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Summary: "Harry Potter and the...." worth reading a million times!!!
Review: If any of you out there enjoy books about fantasy, whatsoever, you will enjoy this book. A classic fantasy book (do i dare use classic), Ibelieve that this book describes with astounding detail a magical world which you will wish to live in once done with the book. The book starts out with the supposed "dunce", Harry Potter, whom lives with his horrible aunt, uncle, and cousin. Soon, though, he finds out that he is much more than he ever imagined. Told he is a wizard, he is sent off the best witchcraft college there is, Hogwarts, where his incredible adventures begin. Read this book, and you will no longer think the same!
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Summary: I'm a Harry Potter fan? When did this happen!!
Review: If anyone had said to me I'd be a fan of Harry's a month ago, my one word response would have been 'Bleugh!' <Okay, so it's not technically a word, but still...> That all changed a few weeks ago when I took a trip to the cinema and was given the option of waiting two hours for another film, or watch Harry. (In case you didn't know, patience isn't one of my virtues) I found myself pleasantly surprised, not to mention amazed at how much I was enjoying it; meeting Harry and sympathising with him for his unpleasant relatives, the Dursleys, laughing to myself at the deluge of 'invitation letters' pouring down the chimmney, staring in open mouthed wonder at Diagon alley and Hogwarts school and hanging on the edge of my seat during the Quidditch tournament. Afterwards, I went out to get my own copy of the book, followed by the three others, and found myself, once again amazed, not only by how good the book is, but how close to it the film had been. Understandably, there was more dialogue to the book, some of the plot details were more noticeable here and there, but perhaps that was because you can always re-read a page in case you missed something. I can definitely see now, why these books are so popular with almost everyone who reads them, and especially why the film has done so well; because, magic aside, they are simply about a young boy in an unpleasant situation, who finds a way out of it through his new school, friends and teachers, etc. That may be oversimplifying a bit, but that doesn't make it any less true. And to all those people who think this series of books might promote witchcraft or the occult or something. <?> Did these people complain about the Jedi in Star Wars? or even the witches on Buffy and Sabrina? Incidentally, I've read the four HP books so far and seen the film twice, I don't have any inkling to... mix up potions, run around on a broomstick making 'whooshy noises' or even waving a wooden stick at people, whilst talking gibberish. Another point I have is one of confusion really, I simply cannot fathom why the title was changed. (To Sorceror's stone from Philosopher's stone?) For now though, I only have two worries, firstly, that the next book won't be out until about April next year, and if a relatively small book like this one made a two and a half hour movie, will I need an overnight bag when 'The Goblet of fire' is eventually made?
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Summary: The Teen Viewpoint
Review: If anyone,whether it be boy, girl, man, woman, child, teenager,convict, saint,jock, geek,smart, dumb,weird, normal, actor, dentist,truck driver or professer has not read this book yet, they must be CRAZY!!!If you have read this book and were able to set it down for more than five minutes, including sleep and meals, you are also crazy. If anyone walked up to me and said that they didn't like the book or didn't want to read it, I would smack them upside the head and say, "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? YOU ARE INSANE!!" I might be overreacting a little, but trust me:read Harry Potter, and if you read one book you'll have to read them all. It's funny, exciting, imaginative, heroic, and creepy combined in a flowing, moving, heartwarming, gutwrenching story. P.S. ...!
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Summary: Awesome!!
Review: If fantasey and adventure are your thing, this is the book for you. Crazy twists and turns are always expected. This is the story of a boy named harry potter. Harry doesn't realize that he is famous in the magical world, and he is in a big supride when he found out that he was a wizard. this book is a have-to read and I would recomend this book to anybody
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Summary: its better than youd think
Review: If I could give a rating of 4 1/2 stars to this book, I would. I don't agree with the giving of 5 stars to every book I like, I save that rating for the absolute best of the genre. But nevertheless, this book is good. I read this book before the craze, so I didn't really have high expectations for it. It looked childish, and I read it at the prompting of my sister. Do not be fooled. Sure, its main hero is just entering puberty, but its incredibly imaginative and fun. Rowling creates an incredibly real protagonist who many of us can relate to. I love the description of Hogwarts, a huge, quirky, (invisible to us muggles) castle where the students learn magic. sure there are a few cliches (harry's arch enemy Malfoy, the teacher from hell Snape, etc.). But in the end its a very satisfying read, along with the whole series (that never seems to fade away, it actually gets better as it goes along). I would recommend this book and the series to anyone who enjoys a good read regardless of age.
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Summary: This book is absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: If I didn't need sleep, I would've read this book twice last night! I used to hate reading, and even though I have to read 30 minutes a day, I would find one way or another to get out of it. This book left me desperately trying to find an extra minute to read a few paragraphs! If only books this good were easier to find, every day would be like this. If you're reading this review, wondering whether or not to buy it, DEFINETLY get it! You won't be disappointed. I didn't believe my reading teacher when she went on and on about how good this book was, but it was better than I could've ever imagined.
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Summary: A good children's book, but...
Review: If I were twelve, this book would rate five stars. This is because it is a fine children's book, and Rowling must be given credit for constructing the perfect fantasy for a twelve year-old. Harry is alone, neglected, unloved, and misunderstood; these are feelings that come naturally at that age. Harry's cousin is odious, spoiled, and pampered by his adoptive aunt and uncle, while he is mistreated terribly. Who among us has not felt at least once that a sibling was favored over us?But Harry is also something special, as all twelve year-olds want to be. He has special powers, and he is rescued from those who do not appreciate him by a magical fantasy world where not only are all his needs met, but where he has a great destiny, where even the oldest and wisest know his name and power. Vengeance is exacted on the foolish "muggles" in the form of a tail being placed on his fat, spoiled cousin, and the terrible aunt and uncle are humiliated before him by a rescuer who is utterly loyal and overwhelmingly powerful. Adventure and excitement follow. It's easy to see why kids love this, and it's great that so many are reading rather than watching the tripe we are fed these days on television. But what is confusing and even disturbing is how Harry Potter has caught on with adults. Because for an adult, this story fails on many, many levels. Were Harry to be locked under the stairs for weeks at a time by a cruel aunt and uncle, he would be an emotional cripple, sick from living in his own waste, quite incapable of the things he achieves at Hogwarts. One would like to think that social services would appear and remove him from such an abusive environment, and it's likely that he would spend the rest of his life needing regular therapy. As well, the story is problematic as a story, for there is no real dramatic tension here. We know that Harry is messianic, that he has a great destiny, that he is morally pure in a world of unrealistic black-and-white ethics. At no point after his arrival at Hogwarts does he actually fail, and we the readers know that he never will, that he will always be the hero, the star quidditch player, the only one who can face the evil wizard. Were Harry to be less than perfect, to be human and flawed like the rest of us, would expose the fantasy for what it is: shallow and empty, lacking the richness that real life, with all its risks and rewards and moral uncertainty, can bring. In a children's book these flaws may be overlooked; children, and their stories, thrive on hyperbole and exaggeration and simplicity. But for an adult, there are serious ethical problems in this story that the media-induced frenzy surrounding this series has not addressed. Revenge is presented as a virtue; witness the treatment of fat, one-dimensional little Dudley, and the glee with which Harry looks forward to tormenting him at the end of the book. There is a disturbing racial overtone to the work as some people (those with magic powers) are presented as being inherently better than others (muggles). And in the relationships between magical folks and muggles, might, of course, makes right. As we age, it is hoped that we will outgrow such beliefs and prejudices, that our parents and teachers and experience itself will show us that they are wrong. But the fact that adult fans of Harry Potter embrace the series with such enthusiasm makes me wonder if indeed we have, or if we have simply become bigger, better-armed versions of Harry, exacting petty revenge and imposing our power over peoples and nations we find unworthy, and encouraging our children to do the same. Being a mere muggle, I find that prospect rather unsettling.
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Summary: i loved this magical journey you would too
Review: if it were a movie sikel and ebert would give it two thumbs up and so would I
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Summary: This book rocks!
Review: If it weren't for books like Harry Potter, King Fortis the Brave and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, I don't know what I'd read. These are books that grab you, transport you to magical places, and don't let go until you are completely overwhelmed. Places like Hogwarts, Daak and Narnia may not exist in real life, but thanks to these books that rock, we can visit them again and again on paper. Buy these books!
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Summary: Overrated. Potential wasted.
Review: If the alleged hero of the story acted even =remotely= heroic, instead of reacting to things happening to him with an "okay, sure" tone, it might have saved this book. Accent on the might, there. Picked it up purely because the the hype, and only forced myself to finish the thing just to see if the author ever figured out how to write a lead character that did something other than react to everything going on around him. Rowling didn't. The fish-out-of-water concept backfires, in that the only time Harry's actually out of his element is in the opening chapters with his Muggle family. He's perfectly at home and pretty comfortable at Hogwart's, which is a true waste of story potential. The supporting cast are far more interesting and well-developed as characters than Harry, and I'd actually seek out a book with Hermione or Hagrid. Unfortunately, they're not lead characters. I can't find myself caring enough about Harry to read book 2.
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