Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

ISBN: 9780439064873
Release Date: July 2, 1998
Series: Harry Potter #2
Page Count: 341 pages

     GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.
And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girl's bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.
But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble beings, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects...Harry Potter himself.

     REVIEW:
WHAT I LIKED:

• It's another magical installment to a wonderful series. We learn more about the world through Rowling's world-building skills which are nearly unmatched, in my opinion.
• We learn deeper lessons in all of the books, but Dumbledore's little lessons and encouragement come often in this novel. We learn a lot about honor and loyalty and most of all, love.
• This story was so multi-faceted in ways that truly hooked me. The main story line about the heir of Slytherin was the focus, but we also cared about Percy and his girlfriend, Ginny and her seeming illness, Sir Nicholas and his dreadful death day. And they all come together in a spectacular climax that leaves us rushing out to pick up the next book, to come back to Hogwarts with Harry as soon as possible.
• Less holes in this one. Still some, which I'll mention below, but the first book had some things missing that kind of bugged me, and this book was mostly solid. Rowling's second novel was stronger and better and they only get even more so as the series goes on.

WHAT I DIDNT LIKE:

• There were only a few inconsistencies in the novel, nothing that really irked me like last time. One of the very few things that annoyed me, for example, was a problem I had with the Expelliarmus spell. I understand it, dont get me wrong, but at times the spell knocks a person back, and at times it only sends flying something they had in their hand. I'm sure its only because the spell-caster aimed at the person one time and the object another but for a first time reader, understanding the spell, which becomes very important later in the books (since Harry and his friends are innocents and are loathe to use any more damaging spells on their enemies), becomes difficult because how are you supposed to know that it is a "disarming" spell if it sends your opponent crashing across the room every other time you use it? Okay, I'm sorry, I know this isnt important, but I guess this is what happens when you examine an almost flawless book that you've read a bajillion times.

     RATING: ★★★★ 1/2    (4.5 stars)
I loved this book. I guess its going to get old if I keep saying that about Harry Potter books. I did kind of find myself dragging through some of it, not much though, just kind of like, OK, here we are six months later and we still have no clue who the heir is, and you still think its Harry?, type of thing. The stories are so magical and multi-faceted and I loved every little bitty detail, down to wondering which classes Harry and his friends would choose for their next term at Hogwarts. Super excited to read the next book, The Prisoner of Azkaban, which is probably my favorite out of the seven, because as my fellow blogger, Elizabeth, said in one of our Harry Potter discussions, it basically sets the tone for the rest of the series.

What did you all think when you read this book, back in the day, or recently? Loved it? More or less than the first one? Cant wait to hear from you!

A.