Retro Friday Review

Retro Friday Review is a weekly meme hosted by Angieville. This focuses on classics, out of print books or just old favorites that don’t get the attention they deserve. This Friday’s review is:

Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone
by JK Rowling

As the story opens, mysterious goings-on ruffle the self-satisfied suburban world of the Dursleys, culminating in a trio of strangers depositing the Dursleys' infant nephew Harry in a basket on their doorstep. After 11 years of disregard and neglect at the hands of his aunt, uncle and their swinish son Dudley, Harry suddenly receives a visit from a giant named Hagrid, who informs Harry that his mother and father were a witch and a wizard, and that he is to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry himself. Most surprising of all, Harry is a legend in the witch world for having survived an attack by the evil sorcerer Voldemort, who killed his parents and left Harry with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. And so the fun begins, with Harry going off to boarding school like a typical English kid? Only his supplies include a message-carrying owl and a magic wand. There is enchantment, suspense and danger galore (as well as enough creepy creatures to satisfy the most bogeymen-loving readers, and even a magical game of soccerlike Quidditch to entertain sports fans) as Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione plumb the secrets of the forbidden third floor at Hogwarts to battle evil and unravel the mystery behind Harry's scar.

Kath and I joke that we "owe" each other for certain books. I owe Kathy for encouraging me to read Harry Potter. Kath and I met at work and we would often talk about books when we should have been working. The fifth Harry Potter was coming out and Kath told me I had to read the series. I, for some reason, thought they were lame children's books. She finally convinced me and boy do I owe her. Never has a series captivated my interest quite like Harry Potter. I was so obsessed that I took notes on the books to try and figure out how the series would end. The books are magical and nothing is better then passing it down to my son who is finally old enough for me to read this book too. We started last night and I saw Harry Potter for the first time through a child's eye and I'll tell you his eyes were sparkling.