Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone  

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list. This is book one in a seven part series. This is a series that I have read multiple times over the years since it was originally released, and it has withstood the test of time. 

Is there a series that you can read over and over again? Tell me about it! 

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Have you read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

About Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 

Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter ‘H’.

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

Having become classics of our time, the Harry Potter books never fail to bring comfort and escapism. With their message of hope, belonging and the enduring power of truth and love, the story of the Boy Who Lived continues to delight generations of new readers. 

Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 

It’s October 2001. I’m a new freshman at Southern Oregon University, and a bunch of my friends are buzzing about a new movie that’s coming out soon. It’s a movie about a boy who learns he has magical powers and is taken to a far away school where he can learn more about his new abilities. 

Their description of the movie didn’t particularly interest me at the time, so I put this new movie out of my mind. However, my university had also just formed a book club where anyone who was interested could get a free copy of the book. All my friends joined in, and, not wanting to be left out, I signed up too. I soon became the owner of a brand new copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

It goes without saying that I read through my copy in a matter of hours. Yes, it’s a short book, the shortest of all of the Harry Potter series, but I was captivated by the magical world that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone revealed. And once I was finished, there was the aforementioned movie to look forward to (which I absolutely loved).

The description that my friends gave to me doesn’t do the story justice by a long shot, and I wasn’t prepared for that. It’s not just a story of good versus evil with magical powers and strange creatures thrown in. I’ve seen that kind of story dozens of times before. Good versus evil is certainly present, and at times it is thrust to the center of the narrative, but that’s only part of what the Harry Potter series is about.

At its core, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is about friendship, bravery, and learning how to face your problems head-on, even when you’d rather not. As Albus Dumbledore says at one point, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”

And Harry Potter has no lack of friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Almost immediately, he befriends two fellow students: Ron Weasley, the youngest son of a proud wizarding family who is desperate to stand out among his five older brothers. And there’s also Hermione Granger, a brilliant girl who was born to non-magical parents (called Muggles in this series). And there’s the lovable oaf Hagrid, who introduces Harry to the previously unknown magical world, and is always a source of advice and kindness whenever Harry is feeling down.

The enormous cast of characters is at times hard to keep track of, but as the narrative of the story is almost exclusively told from Harry’s point of view, that helps keep things manageable.

The book certainly is not flawless. At times, J.K. Rowling’s writing sounds like a poor imitation of Roald Dahl’s style; it took a little while before Rowling found her own unique voice. And there are some plot points that are resolved too conveniently, even for a world where magical events are commonplace.

Nevertheless, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a wonderful first entry into the world of magic, and there are six more books to go!

Final Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 

The Harry Potter series has been a staple of teen fiction for decades now. Its impact on our world is incalculable, and the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends are sure to entertain people for many more decades to come.

Discussion 

Have you read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone or any other writing from author J.K. Rowling? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

About the Author 

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels for adults and children, and a bestselling crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been translated into 85 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers.

Alongside the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of her international children’s charity, Lumos. The companion books and original series are all available as audiobooks.

In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London, and is now thrilling audiences on four continents. The script book was published to mark the plays opening in 2016 and instantly topped the bestseller lists.

In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Inspired by the original companion volume, it was the first in a series of new adventures featuring wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018 and the third, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released in 2022.

The screenplays were published to coincide with each film’s release: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – The Original Screenplay (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – The Original Screenplay (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – The Complete Screenplay (2022).

J.K. Rowling’s fairy tale for younger children, The Ickabog, was serialised for free online for children during the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and is now published as a book illustrated by children, with her royalties going to her charitable trust, Volant, to benefit charities helping alleviate social deprivation and assist vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.

Her latest children’s novel The Christmas Pig, published in 2021, is a standalone adventure story about a boy’s love for his most treasured thing and how far he will go to find it.

J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. The first of these, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published to critical acclaim in 2013, at first without its author’s true identity being known. The Silkworm followed in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. The series has also been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO.

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.

As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling has received many other awards and honors, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Award.

J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children’s charity fighting for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.

Purchasing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 

If you are interested in buying the hardcover version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, click here.

For the paperback version, click here.

Click here for the Kindle version.

Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

More From J.K. Rowling

Did you enjoy my review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? Need another great book in this series? Here they are!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Happy Potter and the Half Blood Price

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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