Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

I can't believe it has taken me this long to finally read a Harry Potter book but here we are finally! Honestly, I have watched all of the movies and I never really cared for this one as it felt a bit too, I don't know, whimsical? But this read was a blast, it was fun, and lighthearted, added a lot more depth to the characters than the movie, and was overall just a really good time. Can't wait for the next one!

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briochebun's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

4 out of 5 ☆’s.

”Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

ੈ✩‧₊˚

I wanted to get into the fall spirit so I decided to pick this series up and I have no regrets! :)

I watched these movies when I was a child - so getting to revisit this series and read about the happenings that I had forgotten about (or the things that didn’t make it onto the screen) has been interesting!

I’m excited to continue!

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swiftie_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious slow-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? N/A

5.0

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sunnycollins_'s review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

There is a reason why these books have continued to be so popular, they've really held up over time. I've been wanting to re-read this series for a while, but couldn't bring myself to do it because of how awful JKR has become over the past few years. I find it hard to separate art from it's creator, especially when their views differ so greatly from my own.

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."

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