Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone book review
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Book Review
The first novel in the saga of a wizard boy that has to face his past and future to grow up in the most fantastic school ever. Check it out!
The Book
Amazingly, Harry Potter
An amazing start in a saga that grown up in complexity along with its target readers. Characters, plot and quality of vocabulary and style also accompany that growth.
The author, J. K. Rowling shows an amazing eye for the issues that trouble a kid growing as a teenager in a fantasy world has has too much in common with our reality.
The word “Philosopher’s” was in the original title published in 1997 by Bloomsbury in England. After that, Scholastic Corporation changed it for “Sorcerer’s” for the American version in 1998.
J. K. Rowling won several awards with this first Harry Potter book. This title was translated into 67 languages and adapted for the screen with great success.
Harry Potter is a typical orphan boy from a standard English suburban area. He lives with his mean relatives.
Out of the blue, mysterious and quite unusual letters start to arrive stubbornly, and his life is turned upside down… or, maybe… downside up…
He discovers he is, actually, a wizard that was almost killed with his parents by a sinister and dangerous Lord when he was just a baby.
Now he has to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to train his skills.
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cultural relevance
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entertainment
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readability
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Our personal rating
Structure
The Author
“Jo” Rowling was born on 31 July 1965. She is a British novelist, screenwriter, and film producer.
Her most famous works are the books composing the Harry Potter fantasy saga. (read the mini-bio)
User Review
( vote)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Fantasy Adventure for children
Scholastic
First: 1997
kindle, hardcover, paperback, audible
309
9-12, but, actually, all ages.
Our Review
This first book is a perfect introduction to the series that mostly takes place in the wizarding world of Hogwarts.
The story puts us on the tail of Harry Potter, a young sorcerer that finds out about his heritage in magic.
In his first year at Hogwarts, he becomes best friends with Ron and Hermione and steps on the feet of a few enemies as well.
The bunch of friends discovers a plot for the comeback of the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, Harry's parent's assassin. The villain had tried to kill baby Harry too but failed. Now Harry will have to face many dangers to untangle the mysteries that come ahead.
This book is very imaginative. The author entertains us with lots of pure humor. Her style id direct and the narrative is very well constructed.
Rowling seems to follow Voegler’s 12 step dramatic structure by heart.
The writing is very straightforward and pleasant to read while she still tries to infiltrate some refined vocabulary here and there.
Hints of classic English and Greek influence are spread all over this ancient celt-nordic folklore based tale.
Modern moral issues are discussed in a magical 19th-century boarding school environment.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone talks about many important matters like
- self-sacrifice
- decisions shaping who we are
- loyalty
- friendship
- courage
- wisdom
Dramatic Structure Analysis
4-act sequence:
- Harry Potter and Family
- Harry finds learns about Hogwarts and faces mysteries and obstacles
- Harry and friends find out about the stone and the one who wants to steal it.
- Last Combat and Final Conclusions
Character and Archetypes
- Protagonist: Harry Potter
- Antagonist: Voldemort
- Main Character: Harry Potter
- Impact Character: Dumbledore
- Guardians: Dumbledore, Hagrid
- Co-Antagonists: Quirrell, Snape, Malfoy, Filch
- Sidekicks: Hermione, Ron, McGonagall
- Skeptics: Snape, Malfoy, Hagrid, Petunia, Vernon, Filch
- Emotion: Ron, Hermione, Neville, Weasley Family
- Reason: Hermione, McGonagall
Please leave a message with your opinion.
[cta id='2293']
I totally agree – this book is perfectly suited for adults too!
It took me way too long to get round to read this book but now I’ve started the Harry Potter series I’m hooked!
I just finished it and it only took me only a day…. i couldn’t put it down it was SIMPLY BRILLIANT.
I read your review before finally deciding to read to be sure it is worth while. If you’re doing this now… STOP and read it. No words can explain how good it is, I have already started Chamber of Secrets. There is so much detail in JK Rowling’s books! I recommend read this first then watch the movie. 🙂
Hello, Simon,
Thank you for sharing your detailed opinion. I’n very happy that, you, as a whole great number of people, find J. K. Rowling as great as she is. She is a much finer writer than the average person thinks.
Cheers!
Hey there, One of the true classics out there and gifts of literature for all ages are the Harry Potter books. They have so much more to them then the movies do, and any true fan of HP would be ashamed not to have read each and every one of these. Anyone interested in fantasy, classic fantasy creatures and especially wizards should pick this up. Anything well written that sparks the imagination like this title is fabulous in my humble opinion. Great post!
Hello, Patrick,
What can I say? I totally agree with each and every word of yours.
Thanks for sharing them with us.
Cheers!
Oh man, the Harry Potter books are so good! Pretty much all my friends and I have read them. I’ve read them through twice, but lately I’ve been thinking about doing a third read!
The characters are what make it for me the most. So much humor and great dialog between them.
The movies were pretty good too, but not as good as the books!
Hello, Nick,
Thanks for sharing your impressions. Cheers!
Harry Potter`s saga is a hell of a special book series. They have a lot of details and make you really feel like you are inside the story. Well, that is what I think books should always do, immerse your mind into the universe of the story. Great post and review on J. K Rowling‘s franchise.
thank you
Bruno
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Bruno. Cheers!