By J. K. Rowling.
- Plot Summary (No Spoilers)
- In the first of seven books, young orphan Harry Potter first learns he is a wizard when he is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a letter delivered by owl. His aunt and uncle, with whom he lives, are entirely practical people who don’t want to be associated with such things, and go to great lengths to attempt to keep him from the school. They fail, however, and Harry, in the custody of groundskeeper Hagrid, is soon on his way to buy magical supplies and head to school. Harry soon begins to learn about the death of his parents, his mysterious lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, tensions in the magical world, and the return of the evil Voldemort.
- Type of Book
- Fantasy, magic, school
- Age/Gender of Protagonist
- Harry is male and is 11
- Sex
- None.
- Language
- None.
- Violence
- There are some magical scuffles. Students use wands to cast spells for fighting. There is a fight between the villain at the end that is more injurious, but nothing very intense or gory.
- Religion
- Religion is not mentioned.
- Members of conservative religions may not want their children to read books about children who are secretly witches and wizards.
- Politics
- None
- Theme/Other Topics
- Parents’ love, belonging, finding your true self, resisting evil, friendship
- Review
- I was raised in a conservative Christian household, and when I first started reading Harry Potter I knew it was taboo in my circle and hid the books. I laugh about it now but there has been a lot of controversy, and for conservative Christians who are warned against witches and witchcraft this might be a hard sell. But I loved the series. This book eases into it; the later books are not only several times longer, but also much darker. However, I think the series overall stays true and is a wonderful story. In this book, you are first introduced to the wizarding world and many characters who will recur and grow throughout the seven years of the series. Of course, you come out of the gate rooting for Harry.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
