Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first book in an eight-novel fantasy series written by J.K. Rowling.
Harry Potter is just an average ten-year-old boy; he’s short, lanky, and has dark hair that grows all over the place. He never truly liked his appearance-- that is, except for a thin, mysterious scar on his forehead, shaped like a lightning-bolt. He never knew where he got the mark, but his aunt and uncle told him that he got it in the same car crash that his parents died in when he was little. Everything Harry thought he knew changed on his eleventh birthday, when he received a letter from Hogwarts, a magical school of witchcraft and wizardry, and learned the true story of his past. He learned how he really got the scar, how his parents really died, and who he really was. At the school, he befriends two young students named Hermione and Ron, and together, the trio uncover some of the school’s darkest secrets.
The author set Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at the home of Harry’s aunt, uncle, and cousin and at Hogwarts. She uses plenty of imagery and symbolism in the novel, allowing the reader to delve deeper into the plot and feel the same emotions that the characters feel, even in the third-person point of view that the story is set in. Rowling managed to pull off the difficult task of making a light-hearted story with much darker undertones.
One of the parts that I enjoyed most about the book was when Harry and his friends had to take exams late in the year. By including these details, the author was able to connect to the hearts of every person that is or has ever been in school. I had a great time reading the book, and I think that the magic, spells, detailed plot, and powerful writing can pull in any reader. I believe that Rowling achieved her purpose of showing that it’s okay to be different from the people around you.
Overall, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was a great novel to read, not to mention a nostalgic one, and I would definitely consider reading it again. I finished the book thinking about how truly different we all are, and that we should never judge a person that we just met. I would like any and all possible readers to know that reading this novel, and maybe even the rest of its series, will not be a regretted decision. I hope that everyone will feel the same way that I felt after reading this book.