Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone… what’s left to say, really?

Book Cover (U.S.)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic Press, 1997)

Genre: Fiction, young adult (YA), fantasy, supernatural

I rated this book a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. This is basically how I reviewed the book on Goodreads, with just a little extra fluff here.

Curriculum Building Ideas:

• Language Arts: Reader’s Notebook, Literary Circles, Guided Reading Groups, Writer’s Workshop, Sequencing, Plot, Character Map/Analysis, Inferences/Predictions, Connections (Text to Self, Text to Text, Text to World), Graphic Organizers, Book vs. Movie (i.e. Venn Diagram, Persuasive Essay), Reader’s Theatre…
• Social Studies: Scale Diagram of Hogwarts, Map of Hogwarts, Timeline of Hogwarts vs. Real World…
• Science: “Making Potions” – using the correct measurements of ingredients to cause a reaction, what kind of reaction when mixing different ingredients…

There have been numerous reviews of Harry Potter to date, and  Rowling has racked up many awards for this novel.  I’m going to try and stay away from writing things that can be easily found in other reviews from years past. Note that I am now nearly 24 years old and this is my first time reading Harry Potter, which was published when I was in elementary school. I remember my mother reading them, and then my middle brother. I was into other genres, and for some reason I had an unfounded stigma toward Harry Potter. But I have seen the first four movies; I didn’t really keep up with the latter movies. I didn’t know what was going on because I missed out on so much that was in the books. I wish that I had read Harry Potter as I was growing up, instead of waiting – I feel that I’ve lost a lot of the magic in waiting, and also in seeing the movies before reading the books. The basic premise of Harry Potter is about Harry Potter himself, and discovering who and what he is, where he came from and his quest to becoming what he’s destined to become – a great wizard, with a bond not seen before in the wizard world of magic (i.e. Voldemort).

Harry Potter comes to live with his relatives, the Dursleys, on Privet Drive. They are a snobbish, rude lot (I would use stronger adjectives, but this is kid-friendly) who dote on their simpleton, bully of a son. Harry is treated horribly by the family, and I honestly don’t know why he stayed. I would have found myself on the doorsteps of the Child Protective Services agency.

Since this is a coming-of-age  novel, we know there is going to be a drastic change. This change comes in the form of a letter from Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where Harry is accepted. Harry has no clue what this is or that it even exists. He does not know the difference between those born with magical powers, and those born without magical powers (known as Muggles). And in that, he does not know that he is extremely famous in the world of magic, or why. Harry embarks on this journey to Hogwarts and magic, and meets a lot of new friends along the way.

Rowling creates a world that is easy to understand, especially for younger ages. I would recommend this book to any average reader of about age nine or ten. She uses language unique to the world she has created, and her writing style is easy to interpret. The story is developed with a strong plot, and a spattering of characters. All of the characters are interconnected and play integral roles in the plot and development of the main problem, and other minor problems (excluding characters briefly mentioned or those who simply have one line).

Rowling develops characters with dynamics  with realistic characteristics that we can relate to: Hermoine is extremely bossy, Ron is a worry rat, Hagrid is kind and gentle, Dumbledore is wise, etc. Some seem to have their own motives (Snape, Quirrell) that are not known to the reader, and those motives are the umph behind the plot and the problem. But in the end Harry and his gang have not got everything figured out quite like they and are in for a surprise. The first book in the Harry Potter saga ends with the conclusion of Harry’s first year at Hogwarts, and returning to Privet Drive and the dreaded Dursleys for the summer.