Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

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

27 reviews

bookishlybecca's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

First Read-through: January 2022
Alongside reading the gorgeous illustrated edition of Philosopher's Stone for the first time, I also listened to this wonderful audiobook narrated by Jim Dale. It was such a special way to re-experience one of my favourite books and stories. I'd highly recommend it, particularly for other avid Harry Potter fans who have read the print books multiple times. It genuinely changed the way I feel about this first book in the series. <3

You can read more of my thoughts (about both the audiobook and the story itself) in my review of the illustrated edition, which can be found here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/28a8c489-828c-48dc-a944-b4bdc89e7c60.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

charm0nix's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bookishlybecca's review against another edition

Go to review page

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."
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ellipalmer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

I loved this series as a kid, like so many others. But rereading it as an adult it's hard to get past the rampant fatphobia, antisemitism, the gross way Ron treats Hermione, etc. JK Rowling has proven herself to be a transphobic bigoted person, and you can see so many signs of her internalized oppressive narratives in these books. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rini's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? Yes

1.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

vividvulpes's review

Go to review page

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

2.75

Starting to re-read this series as an adult had given me complicated feelings and admittedly having a hard time separating the artist from the art. The words of Rowling outside the scope of the novel have left a very bitter taste in my mouth and resentment toward a world I *loved* growing up.  It's a magical world but not for nearly as many people as I first thought. Not even for someone like me. It took the fandom to make it vivid and diverse. Not the artist.

With that stated once I got into the backend of it - I started to enjoy it a bit more. Things were definitely really fast paced and I feel like more time could've been spent on certain areas -- fleshing out the auxiliary members of the cast to make them less one note. Or spent a bit longer on some of the scenes within Hogwarts to build them up just a touch more since this book flies through the events of the year at breakneck speed. However I also understand that this was a children's novel so it might be a side effect of that. In the end it served as a good foundation for the world that spans the other six books in the series. It stands alone well as a first book should. Just wish a little more of the nostalgic shine remained for me.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

saradallapalma's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

1st read in 2013 🌈
2nd reread: 2016
3rd reread: 2017
4th reread: 2018
5th reread: 2019
6th reread: 2019
7th reread: 2021
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...