Title: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone
Series: Harry Potter (#1)
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Mystery…
Number of Pages: 309 pages
Price: 1 Credit/$20.99 (Audible)

Rating:

I can’t even believe that I can finally say that I’ve read Harry Potter. (At least, the first novel.) I know, it’s been a long time coming. I’ve had so many people confront me about not having read the series. But, I feel I had somewhat of a valid reason…? I had made many attempts to get through this first book. One of the hardest parts of me to get past was that it was very kid-ish. I could definitely see my twelve year old nephew reading this book and loving it.

I mentioned this concern to good friend of mine and she too had a similar experience. The book is certainly kid focused. (After all, the main characters are children.) However, she then raved about the audio version of the series. I quickly purchased a copy of Jim Dale’s reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone. And man, oh man, she was not kidding. He made the novel an experience. He animates each characters voice and truly captivated my interest. With that being said, I don’t know if I would have been able to get through the book.

Let’s talk about the character’s a little. So, I have watched all the movies in the Harry Potter series. I loved them all. However, I quickly noticed that the personalities in the book, (at least in the first novel), to me seem different. Harry Potter is very whiny and at some times, bossy. I was actually surprised at how many times he snapped at his fellow class mate, Hermione Granger. Harry is probably my least favorite character in the novel. At the same time, Harry’s personality is likely to be the cause of his difficult upbringing with the Dursley Family. He has almost adopted some of Dudley’s annoying behavior. Then there is Ron. Ronald Weasley is by far my favorite character in the book. He seemed mildly heroic, besides his unsettled nature around Hermione.

As many of us know, J.K. Rowling has created a magnificent world. This is the true reason I have this novel four stars. Rowling provided reads with extreme insight into the wizarding world. I want to visit it!

A lot of little scenes happen within the book, creating a better understanding into Harry Potter’s life. However, I felt there wasn’t as much action as I would have thought there would have been. I feel the climax of the novel began and finished much towards the end of the novel.

In conclusion, I’d say if you haven’t read Harry Potter… hop on the bandwagon. I highly, highly recommend picking up the audio version of the book.

xx Samantha