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A review by marie_thereadingotter
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
adventurous
fast-paced
4.0
I first read Harry Potter in high school. The book came out when I was 11. But I had very religious parents, and they bought into that whole "Harry Potter teaches kids witchcraft" thing. So I didn't read the books until after the movies were already coming out. I actually didn't want to read Harry Potter at that point, but I did and here I am, 15 years later completely obsessed with the series and the world.
I wish I could wipe all knowledge of this series so I can read it without having any prior knowledge of it. Movies, books, everything.
Harry Potter is one of those books that I think will transcend time. It's already considered a modern classic.
I am going to try and only talk about this first book. I don't need to talk about the plot at all, as I am pretty sure we've all read it by now.
I really wish I had read this as a child, and even though I was nearly 17 by the time I read this first book, I still could really relate to Harry in many ways. If you were to take all the magic out of this book, Harry as a character would still be really relatable. Some aspects of his life were very relatable to me, and it would have been nice to have a character like him to read about when I was younger.
Aside from all that Harry is remarkably kind for someone who could have easily turned bitter over his treatment. Locked in a cupboard, beat and bullied on daily, by the only family he's known, lied to. The list goes on. Sure, he harbors some resentment towards his Aunt and Uncle, but he still has a remarkable amount of kindness in him.
He also has a pretty astounding moral compass, his initial dislike of Draco just comes from seeing his spoiled Cousin in the kid, nothing to do with the prejudice of who his family is, just instinct. The same can be said for why he and Ron became friends, he saw Ron and knew he was someone you could trust. Though he is still a kid and his quick judgment of Hermione is something that kids still do. He wasn't ever mean to her, but he wasn't very kind either. Even still, he cared enough to risk his life to try and find her so she wouldn't get hurt by that Troll. Hard to not to become friends after an event like that.
I would say that this first book is possibly one of the best first books in a series. It pulls the reader in, gets you to connect to a character very fast, you can empathize with him even if you have never faced any treatment he has. I am really excited to go on this journey again with the series.
Aside from all that Harry is remarkably kind for someone who could have easily turned bitter over his treatment. Locked in a cupboard, beat and bullied on daily, by the only family he's known, lied to. The list goes on. Sure, he harbors some resentment towards his Aunt and Uncle, but he still has a remarkable amount of kindness in him.
He also has a pretty astounding moral compass, his initial dislike of Draco just comes from seeing his spoiled Cousin in the kid, nothing to do with the prejudice of who his family is, just instinct. The same can be said for why he and Ron became friends, he saw Ron and knew he was someone you could trust. Though he is still a kid and his quick judgment of Hermione is something that kids still do. He wasn't ever mean to her, but he wasn't very kind either. Even still, he cared enough to risk his life to try and find her so she wouldn't get hurt by that Troll. Hard to not to become friends after an event like that.
I would say that this first book is possibly one of the best first books in a series. It pulls the reader in, gets you to connect to a character very fast, you can empathize with him even if you have never faced any treatment he has. I am really excited to go on this journey again with the series.