Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Book Synopsis
Ever since Harry Potter had come home for the summer, the Dursleys had been so mean and hideous that all Harry wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature who says that if Harry 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 and a spirit who haunts the girl's bathroom. But then the real troble begins—someone is turning Hogwarts students into stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious pat is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwart most suspects...Harry Potter himself!
Bec's Rating
Bec's Review
It’s Harry’s second year of Hogwarts. He’s a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and a lot happier. But, like the previous year, what should be a safe year at Hogwarts is not so, with Voldemort once again disrupting Harry’s school year. You, as a reader, begin to notice that this is the theme of the books, with each year being something that could possibly be read separately as it builds to a final climax in the last few chapters.
I personally loved Chamber of Secrets. Not only is the writing that little bit more advanced than Philosopher’s stone, but during this book you get to delve into the origins of Voldemort in a way, and begin the process of wondering how a young boy who appears quite charismatic chose to become the face of all evil and power in the wizarding world.
I really loved the theme of this book. Despite finding a place where he felt accepted, this acceptance is put at risk in this book, due to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, and the suspicion cast onto Harry. This notion of struggling for acceptance is one that, as a young teenager myself when first reading the books, I could easily relate to. I think that is part of what makes these books so great is that, despite being set in a fictional fantasy world, many of the issues Harry deals with are issues felt by many of those growing up in the Muggle world.
Once again, as a reader, especially if you have read these books before, keep an eye out for foreshadowing. A major plot point from the final books makes its first appearance in this book, a fact which has me in awe of Jo’s foreshadowing, and made me realise just how well planned her novels must have been from the start.
Disclaimer: May not be appropriate for very young children due to violence.
