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A review by egbella
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
5.0
It doesn't matter how many times I read this series, I'm always amazed at how well they suck me in. I went into this book again actually intending to find some areas to critique, as I've previously only gushed about them, and I was once again too engrossed in the series to pay enough attention to the tiny details. That's not to say it's a perfect book, but it's one I will happily read and reread.
THINGS I ESPECIALLY LOVE:
- The worldbuilding. Rowling is SO good at creating an expansive, engaging fantasy world, and the amount of thought and details she put in is astounding to me (someone who struggles with worldbuilding). It feels so real, and I can picture everything clearly. I think that's a huge reason why the books are so engaging - it feels like we're really in that world with the characters.
- The narrative voice. Rowling's narrating is so quirky and fun, with great bits of humor. In the first few books, it's fairly simple, almost middle-grade in its simplicity, but I remember it growing in depth and detail as the series progresses. Appropriately, it seems to grow as the characters do. I also noticed this go-around that she doesn't always keep the narrative focus on Harry. I should have realized this before, but this time I found myself catching when her omniscient writing perspective shifted to Hermione and Ron, for example, revealing their thoughts, rather than just Harry's. It's different than what I usually read, but I think it helps create that sweeping, engaging movie in my mind.
- Characters! Each character is given a personality and identifying traits, and she does a great job making them memorable, even if they're only in the story for a little while. I also love how a very minor character can end up coming into the story in a huge way later, adding to the sense that this is a real world and each character is living their own life, even if not 'in focus'. (ex. Lavender Brown is mentioned in this one very briefly).
THINGS I DIDN'T LOVE AS MUCH:
I'm not actually sure what to put here, because I don't have any major complaints for this book.
My only thought --
There were a few times when I had to suspend disbelief for a situation, simply because it didn't seem right to me. For example, why a professor would react one way, or how the kids managed to pull off a certain situation. But most of those, I feel like will come into play and be explained better as the series progresses and I relearn more about the world and characters (it's been a while since I last read this series). So possibly by the end of the series, I'll have some bigger problems with how certain things were explained, but I can't claim that yet, because these are such intertwined books.
OVERALL, this is such a fun read so far, and I'm glad I'm working my way through this series again.
THINGS I ESPECIALLY LOVE:
- The worldbuilding. Rowling is SO good at creating an expansive, engaging fantasy world, and the amount of thought and details she put in is astounding to me (someone who struggles with worldbuilding). It feels so real, and I can picture everything clearly. I think that's a huge reason why the books are so engaging - it feels like we're really in that world with the characters.
- The narrative voice. Rowling's narrating is so quirky and fun, with great bits of humor. In the first few books, it's fairly simple, almost middle-grade in its simplicity, but I remember it growing in depth and detail as the series progresses. Appropriately, it seems to grow as the characters do. I also noticed this go-around that she doesn't always keep the narrative focus on Harry. I should have realized this before, but this time I found myself catching when her omniscient writing perspective shifted to Hermione and Ron, for example, revealing their thoughts, rather than just Harry's. It's different than what I usually read, but I think it helps create that sweeping, engaging movie in my mind.
- Characters! Each character is given a personality and identifying traits, and she does a great job making them memorable, even if they're only in the story for a little while. I also love how a very minor character can end up coming into the story in a huge way later, adding to the sense that this is a real world and each character is living their own life, even if not 'in focus'. (ex. Lavender Brown is mentioned in this one very briefly).
THINGS I DIDN'T LOVE AS MUCH:
I'm not actually sure what to put here, because I don't have any major complaints for this book.
My only thought --
There were a few times when I had to suspend disbelief for a situation, simply because it didn't seem right to me. For example, why a professor would react one way, or how the kids managed to pull off a certain situation. But most of those, I feel like will come into play and be explained better as the series progresses and I relearn more about the world and characters (it's been a while since I last read this series). So possibly by the end of the series, I'll have some bigger problems with how certain things were explained, but I can't claim that yet, because these are such intertwined books.
OVERALL, this is such a fun read so far, and I'm glad I'm working my way through this series again.