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Summary: The Magical Appeal of Harry Potter
Review: I'll admit that when I first picked up this book, I was a skeptic. I had no idea that it was such an enchanting book, but I was pleasantly surprised. Harry Potter, for his whole life, has been just another kid. He lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, who torment Harry. He lives under the stairs in a cupboard, he gets scrapes of food, his birthday is always overlooked, and he is unloved. Harry is stuck with this family because his parents died in a car crash when he was little (or so he was told). But suddenly, with the arrival of a strange letter, Harry's life is spun around. Before he knows it, he finds out he's a wizard, as were his parents, and that he's accepted to attend a wizarding school. Soon Harry realizes there's a whole world out there that he never knew existed. And he learns that he is famous in this world. Harry's parents did not die in a car crash at all, they were murdered by the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Somehow, through trying to kill Harry, too, Voldemort was defeated and is now barely alive somewhere. But learning about his past is just the beginning of Harry's adventure as he heads off to the wizarding school, Hogwarts. He soon learns about things he never thought of existing; wizarding games, tools, even food. His classes include things like potions, spells, and other wizardry. Along with classes, Harry gets something he's never had before, friends. As Harry makes it through his first year of school, he finds himself in one the greatest adventures of his life. Will Harry survive against the evil wizarding forces? The adventure and magic is all found in this book. I would definitly recommend this book. It is simply enchating and delightful. I have also read all the sequals, and can't wait for the next book to come out. I'm another spell-bound, Harry Potter fan.
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Summary: Great Book, that is not just for kids!
Review: I'll admit, I was one of the thousands of adults that thought Harry Potter books were kids books and that I would not enjoy them. But after hearing friend after friend pick up these books and enjoy them, I thought I would give them a try.I am sure glad that I did. From the opening of the Sorcerer's Stone, I was taken to a world of wizards and witches. The writing was very easy to read, but there were some story lines that were very interesting. This was a book that took me to a different place, Hogwarts. It was great ways to take your mind off the stresses of life and read a happy story about a young boy making his dreams come true. This was a good book for all ages, and I highly recommend it to everyone!
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Summary: A great book for kids and adults with healthy imaginations
Review: I'll be 50 in 2002, and I loved "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." It's full of imagination, excitement, fun and suspense -- I couldn't put it down. That's high praise for a book written for children coming from an adult. But the best children's books are good enough for adults, I've found. This one certainly is and I can't wait to read the next three that are out there. What I read is apparently the American version of Scottish author J.K. Rowling's first novel "Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone." The title isn't the only thing they changed for the U.S. market, I think. (They did this title-switching thing many times to Agatha Christie -- just why, I don't know and I don't know why they changed Harry Potter either.) The Philosopher's Stone as a concept has been around for hundreds of years at a minimum -- medieval alchemists sought it -- and I think this would have been a good way to introduce children to an historically mythological icon. Go figure. Perhaps they thought American parents might not be up to answering the question "Mommy,what's a philosopher?" And in that same vein, I noticed a good many Americanisms that I think editors put in, figuring U.S. children wouldn't understand the Briticisms they replaced. I've never heard a Brit use the term "parking lot" -- they typically say "car park" on that side of the pond -- but you'll find "parking lot" and "Mom" (not "Mum") and children being asked to form a "line" (rather than a "queue"), among other terms I don't think Ms. Rowling wrote. Perhaps the editors were right in doing that for kids here in the states, but I'm not entirely sure. (When the British movie "The Madness of King George III" was shown in the U.S., they changed the title to "The Madness of King George" because they thought Americans would think it was a sequel to "The Madness of King George I" and also "The Madness of King George II." Since I'm not a kid and I'm bothered that I'm reading something other than what the author wrote, I'm going to order a set of the Harry Potter books from amazon.co.uk so I can read the originals. But don't let that stop you -- or your kids -- from reading "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." It is for our time what "The Wizard of Oz" was in the latter 19th century. I think the children of today will pass on the Harry Potter novels to their own children one day, and even their grandchildren.
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Summary: A Thrilling Book That Should Be A Classic
Review: I'll be the first to admit that I am extremely late in joining the Harry Potter craze. My youngest daughter wanted to read it, so we read it together, and was I ever pleasantly surprised! This book introduces us to the mysterious Harry Potter. He lives a somewhat normal and incredibly dull life with his aunt and uncle for eleven years, until he receives a letter from a wizardry school named Hogwarts. With some help from his new found friend, Hagrid, he learns that he is not so normal after all. He is, by heritage, a wizard, and he just happens to be famous. This first book introduces us to many different and interesting characters, and sets Harry up with two really good friends in Ron and Hermione. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone allows every reader's imagination to run wild, as the descriptive scenes make for nice, fast reading. J. K. Rowling put together a true masterpiece in this book. Not only did it set the stage for the following books, but it allowed the reader to feel like he was right there within the story. This is one well written book, as it has a little bit of everything: a myriad of well-developed characters, mystery, suspense, conflict of good vs. evil, and an amazing ending that I personally didn't see coming. This was a truly good book and a pleasure to read. This book should be enjoyed by readers of all ages.
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Summary: Astonishingly Impressive
Review: I'll be the first to admit to my skepticism of the "Harry Potter hype." I figured it was just a silly children's story that happened to become popular. However, now that I devoured my first helping of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and am on to reading the second one, I can say that I am very pleased with Ms. Rowling's writing. Very vivid and discriptive making it easy to picture and this great story allows the reader to exercise his mind with amazing accuracy he will find out when he sees the movie. I had intentionally not seen the first movie until I read the book. I just bought the DVD and am very impressed with it and I should finish "The Chamber of Secrets" by the end of this week and am planning to go see the second movie while it is still in theaters. Kudos to Ms. Rowling again and have fun at Hogwarts!
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Summary: Fantastic.This is the best book I have ever read.Definitely.
Review: I'll bet I'm Harry Potter's biggest fan. When I first heared about this book I thought it had probably been hyped about too much. But now I am hooked. and since I love acting and have heard that they are making a Harry Potter film and are looking for actors and actresses I am desperate to get Hermione's part.It's the only thing I think about at the moment. The book was Brilliant.
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Summary: Goood for young and grown-ups.A little obviously manicheist
Review: I'll explain: the book is wonderful i nimagination,style,humour,everything save this:why the villains should be so obviously identifiable. Villains,in real world,aren't called "Malfoy " and behave well till it's time to grab whatever it is they want to take away from you .And bad teachers will lead you to the bad path till you fall...and then they will claim their words weren't meant to be taken literally .And they also will appear wise and mellow and will not be called "Snape" .Read Tolkien's chapter of The Lord Of The Rings called "the Voice of Saruman " and you'll know what I mean.
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Summary: a rant about a great book!
Review: I'll save you the trouble re-reading the story line and get right to the review. Harry potter is a wonderful story of friendship, suited to adults and children alike. My uncle bought these books for me and posted them to me as he had read them.
I love to read but find most books a bit hard going at the minute, as I am ill and bed bound, however I found Harry to be as light hearted or as deep as I wanted. At first I put off reading Harry as they were everywhere literally, and I though all the raving was just hype, I am now disappointed that I did to say the least!
I am severely disturbed that people can think of Harry as a bad role model and a non-Christian, my father is a Methodist minister and we have had many a discussion about this and just can't under stand it. Reading about a pretend world of witchcraft and wizardry isn't going to make me run out and either buy a broomstick or become a Satanist. I feel that Christ wouldn't feel afraid of a book and if you are I don't think you got a great relationship with god, I am sorry if you disagree but that's what free will is all about. Christ trusts you to deal with issues that arise to do with your faith.
As for Harry being a bad role model what a crock! All children lie and rebel, and I'm sure the fact when ever Harry does it it's to either help a friend or he's punished and regrets it later, has completely escaped your notice. Anyway the children who are young enough to be affected by that will probably not realise it unless you bring it up with them, if your that worried about it talk to them they'll respect you for that a lot more than trying to ram that lying is wrong down their necks!
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Summary: Magicial! The perfect book !
Review: I'm 10 years old. A book can't get any better than this. These are the best books I've ever read! J.K. Rowling is best! I read all 3 books in 11 days! I even read more than 100 pages in one day! Really, I did. This is a mystery/comedy book. Recommended for all ages. You won't want your money back. You cherish this book forever! Guaranteed!
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Summary: The Best Book I Have Read
Review: I'm 11 years and I just read this book. I really like it because it was full of suprises and I couldn't put the book down for a minute. I was totally interested right from the beginning. I thought it was a exceptional book and would recommend it to anyone.
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