Harry Potter And the Sorcerer's Stone: Book Review - Books of Brilliance

A novel that needs no introduction is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. It is the novel that has shaped the lives of millions of readers and is still one of the most read novels today! Keep reading to find out why this novel and series is as popular as it is.

Mục Lục

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Summary

On his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter finds out he is a wizard and will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before then, Harry did not even know that magic was real or that he was famous. As Harry learns about his past and his parents who died protecting him, he prepares to embark on a new journey.

Harry arrives at Hogwarts and becomes friends with two of his classmates Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. The trio all are members of house Gryffindor and help each other pass the first year at Hogwarts. But as they find out throughout the course of the year, they will face many challenges and enemies.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone book review Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone novel by J. K. Rowling

Suspicious activity at Hogwarts like a three-headed dog guarding a trap door and a troll somehow entering and attacking Hogwarts makes the trio suspicious. Harry, Ron, and Hermione soon discover Professor Dumbledore is hiding something at Hogwarts and someone is trying hard to steal it. As the first years try to manage the workload, they must also stop whoever is after the secret artifact before it is used by the dark forces at the school.

Commentary

Originally published as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the United Kingdom in 1997, within the first six months of release, the children’s book took off. When Scholastic bought the U.S. rights, Scholastic’s Arthur Levine believes that the title wouldn’t work for American readers. After some discussion, the novel’s title was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone which was suggested by Rowling.

Rowling went on to say that she wished she hadn’t changed it but since it was her first novel, she didn’t have as much leverage. The title change was not necessary and makes it a bit confusing for some people. The good thing is that that is the only novel where that happened. Maybe Scholastics should give readers a little bit more credit.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

I was first introduced to the Harry Potter world by the movies. As a kid, I was always intimidated but the size of the Harry Potter novels and did not believe I would be able to read a book that big. It was later on in my life that I tackled bigger novels and even later when I finally read the Harry Potter novels.

I fell in love with the novels wholeheartedly. The writing is great, the characters are wonderful, and the overarching plot and how everything connects was done perfectly. One thing the movies never did well was showcase Harry’s struggle of not having a family and his loneliness. In the novel, we see how they affect Harry’s state of mind and acting out because of those feelings, something the movies don’t do that well.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone paperback edition!

Conclusion

This novel and the whole Harry Potter series should be read by every reader in my opinion. Not everyone has to like it but reading it and finding that whether you do or not should be a test given to everyone. It will get a lot if children into reading and that is always a great end result. Expect reviews for all the novels in the series in the coming months!