Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is awesome. This time Harry is blamed for turning kids into statues as if they were frozen. Why? Because he was at the crime scene when everybody saw it. Even a ghost got turned into a statue. I love how the author builds suspense and has a good begining, a good middle and a good ending. Hogwarts was going to be shut down if the attacks didn't stop. And my favorite part is when harry and another friend got a hundred points each for Gryffendor and when Harry's friend is unfrozen and all is saved. But the part I think is most cool is that Gryffendor wins the house cup two years running. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and aren't afraid of snakes.~malady

Always love the Harry Potter series. My gift is the beginning of my young friend's experience at HEARING it read by the amazing Mr. Dale. In my view, the books came to life in a much different way from reading it myself. A wonderful experience, that I'm glad to share. I believe that the item was received on time for her to open it during the holiday break. thanks
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Harry Potter is finally returning to Hogwarts after a long summer at home. But in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets it seems that his second year will have more danger than his first. To start he arrives at Hogwarts in a flying car that crashes into a tree and he and Ron are nearly killed. Things will not end there for this daring wizard. This time at school he will find and try to end the evil that lurks in the halls of Hogwarts.
As more terrible events occur in Harry's world, he dives into each one. To the voices he hears in the halls, a late night adventure to the forest, and concocting a potion Harry, Ron, and Hermione come across the most adventure and jeopardy. Most importantly the chamber has been opened. But what is this secret that the school holds? They must find out. Always willing to take on the task these three create intriguing stories wherever they go. Despite that most of the intense action takes place on the final pages, one will want to read this sequel.

I received this very quickly and I am very satisfied with the quality of it. Happy overall!!

Harry and company are back for seconds--a second year at Hogwarts--and Rowling ratchets up the the mystery and action in this worthy followup.

Having firmly established the characters in the first year (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)) of Hogwarts, Rowling plays off of them nicely. We get to meet the Weasley family at home and bask in their normalcy and loving relationships, and we find Harry Potter, hated at home but famous in wizardry, deflated in both settings with gentle good humor.

Not so gentle is the story this time out. Rowling wisely credits her readers with the intelligence to remember and understand the fictional framework of the Hogwart's school calendar and characters so that she is able to use her storytelling time and talents to expand on the mystery and adventure. She scatters enough clues to keep the reader guessing correctly, but also places enough red herrings to keep the reader from solving correctly the secret of the chamber. The climactic confrontation and resolution kept me riveted and reading straight through the last 50 pages, which says much about Rowling's skillfulness at handling her story that she kept a reader much older and presumably more jaded than her intended audience so well entranced.

In this second book, it becomes clear why Harry Potter has become such a cultural force, even before the movies and all their tie-iin merchandise became such a major advertising franchise. At the center is a great story--that leaves me looking forward to where year 3 will take us. I expect (given the presence and continued success of years 4 and beyond) that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) will not disappoint.