Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

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

40 reviews

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

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.
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maggieed's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.25

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aidamaria_reads's review against another edition

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

5.0

Ending the year on a good note by finishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which I reread with my bestie Ofélia. I gave it a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating the first time I read it and being back at Hogwarts still feels equally magical as the first time I entered this world. Fun fact: it wasn’t until my time at uni that I finally got to read the books and watch the films, since my mum didn’t let me as a kid because she thought Dobby (of all magical beings!) would haunt me in my sleep. 🧚‍♂️

I’d forgotten how fun these books are to read, how funny Dumbledore and Ron are, and I appreciated the brave Neville Longbottom even more this time. Bless his pure soul! I wish I could give him a big hug. 🐸
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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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booknerd_life's review against another edition

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  • Diverse cast of characters? No
Read this because it was an assigned reading for class!
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kbairbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Ahhhh finally for the first time in far too long I have read this book again. It was a strange experience listening to it vs. reading it and I think I prefer reading it myself BUT I’m just happy to be reminded of this story and to be in the wizard if world again.
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hayleythegoose's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? 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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annapox's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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annapox's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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