Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a fantasy novel by J.K. Rowling, published in 1998. It is, of course, the book that launched the multi-billion dollar franchise about the orphaned boy named Harry Potter, who finds out he is a Wizard when he turns 10 years old and is accepted to Hogwarts School for Witches and Wizards. The franchise would eventually spawn seven books, eight movies, a spin-off series, and a play. For the few who do not know the story, this book basically establishes Harry learning that his parents were Wizards and killed by an evil wizard named Voldemort, who also tried to kill Harry as an infant. The attempt to kill Harry failed, and Harry was sent by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, to live with his aunt and uncle. The book then chronicles Harry's first year at Hogwarts, where he meets two schoolmates who would become his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger. 

For those who have seen the movie but have not yet read the book, this is the shortest of the novels at just over 300 pages, so the story in the book has the least amount of material removed in the movie adaptation. That said, the movie changed some things and shortened some sequences. For example, the opening sequence with the Dursleys is more extended in the novel, and things like the trip to the zoo play out a bit differently than they were in the movie. However, all the main plot points from the book end up in the movie, especially once Harry gets to Hogwarts, so that will not be much different.

The book is age-appropriate for kids 10-11 years old and older. Rowling intended that the kids reading it would be about the same age as the characters in the book so for the first novel, around 10-11 years old. The books get increasingly darker and more adult with each new book, but really for this book a kid only really needs to understand the concept of death and "good guys" versus "bad guys". Otherwise, the novel is pretty tame. It has a good blend of humor, action, and suspense and touches on themes of family, friends, right vs. wrong, and the like. Even though it is technically a "kids book," it is enjoyable enough for an adult. Even though it was written in the mid to late 1990s, it holds up well enough to be enjoyable years later. It can easily be enjoyed by people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc., whether your first experience with the Harry Potter universe was as a young kid, as a teenager, or (as in my case) as an adult watching the movies. And, because it is only a few hundred pages and meant for young kids to be able to read it, adults who are fairly quick readers can probably get through it in a couple of days without a problem.

Ultimately, by now, anyone reading this likely knows enough about Harry Potter to know the overall story and know whether they like it or not. But, if you are just getting introduced to the series and are looking at the reviews, if you are into fantasy novels or themes like magic, this is definitely worth reading. While it is nowhere near the best book of the series, it does a good job establishing the main characters, telling the stand-alone portion of the story, involving the Sorcerer's Stone, and setting up what will come down the line. Of course, some have soured on the franchise because of Rowling's personal views. Whether you want to support her or not or provide her royalties on the sale of the book if you purchase it is up to you. There are certainly ways of reading the book without purchasing it, but just from an entertainment standpoint, the book itself is enjoyable and worth reading.