Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is the second Harry Potter book. In the beginning of the book Harry is at the Dursleys' house. He is sitting in his room when an elf named Dobby comes and tells him a warning. The warning is to not go back to Hogwarts because something bad would happen. That night when Harry is asleep Ron (Harry's friend from Hogwarts) shows up in a flying car to take him to his house and then to Hogwarts.
In the middle of the book when they are at Hogwarts there are a lot of weird things happening. One weird thing that happens is Argus Filch's cat Mrs. Norris is hanging a wall in a hallway petrified. There is writing on the wall talking about "The Chamber of Secrets." Argus immediately thinks that Harry did this to his cat. Professor Snape, who Harry thought would also blame him for the cat, said "Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time." This shocked Harry and since there was no proof of Harry doing this to Mrs. Norris, he doesn't get in trouble.
There are many more things that happen in the middle of the book too. One thing is Harry loses his bone in his arm and has to stay with the nurse to grow it back. Harry, Ron, and Hermione find a spirit in the girl's bathroom named Myrtle. She is always crying. A lot of the middle of the book is Harry and his friends finding information out about the chamber of secrets. They are also trying to find out where the chamber of secrets is.
At the end of the story a lot of cool things happen. They find out where the chamber of secrets is. Harry, Ron, and a professor (to not give it away) go in and find a bunch of tunnels. Ron and the professor get separated from Harry by rocks but Harry goes ahead. Later while they're still in the chamber, Harry has to fight a huge monster, if you want to find out how it ends you can read it yourself.
The main characters in this book are, Harry Potter, he is a brave young boy who the book is about. There is also Ron Weasley, he is a little brave and a little bit of a coward, and he is a true friend of Harry's. Hagrid is a big hairy man who is a friend of Harry's. Hermione is a friend of Harry's, she is also very smart. One more main character is Dobby, he is an elf who is always afraid, and he is also a slave to the Malfoy's.
This story takes place in the Dursleys' house, Hogwarts, and in the chamber of secrets. This story is also a modern day story. The book is not just one genre, it is a couple. One thing it is is an action book. The book also has some drama in it.
The author of the Harry Potter series is J.K. Rowling. She has put in some really good things in the Harry Potter books. One thing she does is she uses humor a lot. Another thing she does is makes her books realistic. J.K. Rowling also makes the reader always want to know more with the way she ends her books.
There is not just one problem in this book, there is a couple. One thing is people keep getting petrified because of something they see but nobody knows what it is. Another problem in the book is Harry can't find the chamber of secrets. He spends a lot of the book trying to find it. These are the two biggest problems in the book.
If you like action books then you would probably like this book. I would also recommend this book to people who like mysteries. People who like action and mystery would like this book because there are a lot of action packed things in this book that you have to think about to understand. People who like drama might like this book too because there are some sad things that happen that make you want to keep reading to see how they get resolved. So if you like action, mystery, or drama then this book is for you.
I thought this was a good book. I like the fact that it grabs your mind and makes you want to keep reading. I usually don't like to read that often unless I'm reading a magazine but this was a good book to read. I thought that this book was fun to read mostly because I read the first book and I wanted to know what happened next. That is what I thought of the book.
In conclusion this book was great. It really gets you hooked and makes you want to read. I really liked this book because there is a lot of action I also liked this book because it is a mystery and it is fun to try and figure out what will happen next before the book actually tells you. That is what I think of the book "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."


Rating:
Summary: A Magical Review!
Review: Another good book in this series. Character development of the three primary characters is well done. The plot also develops the surrounding cast, introduces new characters, and extends out knowledge of the Hogwarts Castle. The end of the book races to its conclusion, really moving you on a quick journey. Despite this speed, the ending is very well done and extremely well thought out.

Rating:
Summary: The fun of the first, with more magical mystery
Review: First, I absolutely reccomend that you read the first book (even if you've seen the movie) before reading this 2nd installment to fully appreciate and enjoy the work. Although "Chamber of Secrets" does stand on its own and contains all the basic info in case you didnt read "Sorceror's Stone", the first book does such a wonderful job of setting up the exposition and world of Hogwarts so that you are already excited as Harry is to see Ron again when they reunite in this story.

Although "Sorceror's Stone" does capture all the wonder and discovery, I did find this book to have a bit more excitement and mystery which was needed to progress the adventure in this fun series. The first few chapters each end with great "cliff-hanging" page-turning suspense and the wild excitement happens even before Harry reaches Hogwarts for his second year.

There is a few new characters introduced such as ego-maniac Prof.Gilderoy (the new defense against the dark arts instructor), and Ginny (Ron's younger sister), along with a few new ghosts roaming the halls (or stalls) and monsters of the forbidden forest. There's also a few new tricks and magical discoveries without negating what we've already learned during our Freshman year.

I do worry that parts of this story may be too intense for younger readers. Some of the final scenes involve abstract psychosis and even death. By the end, most of the hero's are restored, but some parents might find it still disturbing and use caution.(just read it yourself beforehand and use your judgement. It might even lend to good discussion with your child)

I did find the plot twists and final confrontation exciting and caught myself off-guard with surprises ("I can't believe I didnt pay much attention when that happened in the bookshop!"), especially because the reader is usually caught in the daily life, humor, and mischief of life at Hogwarts School.

As an adult, I have the guilty pleasure of finding great fun and escapism in these books. I think J.K.Rowling has done another wonderful job capturing the anxieties and friendships of a childhood and presenting them in the magical way we wished we had them.

Rating:
Summary: Keeps getting better!
Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the Harry Potter saga, and is better than the first! This time, the story starts as Harry commits a crime in the Dursleys' house bad enough that they bar his windows, lock the door, throw the key away, install a flap on the floor so Aunt Petunia can give Harry "meals", and bathroom breaks only once in the morning and evening. Where's child welfare! Thankfully, his friend Ron rescues him, and invites him over to his house. Then starts another glorious, Dursley-free year at Hogwarts.

The story obviously revolves around a Chamber of Secrets, which was built by Salazar Slytherin, in which contains horrors that will be unlocked by his heir. Who is that heir, and those it connect with the recent attacks on Hogwarts students?

Since the previous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is gone, the overly conceited, (overly is an understatement) thick-as-a-rock, celebrity teacher Gilderoy Lockhart comes. He's a hilarious teacher who's completely wrapped up within himself. Chamber of Secrets is a fantastic book, and somehow manages to surpass the original. Go read it, NOW!

Rating:
Summary: one of my favorite series!!
Review: It's Harry's second year at Hogwarts. While he is at the Dursley's house for the summer, a little elf named Dobby comes to see him. Dobby tells Harry he should not go to Hogwarts this year because something bad will happen. The Dursley's lock Harry in his room because they think he used his magic to interrupt their dinner with some friends. He escapes with Ron and the Weasley twins and stays with their family for the rest of the summer. When the time comes for them to go back to Hogwarts, Ron and Harry can't get through the barrier into Platform 9 and 3/4ths. They decide to use Ron's dad's flying car to follow the train to Hogwarts. When they get there, they get detention for landing in the Womping Willow tree. Since detention, Harry keeps hearing someone whispering about the Chamber of Secrets and Ron's sister, Ginny, goes missing. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to fight their fears to stop this and save Ginny, including fighting off Ron's fear of spiders, and using a potion to turn into their enemy, Draco Malfoy's friends. To find out what happens read the book!! It is really exciting!

Rating:
Summary: HARRY POTTER RULES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: J.K. Rowling has done a better job on Book 2 than book 1. The plot is better, the story's better. It's all good. Read this book.

There's a lot of great folklore in this book. For example, the mandrake root, the hand of glory, and a basilisk. And it's all worked into a good story.

Rating:
Summary: JK ROWLINGS STRIKES AGAIN
Review: Like so many adults, I shifted myself away from reading the Harry Potter series simply because it had been placed in the 'Childrens' category. I certainly missed out on plenty. The only GOOD thing about waiting so long before attempting to read the series is that unlike many who began reading about Harry's exploits several years ago, I was fortunate that 5 of the novels are already written and I get to breeze through as fast as I can read them.

In every way year 2 at Hogwarts is better than the first, which is saying a lot since I found the first book to be wonderful. Harry as usual cannot wait to be rid of the Muggle world in which he has been trapped in for most of his life, and especially when he has to deal with the Dursley's on a day-to-day basis. Before we know it, Harry is visited by Dobby the House Elf, for reasons unknown. Dobby refuses to reveal this information -- however he does slip certain details which forces him to punish himself, and in so doing, setting Harry up to be punished by Uncle Vernon. After a narrow escape in the Weasley's flying Ford, Harry settles in for the remaining time before school begins with Ron's family living the ultimate Wizard lifestyle -- at least to Harry. Before much else can transpire, it's back to the Hogwarts Express at track Nine and Three-Quarters...only Ron and Harry discover the passageway blocked for some odd reason. Not thinking things through enough, they use the flying Ford to catch up with the train, and it all ends in the Whomping Willow, to which Ron & Harry narrowly escape, and Ron's wand is broken...a detail which factors into the storyline later on.

Odd things are happening at Hogwarts this year. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher is none other than one of the most famous Wizards alive, Gilderoy Lockhart. He is basically nothing more than a glorified know-it-all with an insatiable appetite for publicity, who despite having published many works on his incredible encounters with danger, knows virtually nothing about the Dark Arts, nor it would seem on how to be an ordinary Wizard at all. Draco Malfoy is up to his usual bag of annoying tricks, no surprise there. But before we catch our breath, the writing on the wall becomes apparent...literally. Someone is getting ready to open the fabled Chamber of Secrets. All of the teachers, from Dumbledore on down attempt to calm the students by assuring them the Chamber, if its real, poses no threat to anyone...but before long, people begin having terrible accidents.

To make a long story short, I found the rich detail about how the Chamber came into being, the Secret Diary of Tom Riddle and the creature locked within the bowels of Hogwarts to be quite satisfying. If you found the movie entertaining, do yourself a HUGE favor and check out the book because like virtually any novel turned into a movie, so much is left out that the journey along the way is sometimes spoiled. Plus, according to Ms. Rowling herself, Harry's 2nd Year at Hogwarts is so very connected to events which will happen later that if you do NOT read it, you are truly cheating yourself. Can you pick up on the clues she left behind? To be honest, I'm still searching for them, but I'm sure they will become more and more obvious as the series progresses. Kudos to Ms. Rowling and a series which has turned out to be not just a big deal, but an incredible phenomenon which will no doubt last through the generations. Storytelling as it SHOULD be.

Rating:
Summary: Oh how fun! What an adventure!
Review: Year two at Hogwarts has a rough start for Harry, who misses his train and has to make his own way to Hogwarts, breaking every rule in the book along the way. He's in a lot of trouble, yet he still manages to hold his head high and trudge along through school.

Draco doesn't let up as he taunts Harry and tries to cause even more trouble for our hero. We are introduced to new characters that we'll see later in the series. While we don't learn much about Harry's past in this sequel, we learn much more about Hogwarts, the teachers, and the students.

If the HP series were a journey "Chamber of Secrets" would be the bridge from "Sorcerer's Stone" to "Prisoner of Azkaban" where we learn much more about the hows and whys.

It's truly a thrill to read.