| Product: |
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling |
| Date: |
06.11.06 (396 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Excellent Quality Book
Disadvantages: None
Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone is quite an amazing book considering it was JK Rowling’s (author) first books. It’s the first in a series of seven books although one has still not been released and she is still writing it.
The plot
Harry Potter, the main character in the book thinks he is just any normal ordinary boy. He lives with his aunty and uncle and his little fat cousin, this is because his parents died in a car crash, so he’s told. Then one day he is greeted with a giant of a man who tells him he has magical powers. This is like the strangest thing that he has ever heard of, but to his amazement he does have magical powers and he is sent to a magic school called “Hogwarts”. This is where he learns all of his spells and potions and even learns some new magical games.
The first chapter is just a general introduction about the characters and how Harry lives with the Dursley’s and how he gets treated etc. Mr. Dursley (Harry’s uncle) is the director of a firm called grunnings which made drills. It then goes on to give a description about Mr. Dursley about how big and beefy he is. The only reason Harry lives with them is because he has nowhere else to go, because if he did he would be gone straight away. Harry has been put through years of misery with his aunty and uncle. He was left on their doorstep with a note explaining the situation and ever since then his life has been a living hell.
The story then starts to develop when Harry keeps getting letters from Hogwarts but Mr. Dursley won’t let him see them, and then the letters start coming in from all over the place and eventually come pouring out of the fireplace to make sure that Harry gets to see his letter. That’s when Mr. Dursley decides that they all need to have a break and go on holiday. They eventually find a hut that they are going to stay in just off the shore. That night is when the giant of a man they call Hagrid tracks them down and makes sure that Harry receives this letter and reads it thoroughly and makes sure that he understands what is going on.
After Harry is convinced he is then taken by Hagrid to go and get all of his school supplies from a magical town that no muggles (non magical) people can see. He buys all of the things that he needs for his new school life. As both of his parents were witch and wizard they also had lots of money before they died and they left it all to Harry so now he has lots of money to buy all of the things that he needs even sweets and things like that.
Next he has to head off to school not knowing where to go or anything Hagrid goes along with him and helps him along. But Hagrid has to go so Harry is left to fend for himself all he knows is that he has to get a train at eleven o’clock from platform nine and three quarters. He thinks that it cant be possible as there was no platform nine and three quarters until he sees another wizard boarding the platform and asks them how he actually gets on to the platform. He is quite scared and amused when a small ginger haired woman tells him that he has to run as fast as he can in to a wall. But sure enough this works and he is stood in front of one of the biggest trains that he had ever seen with hundreds of people all stood on the platform. Waiting to board the train. The train is a massive bright scarlet colour with a big sign on the front saying “Hogwarts Express”.
As Harry gets to school he learns more about the wizarding world. When he gets to school he is amazed by the size of the castle and all the different types of teachers. But first and foremost he must have the sorting hat on his head. This is to determine what house he will be put in to. There are four different houses Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin and to decide which house they must go into they have to wear the hat and so to speak the hat reads the mind of the student and places them into the house that it thinks they should be in. Harry gets placed in Gryffindor.
As Harry’s school days start passing by and he is meeting all of his teachers he starts to know the teachers that like him and the teachers that dislike him. He then learns how to fly on a broomstick and play a magical game called “Quidditch”, this is a game where players throw a ball to each other called the “Quaffle” and they have to try and score goals through hoops that are high up from the ground. There are also people who have to stop them scoring by smacking balls at them to stop them. Harry is found to be very good at this game and makes it to the team and gets the place of “Seeker” this is a person that has to find a little golden ball that flies round, this ball has to be caught before the game can be ended.
They then start to learn about the philosophers stone and learn that who ever has possession of it has the power to live for eternity, this is why it is most important that it does not get into the wrong hands. Harry and his two friends Ron and Hermione help him in protecting this stone. First they find a mirror in a room that nobody uses and they work out that when the look at it their reflection shows what they most want in life. This is a vital clue into protecting the philosopher’s stone.
Here is a quote from the book about the philosopher’s stone “the ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the philosopher’s stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into gold; it also produces the elixir of life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the philosers stone over the centuries, but the only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel”
And it shows the importance of why they had to protect the stone from the evil. In the book lord Voldamort is the evil character and he is them man that killed Harry’s parents and now he wants to kill him to.
Towards the end of the book the three friends make their way down through a secret trapdoor to where they think that the philosophers stone is hid so that Lord Voldamort can not get it, but they are challenged with immense tasks to try and get there, each room leading to the philosophers stone is heavily guarded with spells and enchantments stopping them getting through so they have to follow immense tasks so that they can reach the end. When Harry gets to the end because the others did not make it he is face with Lord Voldamort himself and he demands Harry to tell him how he gets the stone. All there is in the room is the mirror. Harry knows what he has to do and he just looks in the mirror and he feels the stone drop into his pocket. There is then an amazing battle of survival between the two of them and eventually Harry wins and he is rescued.
My Opinion
I think that the book is a very good and exciting book and has captured the minds of thousands of young story writers across the globe. The book is written in very deep detail leading you on from the last scene to the next and has a great atmosphere around it. I would recommend this book to any potential buyers as it is just the first of six amazing books released so far. This books can be purchased from most good bookstores for a price of £5.99.
Thank you for reading.
Summary: Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone is quite an amazing book considering it was JK Rowling's (au
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