Genre: Fantasy
Series: Harry Potter #1
Page Count: 309
Publication Year: 1997
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Summary: A boy goes to magic school.
It’s been 13 years since I read a Harry Potter book. But that’s not strictly true, as I’ve never physically read HP. My sister and I listened to all the audiobooks on cassette (that’s a little carbon-dating for you) and I’ve never read even a single chapter. Until now.
Before beginning my reread I had no recollection of this book. I’ve seen the movie a few times and it’s neatly erased any memory of the text.
Right after finishing I was a mess. I haven’t cried while reading a book in ages and this one had me blowing my nose several times.
Harry lives a miserable life with his uncle, aunt and cousin. But when a letter arrives and it’s revealed that he’s a wizard, things start to get brighter. Hogwarts is a place like no other and soon he’s right at home with its magic and wonder.
I obviously knew where everything was headed. It’s kinda hard to objectively look at this story and its magical-ness when I’m one step ahead of the plot the whole time and I’m seeing images from the movie. But considering this book is written for children, it’s much better than I expected. I read it in two sittings, which I hardly ever do. I wouldn’t consider myself a big fan of HP, but I see why others are. It’s a combination between the multifaceted plot, the constant location changes, and the varied cast that makes it an effortless read. I am shocked by how much I enjoyed it.
The ending is a bit convenient. And by “a bit” I mean a lot. Why is this grand puzzle that’s guarding a powerful item so easily beaten by kids? The builders ought to be ashamed. That line about wizards preferring magic over logic explains the rubbish defenses.
The plot relies heavily on rule breaking, recklessness, sticking your foot in other people’s business and irresponsible teachers. I know throughout the whole series it focuses on the kids doing everything while the adults are evil, unhelpful, unavailable, or dead. But it’s vexing how Harry and Co. never seem to ask for/receive help from the adults and instead go running off on their own while the adults stand on the sidelines. I get it: a kid’s book can’t have adults ruining their adventures. But it’s not a bad idea to show how wonderful adult supervision can be. Hogwarts is a giant lawsuit waiting to happen.
Speaking of adults…wow! the Dursleys suck. I’m sure everything that can be said about this series has already been said, but this needs to be repeated: DO NOT TREAT CHILDREN LIKE THE DURSLEYS TREAT HARRY. It doesn’t even totally make sense why they belittle and abuse Harry. If they didn’t want him running off to Hogwarts, shouldn’t they have made the Muggle world insanely appealing and welcoming? They could’ve turned him against the idea of wizards before he even knew about it. I hate how he’s treated, especially since he’s not a bad kid.
Harry is a surprisingly good protagonist since I don’t particularly care for him in the movies. He’s generous, sassy, unexpectedly funny, and way too brave for his own good. I appreciate his momentary resolve to not go walking amidst other people’s business. There’s not a big focus on the classes but he seems competent on the academic side of things. And he’s polite and not unduly mean (Malfoy deserves all of Harry’s dislike).
I have a new liking for Ron and Hermione. Ron’s penniless background is one I can definitely relate to. His desire to get out from under his older sibling’s shadow is also quite touching and relatable. Hermione’s eagerness to study and learn is a good thing to see. Yes, she can be insufferable, but her hard work and strangely vast knowledge is extremely helpful and not a bad role-model for other children.
Even though I know the other characters, I haven’t seen enough of their book personas to get a full grasp of them.
The description is the absolute bare minimum. The exterior of Hogwarts consists of: Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. I actually didn’t mind the brevity since I’ve been reading dense books. But it glosses over so much when I think it’d benefit from more depth and atmosphere instead of being easy and factual.
I like the dialogue. It’s got humor, heartfelt-ness and it clips along, which is good, since there’s a lot of dialogue.
The writing style as a whole is simplistic and, well…a bit average. She can make a fine sentence, but I’m not going to praise her use of the English language. I certainly wouldn’t say that this is the stuff of a great author or that everyone should strive to mimic her style.
HOWEVER it is incredibly engaging. Part of that might have to with me reading it at the right time. I’d just watched the third movie; the HP vibes were strong, I wasn’t feeling good and I needed a light and fun distraction. This is the perfect book for that situation. I’m not going to reread it regularly, but I can see why people do.
So far, my reread is a success. I don’t like the second movie, so if I’m going to dislike any of the books, it’ll probably be that one. Onward!
“After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
Check out my rating here.
SOME SPOILER THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS
I love learning that Hagrid got the motorcycle from Sirius. I guess it was before he got shipped off to Azkaban. I bet that if Sirius knew how rotten the Dursley’s treated Harry, he would’ve escaped sooner.
Since when are there vampires? Are they ever mentioned again? I don’t know why, but it’s very strange to learn this world has vampires. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a vampire hunting trilogy with the Marauders?
Where did Harry’s parents get all the money?
I think Snape could’ve had the courtesy to tell Harry he hates him because of his father. It’s the least he could do for being a jerk.
How did James save Snape? All I remember is James was a bully to Snape and Snape loved Lily. I’m excited to find out.
Does Harry’s love skin ever come back? Or is that a one-time use? That’s pretty powerful if rotten people get burned when they try to touch him.
What exactly did the students think happened with Quirrell? That he went crazy and Harry helped to stop him? Clearly they didn’t know of Voldemort’s involvement.
So…they just destroyed the Stone without a care? If keeping it meant so little, why didn’t they destroy it in the first place?
The parts that brought tears to my eyes:
There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.
…Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.
When Hagrid gives him the photo album and when Neville gets awarded the points.
I’m getting sappy in my old age.