Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone begins the story of Harry Potter, an orphaned boy put under the protection of his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. He learns there is a world of magic that he is a part of and he begins his magical journey at the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry Potter is well written. Rowling is very good at not only creating a magical world but at providing wonderful details that paint a beautiful picture in my head. In truly trying to understand why this book was able to catch the attention of millions of people worldwide I have come to discover one of the reasons why... at least what I think. Everyone wants to do magic. As Harry, Hermoine and Ron were struggling to levitate a feather in class, I realized that this is what people want. To do magical things.

The characters are wonderfully developed. It doesn't take long before we feel like we are friends with Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Neville, Hagrid, etc. and equally despise the villainous Voldemort, Snape and others.

There are a few things in the book that don't seem to make much sense. It seems that everyone who works at Hogwarts has this perception that it is the safest place in the world. Why then are there so many dangerous things going on? Lets put a super dangerous forest on the school grounds and send children into it as punishment for bad behavior... that sounds like a good idea. Why would someone want to take an immensely powerful artifact, like the Sorcerer's stone, out of the impenetrable bank and bring it to the school whose magic wards seem easily foiled by those who truly want to.

Aside from these criticisms, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is an entertaining book that is well written.