Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes
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Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Series: Harry Potter #1.
Writer(s): J.K. Rowling.
Publisher: Bloomsbury.
Format: Paperback.
Release Date: June 30th, 2000 (first published June 26th, 1997).
Pages: 223.
Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult.
ISBN13:  9781551923987.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.

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By the end of this story, you will pray to receive an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, to belong to a House based on your personality, to learn spells and brew potions, to fly and vanish in thin air, to face mystical creatures, to unveil dangerous conspiracies, and to defeat evil wizards. Spell-binding and inspiring, British author J.K. Rowling introduces a magical and mesmerizing world where nothing is impossible for an orphan child destined to be a wizard. Published in 1997, the series saw its fandom explode with feature-length films forever being a part of everyone’s popular culture while the books set the modern-day standards for all young adult fantasy novels as it becomes the epitome of fantasy stories set in academies or magic schools.

What is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone about? Following the mysterious death of his parents, Harry Potter now lives an unbearable and unforgiving life with his relatives, the Dursleys. Resigned to living a life that does not rhyme with greatness, he embraces his resilience with warmth and gratitude. Fortunately for him, this young man is bound to achieve incredible feats in his life when he discovers his destiny as a wizard through a friendly giant named Hagrid. It’s once he accepts his invitation to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy that little Harry Potter learns of his unbelievable powers and the double-edged fame attached to his name. Although he has much to learn on who he’s meant to become, it is on this enchanting adventure that he not only sets himself up to figuring out who he could become but he also grasps that he isn’t alone anymore.

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It is difficult to not describe the world created by author J.K. Rowling as enthralling. Written like an episodic adventure into a magical land with mystical creatures, the story follows the young hero, dazzled by innumerable revelations regarding himself and the life he’s guided into, as he’s finally rewarded with a ticket out of his mundane life as a muggle. Inquisitive and brave, he doesn’t allow others to break him down as he endures unfairness with his gentle heart. Accompanied by newfound life companions, he finds it in himself to stand tall when facing adversity and strives with the unprecedented support he now earns for the virtues he embodies. It is the naive, innocent, and whimsical traits within the protagonist and his friends that allow the wonderful world to be brought to life. Imagination simply becomes J.K. Rowling’s greatest asset in conceiving Hogwarts and its surroundings.

Drawing upon a classic chosen one narrative, the story doesn’t, however, limit itself in delivering an introduction to a multi-layered world. It sets up the pieces to a complex and rich plot but especially takes the time to tackle important lessons that allow the reader to better understand each character’s predicament. One of its most omnipresent themes explores the phenomenon of bullying and sheds light on the importance of getting back up rather than staying on the ground. The story also looks into ideas of friendship, family, grief, and desire through various chapters that allow each character to build their personalities from the ground up. By thus bringing the readers to quickly establish an intimate connection with these characters, it is safe to say that J.K. Rowling only had to keep things rolling in terms of plotting for this debut novel to capture the hearts of readers all around the world.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a bewitching entrée into the wizarding world where tragedy transfigures into prophecy.

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Based on the first novel released in 1997, the first movie directed by Chris Columbus came out in 2001 and spawned seven sequels as it became one of the most beloved franchises of all time.

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Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

68 thoughts on “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling”

  4. Pingback: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – Bookidote | Fantasy Gift Resources: Books, Art, Music, News

  6. This is a fantastic review and I’m so happy that you enjoyed it! I agree that the story did play into some age-old tropes (even by that era standard) of the chosen one, but it is supported by amazing characters, rich world-building, and interesting plot that took its time (and did not disappoint in the end)!

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    1. Thank you so much, Tasya! It’s crazy when you think about it though. Some won’t even see them as trope depending on how much they’d read. Imagine your first book being Harry Potter. Everything Ms. Rowling will just seem innovative to us! 😱

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  10. Great review as always Lashaan (yes I’m sort of back in the blogging world – just in time to read your thoughts on Harry Potter!!), as always when I read something Harry-potter related it makes me want to re-re-re-(…)read the books! Hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I did, and I’m very excited for you to start on this magical journey 😍 Also, in which house would you belong? 😀

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    1. Thank you so much, Juliette! 😜 Sounds like the mere mention of Harry Potter will have you running with excitement hahaha maybe it’s the cure to getting you back into blogging whenever you disappear! 😂

      I do look forward to the rest of the books and to then marathon through the movies once again with my newfound knowledge hahah

      I sort of find it funny that I belong to 🐍 🐍 🐍 But deep down I knew I had the mind for it; sort of like how Harry could’ve been a powerful 🐍 🐍 🐍 too 😂

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      1. Ahahah yeah maybe the key for my consistency is Harry Potter! I wouldn’t be surprised 😂
        I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the books as well and can’t wait to read your thoughts! I know someone who would be very excited with the perspective of a Harry Potter marathon 😀
        Ahaha yeah, you are meant for great things too then! And at least your house is well represented in the books! 😀

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  11. Glad you enjoyed it! I remember when I was first handed that book as a kid by mom, who’d been recommended it for me by a friend. I had no idea what it was, but I curled up in a chair in our den to read a few pages. A number of hours later I found myself blinking out of a stupor and realized I’d finished the whole book without moving.

    Look forward to seeing what you think of the rest of the series!

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    1. Oh man, I love when classics get passed down like that, or just between friends too. It makes everything so much more special, it’s beautiful! 🥰 I too look forward to discovering the rest of the series; especially to see all the differences with the movies since I’ve seen them at least twice each already 😂

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  13. I was a bit late to the HP party as well, but I am now a fan. The amazing thing is how everything comes together in the end – like the author had the whole story in her head when starting out. And I love the audiobooks read by Stephen Fry, that is a match made in heaven! Great review, I hope you will continue to enjoy HP, if you decide to read on.

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    1. I kept on being told for the past years that age don’t matter when it comes to reading Harry Potter for the first time and I’m glad that it was the case here. I heard great things about Fry’s audiobooks too. Can’t wait to check out the rest of the series! 😁 Thank you so much for reading!

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  14. Lashaan I am so happy that you are reading and loving these books! And yes one thing that amazed me about JK Rowling was her incredible world building!!!! And…Slytherin he?

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  16. I’m one of the people a few years too old to fully appreciate it as kid, but I came to like it later. Now I sold my 6yo niece on HP, and it’s so much fun to read it together, she’s really enthusiastic 🙂

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      1. It is! I’m old,band cynical, and liking for all kinds of meta-things, she’s just fully into the problem of the chapter, and not aware of the rules of the genre…if I don’t have this innocence anymore, I can at least borrow it for a while 🙂
        But she put some garlic next to her bed recently and my sister thinks we should slow down a bit 😀

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  18. What I most enjoyed in the Harry Potter books I read was that despite being aimed at a younger readership, they could be enjoyed at any age – and enjoy them I did, especially because they touched on important themes – as you mentioned in your review – without preaching or spoon-feeding the readers, but rather leading them to *think* about the issue. Not everyone manages that so skillfully, indeed…
    Thanks for sharing!!! 🙂

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    1. Right? It’s nice that they are reread by so many so often too. But I’d still prefer reading multiple times The Hobbit than HP 1 for the time being! 😛 And yes, it’s nice to see how the themes were inserted into the narrative. I wonder how it’s done in the subsequent books, or if there are even as many themes too. Thank you for reading, Maddalena! 😀

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      1. I agree on the re-reading: I lost count of the times I re-read both The Hobbit or LOTR (and another re-read is something I’ve been thinking about often, lately) while I have fond memories of my HP experience but no desire to revisit it. Which says a great deal about these two universes…. 😉

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  19. With the exception of the fifth book (which even JK Rowling agrees is way too long and contains too much whining for its own good), the Harry Potter books get better with each entry. That’s saying a lot considering how good the first book is. It’s a very confidently written piece of work by a then first-time published author.

    I saw all the movies well before I read any of the books through. As much as the movies mostly do a good job at adapting this series, as soon as you get to book two, there’s so much more depth than the movies would have ever been able to handle.

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    1. I am ABSOLUTELY glad to hear about the differences between the books and movies. Your situation is closer to where I am right now. I saw all the movies and have revisited them multiple times since their release too. It is only now that I finally got around to reading book 1 and look forward to finding out how much different they are of the movies. Thanks for your insight. Very much appreciated.

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      1. The sixth movie is probably my least favourite of the movies. The sixth book is my favourite of the books. For one, it digs a lot into Voldemort’s past. But with the possible exception of book 5, all of the books are better than their movies.

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  20. Glad you liked it! 😀 I kinda envy you because I’d like to reread them as if for the first time. Hope you get hooked on the story like the rest of us as you continue with the series 🙂

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  21. Wonderful review! You really captured the magic of the story in it. ^_^ My best friend and I are (slowly) re-reading the books. Last year we re-read this one, and in February we’re re-reading the second one.

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  22. Glad you enjoyed your first Harry Potter book. I do really love how we learn of the world when and how Harry does. It makes it so magical. I don’t love the series as much as everyone else but I can see why others do. My favorite is book 3 when we learn of Harry’s parents. I hope we can read what you think of later books as you continue the series. 😉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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    1. I actually thought it would have been better if the cinematic universe had done a prequel for his parents/voldemort instead of the whole Grindelwald thing as I was reading the first book. I thought the movies never really looked into that but to know that the books (at least later) do is definitely promising! Thanks, Dani. I look forward to checking out the rest… at some point. 😛

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  23. I’m so happy you read this book and so happy I’m finally reading your wonderful review! 😍 It makes me want to grab my magic wand, my book of spells and fly to Hogwarts 😍 Your review brought back so many great memories from when I read the books!
    It’s funny how you mentioned that bullying was one of the themes in Harry Potter since, when I read it as a child, I really didn’t catch it! I wonder how I’d react if I read it now! 😊

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    1. Hahahaah I can only imagine you being a blend between Neville and Hermione for some reason! 😛 😛 I too am glad to have finally read it and look forward to continuing this one at some point!

      I also found that the story promoted disobedience towards authority for the sake of self-exploration. I don’t mention it in the review but I definitely think the story has plenty of great themes to wrap the whole thing up in a pretty package. 😀

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  28. Pingback: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling — Bookidote | FESTIVAL for FAMILY

  29. This is so beautifully written! I absolutely adored re-reading the series as an adult. The frendships that are built throughout the novels are wonderful and we never realize as young readers just how many adult themes are present throughout the series! The child abuse, racism, war, etc. never stood out so much when I read the books as a child or teen. J.K Rowling is such a great writer, and these books will inspire generations to come, I’m sure!

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    1. Thank you so, so much for your kind words! I really do look forward to those elements that only adult eyes could spot and appreciate. It’s what I love hearing about certain series targeting a younger audience, that there are things that even an older audience can love! 😀

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  30. Pingback: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling – Roars and Echoes

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