Yeh a wizard 'Arry! (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling)

Member Name: jamiebeck

Product:	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling
Date:	15/09/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: brilliantly written - simple and enjoyable

Disadvantages: far too short :(

i was extremely reluctant to start reading these books. however my girlfriend eventually persuaded me to give it a go.

i havent looked back since....

I am now midway through the 5th book, "the order of the pheonix", and it's easy to see why Harry Potter is a household name and much loved character of 5 to 85 year old people.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone is an exceptionally simple yet captivating book that unfortunately ends just as it is getting interesting, luckily there are plenty more books to feed on your imagination so i would recommend having the next one to hand to start immediately afterwards.

The story starts with the introduction of a baby Harry Potter being leftto stay at his 'muggle' Uncle and Auntie's house, where he spends his life until the age of 10 when he receives a letter stating that he is due to start at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. From this moment on we follow Harry on a story of his new school, the mysteries surrounding his parent's death and, of course, the Philosopher's stone - what is it? what does it do? who is guarding it?

Along the way Harry recruits two young friends in Hermione and Ron Weasley and a nemesis in Draco Malfoy. These characters and plenty others leave us wanting to know more about them and their back stories.

This is a great tale where JK Rowling convincingly steps into a ten year old boy's shoes and recounts familiar feelings and situations, new friends, relationships, the teachers we so loathed and the teachers we admired. Some great characters are introduced such as the evil Professor Snape (or is he really that evil?), the godly Albus Dumbledore and the loveable Hagrid.

Once you've read the book I guarantee you'll be disappointed by the film - the acting is poor as it is with many films based around kids' lives. The films do get better though!

I defy anyone to read this book and not want to pick up the other straight away...enjoy!

Summary: harry potter was once an ordinary muggle, now he's learning to be a wizard!