Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book #2)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets seems to be the least favorite book of many HP fans. However, for many years The Chamber of Secrets was my second favorite book (this was before I read Deathly Hallows and followed my other favorite The Goblet of Fire). There's just something about it that's

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so captivating, a bit moreso than The Sorcerer's Stone.

I think my love for The Chamber of Secrets stems from the fact that this is the first time we get an in-depth introduction to the elder Weasleys. In fact, I think the chapter where Harry goes to the Burrow might be my FAVORITE chapter out of all seven books (or at least my favorite "fluffy" chapter). Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are just really great characters and so my love for that chapter knows no bounds.

Of course, The Chamber of Secrets also holds my LEAST favorite chapter out of all seven books: Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party (I can totally see why it was excluded from the movie). It's just such a boring chapter. I do like St. Nicholas, but mostly in small increments. Devoting a whole chapter to him, though, is not my idea of fun.

I also loved the whole rivalry between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slythering. I found it fascinating how Slytherin only wanted "pure" bloods in the school and didn't want any Muggle-borns in (there has to be some allegorical meaning behind THAT). Plus, I remember reading the line "The Chamber of Secrets has now been opened. Enemies of the heir, BEWARE" and literally getting chills on my arm (I'm a bit weird that way).

Oh and let's not forget the inclusion of two very lovable characters: Dobby and Gilderoy Lockheart. There's no need to go in to why Dobby is loveable (he's sweet, loyal, and he's so easy to sympathize with), but Lockheart needs a teeny bit of explaining. He's hilarious. That's it. That's the only reason why I love him. Sure he has a big head and thinks he's God's gift to the wizarding world, but again, he just has such fantastic one-liners ("celebrity is as celebrity does" and my personal favorite "It's like magic!").

So, yes, I love Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It's always one of the books out of the series that I look most forward to reading. But, let's face it, I look forward to reading ALL of the Harry Potter series.

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Chamber of Secrets is one of my favorites in the series. Rowling combines adventure and fantasy with humor and good storytelling to create a really enjoyable read. And, despite its slightly dark tone, it's much more lighthearted than 5 and 7.

Again, J. K. Rowling brings to life the wizarding world. Her writing matures to fit Harrys age here, and this is a plesant change.

Once again Harry is trying to find his place in life, after meeting the one that has caused so much pain and suspecion at the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's

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Stone.

Ron and Hermione mature right along with Harry, and we find the three-some unraveling another mystery. This time, the person caught in the middle is a loved one!

The end wraps up the storyline well, still leaving the reader waiting for the next book.

I'll give this 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. The writing is still a bit young, the book still a slow read. However, there is a promise that Rowling might just be writing the books to reflect Harry's age. If so it will by lovely to watch this story evolve. I say, "have faith, keep reading."

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I enjoyed all the Harry Potter books. I chose to add this book to my library because it has what I think is the most significant quote in the series. Dumbledore says to Harry,

"It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities."

I hope someday to write one sentence with that

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much truth.

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It had to be five stars...because how else can you rate a book (or the whole series) when you can't seem to stop reading, from the moment the book starts until the last page...After finishing (in one sitting) the first book in the Harry Potter series, I ran out to buy number two, which I also read

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as quick as possible. The characters that I came to know & like in the first book were all there (Harry, Hagrid, Hermione & Ron), the humour was there, & of course the mystery was there...culminating in an interesting & unexpected ending. If I absolutely HAD to look for a flaw in book number two, the only thing I'd say is that it's not that different from book 1. And therefore it doesn't take you so much by surprise as the first one does. The third book in the series (The prisoner of Azkaban) is, I believe, much better than the first 2 books. But anyway: these are all details: the point is that the Harry Potter books are clear, pure fun & even if one is a little better or a little worse than the other, all in all, the four books (up till now) are all very worth reading.

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I remember, from the first time around, that I didn’t really like this book. I think that it is my least favorite Harry Potter book, actually. But that doesn’t mean that it’s bad by any means.

Harry is back at Hogwarts for his second year. There are things that I really liked about this book:

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I thought Tom Riddle’s diary was pretty cool, I liked the further development of Dumbledore as a pretty cool guy and of Lucius as a pretty bad dude, I LOVE the Flying Ford Anglia. I don’t so much like Dobby, what they find in the forest, or the new DADA professor. I got sick of Colin pretty quickly, and I didn’t really enjoy the save-the-girl plot device used…well, both with Hermione AND Ginny. There’s also a lot of self-flagellating in this book, both from Moaning Myrtle and Dobby. It got a bit old.

But I digress. We get to learn more about Harry, the school, the Malfoy family, the Weasleys (oh, how I want to have a Burrow of my own!), Tom Riddle, the wizarding world: stigma of being a mudblood, what Mr. Weasley does, all that good stuff. I’m okay with this being a link between books one and three – and I am still looking forward to what comes next.

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Harry has had a miserable summer. None of his friends have written to him and he wonders whether Hogwarts and the world of wizardry that he discovered the year before is just a dream. Four weeks before he is due to return to school he has a visit from Dobby the House Elf who warns him away from

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returning to Hogwarts. And so we embark on another year at Hogwarts and another mystery - this time involving the Chamber of Secrets, of the title.

I still thoroughly enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as the first. The main reason for this was the clumsy need to recap that Rowling displayed. The worst instance was when Colin and Harry are walking to the Quidditch pitch and Harry has to explain how it all works - it isn't completely unforgiveable since Colin has only just started at Hogwarts, but I felt it was superfluous nonetheless, and this was not the only instance.

My other reason for the half star being dropped was Gilderoy Lockhart, a very tiresome character who boasts constantly about his achievements. I can see how some people might regard him as humourous but I begrudged any of his 'screentime' and wished he hadn't been introduced.

In this book the fright factor is increased. There is a spine chilling scene in the Forbidden Forest, especially if you are not that fond of spiders, and I still have nerves when Harry faces off against Tom Riddle and he reveals who he actually is. Some younger readers might well be scared by some of the moments in this story.

Once again, the characters are fleshed out fantastically, even minor characters such as Lee Jordan (who commentates the Quidditch matches in a very entertaining manner). All of them are extremely memorable and, even in just this second book of the series, very familiar to the reader. It is a tribute to Rowling's writing of these characters that I never mix up my Professor Sprout with my Professor Flitwick - each of the people who roam the wizarding world have their own characteristics and personalities.

The little details also charmed me. I love the fact that the students have to turn in essays of a certain length in inches on their rolled parchment, rather than word count or pages. I enjoy the Dickensian element of the story - the quills for writing, the clothes and robes. The descriptions of the feasts are unbelievable - they make you wish you could be transported to eat there.

This is not my favourite of the seven in the series for reasons detailed above, but it is still a great read!

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For a long time this book was my favorite book of the series. The mystery slowly unravels and the new magic and characters make this book a wonderful installment in the series.

It has an interesting and creative play on racism. Rowling brought the very present issue of not everyone being equal into

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her Harry Potter fantasy in a way that children and adults can really understand and appreciate. Certainly this novel is a little bit darker than the first, but it's not by much. And, after all, there has always been two sides, good and bad, black and white, to magic--and to life.

So many elements of this story are relevant for today. Ginny's insecurities attending a new school, the feeling of not belonging due to circumstances beyond your control, loyaty to friends, issues of abandonment....they are all here in the Chamber of Secrets.

The end of this book always made me want to jump out of my chair and cheer!

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This was a fun read, very much like the first book only with a greater span on the introduction of characters and more of Harry Potter's past in relation of what-the-hell-is-going-on.

I had one issue with this book, and this is a common thing new writers often suffer from. When writing, authors

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always want to improve on the previous novel. In this case, Rowling tried to expand on the number of events going on with Harry & his cohorts. The issue here is she tried to do that without expanding too much on the number of pages; so all of the scenes are shorter, choppier, and essentially rushed. As this is only her second publish book, this is not her fault.

I have talked to other readers of the series, and they tend to agree with each other that this is the weakest book of the series and that it gets much better with the third.

We shall see.

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Today I decided to review JK Rowling's second book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Harry Potter faces all the school things a muggle-born boy might only, of course, Of course, Harry is anything but normal. As an infant, his head is scarred by Voldemort's death

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curse, which nearly destroyed the Dark Lord. Now the boy is a twelve-year-0ld wizard in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In this book, Rowling introduces a division in the wizarding world, between those who believe wizards should come from wizard-only ("pureblood") families, and people who accept the wizards from muggle-born parents. This concept forms the foundation for much of the plot for the next 6 novels. Lord Voldemort and his followers have done much over the years to impede muggle-borns (who they derisively call "mudbloods") in every way possible. The followers and descendants of Salazar Slytherin are noted for their hatred of muggle-borns wizards.

The crux of the matter is this: where does Harry belong? He was almost placed in Slytherin house. He is a Parselmouth, a wizard who can communicate with snakes, which is an extremely rare ability, noted as a gift possessed of Slytherin. Somewhere beneath halls of Hogwarts is the fabled Chamber of Secrets, guarded and unseen by Slytherin's monster. Harry, who knows little of of his own family, is terrified he is Slytherin's heir, and is suspected of initiating the attacks on muggle-born students throughout the school.

Harry struggles with who he is, much as we do. Are we beings who are controlled by nature, or by the choices we make? At the height of Harry's self-doubt Dumbledore insists that "only a true Griffindor could have pulled [Griffindor's sword] out of the hat." Despite this, the story doesn't read as a morality tale. It is filled with action and, truth be told, reads more as a school whodunnit. The reader is constantly asking, "Who is the Heir of Slytherin?" and "Who or what is petrifying the students?" This in itself isn't a surprise. Plenty of other novels make the reader ask those questions. The difference is this: JK Rowling makes us care about the answers.

The book is punctuated with humorous anecdotes of the eccentric Defense against the Dark Arts instructor, a few wild and gripping quidditch matches, and of course the grudge between Harry and his Slytherin-house nemesis, Draco Malfoy.

Rowling's writing is, once again, taut. She seldom uses frivolous words and phrases. I particularly appreciate this of her. Nothing is discarded or throwaway in her writing. Forgotten characters from the series's first book resurface a half dozen novels later. A seemingly innocuous mention of a potion or spell at the beginning of a book proves to be extremely important later in the same story. It is appealing to me, both as a writer and a reader, to see how she is not frivolous with words, characters, and most especially, the Magical World she's created.

That said, Her characters are pitch perfect. We remember what it's like to be twelve, and despise someone in school. We remember what it's like to have a best friend who's a girl, to whom we have no romantic consideration. We remember loving, and hating, and thinking too severe, any number of teachers. At that age, we notice girls with frizzy hair and large front teeth. We think puking up slugs is the height of comedy. Not only can Rowling write, but she has complete mastery over every situation in her novels.

The only downside I can think of is the Scholastic (American) edition of the novels: I despise Mary Grandpré's art, and can hardly stomach these covers. As appealing as the novels are, I have to be honest: it's one time when the cover nearly made me judge the book. The Chamber of Secrets is not just for children. It's exemplary in every way. However, the cover made me think it was written for eight-year-olds. After seeing Grandpré's covers, I expected a novel that read in couplets like "Humbledy bumbledy diggledy pum / Draco the Malfoy is silly and dumb." Gods be thanked, I was wrong, and thrilled to admit how wrong I was...

Kudos to her for an exemplary second novel. Of course, I've read the other five, and will review each in turn.

Five stars of five.

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For the longest time, I believed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to be my least favorite of the Harry Potter books - but I think this book has edged its way up.

Now, granted, there are parts I really enjoy. I love getting to know Ginny Weasley, I love the introduction of Dobby, I can never

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get enough of the Dursley's...but I think it's Gilderoy Lockhart that is just a little too over the top for me.

Granted - the movie makes him more bearable, because it puts a face to the horribly pompous person that he is, but overall I find myself increasingly annoyed by his presence in every single important scene and, much like the teachers at Hogwarts, wish he'd just prove himself or get out of the way.

There's a lot that's revealed in this second book, which is a good reason in and of itself to not discount it (Harry and the parseltongue explanation), but in spite of all the good, it's just one of my least favorite books.

Now.. here is where I am going to be a bit odd - because it's actually one of my favorite of the movies. Don't ask me to explain it, but Lockheart doesn't annoy me nearly as much on screen as he does on paper. Make sense? No? Don't worry, I'm confused by it too.

As always, there are small discrepancies between the book and the movie, but nothing horribly out of place (except.. why oh why wouldn't you put Peeves in the movies?!). At least the book is on the shorter side of all the books in this series, so while re-reading I don't have to spend too much time being annoyed by Lockheart.

By the way, I much prefer the movie Moaning Myrtle to the book one as well - because the movie one DOES annoy me and the book one doesn't. I don't make sense, I know.

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in the second book of the Harry Potter series, the character Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, is greatly developed. in the beginning, the reader doesn't know that Lord Voldemort and Riddle are the same person, and you may even start to believe the Riddle is a protagonist, working for the greater good. but

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this round character will soon have you hating his guts, as he easily betrays Harry, and nearly kills Ginny. J.K. Rowling defiantly does a great job writing this character.

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I fell immediately fell in love with this authors use of words and captivating story line and amazing characters! This was the second year of Harry's adventures at Hogwarts school and the plot thickens as the pages are turned. Full of wonderful new characters and twists and turns. J.K Rowlings work

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has given young readers around the world a key to the joy of reading! My favorite part of the book was near the end when Harry and his friends figured out the ordeal behind the chamber of secrets and who was attacking the students at Hogwarts. Moaning Myrtle and her bathroom pathway and Harry's ability to beat "Tom Riddle" aka Voldermort was clearly a demonstration of remarkable fantasy talent written by this author. Appropriate for all children who love to read and follow Harry in these wonderful tales!! Wonderful!! Can't wait to read the third and watch the movies:)

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I love this book series! I was reading this book at the lake and I almost had to stop because it was frightening to a 12-year old, but I kept going because I couldn't put it down. Rowling does some of her best work in this book.

So good. Rowling does a great job of just tying in all the little details at the end. Not my favorite of the series (that would be Prisoner of Azkaban) but it's still a million times better that most YA fiction series.

A favourite in the Potter series. The reason is probably because we learn more about He Who Shall Not Be Named--Lord Voldemort--he is no longer just an evil individual, but a wizard with links to Hogwarts, Harry, his parents, and the future of the wizards' world. Once again, Rowling's ability to

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describe and hold you captive for the duration is truly astounding! Har-ry! Har-ry!

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Better than the first book, but still full of a lot of "show not tell". Maybe that's a good thing for a kids book, to fire the imagination of the story not told, but for an adult it's a bit distracting. Quite how I managed to miss the twist about the bad guy's identity I really don't know...

Year 2 at Hogwarts. Harry is back at the Dursleys for the summer after his first year at Hogwarts and they are treating him like dirt. He has had no contact with his best friends Ron and Hermione and he is beginning to wonder if both his school and his friends were nothing but a dream. When a house

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elf named Dobby shows up in his bedroom and wreaks havoc, the Dursleys lock Harry in his room with the promise that he will never be let out. His future looks dim, but then Ron and his brothers Fred and George appear outside Harry's window one night in a flying car and whisk him off to their home, the Burrow, where Harry gladly spends the remainder of his summer holiday. In Diagon Alley they meet their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher - the unbelievably vain Gilderoy Lockhart. The school year doesn't start off any better than his summer did, as the barrier to Platform 9 3/4 seals itself against Harry and Ron, preventing them from boarding the Hogwarts Express. They get into loads of trouble when they decide to fly Mr. Weasley's car to school, instead - they are almost expelled, they get detention, and Ron receives a Howler from his mother. Everything seems to go downhill from there - Harry starts hearing an evil voice that no one else can hear; everyone learns he can talk to snakes; their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is a joke; Ron's wand, broken when their car crash-landed into the Whomping Willow, wreaks havoc with every spell he tries; Draco Malfoy is the new Slytherin Seeker and the whole team has brand new broomsticks; and worse of all, a new and seemingly deadly enemy appears in their midst - the mysterious Chamber of Secrets has been opened and students are being petrified left and right. While everyone else thinks Harry is the Heir of Slytherin, it is up to him, Ron, and Hermione to figure out who it really is before it's too late.

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This is my third favorite in the series. Harry thinks he is not going to be able to go back to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but he does, only by breaking every rule. Trouble follows Harry as he learns of a magic chamber in Hogwarts that houses a monster that is paralyzing students.

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On top of that, Harry is hearing voices, and his enemy, Draco Malfoy, is as nasty as ever. Can Harry stop Hogwarts from closing due to the danger? Only with the help of his friends! It really is a well written and mature book for all ages, I highly recommend it.

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I am in LOVE with every single Harry Potter book ever written. The characters are HILARIOUS, the action is totally unpredictable and keeps you from EVER putting the book down! I LOVE YOU J.K. ROWLING!
My personal fav. character is Luna Lovegood, introduced in book 5 (order of the pheonix). She's so

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witty and independent, and even if people laugh at her queer quirks, she stays true to herself and always true to her friends. I LOVE YOU LUNA!

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This book won several awards:
Noble Children's Book
Best Books for Young Adults
Smarties

I remember thinking before I read this book that it was my least favorite out of the series (of the ones that I've read). I take that back. I won't say that it's my favorite (it isn't), but I still love it and find it very important to the development of the series. I still loved diving into the

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world of Harry Potter, and I was completely captivated, once again, by Harry's adventures. One of the parts that I particularly enjoy about this book is that we find out that Harry Potter can, in fact, get into trouble and that he isn't as invincible as some people in the wizarding world think. That's not to say that he's not my favorite character out of the book, but J.K. Rowling uses this as a smart move to present her main character with a character flaw--therefore making the story all the more believable. This is one of her strengths in writing these novels. Even though they are works of fiction, she makes it so that readers can actually believe that something of this sort can happen. Another wise move on J.K. Rowling's part, specifically in this book more so than the first book, is that this is where the reader gets to see just how evil Voldemort/Tom Riddle is and the chaos and pandemonium he can reek. Whereas before the reader only heard about horrors he committed in the past, we are able to see in this book that he is still very much a potent threat. One other very important component of this book is the discrimination between pure-blood families, half-blood families and Muggle-borns. Particularly on the part of the Malfoys, we see people who are very racist, if you will. Rowling makes this a very clear part of this novel, making me wonder if it comes into play in future books. The only thing that I have to complain about with this novel is the fact that she reiterates a lot of points from the first book, making it so that you almost don't have to read the first book. I really shouldn't complain about it because it's probably something that she had to do in writing a sequel, but it did get on my nerves sometimes.

On a side note, one of the things I absolutely love about all of these books is that they are, in a way, like solving a giant puzzle. There have been countless times while reading these books that I end up smacking myself in the head, thinking, "Why didn't I think of that?" or "Why didn't I pick up on that?"

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What can one say about the Harry Potter books?
The world created, a now familiar one, is fully of mystery...and the books are written with some intelligence, and don't underestimate the reader. The addition of new characters (the little house elf "Dobby", and the Weasley brothers) widen the story a

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bit. It is funny, scary, and intriguing. It goes without saying that this book should be in a school library...all of the books in this series are REQUIRED to be in every school library!!

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This was my favorite Harry Potter book. I'm truly sad that the series are over. There will only ever be seven Harry Potter books!!!
Rowling has a wonderful knack for storytelling. I love how everything seems so impossibly mysterious at the beginning, and it all ties in at the end.

One thing I

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always wondered about the wizarding world was why would they celebrate Christmas? Lol, I don't know why I just assumed witches and wizards would be Wiccans instead and follow more wiccan rituals? Hmmm...

In any case, I just love the trio: Harry, Hermione and Ron, I love the strong friendship that holds them together. And of course Dobby the house-elf!! Such a cute and sometimes infuriating little creature!

I have a strong feeling that these books in the years to come is going to create cults like the LOTR ones!!! I'd join :-D

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