Harry Potter has lived a terrible life. He is taken care of by his cruel Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia Dursley, and also has to deal with his greedy cousin Dudley. They keep him locked away in the cupboard under the stairs, and is ruled over by an iron fist (meals come far and few in between for him and he must cook their meals as well). When he comes of age, an owl sends him a letter from Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry so he can begin his wizard training. After their house is flooded with invitations, Uncle Vernon takes them on vacation where they can't be found. No such luck as Hagrid, groundskeeper at Hogwarts, tracks him down and invites him personally. Given the choice of a new adventure in his life or dealing with the greedy Dursley's, Harry decides to leave. He immediately makes friends with carefree Ron and bookworm Hermione, and enemies with Draco Malfoy and the baddies from Slytherin house. Malfoy is the least of his worries as someone is trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. Who is trying to get it? Why do they want it? And how is Harry connected to all of this?

It is a well written novel. Rowling does not talk down to her audience or insult their intelligence. She uses dialogue that the average pre-teen can understand, but also mature enough for an adult.

For some, there is a trace of English lingo that will boggle a few readers.

Smile. Harry's final quote left me laughing. You could feel that things would look up for him in the end.

Good. I was able to forget my troubles while I was reading it.

JK Rowling was a single mum schoolteacher struggling to make ends meet. One day, she started writing out Harry Potter in a coffee shop. Little did she know that her destiny was about to be revealed as Harry Potter became a worldwide sensation.

This book made me feel twelve years old again. If you want to feel the same, give this book a try.

I was once a Harry Potter cynic. Then, I saw the first Harry Potter film, and saw what the hype was all about. It was a very good film and had enjoyable performances. I then went to go pick up the first two Harry Potter books (hardcover, of course). The book was 1,001 times better. It had stuff that wasn't in the film (I found out why Snape was so hateful to Harry and the outcome in the final chapter was different in the movie). I plan to get the two other books and pre-order the fifth book coming out this summer. So be a good muggle, grab some chocolate frogs, and get this book.

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Created Jun 20, 2003 at 12:31am • Submit your own review...