"HARRY POTTER has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursley's, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years."But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter."
I will admit that I tried reading this book when it first came out more than a decade ago. All of my friends were totally enthralled by it.
I hated it.
I know, I know...what person hates Harry Potter?!? I couldn't get through the first chapter. I don't know if it was the writing or the fact that I was only really reading it because all of my friends loved it, but I absolutely could not get through the first chapter. Now, more than a decade later, I was assigned this book as one of my readings for my Children's Literature class. Needless to say, my reaction was not a very happy one. Luckily this was one of the last ones that I had to read for the semester. I finished all of the other ones way ahead of schedule so I could give myself a few weeks to drag my butt through this book. I was finally forced to pick up this book last week...and I obviously finished it MUCH sooner than I had to.
This time around, I really, really liked it!!!
Just because I didn't read the book doesn't mean I hated the movies. I really enjoyed them (though I was never one of the people buying advanced tickets, dressing up, and going to the midnight show--nothing wrong with people who did this, but it's not my cup of tea for Harry Potter). My aunt and I once spent an entire day watching all of the movies in a row. Back to my review: I think the reason I really liked this book was because I had the movie playing in the back of my mind. If nothing, it really added to my enjoyment of the story. Of course, there were several differences between the book and the movies--which you'll know only when you are able to compare them--but they didn't detract at all from my enjoyment. It was so great to be able to put faces to the names and I can really see how well the movies captured Rowling's work. I enjoyed the characters and the creativity. Now I can really appreciate the author's talent for storytelling.
I actually recommend this book. Even if you didn't like it as a kid; give it another chance because you just might be surprised. Don't be afraid to watch the movies too :) I fully intend on watching the first movie again and reading the other books in conjunction with re-watching the movies. My aunt says I'll become a complete dork because of my newfound enjoyment.
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