Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

33 reviews

bookobsessednow's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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pelledorso's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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bookishlybecca's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

The magic of this book (and series) never goes away. <3

I’ve, honestly, lost count of how many times I’ve read this first book at this point, but I think it’s around 10?! And yet, there are still little details I’m picking up on that I haven’t fully understood or noticed in previous read-throughs. It’s amazing how much foreshadowing and planning for the latter books Jo does in this one too. It’s all just crazy, wonderful good! I’m never going to not love re-reading this wonderful, fantastical series. :3

First (Illustrated Edition) Read-through: January 2022

Thoughts:
  1. Gosh, I love Book 1 Harry. *hugs him* He's so innocent, naive, and determined to prove himself. BabyHarry has no idea what Hogwarts (or rather Dumbledore) and the Wizarding World as a whole have in store for him...
  2. Snape is such an interesting and complex character. His feelings towards Harry are very complicated and deeply rooted, even in this first book when he doesn't really know Harry as his own, individual person yet, outside of his parents' shadow. At this early stage in the series though, it's very easy to "love to hate" him. ;/
    Also: I don't know if I've noticed this before, in previous read-throughs, or not, but there was some nice foreshadowing in Chapter 13 (pg. 179) to Snape being a Legilimens, with Harry feeling as though Severus could possibly be reading his mind. It's pretty darn cool that Jo thought to include that already, especially as it's referenced in a fairly casual comment made by an overly paranoid Harry. ;3
  3. The illustrated edition of Philosopher's Stone is beyond beautiful and is now my favourite way to experience this first book/story. It also, unsurprisingly, pairs perfectly with the audiobook, read by Jim Dale. 
    • Some fun stats (just because I love numbers ;P): 101 total illustrations over 248 pages [approx. 1 illustration for every 2.5 pages]. 34 of those are full single or double-sided pages, and 11 of those are what I consider to be "character portraits". (Those portraits are gorgeous full-page illustrations of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Voldemort, Nearly Headless Nick and Fluffy.)
    • Favourite illustrations: Character portraits of Albus & Minerva (I really love how official they look, with them even including their names), Harry & Ron on the Hogwarts Express, Newt Scamander's Guide to Trolls, Harry in front of the Mirror of Erised (It is both equally beautiful AND heart-wrenching </3), and adorable Fang (with his bandaged tail).
  4. I listened to the American version of the audiobook this time too (as that's the one my library has), and though I prefer Jim's narration to Stephen Fry's (the narrator of the UK editions of the books), I find the very obviously inserted Americanisms/words take away a bit from the overall reading experience for me. It just dulls the charm and magic of the story ever so slightly.
    • Favourite scenes: Meeting Hagrid (Chapter 4), First Quidditch Match (pg. 153-158), Christmas (pg. 163-167), Harry Finding the Mirror of Erised (pg. 169-174), Detention (pg. 201-211), and "The End" (Chapter 17).
  5. My overall favourites:
    • Characters: Harry, Hagrid & Dumbledore
    • Chapters: "Quidditch", "The Mirror of Erised" & "The Man with Two Faces"
    • Quote: Basically anything Dumbledore says, but specifically "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
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