Sunday 3 January 2016

The Philosopher's Stone // My Return to Hogwarts


Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter #1)
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Magic / Adventure
Warnings: -
Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads | Book Depository
2016 is the year I return to Hogwarts. It is my final year of high school - the year where things become hectic and studying intensifies. With everything changing, re-reading the Harry Potter books just felt right.

I fell in love with Rowling's world of magic much later than many of my friends. I did not read all the books until a few years ago. But somehow Harry Potter still had enough magic to captivate even a latecomer such as myself.

Harry lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin, who like to pretend he doesn't exist and force him to live in a cupboard under the stairs. But when a giant visits him with an important letter and the truth about his past, Harry is whisked away to Hogwarts, a school for wizards.

With a premise like that, it is no wonder people fell in love with the book the way they did. Every child dreams to live a life of magic and to be unique in some way, and Harry Potter has that. It was this focus on characters was what made this book special for me. Every character, even Neville, turn out to be a vital part in telling this story. The Philosopher's Stone shows that heroes don't need to be dashing knights in shining armour, because the most ordinary people can do the most extraordinary things. Part of the reason The Philosopher's Stone is so well loved is because people can relate to it. The loyal friends, the nasty teachers and learning to be part of a team are all things that come into the high school experience, regardless of whether your head teacher lets you fight dark lords of wizardry or not.

I adore Rowling's classic style and how she drifts from different perspectives in a 3rd person, past tense narrative (my favourite writing style). Refreshing and filled with optimism, The Philosopher's Stone has the magic and adventure of any good children's novel, but a seriousness and maturity that makes it a lovable read for adults as well.

You can find this review on Goodreads.
What are your 2016 reading plans? Are you a fan of re-reads?

2 comments:

  1. I know a lot of people love this series! I started to read it last year and got my way through the first three books although I didn't quite love them as much as I would've hoped I could've. I thought they were interesting though, and the world building was done exceptionally well.

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    1. That's the thing with hyped books, they never quite live up to our expectations of them! I think part of the charm of the Harry Potter books is the nostalgia that comes with them. I didn't read them until around 3 years ago, so although I don't particularly asociate them with my childhood as many people do, looking back on them still makes me overwhelmingly happy.

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