THIS REVIEW, more like a rambling of opinions, MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Still a five star read!
I still love Lee Jordan:
“Brilliant!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying car right into the Whomping Willow, people´ll be talking about that one for years-”


We are introduced to one of my all time favorite characters, Dobby.



There´s still lots of great quotes, even though most will only make sense for those who´ve read the book.

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

“Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain?”

“Well, you're expelling us aren't you?" said Ron.
"Not today, Mr. Weasley."
Snape looked as though Christmas had been canceled.”

“When in doubt, go to the library.”

The characters are still amazing with a lot of humorous one-liners. This might be the only series where I, at least close to, love every character.

“Of all the trees we could've hit, we had to get one that hits back.”

“Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.”

And the storyline is absolutely fantastic! J.K Rowling truly has a magical imagination.

Short "review", if you can even call this a review, because I´m heading strait in to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

5 Golden Stars Complete!
& thousands more

this one is Beyond AMAZING!
Delightful! Mysterious! & Cute!
My favourite book in the middle grade-ish side (1, 2, 3) of HP.
I enjoyed every moment of it, every time. every page has something new.
& I'm always wondering why this beautiful, cute, exciting, mysterious, full of backstories & plot-twist book is so many people's least favourite one in the series,
we have the history of Hogwarts (now, now, not "Hogwarts, a History", people)
we have some other important backstory, Voldemort & his past
we have Weasleys,
& we have Dobby!
it is the cutest & no one can tell me otherwise.

tbh all of them are magical & wonderful! my heart beats for them. <3
-
Second book, starting with a blow. Can I appreciate the beginning of the book, the first chapter, the title, how it is started, how it summarized the events of the last book & let us swim in this world once again. craving for magic. every HP book started with a Recap of the last book(s), probably the only series I saw to mentioned previous events. very unique & fun. for example:

"... Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy. As a matter of fact, he was as not normal as it is possible to be."

& how suddenly everything goes wrong!
in this book, wizarding world expanded. more into this world. how a wizard family actually live; the amazing Weasleys.
we meet new great characters we didn't know in the first book like Mr. Weasley. also more Fred & George & Mrs. Weasley....
full of intriguing Backstories, Mysteries, Histories, Riddles & plot twists!
Mystery & Horror!
many fun moments thanks to Ron. don't forget young Harry being sassy.

how could everyone (characters I mean, idk about the fans, but I know I, myself, couldn't believe that) think of Harry like that!? being the one who attacked students? just because he is a parseltongue? he's not pureblood mania, like Malfoy. Dammit! his friend is a muggleborn. he is a good guy. tho I always enjoy to see my favourite characters under pressure, gives me the excitement. guilty pleasure.
& I think I'm the only one who likes Lockhart (not much, but still), I mean he was annoying & everything a liar & actually a fraud, sure, but hilarious & stupid, he made the scenes funny because of his nonsense megalomaniac & of course Harry & Ron's expression toward him.
oh one more thing, I love Tom too! I love villains in disguise & we didn't know until the end of the book that he was fooling us all!

brave young Harry, saved the day. I'm proud of him.
-
World building: ★★★★★/5
Characters: ★★★★★/5
Written style: ★★★★★/5
/ Fun: ★★★★★/5
/ Feelz: ★★★★★/5 (Harry is so brave & caring for his friends & the others... *tears of Joy & pride*)
plot: ★★★★★/5
General idea: ★★★★★/5

I get the impression that this must have been a thoughtful challenge for J.K. Rowling. To write The Chamber of Secrets, must have been a nearly impossible task. Sadly, though it's worth 5 stars, it's less good than its predecessor.

But, in the wake of the thicker Harry Potter books, CoS has got very much underrated. It has several flaws, and problems with veracity. That does not mean that it doesn't have outstanding passages.

The parts about Hermione's crush on Lockhart, and Harry's visit to the burrow, and the Car!! I'm quietly in awe with the author's muse. CoS is a book full of adventure, carefree thrills and no padding in it. I am Luffy:P

”It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

And here I go with another one of my short “My thoughts about this book” reviews. I can’t believe that I forgot so many things. Like for instance the fact that Dumbledore actually was a Transfiguration teacher before he became headmaster. Kinda suitable that this is McGonagall’s role now. ;-)

1.) ”Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby … Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew…”

Aww Dobby! It was so good to see him again! He’s really one of the best HP characters ever and this even though he made it kind of tough to like him. *lol* Well, at least at the beginning. Poor Harry! XD

2.) ”Your sons flew that car to Harry’s house and back last night!” shouted Mrs Weasley. “What have you got to say about that, eh?”
“Did you really?” said Mr Weasley eagerly. “Did it go all right? I-I mean,” he faltered, as sparks flew from Mrs Weasley’s eyes, “that-that was very wrong, boys – very wrong indeed …”

I’ll always love how Mr Weasley is more interested in finding out if the car flew well than in his kids actually flying the car! *lol* Also Molly Weasley giving him hell for not reacting the way a responsible parent is supposed to is just epic! Haha! Those two. You can see they have a great marriage! ;-P

3.) ”Mr Weasley had a cut lip and Mr Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools.”

How could I forget that Mr Weasley threw himself at Malfoy? One of the best things in this book ever! Not that I support violence (I’m a pacifist) but even I can’t help appreciating that Lucius Malfoy for once, actually had his ass handed to him. XD

4.) ”That vanishing cabinet was extremely valuable!” he was saying gleefully to Mrs Norris. “We’ll have Peeves out this time, my sweet.”

How come I never noticed this before?! The foreboding!!! OMG! Like damn, there are so many things that are mentioned only briefly and rather casually and then when you continue to read the series they reappear with a vengeance! O_o With every book I read I’m more and more awed by J.K Rowling’s genius!

5.) ”Homework: compose a poem about my defeat of the Wagga Wagga werewolf! Signed copies of Magical Me to the author of the best one!”

Gilderoy Lockhart is so full of himself! I swear he must have been the worst DADA teacher they ever had. And they had many over the years which even Dumbledore can’t deny. Loved that bit at the ending when he said he’d have to write an ad because they “seem to run through them”. *lol*

6.) ”You are Muggle-born?”
“Half-blood, sir,” said Riddle. “Muggle father, witch mother.”

There definitely was a history lesson hidden in there. It’s fascinating how Riddle of all people could be a half-blood and then go against Muggle born wizards! I’m sure J.K. Rowling thought about World War II when she wrote this, because all the pure-blood and half-blood etc. stuff reminds me of a very dark chapter in German history… >_<

7.) ”But why’s she got to go to the library?”
“Because that’s what Hermione does,” said Ron, shrugging. “When in doubt, go to the library.”

Did anyone notice how well Ron knows Hermione? And how often he defended her in this book? I mean he actually would have fought Malfoy with his bare hands if Harry and Dean would have allowed it! It’s so obvious that Ron cares about her deeply! To vomit snails without complaining about it should count as the ultimate indication of eternal love and affection! *LOL*

8.) ”Of course,” she said, and Harry, amazed, saw a tear glistening in her beady eye.

McGonagall losing it was another great moment in this book! When you least expect it she always shows some kindness and heart and to be honest this never ceases to amaze me! XD She’s a great teacher and I’m not surprised that she always takes over when Dumbledore isn’t around.

9.) ”You’re in luck,” said Harry, forcing Lockhart to his feet at wandpoint. “We think we know where it is. And what’s inside it. Let’s go.”

I just love Harry, okay?! *lol* For such a young kid he certainly has a lot of guts and courage! The way he dealt with Lockhart? I think not even an adult wizard could have done it any better. XD The sheer audacity to demand aid from him like that. YES! Haha! <3

10.) ”Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?” Harry said, thunderstruck.”

I CAN’T BELIEVE ROWLING ALREADY MENTIONED THIS IN BOOK TWO!!! I mean Harry quite literally said that Voldemort put a bit of himself in him!!! A part of his soul!!! It’s so obvious that Harry is a Horcrux!!! GAH!!! It’s all there and I never saw it!!! That’s just brilliant! Dumbledore must have known all along! I really need to reread the entire series because I can’t remember if he already knew it right from the beginning or if it was just a theory at first.

I can’t wait to read “The Prisoner of Azkaban”! I’m afraid it might have to wait until next year though! So many books, so little time! ;-)

______________________________

As always I loved this! <3
And boy there were so many hints! The foreboding is real in this one! *lol*
Also I kinda like that every book ends with the school year and that there’s no cliff-hanger! I never thought about this but HP is so successful and this even though there are never cliff-hangers. XD (Well, at least not in the strict sense...)
Must be magic! ;-P
______________________________

I’m already reading 6 books,
n  BUTn
this is Harry Potter
and it’s autumn
close to Halloween
and I just need another comfort read? *lol*

Plus 2 of my six books will be finished soon so this means that I’ll be down to 5 again which is my usual amount. XD

Look at me being all reasonable and responsible. Haha! ;-P

But honestly, do I even need a reason to read Harry Potter?
No, HP can be read anytime! =))

Overall, I loved this, and I can't wait to start Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban today.

Quick thoughts on the things that stood out to me:

Wow, the Dursleys were even more loathsome in this book than the first.
I love the Weasleys even more than I already did.
I am so glad my mother never sent me a Howler.
I thought Dobby was annoying in the movie (which I saw when it came out over a decade ago, not having read the book) but I thought he was awesome in the book. In fact, we rewatched the movie last night, and not only was it as unsatisfying as I remember it, it's just a shit adaptation of this book.
I thought it was delightful that the flying car went into the Forbidden Forest and went feral.
Tom Riddle's diary was really, really awesome. The entire idea and execution were fantastic.

I loved it when Dumbledore told Harry, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." I hope that, as the series goes on, we have more scenes with him, because I really love his wisdom.

My minor complaints seem a little nitpicky, and I suppose that if I'm going to suspend disbelief to accept that wizards are real, I should be able to accept that none of the adults at Hogwarts would look in Hermione's fist to see the paper that Harry and Ron found after she was Petrified and Fawkes somehow just found his way into the Chamber of Secrets, but I'm an adult and if I'd read this as a kid I wouldn't have cared for a single moment.

i always re read hp when i start the year, instead of actually reading other books, lmao. will i ever learn? i don't think so

This second book edition is just as beautiful as the first book!





Mel

BRING BACK TOM RIDDLE ALREADY!!
Fav character: Draco Malfoy.
Least favorite: Harry Potter.

Das ist doch mal ein würdiges erstes Buch für das Jahr 2017! Der Schmuckband war seinen unverschämten Preis wieder absolut wert! So tolle, liebevolle und detailreiche Zeichnungen. Und die Geschichte war wie immer perfekt! Eine der wenigen, die man wieder und wieder aufs neue genießen kann und für mich immer eine Erinnerung an meine Kindheit sein wird! Also wird es für Harry Potter nie weniger als 5 Sterne geben. Im zweiten Band gefallen mir Lockhart und Dobby immer am besten! Wobei ich beide im Buch sogar noch witziger finde als im Film.
Schließe ich meine Lobhudelei mal mit meinem Lieblings-Dumbledore-Zitat aus diesem Band: "Viel mehr als unsere Fähigkeiten sind es unsere Entscheidungen, die zeigen, wer wir wirklich sind."

2024: A week or so ago my thirteen year old daughter suggested that we reread Harry together this summer. It’s been awhile for, and it’s been four years since I immersed myself in the entire series. Even though I had my own summer reading plans, how could I resist. There is nothing quite like staying up most of the night and savoring Harry’s adventures. The first few books, I can read in a few hours, but those last four are all night reading, and the longest day of the year is fast approaching. Here it stays light until nearly ten o’clock. Needless to say, Harry and I will have more dates later in the week, and I can’t wait. Nothing says summer like reading all night and Harry’s escapades are the best. Even though I am partial to book 3, the tense mood in year 2 has me on my feet throughout. This is after reading it probably twenty times. Hence, when my daughter invited me to join her in rereading Harry this summer, how could I say no.

Reading yet again in 2023 in celebrating a quarter century that Harry has been part of our collective history. It is always a joy to read, and I am choosing to space out and savor this time around.

It is Super Bowl Sunday. After all the preparations have been made and the pregame hype dies down, there is something truly magical about the game itself. Once the day is over, there will be a seven week gap until baseball’s opening day, starting my stretch of the longest seven weeks of the year as I wait for hope to spring eternal. I find that I combat these winter blues the best by reading escapist fiction and quality stories of nonfiction. This year a group of us in the Retro Chapter Chicks group here on goodreads have taken things a step farther by rereading the Harry Potter series anew. I have read this series more times than I can count, but the winter is when I am in need of magic in my life.

Having just dispatched Lord Voldemort at the end of his first year at Hogwarts and restored the house cup to Gryffindor house, Harry Potter has returned to the house on Privet Drive where he is anything but loved and admired. The contrast between the magical and non magical world is striking: the Dursley family is giddy, contemplating a new deal at work that would change the course of their lives while Dudley has quickly established a name for himself at Smeltings School. Harry Potter does not belong in this world, as the Dursley’s make clear by forbidding to mention magic. His longing to return to Hogwarts or at least a wizarding home is all too apparent as J.K. Rowling makes this contrast starker with each passing book. Yet, bad things are about to happen. We saw that in the introductory book as the centaurs noted that signs were in the stars, and they had not been wrong before, and they give ample warnings until it may be too late to heed them. Non wizard magical creatures can see the signs before most humans, and Harry is warned to not return to school by Dobby the house elf. Dobby, a creature who will return throughout the series as one of Harry’s strongest allies, believes that Harry will be safest with muggles. Should he fall now, the good wizards would not stand a chance against the darkening storm lead by Lord Voldemort.

It is against this backdrop that Rowling introduces returns Harry to the magical world. The Weasleys rescue him from the Dursley’s and he seamlessly fits in with the family in a way that he never could with his blood family, the Dursley’s. Ginny begins to play a more prominent role as well as she shudders to a near faint each time Harry enters the room. For readers like myself who have read the series countless times, it is merely Rowling foreshadowing for what comes later. She also interjects playful dialogue between Ron and Hermoine throughout this book, including the quote by Ron, “Hermoine, when in doubt, go to the library.” This weaving together of infinite storylines and interpretations by Rowling is what establishes the Weasleys and Hogwarts as Harry’s true wizard family. All this becomes clearer over the course of this book with the contrast between the Weasleys, an old wizarding family who associate with anyone with magical abilities, and the Malfoys, a pure blood wizarding family who believe that only those pure families should continue the wizarding line. Harry made his presence felt in the first book whose side he was on, but the father and son team of Malfoys continue to pressure Harry to join them in this second installment because, like the centaurs, they know that darker times are coming, and muggle lovers like the Weasleys and muggle born like Hermoine will be the first to go. To the Malfoys’ continued disdain, Harry reiterates that he is on the ‘good side’ in the battle against Voldemort. He would never abandon his family, the Weasleys and Hermoine, in their greatest time of need.

Themes continue to grow darker. Rowling introduces dark objects like the hand of glory on Knockturn Alley and a diary that speaks for itself and falls into the wrong hands and plays a prominent role later in the series, another element of foreshadowing. Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore develop in their roles as Harry’s father figures, Hagrid with his physical presence and Dumbledore more esoterically as he gives Harry the tools to fight the evil mounting around him. Dumbledore’s role as the greatest wizard of his age is all too apparent here as he becomes Harry’s personal defense against the dark arts teacher because the actual teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, is suspect, leading Ron to believe the job is cursed. With danger mounting- the diary, the presence of the of the Malfoys, a Chamber of Secrets that has been opens and threatens the existence of Hogwarts- Dumbledore turns to Harry, a twelve year old wizard, as his greatest ally. He notes, that “help will always be available at Hogwarts for those who truly need it.” And with the Chamber of Secrets being real, not just a myth, Harry is in need of help to solve the mystery in order to maintain a foothold in the magical world, his true home.

As themes get darker, Rowling also brings her students deeper into adolescence, lightening the mood a little. Percy Weasley has a girlfriend, unleashing merciless teasing at the hands of his brothers. Harry and Ron get into countless escapades without a care for the consequences in a way that only teenagers can. This includes their adventures in a Ford Anglia car, which plays a key role throughout this book, yet also exhibits how muggles and muggle born wizards are prominent in the wizarding world going forward. Rowling will show how ordinary objects become key magical items at an increasing rate as the series progresses. Yet, none of the adolescent tales are more serious than Ron and Malfoy’s rivalry, to the point that Hermoine helps the pair develop an illegal potion as a means of getting Malfoy in trouble. Potion brewing only strengthens the trio’s bond and points to each of their developing character traits and their strengths as wizards as well. Dialogue, which played a role of page filler for me in my early readings of the series, becomes more important with each read through as Rowling leaves no stone unturned, giving readers the tools to foreshadow how the series will progress, just as Dumbledore gives similar tools to Harry. I found myself engrossed in words that I may have glossed over in previous reads, taking a mental inventory of peripheral characters and objects because I know that Rowling placed them here for a reason, as many will play a prominent role later on.

Harry prevails thanks to help from Ron, Hermoine, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Fawkes the Phoenix. Had Harry not prevailed, there would, of course, be no further books. By vanquishing Voldemort in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry saves the day, at least for the present; however, with the presence of the Malfoys at the book’s close it is apparent that darker times are ahead, setting the stage for the next book, my favorite of the series that I am giddy to get to next month. Just as Harry will return to his muggle family, I return from my magical escape to reality, to winter and a long seven weeks until the next sports season begins. Until then, it is on to more fictional escape novels in exotic locations, and one more trip to Hogwarts castle that will be sure to add magic to an otherwise gloomy winter.

5 stars

The magic of Rowling is captivating and spell-bounding.

Harry is back at the Dursleys' for his summer break. Their behaviour towards him haven’t changed much, but to the worse when they lock him up in his room with iron rods on all exists. Weasleys come for his rescue in their father’s flying car and Harry’s remaining summer holidays are spent in great spirit at their house.

Somehow Harry and Ron are not able to get through the wall for Hogwarts Train. They fly all the way to Hogwarts in Ron’s father’s flying car which gets them in a lot of trouble. Once again the Chamber of Secrets opened; many students were attacked and petrified including Hermione. Harry kills the basilisk who killed Myrtle long time ago and destroyed Tom Riddle’s (also known as Voldemort) book, which controlled Ginny Weasley’s thoughts and made her do all the attacks.

“It’s our choices, Harry, that shows what we truly are.” Dumbledore - best line!

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Hm. Okay. So I didn’t love that one. I liked it, I did! But it didn’t have the same irresistible charm as Sorcerer’s Stone for me.

I’m being vague but I don’t know if I can specify. Let me try to.

https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...

For one thing, this didn’t have the same mastery of language as the first. It seemed in Sorcerer’s Stone that every word was a careful choice. Here, the phrase “after all” was used three times in one measly paragraph. It wasn’t poorly written by any stretch of the imagination...but it could be a bit sloppy.



Two: not as exciting. The second act plot-line may have been better than the first book’s, but it took forever to get to that point. The first two-thirds or three-quarters of this book dragged for me, really. And I needed some excitement to break up the endless studying and work of finals week!



Three: as I mentioned in my HPSS review, my favorite part of this series is the worldbuilding. Every aspect of this world drips with magic, and it’s so lovely. I’ll never tire of reading about Diagon Alley, or Hogwarts feasts, or Quidditch - and I cannot wait for Hogsmeade! There was a lot less discussion of the world here. God, how I wish there was. Is there more in the other books? It seems there’d have to be in Goblet of Fire, no?

Four: I missed Hermione! I didn’t realize how much of the appeal of this series for me was based on her. At least this book really confirmed my adoration of her. Absolutely one of the best YA characters ever, in my opinion. I missed Neville, too! At least Hermione had a reason for not being there, but where was the lovely Neville this whole time?



Five: In general, this book seemed a bit...stuck. Sorcerer’s Stone has a great variety of characters, and features different classes and aspects of Hogwarts life. This installment gave me cabin fever. The whole thing is limited almost entirely to Harry and Ron. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but...I wanted there to be other people too. Hagrid wasn’t here much, nor Fred and George. Quidditch only happened, what, once? The only class truly described was Lockhart’s, which made me want to bang my head against the wall. In short, I missed everybody. All the new characters introduced here are just unbearable. (Colin, Lucius, Gilderoy...even Dobby at some points. Sorry.)

On the bright side, I don’t think this is anybody’s favorite Harry Potter book. I’m a bit deflated, but overall rather excited to get on with this reread. (Once a few of my finals are done with, though. Shiver.)



Bottom line: every series has its weak points. I’m still thrilled to be doing this reread, and am sure I’ll love the next one!