HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

I had the opportunity to read the Harry Potter series quite late as compared to a few of my peers. But to think about it, I doubt whether I would have grasped the marvels of the magical world in this masterpiece of a book- series. So don't worry if you're an adult and still haven't read the books. In my opinion, these books are more suitable for adults than kids. Also, just to make it absolutely clear, the review strictly focuses on the books and on J. K. Rowling as an author.

The series consists of 7 books, and we are focusing on the first one, named Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in this blog post. My overall observation for the series as a whole is that the movies overlooked or changed an astonishing amount of details. However, the movie depiction of The Philosopher's Stone is probably the most in synch with the movie.

The book begins with a description of the Dursleys and follows Harry's early life with them. It is no secret that the Dursleys must be held responsible for putting Harry through years of abuse and trauma, the evidence of which is reflected in his life at Hogwarts too.

Despite the horrible treatment though, Harry remains to be the sassiest kid I have ever read about, truly living up to his father's standards.

Harry is secretly so happy to find out that he has been living a lie and a better place awaits him, that he can't help but think it is all a dream. Talk about trauma! Some detailed description on Gringotts, Quidditch, Diagon Alley, etc. follows in the chapters ahead. Unlike in the movies, here's where Harry meets Draco Malfoy for the first time too.

One of my favorite chapters in the book is The Journey to Platform Nine and Three- Quarters solely because of how meeting the Weasleys for the first time makes up for the Dursley's disgusting behavior of abandoning Harry on the platform.

The Weasleys, selfless as always, help Harry onto the platform and into the train and Ron joins Harry in the compartment and teaches Harry all about his family and the little things Harry missed knowing about wizards.

And then, of course, Hermione Granger is introduced and as we see in the movies, she's really brilliant!

The following few chapters describe life at Hogwarts under the leadership of Professor Dumbledore and also introduces certain iconic characters such as Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick. Here is also where the book starts building focus on the Golden Trio, from how they start off by despising each other to becoming friends over the rarest of circumstances. It also shows how Malfoy bullies his peers, especially Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Harry.

Something that I wanted to mention adamantly is how pitiful the depiction of Ron Weasley is in the movies. Lines that show his character was given to others (mostly Hermione). Ron Weasley's character in the books is simply fantastic; someone who stands up for his friends, someone who is actually smart and witty and not just a sidekick, someone who looked after Harry as a brother. I can go on and on about how amazing Ron is, but honestly, give the books a chance and you'll see why!