused of being transphobic because of her views on gender identity and for saying trans women shouldn’t be allowed into female-only spaces.

However, she has denied that accusation.

Some of the actors who garnered fame through her stories — including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson — have made statements supporting trans people.

The backlash has not impacted her book sales.

According to The Times, she also owes money to the welfare state, “relying on benefits while writing her first Hogwarts tale”.

“When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s government, was there to break the fall,” she told the outlet. “It would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque.”

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J.K Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, is close to reaching billionaire status, according to The Sunday Times rich list.

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B y the standards of my world, I was a heretic. I’d come to believe that the socio-political movement insisting “trans women are women” was neither kind nor tolerant, but in fact profoundly misogynistic, regressive, dangerous in some of its objectives and nakedly authoritarian in its tactics. However, I kept my thoughts to myself in public, because people around me, including some I love, were begging me not to speak. So I watched from the sidelines as women with everything to lose rallied, in Scotland and across the UK, to defend their rights. My guilt that I wasn’t standing with them was with me daily, like a chronic pain.

What ultimately drove me to break cover were two separate legal events, both of which were happening

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JK Rowling takes aim at ‘despicable’ former colleagues amid ongoing feud with Harry Potter stars

Jk rowling has previously indicated she wouldn't forgive harry potter stars for their opinions.

Emily Brown

Warning: This article contains discussion of trans issues which some readers may find distressing.

JK Rowling has criticized some of her former colleagues in a new book amid an ongoing conflict with some of the stars of Harry Potter .

Rowling made scathing comments about 'despicable' former colleagues in an exclusive extract from her upcoming book, The Women Who Wouldn’t Say Wheesht, which has been shared with The Times.

JK Rowling worked with Emma and Daniel on Harry Potter. (Jon Furniss/Getty Images)

The extract details what Rowling describes as a fight for women and discusses the 'backlash' she has experienced for speaking out about gender ideology.

The Harry Potter author has faced a lot criticism for her comments regarding the transgender community, with Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson among those who showed unwavering support for the community in response.

More recently, Rowling indicated she would not forgive the actors for their stance, and said they could 'save their apologies'.

Radcliffe, meanwhile, has said the distance between himself and the woman who created Harry Potter now makes him 'sad'.

Daniel Radcliffe admitted his life would be different without JK Rowling. (Warner Bros.)

Speaking to The Atlantic, he said: "Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person.

“But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”

Now, Rowling has revealed that the opinions of some of her former colleagues were not all that 'surprising' to her.

She claimed that people she'd previously worked with 'rushed to distance themselves' from her in the wake of her controversial comments, 'or to add their public condemnation of my blasphemous views'.

Rowling added that 'many former and current colleagues have been staunchly supportive' of her, but went on to claim that the more shocking outcome of the situation was how some of her old co-workers still wanted to be 'friends' afterwards.

Rowling has doubled down on her position. (Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty)

She wrote: "In truth, the condemnation of certain individuals was far less surprising to me than the fact that some of them then emailed me, or sent messages through third parties, to check that we were still friends."

"The thing is, those appalled by my position often fail to grasp how truly despicable I find theirs," she continued.

"I’ve watched “no debate” become the slogan of those who once posed as defenders of free speech. I’ve witnessed supposedly progressive men arguing that women don’t exist as an observable biological class and don’t deserve biology-based rights.

"I’ve listened as certain female celebrities insist that there isn’t the slightest risk to women and girls in allowing any man who self-identifies as a woman to enter single-sex spaces reserved for women, including changing rooms, bathrooms or rape shelters."

"Better that a hundred women who aren’t up to speed with the latest gender jargon miss public health information than that one trans-identified individual feels invalidated, seems to be the view," Rowling concluded.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.

Topics: JK Rowling , Harry Potter , Transgender , LGBTQ , Celebrity

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.