Book Review – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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

Genre: fantasy fiction, adventure

Hello my friends! Welcome back to my blog. Today I am sharing to you my thoughts about a book from one of my favorite series. As you can see from the title of this blog post, I am revisiting Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets because it has been a while since I read this. Like my review on the first book in this series; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I want to see what the older me thinks of this childhood favorite of mine. Before I talk more about what I think about this, here is a bit of what the second book is about.

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 Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls’ bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, 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? (Goodreads)

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 Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls’ bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, 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? (Goodreads)

The first thing I noticed with myself is that I imagined the actors from the movie version while reading this. Seriously, every single scene, except of course all the scenes they didn’t include. I felt really excited reading this book again, the same feeling I got when I first read this and the bonus part, it is the same copy. (Dearest Ai-chan, thank you for letting me borrow your book for almost…10 years??????) I now remember why I adore Molly and Arthur Weasley. I love how close their family is, something I personally didn’t experience. Aside from the warm and fluffy feelings I felt, I get to enjoy the chapter or parts of the story that I truly enjoy, like the deathday party for Nearly Headless Nick and remembering my first reaction when I thought that Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets!

As for the story, for me it flowed naturally up to the point when the attacks began. Although, the first half of the book felt a bit boring for me, except The Burrow, I like that chapter. And oh my…how I dislike Gilderoy Lockhart. I can’t count how many times I rolled my eyes because of him, and for that I salute Rowling, she made an annoying character and Lockhart indeed managed to annoy me.

Well, that is it for now! I can’t wait to read the next book but it’ll have to wait. Anyway, thank you for reading! What do you think of this book? Let me know in the comments below.

Enjoy your Sunday and as always, I’ll talk to you on my next blog!