fantasy

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
A Review by Jordan
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first book of the Harry Potter series. The main character, Harry, is orphan as an infant and survives tough times. He is raised by uncaring relatives who make him sleep in a closet under the stairs. All that changes when a giant, bearded stranger named Hagrid appears on Harry's eleventh birthday, tells the boy that he possesses magical powers and then whisks him off to a special school for wizards.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a book I just couldn't put down. I really liked the Quiddich matches. I recommend this book to all ages and anyone who just likes the thought of magical powers like, spells, potions, charms, transfiguration, and flying broomsticks. The characters were great they had the Hero, the Brains, the comic relief, and the good friend. To find out who's who read this book. There was nothing I didn't like about this book it was very well written, great characters, and overall just a great story. So, that's why I give this book five stars.

All right. Here I am, a Tolkien fan, a Lewis fan, a Mennonite, and I like Harry Potter. I will not say it was the best I've ever read, but I flew through that book like the wind, and now I'm rereading it. I haven't read a new children's fantasy--or any fantasy--this good in ages. The characterization was great, there were good lines, the action was engaging, and the plot twists effectively caught me off guard. Reminds me strongly of Roald Dahl. Read it!

To those who accuse Rowling of encouraging witchcraft, I say LIGHTEN UP! Good grief, if we're gonna throw out "Harry Potter," why not "Chronicles of Narnia" or "The Hobbit?" Even being a conservative Mennonite and attending a well-respected Bible college, I found little wrong with this book's "wizardry." Mixing powders and saying a few nonsense words don't quite equal any kind of dark satanic rituals I know of. Its not like they killed any chickens! :-)

Go ahead and read it. If you don't like it, that's your problem. But I liked "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and am looking forward to buying the rest of the books.

Harry Potter, a fatherless and motherless boy, has never seen a unicorn, has never heard of wizards or witches, and has not a clue what Quidditch means. The only thing that Harry has ever experience is the miserable life that the Dursley's have given him for the first ten years of his life. But everything changes when letters from no one start arriving at the Dursleys addressed to him. Also on the same day that Harry turns eleven years old, a giant of a man arrives at the place where Harry and the Dursleys are staying and tells Harry that he is a wizard and that him, Harry, has been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
At Hogwarts, Harry does not only meet new friends like Ron Weasly or Hermoine Granger, or enemies like Draco Malfoy, or learns about magic and how to fly on a broom. He also come face to face with Lord Voldemort, his life-time enemy and the person that killed his parents and tried to killed him but only managed to give him a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lighting bolt. But is Harry ready to survive this new life that has been hidden for him for a long time, and is he ready to take hold of the destiny that awaits for him...from now on?

And once "The Sorcerer's Stone" is picked up, can it be put down? Well, I know I could not do it. The world created by JKR is the most amazing and fantastical trance. I loved every single word found in this amazing tale of modern fantasy. Harry Potter is a true hero because is he not only a wizard but a teenager with human characteristics.