Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Published: January 1, 1997
310 pages
Source/Edition: Bought at Amazon, Special Edition Paperback
Summary provided by Goodreads:
Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never worn a Cloak of Invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry’s room is a tiny cupboard under the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in ten years.
But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him… if Harry can survive the encounter.
My Review
This isn’t the first time that I tried reading Harry Potter. When I was younger, my parents didn’t want me to read the books because of the witchcraft ordeal, fearing that I wouldn’t be able to separate fact from fiction (I never really questioned it either). Much, much later (and way overdo), I finally decided to read it since my friends kept pestering me about. So I tried and I stopped after the first 2 chapters. I couldn’t get past that so I sold my copy. My friends kept telling me that it started really slow and to just keep trying.
Eventually all of that led to this moment. I realize that this book, being released so long ago, was way out of my age range. I tried framing my mind to when I was that age and it helped a bit. I really liked the book and the plot picked up once Harry arrived at Hogwarts. I think that for me, the ending saved the rating. The ending was definitely exciting and bumped up my rating from a 3 star to a 4. I enjoyed the characters, especially Hermione, whom I see a lot of myself in. I also liked Hagrid and oddly enough, Professor Snape. I think that I liked Snape because he wasn’t like every other wizard who was already impressed with Harry.
As for the film, I would rate it as 4 stars as well. It was actually the film that got me to go back and try to read Harry Potter. I think that I needed to see how the plot progressed for me to finally decided to push past 2 chapters. I liked the casting and it really helped me see the character dynamic before reading it.
Hermione was too adorable and her hair was so frizzy! I loved the actor that portrayed Snape! I was also happy to finally hear Hagrid say “Yer a wizard, Harry,” instead of just seeing a gif of it! In comparison to the book, it was less detailed but it took the main components of the books so I guess that’s what matters.
