Harry Potter review by Austin

"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I’m sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter. My favorite series of books. It's hard to find someone who has not heard of Harry Potter. Even if someone doesn't like these books, they understand the importance of them. I do not exaggerating  when I say that the world would fall apart if Harry Potter ceased to exist. Harry Potter is extremely important to the world in general. I have been contemplating what to do for the Hallows Eve. And I thought to myself, "What would be more fitting then the best, most well-known book of all?" So here are my reviews for the Harry Potter series.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 10th anniversary edition (September 23, 2008)

Language: English

 ISBN-10: 054506967X

 ISBN-13: 978-0545069670

Readers are in for a delightful romp with this award-winning debut from a British author who dances in the footsteps of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl. As the story opens, mysterious goings-on ruffle the self-satisfied suburban world of the Dursleys, culminating in a trio of strangers depositing the Dursleys' infant nephew Harry in a basket on their doorstep. After 11 years of disregard and neglect at the hands of his aunt, uncle and their swinish son Dudley, Harry suddenly receives a visit from a giant named Hagrid, who informs Harry that his mother and father were a witch and a wizard, and that he is to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry himself. Most surprising of all, Harry is a legend in the witch world for having survived an attack by the evil sorcerer Voldemort, who killed his parents and left Harry with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. And so the fun begins, with Harry going off to boarding school like a typical English kid?only his supplies include a message-carrying owl and a magic wand. There is enchantment, suspense and danger galore (as well as enough creepy creatures to satisfy the most bogeymen-loving readers, and even a magical game of soccerlike Quidditch to entertain sports fans) as Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione plumb the secrets of the forbidden third floor at Hogwarts to battle evil and unravel the mystery behind Harry's scar. Rowling leaves the door wide open for a sequel; bedazzled readers will surely clamor for one

My Review

I first read the Sorcerer's Stone when I was about nine years old. This is the book that started my love for reading. Ever since, Harry Potter have been my favorite books. I have heard many people say that J.K. Rowling's writing in this book is childish and immature because she had no experience in writing whatsoever. I must say that I beg to differ. I don't think that there could've been a better starter to such an epic series.

The Sorcerer's Stone was literally a life changer for me. I would not have started to read a lot if it had not been for this book. And because I started to read, my sister started to read. And because my sister and I started to read, my mother started to read. J.K. Rowling seriously made this happen. I owe that genius a lot.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; First edition (August 15, 2000)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0439064872

ISBN-13: 978-0848710682

It's hard to fall in love with an earnest, appealing young hero like Harry Potter and then to watch helplessly as he steps into terrible danger! And in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the much anticipated sequel to the award-winning Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, he is in terrible danger indeed. As if it's not bad enough that after a long summer with the horrid Dursleys he is thwarted in his attempts to hop the train to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin his second year. But when his only transportation option is a magical flying car, it is just his luck to crash into a valuable (but clearly vexed) Whomping Willow. Still, all this seems like a day in the park compared to what happens that fall within the haunted halls of Hogwarts.

Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him. Soon it's not just Harry who is worried about survival, as dreadful things begin to happen at Hogwarts. The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim, "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware." But what exactly does it mean? Harry, Hermione, and Ron do everything that is wizardly possible--including risking their own lives--to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly mystery. This deliciously suspenseful novel is every bit as gripping, imaginative, and creepy as the first; familiar student concerns--fierce rivalry, blush-inducing crushes, pedantic professors--seamlessly intertwine with the bizarre, horrific, fantastical, or just plain funny. Once again, Rowling writes with a combination of wit, whimsy, and a touch of the macabre that will leave readers young and old desperate for the next installment.

My Review

I started to read this book about ten minutes after I finished the first. I could not wait to see what happens next. I just read on. A lot of people say that this is their least favorite book of the series. I try to look at Harry Potter as a single book. I would say that this single book gets better towards the end but...the end would never be there if the beginning had not started it.

I would say that my favorite part of this book is that it really shows a lot more of Dumbledore's character. He's my favorite character in the series so this is a good thing for me. I also think that, since the main component of this book is Hogwarts history, this book is very important for the structure of the world of Harry Potter.

The second installment to this series is highly awesome. It just adds on to the epicostiy of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 448 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; 1st PAPERBACK edition (September 11, 2001)

Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439136369

ISBN-13: 978-0439136365

For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig.

As it turns out, Harry isn't punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black--an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban--is on the loose. Not only that, but he's after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry's very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works.

My Review

The series just keeps getting better and better. The Prisoner of Azkaban is awesomely cool. This is one of my favorite parts of the very long book that I explained before. This book sets up many important things that are very important in the series to come.  The whole Sirius Black thing changes the whole direction that the series is going in. I love the way that J.K. Rowling will mention something early in the series and it'll come back later on as a very important component to the structure of the story.

All of the masterful genius in the Harry Potter series pretty much begins in this book. The writing in the first two books was great but this is where it started to get... well... masterful. Completely and utterly masterful.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 752 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Binding Damage edition (July 30, 2002)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0439139600

ISBN-13: 978-0439139601

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling offers up equal parts danger and delight--and any number of dragons, house-elves, and death-defying challenges. Now 14, her orphan hero has only two more weeks with his Muggle relatives before returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yet one night a vision harrowing enough to make his lightning-bolt-shaped scar burn has Harry on edge and contacting his godfather-in-hiding, Sirius Black. Happily, the prospect of attending the season's premier sporting event, the Quidditch World Cup, is enough to make Harry momentarily forget that Lord Voldemort and his sinister familiars--the Death Eaters--are out for murder.

Readers, we will cast a giant invisibility cloak over any more plot and reveal only that You-Know-Who is very much after Harry and that this year there will be no Quidditch matches between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Instead, Hogwarts will vie with two other magicians' schools, the stylish Beauxbatons and the icy Durmstrang, in a Triwizard Tournament. Those chosen to compete will undergo three supreme tests. Could Harry be one of the lucky contenders?

My Review

By the time I had finished The Prisoner of Azkaban, I was completely amazed by how good the epic story of Harry Potter is. And The Goblet of Fire made my amazement double.

This is the book that started the action that really explains the legacy of wizards. Yeah, you can fight a huge snake with a sword, but that's like explaining Star Wars as "a bunch of guys fighting with laser pointers". It just doesn't give it justice. Now, saying "An evil Sith Lord named Darth Vader and a young Jedi named Luke Skywalker face off in an epic battle using lightsabers and The Force." That is awesome. That is how The Goblet of Fire starts to explain wizards. it's the classic good vs. evil thing but much cooler then the generic stories. You see it in previous books, but the forth of the series explains that J.K. Rowling's wizards aren't no "pulling rabbits out of hats" wizards. They're cooler then that. Much cooler.

The Goblet of Fire is truly epic. But, I'll probably say that about the rest of the books also.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 870 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; First edition (August 10, 2004)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0439358078

ISBN-13: 978-0439358071

As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It's been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero's non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief... or will it?

The fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series follows the darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a peg or three after the events of last year. Somehow, over the summer, gossip (usually traced back to the magic world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet) has turned Harry's tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and discount the teen. Even Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of the school, has come under scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic, which refuses to officially acknowledge the terrifying truth that Voldemort is back. Enter a particularly loathsome new character: the toadlike and simpering ("hem, hem") Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, who takes over the vacant position of Defense Against Dark Arts teacher--and in no time manages to become the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, as well. Life isn't getting any easier for Harry Potter. With an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels examinations (O.W.Ls), devastating changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team lineup, vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors, and increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar, Harry's resilience is sorely tested.

My Review

This is possibly my favorite part of the long book. It is also the longest book of the long book. The great thing about this book is that it expresses the fact that Harry is doing all these insane and dangerous things while at school. Of course, he does this in previous books but I think it's best in this one.

I love that this book brings back characters from previous books and gives them very important roles. Remus Lupin, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Sirius Black, we see them all with roles different then what they were previously. Lupin and Moody aren't just teachers, but fighting in a group of some of the most powerful wizards who are against Lord Voldemort. Sirius Black isn't an evil murderer, but a mentor and a father figure to Harry. There is even an appearance of Gildoroy Lochart, although he's kinda out of his mind.

This is a very epic (told you) part of an epic series.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 652 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (July 25, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0439785960

ISBN-13: 978-0439785969

The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, arguably over-hyped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived, and the question on the minds of kids, adults, fans, and skeptics alike is, "Is it worth the hype?" The answer, luckily, is simple: yep. A magnificent spectacle more than worth the price of admission, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will blow you away. However, given that so much has gone into protecting the secrets of the book (including armored trucks and injunctions), don't expect any spoilers in this review. It's much more fun not knowing what's coming--and in the case of Rowling's delicious sixth book, you don't want to know. Just sit tight, despite the earth-shattering revelations that will have your head in your hands as you hope the words will rearrange themselves into a different story. But take one warning to heart: do not open Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until you have first found a secluded spot, safe from curious eyes, where you can tuck in for a good long read. Because once you start, you won't stop until you reach the very last page.

My Review

This is the mystery book of Harry Potter. This series has many mystery's but this whole book is about mystery's. Most of 'em are explained in the seventh book. The Half-Blood Prince is an absolutely great book.

I loved the fact that Dumbledore has a much bigger role in this book then in previous books. I will say it again, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is my favorite character in the Harry Potter world. Why, you may ask? Well... read the books. Study the character of Dumbledore. There is your answer.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 784 pages
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; Reprint edition (July 7, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545139708
ISBN-13: 978-0545139700



Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues.
The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

My Review

Ah, the waiting. The absolute worst part about this book was the waiting. When I first started to read the series, the first six books were out. After I finished one book, I just started another. But after I finished reading The Half-Blood Prince I just re-read the six books. And re-read them. Many times.

The Deathly Hallows was my favorite part of Harry Potter. Many say that it was a terrible ending and was not epic at all. And their argument for this is that they were camping the whole book.

This could not be less true.

This is the most epic of the series. And it was an immensely great ending. My only problem with the ending was the fact that it had to end. I will say that The Battle of Hogwarts (that big fight at the end) is one of the most epic battles in the history of epic battles. Which is saying a lot. It's up there with Lord of the Rings battles, Star Wars battles, and many others.

Now, you're probably thinking that I've been using the word "epic" a lot in these reviews. It is only fitting. J.K. Rowling did incredibly on this ending. No more words can be said.

So, the message I'm trying to get through is HARRY POTTER IS BEST. If you haven't yet read it, READ IT.

Yeah, the picture ain't lying.

 -Austin

Hey all you people who read for fun. U R COOL.