Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: Review by Chloe M.

In the world of Harry Potter, nothing is really as it seems.

The story of Harry Potter starts out when Harry is ten years old, and living with his uncle Vernon Dursley, his aunt Petunia Dursley, and his cousin Dudley Dursley, who is Harry's age. Harry's room is a cupboard under the stairs, and is no bigger than a closet. The Dursleys try to ignore the fact that Harry even lives with him, and when he is around they make him as miserable as possible. Harry is absolutely miserable, and he wishes that he could be whisked away by someone and never have to live with the Dursleys again.

Over his life, Harry has been through some very strange incidents. There was one time when he was running away from Dudley and his gang (Dudley is Harry's worst enemy and the biggest bully) at school and somehow he ended up on the school roof! There was also another time when he changed his teachers wig blue. And his most recent event was when he was at the zoo with the Dursleys and in a reptile house, the glass wall between a giant snake and the rest of the zoo customers vanished, and the snake escaped! All of his strange doings, however, had resulted in a harsh punishment in his cupboard. Harry doesn't know much about his life, except for the fact that his parents were killed in a car accident and he had survived, with only a scar on his forehead when he was a baby. Harry's aunt Petunia loathes Harry and especially her no good sister who is Harry's dead mother.

One ordinary morning, over the summer holidays, Harry is forced to get the mail. On one letter it says "To Mr. H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, Four Privet Drive...". Harry couldn't believe his eyes! Someone had actually written a letter to him! He had no friends, relatives, or belonged to and secret clubs, so why should he be getting a letter? He showed the letter to Uncle Vernon, who turned purple, and gasped. Over the next few days, Harry received more and more letters, all of which Uncle Vernon destroyed. Harry desperately wanted to see the letter, but he never got to. Eventually, Uncle Vernon told the family to pack their possessions, hop in the car, and then he took them to a little miserable shack in the sea, and that was where they stayed for a night, and then Harry turned 11. Then a giant busted open the door, and to summarize it quickly, the giant was called Hagrid, who was the gamekeeper at Hogwarts and he told Harry that he was a wizard, gave Dudley a pigs' tail, and said that Harry was accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and also that Harry's parents had not died in a car crash, but they were murdered by the most fearful Wizard in the world, Lord Voldemort (but people call him you-know-who because they are terrified.) Also, Hagrid told Harry that on the night his parents were murdered, Harry, who was only a baby, made Voldemort lose everything.

Then Hagrid took Harry away to a Wizard store, where he got all his supplies, such as a wand, school books, etc. After about a month Harry goes to Hogwarts, where he meet his two best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. There are four Hogwarts houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. After the first year students (the students who's first year it is at Hogwarts) arrive at school, they put a hat on their head and it tells them which house they will live in for the rest of their seven years at Hogwarts. Harry is placed in Gryffindor, along with Ron and Hermione. Harry quickly gets used to Hogwarts and excels at his classes, all except for potions, in which there is a teacher named Professor Snape who seems to hate Harry the moment he lays his eye on him.

Harry goes through many adventures throughout his year at Hogwarts, and you'll have to read the book to find out what happens next. There is so much in this book that I can't possibly explain it all, and it is now my favorite book. I would recommend this book to anyone, and it is a really great book that I think everyone should read.