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graceev's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Animal death
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
meezan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Minor: Body shaming, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Animal death, and Blood
sunnycollins_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
However, I recently came across a message from Daniel Radcliffe that convinced me to begin my re-read (below, via the Trevor Project website). TL;DR, he said that a person's thoughts/emotions towards the books are personal and that shouldn't be lessened by anyone. As someone who grew up loving these stories, this message really resonated with me.
If you're in a similar situation (wanting to re-engage with the story but not wanting to support JKR), I highly suggest finding the books from a second-hand store and giving them a shot.
Daniel's message: "To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much."
Moderate: Bullying and Child abuse
Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
xlivjones073's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Bullying, and Child abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Hate crime
Minor: Grief
cosmicquokka's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Murder, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Classism and Child abuse
ernie_8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
(Descending order of the books according to the degree I like them >)
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Grief
myaphrodiite's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
on his 11th birthday harry discovers something he couldn’t even imagine and this is where his long adventure begins.
this book is pure magic on pages and a book everyone has to read in their life. even as an older teen this book still holds the same magic that it did when i was eleven myself.
Graphic: Classism, Racism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Blood, Animal death, Murder, and Bullying
alisainwonderland's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Death, and Grief
divine529's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I won't deny that I've been hesitant to read the illustrated edition of this because growing up with this, I have certain ideas of what characters look like and ways I imagine the world, but let me just say that this enhanced that love. Every version I've experienced of this just adds to my vision and understanding of it all.
Since this is the illustrated edition, I'm primarily going to focus on talking about the artwork this reread. Jim Kay did an absolutely phenomenal job illustrating everything. I adored his work, even if it didn't always match my own version in my head or what we've all seen in the movies. I saw a documentary and I've read several articles about the work he did and pressure he felt with this project and it's astounding. He made sure to get all the details right and you can see the research on the page. I know he was concerned about ruining the series with his illustrations, but really, as I've already mentioned, it enhanced it and gave me a different experience.
I definitely enjoyed this and I'll be curious to check out the other books in the future.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Animal death, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Minor: Death of parent, Ableism, and Animal cruelty