*Contributed by Kayla King, Blog Manager & Staff Reviewer*
For years, I’ve reread the first Harry Potter book each year at Christmas, even reread Deathly Hallows more than once. But for the other books in the series, I’d only read them once when they first made their debut. And from that point on, I read my way through the adventures as part of the Harry Potter Generation.
Recently, I’ve discovered the magic of audiobooks, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was one of my most recent listens. I was surprised by how accurate some scenes were to the movie adaptation, and even more shocked at the scenes that didn’t make the cut, saddened that I didn’t really remember them. But alas, I was nine when I read this book last, so I suppose it makes sense.
Chamber of Secrets begins with Harry back at the Dursley’s for the summer. He has yet to hear from his new friends, Ron and Hermione, it’s almost his birthday, and the Dursleys are being just as horrible as ever. And then he meets a house elf, Dobby, who warns him not to return to Hogwarts. Harry gets in trouble, yet again. He also learns that Dobby has kept letters from him sent by his friends
The real adventure doesn’t begin until Ron and the Weasley twins drive their father’s flying car to save Harry. They return to the Burrow where the other Weasley’s live, have a mix up with Floo Powder, fly the car to Hogwarts, and then, soon after, students wind up petrified.
Much of the big plot points are still the same between the book and the movie. Adventure abounds, friendships are strengthened. Peeves the Poltergeist is very real throughout the book and he tries to get the students into troube every step of the way. My favorite scene, which is not in the movie, is the Death Day party with Nearly Headless Nick. This part was informative, funny, and a bit creepy; everything you want from the early days before Harry discovers just how dark the wizarding world really is.
This book is filled with magic and memories, with no shortage of mysteries to be ucovered. Even if you’ve seen the movie, or read the book before, this one is guaranteed to surprise you along the way! And if you haven’t yet read this amazing series, what are you waiting for?!
