Jim's Books

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

J K Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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ISBN: 9780747562184

Description

Harry Potter is a wizard. He is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last. The three firm friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione, are soon immersed in the daily round of Potions, Herbology, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Quidditch. But then horrible and mysterious things begin to happen. Harry keeps hearing strange voices, sinister and dark messages appear on the wall, and then Ron's sister Ginny disappears.

Reviewed on 11th November 2012

The second book in J K Rowling's much loved epic fantasy series for children has always been one of my least favourite instalments - one that on each re-read of the series I've thought 'Oh no, this one again'. This time however, I didn't see what had put me off it before - it's a neat and well constructed story that sows a lot of seeds for later in the series, but perhaps because it's the first time I've re-read it since Deathly Hallows was published it is only now that I can appreciate that.

It's Harry's second year at Hogwarts, despite the many efforts of Dobby the house elf to put him off, and a mysterious horror has been unleashed in the castle - the monster that lives in the Chamber of Secrets.

The plot is strong, and although on first reading it may seem an aside to the main storyline of the series, it sets up a number of key elements. The character of Ginny actually comes across much more strongly than I had remembered, and the number of clues in the mystery that the students are investigating surprised me.

I've enjoyed re-visiting this episode in the Harry Potter saga, and have re-examined my opinion of it and found it needs to be considered in higher regard. It's a great book and shows off some of the variety that Rowling was able to put into this series. I hope that Prisoner of Azkaban will also feel improved when I read it again.

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