Review Detail

Reader reviewed by erica.coats

Harry Potter and the Scorers Stone is the first book in J.K. Rowlings classic seven book series. In this first installment we meet Harry, a young orphaned, English boy, who lives in the cupboard of the Dursleys, his aunt and uncle. It's a miserable sort of life, until he finds out that a certain Hogwarts School of Wizardry wants him to enroll. It turns out that his parents were wizards, who died trying to save his life, and that he's rather a celebrity in the secretive world of the wizards. The book describes his first year at the school, eating magic sweets, collecting cards of famous wizards, playing Quidditch (a complicated wizard sport played on flying broomsticks), getting house points, and solving a mystery, getting in a lot of trouble while he's at it. He makes friends, discovers enemies and encounters many creatures from mythology on the way (centaurs, unicorns, goblins, etc).

While the later books in the series are satisfying because they are long, complex epics, the first book in the Harry Potter series "The Sorcerer's Stone" is sort of like hot chocolate in winter. It's warm, cozy, sweet, and just so good. It's clearly evident why this book launched the Harry Potter franchise off from the ground, and why it is different from all other modern fantasy. Harry Potter is just on a whole different level.

One can tell that J. K. Rowling wrote this book with the entire series in mind. She already knew what would happen in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and the yet-to-be-released 7th book. That is apparent from the narration, the way the characters talk, the things they say, and the symbolism of the events that take place. Not only is this a very smart book, it is also entertaining beyond compare to any other series.

This book goes down as a modern classic. That is simply undeniable.