"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by JK Rowling Review

Date: March 28, 2015
Weather: I looked and I can see the stars, so who cares?
Song: Paint, "Harry Potter in 99 Seconds"
Lyrics: There once was a boy named Harry, destined to be a star / His parents were killed by Voldemort, who gave him a lightning scar


And so begins our first book review together. <3 Well, let's get on with it!

So, I'm currently rereading the Harry Potter series by the eternally lovely JK Rowling. Lately, I've suffered through so many lame books (I had to drop way too many of them halfway through out of sheer boredom or annoyance), so I decided to fall back on a well-loved classic to pull me from this rut.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first book in a series that defines my generation. I was born in 1996, so I grew up with Harry Potter as a constant companion. I have distant memories of sitting around a campfire, listening to my mom read about Christmas at Hogwarts and the movies were a constant source of background noise clear up until the sixth book came out and my dad decided he hates them. He has daddy issues, so when what happened with Dumbledore happened, he slammed the book shut and said "never again." I'm amazed he read all but the newest Game of Thrones books.

But I digress.

Harry Potter is timeless and a world-wide beloved story. More people than JK Rowling probably ever thought possible enjoy immersing themselves in the world of magic and imagining themselves to be students at Hogwarts. This series has a serious following by all age groups. When people say that Harry Potter is a series for kids, there's usually a large number of people throwing shade over them and their ignorance. While it is indeed written for a younger audience, Harry Potter grew alongside its readers, culminating in a generation of youth sobbing their eyes out in a theater while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 came to a melancholic end. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the Philosopher's Stone in countries other than America because apparently Americans aren't cool enough to know what that is -- rude) was the beginning to this phenomena and there are many reasons why. 

(I'm going to assume you know about this series already and skip the summaries of everything.)

1. The Characters

First of all, what is a good book without an awesome lead? In my opinion, eleven-year-old Harry is pretty cool. We all know that he gets a touch angsty later, but for now, he's still a pretty chill boy. I enjoy his wit and sarcasm, but I also love how he is there for his friends and how they're there for him. He's a good kid, I think, and I'd love to hang out with eleven-year-old HP.

Ron is perhaps the best friend I could imagine for Harry. He's sarcastic, as well, and provides just enough comic relief that you can't help but want to be friends with him. It helps that he's tall, gangly, and a redhead. I used to picture Ron as my brother (tall, a bit rotund, and redhaired, like myself and my whole family) until I saw Rupert Grint in the role. My family really identifies with the Weasleys, mainly because we're redheads and from a prestigious family in our community, not unlike how the purebloods are held in esteem by wizarding families. 

Hermione is still obnoxious in this book, but you can't hate her. Well, I can't, at least. It probably helps that I know what she'll accomplish later, but I also feel that she displays early signs of her badassness in this book. She's incredibly intelligent, resourceful, and great at magic. "The smartest witch of her age" or something along those lines. Go Hermy-oh-ninny! (Reference to Viktor Krum in book four)

I'll just touch on the side characters, otherwise I'll be here forever.

Hagrid is always a favorite as a father figure for Harry and a friend to the others. He's strange and doesn't have a "normal" view of the world, but I think that's why I like him so much.

Fred and George are my favorite characters in the whole series. In every book, I grin when their names appear, just because I love them so much. Also, they hit Voldy in the face with snowballs during their first year. "One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban" (page 194, chapter 12, "The Mirror of Erised").

I hate Draco Malfoy in this book. He's so snotty and bratty and I just want to slap him upside the head. Knowing what he'll endure later, however, I feel a sort of protectiveness for his annoying personality. While I want him to change, I also feel a deep instinctive need to preserve this Draco, to cuddle him close and let him be as annoying as he wants just so he knows he's loved by someone outside his crap family.

Dumbledore, we don't know much about in this book, so we'll save him for another one.

2. The Story

I love the story. I'll skip the summary, but I really like how Harry is given such a wonderful new life after the one he'd endured before. I especially like how the fame doesn't go to his head and how he chooses Gryffindor over Slytherin, which are really very similar houses if you just alter motives a little bit. I'm a Ravenclaw, so I haven't struggled over courage vs power before and can't really explain the difference without using dictionary-type words.

3. The Concept

I WANT TO GO TO HOGWARTS. I'm too attached to my mother, who has medical issues, (I can barely stand going to college four and a half hours away because I'm so worried about her all the time), so I doubt I could leave the country for school. But Hogwarts... I'd be there in a flash if I could. (With my mom, of course.)



I think I'll wrap this up now and say that I give this book...

5/5 stars.

Yep.

That'll do.

I look forward to giving my next review, whenever that will be! <3

- Laura


Harry goes to Hogwarts
He meets Ron and Hermione
McGonagall requires he play for Gryffindor
Draco is a daddy's boy
Quirrell becomes unemployed
The Sorcerer's Stone is destroyed by Dumbledore
-PAINT

Defining My Mission Statement

Day: March 28, 2015
Weather: I honestly don't know
Song: Sia, "Elastic Heart"
Lyrics: You did not break me / I'm still fighting for peace / Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart / But your blade, it might be too sharp / I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard / I may snap and I move fast / But you won't see me fall apart / Cuz I've got an elastic heart

Hi! It's been a long time since I last wrote. I have no excuse other than that I forgot. :)

So, today, I thought I'd define something for this blog to actually be about. I'd start a new one but I like the setup and colors and don't remember how to change everything, so I thought I'd just jump right on in and get to it.

Book reviews.

Now, hear me out. I know you're probably like "Oh, gosh, another book review blog, please no." But I'm being for real. My last two posts were about things I had to scrounge around for. I'm a creative person, but I don't get obsessed with things. I can't write fourteen posts on how much I love "Merlin" or "American Horror Story" or even "Harry Potter." I'll still write random things every now and then, but let's be real: I'm better at writing about what I know, and sometimes what I know, I forget when pressured to think about.

So, I figured we'd start nice and happy: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Like I said, I don't get obsessed, so expect a somewhat impartial review, 'kay? :)

I'll devote my next post to that, so look forward to it, babes <3