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A review by emmareadstoomuch
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
2.0
Hm. Okay. So I didn’t love that one. I liked it, I did! But it didn’t have the same irresistible charm as Sorcerer’s Stone for me.
I’m being vague but I don’t know if I can specify. Let me try to.
https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/286/
For one thing, this didn’t have the same mastery of language as the first. It seemed in Sorcerer’s Stone that every word was a careful choice. Here, the phrase “after all” was used three times in one measly paragraph. It wasn’t poorly written by any stretch of the imagination...but it could be a bit sloppy.
Two: not as exciting. The second act plot-line may have been better than the first book’s, but it took forever to get to that point. The first two-thirds or three-quarters of this book dragged for me, really. And I needed some excitement to break up the endless studying and work of finals week!
Three: as I mentioned in my HPSS review, my favorite part of this series is the worldbuilding. Every aspect of this world drips with magic, and it’s so lovely. I’ll never tire of reading about Diagon Alley, or Hogwarts feasts, or Quidditch - and I cannot wait for Hogsmeade! There was a lot less discussion of the world here. God, how I wish there was. Is there more in the other books? It seems there’d have to be in Goblet of Fire, no?
Four: I missed Hermione! I didn’t realize how much of the appeal of this series for me was based on her. At least this book really confirmed my adoration of her. Absolutely one of the best YA characters ever, in my opinion. I missed Neville, too! At least Hermione had a reason for not being there, but where was the lovely Neville this whole time?
Five: In general, this book seemed a bit...stuck. Sorcerer’s Stone has a great variety of characters, and features different classes and aspects of Hogwarts life. This installment gave me cabin fever. The whole thing is limited almost entirely to Harry and Ron. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but...I wanted there to be other people too. Hagrid wasn’t here much, nor Fred and George. Quidditch only happened, what, once? The only class truly described was Lockhart’s, which made me want to bang my head against the wall. In short, I missed everybody. All the new characters introduced here are just unbearable. (Colin, Lucius, Gilderoy...even Dobby at some points. Sorry.)
On the bright side, I don’t think this is anybody’s favorite Harry Potter book. I’m a bit deflated, but overall rather excited to get on with this reread. (Once a few of my finals are done with, though. Shiver.)
Bottom line: every series has its weak points. I’m still thrilled to be doing this reread, and am sure I’ll love the next one!
I’m being vague but I don’t know if I can specify. Let me try to.
https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/286/
For one thing, this didn’t have the same mastery of language as the first. It seemed in Sorcerer’s Stone that every word was a careful choice. Here, the phrase “after all” was used three times in one measly paragraph. It wasn’t poorly written by any stretch of the imagination...but it could be a bit sloppy.
Two: not as exciting. The second act plot-line may have been better than the first book’s, but it took forever to get to that point. The first two-thirds or three-quarters of this book dragged for me, really. And I needed some excitement to break up the endless studying and work of finals week!
Three: as I mentioned in my HPSS review, my favorite part of this series is the worldbuilding. Every aspect of this world drips with magic, and it’s so lovely. I’ll never tire of reading about Diagon Alley, or Hogwarts feasts, or Quidditch - and I cannot wait for Hogsmeade! There was a lot less discussion of the world here. God, how I wish there was. Is there more in the other books? It seems there’d have to be in Goblet of Fire, no?
Four: I missed Hermione! I didn’t realize how much of the appeal of this series for me was based on her. At least this book really confirmed my adoration of her. Absolutely one of the best YA characters ever, in my opinion. I missed Neville, too! At least Hermione had a reason for not being there, but where was the lovely Neville this whole time?
Five: In general, this book seemed a bit...stuck. Sorcerer’s Stone has a great variety of characters, and features different classes and aspects of Hogwarts life. This installment gave me cabin fever. The whole thing is limited almost entirely to Harry and Ron. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but...I wanted there to be other people too. Hagrid wasn’t here much, nor Fred and George. Quidditch only happened, what, once? The only class truly described was Lockhart’s, which made me want to bang my head against the wall. In short, I missed everybody. All the new characters introduced here are just unbearable. (Colin, Lucius, Gilderoy...even Dobby at some points. Sorry.)
On the bright side, I don’t think this is anybody’s favorite Harry Potter book. I’m a bit deflated, but overall rather excited to get on with this reread. (Once a few of my finals are done with, though. Shiver.)
Bottom line: every series has its weak points. I’m still thrilled to be doing this reread, and am sure I’ll love the next one!