Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Say you've spent the first 10 years of your life sleeping under the stairs of a family who loathes you. Then, in an absurd, magical twist of fate you find yourself surrounded by wizards, a caged snowy owl, a phoenix-feather wand and jellybeans that come in every flavour, including strawberry, curry, grass and sardine. Not only that, but you discover that you are a wizard yourself! This is exactly what happens to young Harry Potter in JK Rowling's enchanting, funny debut novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In the non-magical human world--the world of "Muggles"--Harry is a nobody, treated like dirt by the aunt and uncle who begrudgingly inherited him when his parents were killed by the evil Voldemort. But in the world of wizards, small, skinny Harry is renowned as a survivor of the wizard who tried to kill him. He is left only with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, curiously refined sensibilities and a host of mysterious powers to remind him that he's quite, yes, altogether different from his aunt, uncle, and spoilt, pig-like cousin Dudley.

A mysterious letter, delivered by the friendly giant Hagrid, wrenches Harry from his dreary, Muggle-ridden existence: "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". Of course, Uncle Vernon yells most unpleasantly, "I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" Soon enough, however, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts with his owl Hedwig ... and that's where the real adventure--humorous, haunting, and suspenseful--begins.

This magical, gripping, brilliant book--a future classic to be sure--will leave children clamouring for a sequel. (Ages 8-13) --Karin Snelson, Amazon.com

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Lovely, but Awkward - Rated
The tale, though rather simple, is backed up by heavily intricate research and planning, and the characters, though seemingly rather one-sided at first, are full-bodied and endearing. In her first novel, Rowling manages to trap even those of us who are "beyond" magic and reel us in with that jerk behind the navel (or in this case nostril) to her brilliant world of magic, where science, in our sense of the word, is nothing but whispers in the wind and where religion, discounting the christian holidays, is not even that. But, as much praise as this tale garners, J.K. Rowling's early writing style does not. Though it has been extradited in later sequels, her style in this novel is rather choppy and, though not plain, is rather bland. In places, scenes are awkward and characters merely one dimensional. It is almost as if, when Rowling wrote this book, she was not thinking along the lines of "making the words flow" but merely "making the ideas flow"; which is fine, for a first novel, but if this had been anything but a first novel, it probably would have sunk. Luckily for her, it was a first novel, and is seen as worthwhile by the many out there - including myself. I highly recommend, through all of this book's faults, that those who have not read it, find a copy and promptly stick your nose in the center. There are beautiful words, awkward and bland as they may be, waiting for you to breathe them in and finally learn the meaning of magic.

The book that started it all - Rated
This is first of a seven book story the school life of the now famous character Harry Potter.

This is an ongoing story of a young wizard and his pals coming of age and his adventures in learning how to deal with people and situations that become more of a challenge as he advances through age. This first book is lighter hearted as Harry is still young sees the world in black and white, with true heroes and those that must not be named. The book can stand alone however the story really spans seven books and as Harry grows up the world is no linger black and whit but murky yet thrilling.

There is a lot more depth and research that went into this series than the superficial story that holds it together. You may want to pick up some of the supplementary books and the one describing where J.K. Rowling picked up the background information.

What I fond to be fun is to collect different covers of the book. One of me favorite is the Paperback from England that shows a real train instead of the comic train version.

If you are real adventurous the book has been translated into several languages including Latin.

Dudley rules! - Rated
I must confess i'd never known of HP until the hype of the fourth book started and never got around to reading them until the mayhem of book five came out. This first book is excellent and the praise worldwide is deserved.It's only 200 odd pages and almost every page has an exciting sequence or witty dialouge (apparently that is a problem in the later books: that action and plot are few and far between for long periods but that isn't an issue here) It combines humour (Ron, Hagrid and the briilant uncle vernon), and a serious storyline wonderfully.
Unfortunately for me i saw the film before i read the book. I'm not knocking the film but i would have loved to have allowed my imagination to picture Harry and the rest of the group for itself. For this reason i'm going to read chamber of secrets before i watch the movie. Read this book regardless of age with an open mind and i'll dout you'll be disappointed.

A bit disappointing - Rated
The detail in this book is immense. But perhaps there's too much for such a slim volume. I felt that J.K. Rowling's language, at times, didn't adequately convey what could've been some real magical moments. The language seemed a little... bland. Whether this is because it's a kids book, I don't know.

However, the first book did grab me, just not in the evangelical way it seems to have grabbed some people. Ah, well, Chamber of Secrets, here I come!

A cracking good story - Rated
Having heard the rest of the world rave about Harry Potter for the last couple of years I finally picked up a copy at the airport on my way on holiday and I was pleasantly surprised. This book really lived up to, and exceeded, my expectations. A children's book that isn't patronising is a rare thing indeed and in my mind Joanne Rowling tells a good story that's entertaining for any age group. I do hope that all the money and movie making won't stand in way of her productivity or the quality of her work because if she goes on like this, I'm sure that in years to come she will be right up there with the greatest ever children's author, Astrid Lindgren.