Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic journey for young minds.
Review: As the mother of an 8-year-old bespeckled boy, I am delighted to find a new story that we can enjoy reading together. My son couldn't wait to find out what happened to Harry next so he read ahead and now is allowing me to finish reading it to him again. I think children especially enjoy Harry's discovery that he is an extraordinary Quidditch player (wizard soccer played in the sky on broomsticks). This tale has kept our imaginations going all summer! Thank goodness for an alternative to Goosebumps.
Rating: 
Summary: EXSPELLOPOTTYBARMUS!
Review: As the Pottermanian opinion holds sway in most quarters, with even the Financial Times favourable in the UK, I have to ask myself: 'who am I to rain on the parade'? Well I have mixed feelings about it all, so I hope I can make a good job of explaining my two out of five mark. I like the traditional downtrodden-boy-hero-triumphs plot with a twist in the end, and there is originality aplenty in the detail. The pace of the story keeps the action alive, and the curious menagerie of characters is introduced at the right speed, and with great variety. I had at least one laugh-out-loud moment with the regular flashes of wit in the dialogue. There are one or two humorous allusions to Greek myth that may only be picked up by older readers, and much incidental fun with words. (My favourite being the mythical London street 'Diagon Alley' - you have to say it out loud to get it.) Encouraging reading in young people is an unquestioned benefit, as is a practical example of the use of a library for research. And I had my vocabulary expanded with the word 'bezoar' (useful to goat keepers, as I was once). But how does this add up to a forty-percent mark? Unfortunately, I find that there is not a single loveable character in the book. Harry is as ordinary as can be, and as wooden a character as poor little Pinochio. The same can be said for his school friends and favourite teachers. There is little about them that children could be safely encouraged to copy. Their descriptions merely say that they are brave, noble, redoubtable, and so on, but the writing fails to actually convince by what they say and how they act. Rowling is only one of a long line of authors who fails to convince when portraying good characters, or the good that they do. It is as if she does not really like the good guys, and her heart is not in them. In a book of heroes and villains this is a serious failing. Perhaps Hagrid, the well-intentioned gentle giant, comes closest to being a sympathetic character, struggling with his stigmas, and surviving, if not overcoming the odds. As to the villains, evil is easy to do, and they are actually more realistic than the heroes when they avoid falling into pantomime postures. The demented cackle of the moustache-twirling, cape-swirling rotter echoes through their petty speeches with a monotony relieved only by the timeliness of their come-uppances. While I am on the subject of weak caricatures I cannot avoid the bizarre Muggles (ordinary non-magical folk). Harry's adoptive family members are not too unpleasant to believe, but they are too stupid. Mr Dursley, hardheaded business manager that he is, trying to knock in a nail with a fruit cake? I just can't swallow it. And then there is Hagrid, the eleven foot giant (see p. 16) who manages to take Harry shopping in the capital city, via train, underground, the streets of London, and a burger joint, attracting stares wherever he goes (see p. 52), and no-one gets a picture and makes headlines? Perhaps all the live TV crews were out at fires, and took all the photo-journalists - but all the tourists were sleepwalking, and the all security cameras were offline too? A quick look at the unofficial HP websites will interpret the other minor Potter contradictions as loveable foibles for us, but we should not be required to take our brains out while reading fiction, only to suspend disbelief. There is an air of irrationality about the whole book. Why are all pupils forbidden to go into the forest: because it is full of dangerous beasts. So, why are eleven-year old boys sent as a punishment for breaking a minor school rule into the forest at midnight to see what is killing all the unicorns? The whole book rests on magic - if you enjoy Tolkien and CS Lewis you might enjoy this book - but just making everything magic and expecting that to explain away every objection is sloppy thinking and writing. Lastly, and worst of all I feel, there is an undercurrent of nastiness throughout, affecting the whole book. Parents might not want the more sensitive child reading the blood-drinking episode. And there is a definite hate theme in there. Hate is the commonest emotion expressed. Before I read this book I was told that Harry is saved by love. This is a common defence given out by Potter apologists. However, the characters are always declaring their hate for one another. A quick count of hates reveals that 'hate' occurs seventeen times throughout the book. The one 'love' passage gives the book a total of four loves in those five lines. Exspellopottybarmus! (Spell for turning poorish storybooks into good ones.)
Rating:
Summary: Great look to a great story
Review: As there are more than enough reviews of this book, I will not bore you with yet another. I will instead tell you about the lovely collectors version. My daughter had read Sorcerer's Stone a few times and really enjoyed the story and characters. I found this collectors copy one day when looking for some gifts on Amazon. It looked quite attractive and I had bought her a collectors copy of Lord of the Rings which she really liked. I thought this would be a good edition to a the collection I was hoping to start. The price was also attractive, I saw the same version at a bookstore for about $30 more andas much as wanted to get it, was not going to pay that much. When I saw it on Amazon, I was ecstatic, quite reasonable. When it arrived I was not disapionted, it was even nicerthanthe picture. My daughter loved it. When I had a mantle in my apartment, she set it up there so people could see it. It has such an attactive cover.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)
Review: As you may have noted, this book is cataloged under the age group of nine to twelve. However, you may have also recognized that many, if not most, of those who you hear raving about Harry Potter do not fit into this age group. I personally was worried that this would be too much of a "kids book," but by the end of the book, I knew that my worries were ludicrous. As an infant Harry survived an attack from the most powerful dark wizard, for which he bears a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lighting bolt. His parents, distinguished wizards themselves, were killed in the same massacre. The only family left are his aunt and uncle, who are as Muggle (those who aren't wizards, warlocks, etc. and don't understand magic) as is possible. Harry lives with them, and their incorrigible son, Dudley, for ten grueling years. The story really kicks in, however, when Harry is sent off to Hogwarts, where he will begin to learn magic. His adventures are enthralling, and the book easily makes and eager reader out of anyone, regardless of age. I look foward to reading the others!
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've read in a while!
Review: Aside from Ella Enchanted and any book by Lloyd Alexander, this is my favorite book. It's full of twists and turns as Harry and his two friends unravel a mystery about Hogwart's Academy. It had everything I like in a book, even a surprise ending. It's a great book for anyone who has an imagination (and I'm certain that that's a lot of people). It was so suspenseful, I finished it in a day.
Rating:
Summary: A review from Mr. Entertainment Lover
Review: ASTONISHING! WRITING AT IT'S BEST! Harry Potter is an excellent fantasy book that everyone will love. Harry Potter is the son of a great wizard and witch. When they get killed by the evil wizard Voldemort, he is adopted by his nasty and aunt and uncle. Later Harry escapes into a world of magic and finds out he is destined to become a great sorcerror. He then joins a school for wizards and witches and escapes into a magic world filled with unicorns, ghosts, dragons, and plenty of other adventures.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've read in ages.
Review: At 18 years I am probably too old to be reading children's books but 'Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone' was just too good to put down. It had all the elements of an Enid Blyton boarding school book but J.K Rowling made these ideas seem fresh again. I particularly enjoyed the ending where Harry, Ron and Hermione have to race against time to get to the stone.
Rating:
Summary: Children's Lit w/ a side of Post Childhood Entertainment
Review: At 23 years old, and a college graduate, I should be ashamed to say I love the Harry Potter series so much. However, I find something magical in the fantastic tapestry that J. K. Rowling has woven. My little sister saw it, which is why she begged me to read the books for 2 years. When I finally caved to her command, I found a book series that not only evoked my imagination but also rekindled my love of Modern English Literature. What the critics fail to realize is that the Harry Potter series is popular for a reason! It is incredibly well written, on a thought-provoking subject. The plot is immensely detailed but easy to follow, the characters come alive and the reader is transported to a land where evil challenges good every day in an all out war. There is no better story to read the that of Harry Potter. But be warned, like chocolate, drugs and tattoos, its addicting.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book for adults as well as kids
Review: At 26 I thought I was beyond reading children's books again until I actually had kids. I was wrong. I picked this book up at the airport and it kept me enthralled for the next six hours or so of flying. The story of Harry Potter and his friends adventures at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was the most imaginative and entertaining book I have read in a very long time. If you haven't read it yet, please do, you will be pleasantly surprised with how well written and exciting this book is. You will then be compelled to read the next, and the next...
Rating:
Summary: Wild About Harry
Review: At a recent family gathering of various aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and grandparents, ranging in age from 5 to 69, all of the adults were vying to get to read the nightly installment of Harry Potter because no one wanted to miss even a single chapter. We had all three books going at the same time to our various Harry Potter fans. If you loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child, you'll love this as an adult..and your kids will love it too!
|
