Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone Book Review (in honor of the movie's 20th anniversary!)

 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone:

In grand celebration of the Movie adaptations 20th anniversary, I thought that it would be somewhat appropriate to reflect on the first ever Harry Potter book: Sorcerer's (or Philosopher's) Stone!

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Spoilers

The story follows the lovable, ever iconic Harry Potter: As a baby, he lost his parents to "You-Know-Who," an evil and powerful wizard, but lived when he struck him with a spell, leaving a lightning bolt shaped scar on his head. He's delivered to his closest relatives the Dursleys: Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Cousin Dudley. 

He's raised in their house as sort of a lesser being who's inferior to the rest of the family. This stems from the fact that he has magical heritage, which would harm the Dursley's appearance of being completely, totally, wholly normal. He's forced into staying in a dusty cupboard under the stairs, made to do the bulk of their chores, not allowed to ask questions, yelled at, and neglected on a daily basis.

 This is opposite of how Dudley is treated: Dudley is massively spoiled, meaning he gets 39 presents on his birthday, he gets to go to amusement parks, burger restaurants, while Harry gets to stay with some old lady who smells of cabbage. Dudley is also practically encouraged and enabled into bullying and abusing Harry emotionally, mentally and physically. 

Soon enough, we get to the whimsy.

The Dursley's soon start receiving mysterious letters in their mail addressed to Harry; and because it's about Harry, they gaslight him into thinking it was a mistake, and attempt to forget the letter even came...Then more letters start arriving, still addressed to Harry. They came through the mail slot, the Dursleys nail the mail slot. They start sliding under the doors, and entering windows, then they get ripped up and burned. And of course...the iconic chimney letter scene, where Harry attempts to grasp all the flying letters n the air instead of grabbing one off the ground (maybe that's why he was sorted into Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw).

Vernon is so fed up, that he decides to spontaneously go to a trip far away in a musty old hotel...more letters. He brings the family to a depressing shack by the ocean and...

A giant man bursts in. He gives Harry his letter, is named Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys, and gives Harry his letter, and a squashed cake. Hagrid also fittingly turns Dudley into, well, not a full pig. Just the tail. He already has the rest of the features. He condemns the Dursley's for keeping everything (from Harry's heritage, to how his parent's died) a secret, and whisks Harry away to Diagon Alley the next morning to buy supplies for Hogwarts like wands, owls, and hefty text books. Here, everything is the opposite of the Dursley's plain and boring lifestyle; regularly he's treated as a nobody with his broken glasses, messy hair, and baggy hand-me-downs, but in the Wizarding World: He's a celebrity. The Boy Who Lived.

Taken to King's Cross in London, albeit very reluctantly, Harry meets the Weasleys: Percy, Fred, George, and Ron, they casually phase through a wall, entering Platform 9 3/4, and get onto the Hogwarts Express. Ron meets Harry and they hit it off, bonding over future cavities snacks and candy bought from , Hermione Granger walks in, searching for a toad, sassily introduces herself and fixes Harry's glasses. SO 3 problem children who are constantly caught up in a plethora of wizarding drama begin their first year at Hogwarts.

(I'm not spoiling the rest of this)

Review:

Reflecting on this series, from the books to the movie adaptation, The Harry Potter series still remains to be one of the most iconic, and recognizable book series in probably the whole history of literature. The book series alone was enough to spark a nerd phase in me, from... I'd say around late 4th grade to early 6th grade. 

The first book shows the contrast between the dull and boring Dursley's and the exciting, dynamic, mysterious Wizarding World, and I almost feel as if that's a metaphor for escapism, where Harry readily immerses himself in Hogwarts and the rest of non-muggle society due to 11 years of ongoing abuse from the Dursleys. With J.K Rowling's descriptors already giving the audience a decent general idea of the setting, characters, and their personalities, the movie capitalized on these descriptors immensely, and produced a setting so iconic and so recognizable that millions of fans across the world would want to visit the places in the adaptation. 

Everywhere from the burst of   chimney letters a couple chapters in the story, to Diagon Alley's cluttered and bending buildings, contrasted by Gringott's Bank's very symmetrical, and stiff environment, to Hogwarts and its campus was portrayed in the most fantastic manor. The theme song they gave the movie was also extremely fitting, capturing the idea of something small, yet magical and whimsical that slowly built up and swelled in a grand crescendo.

Harry Potter is a must read for any readers who haven't yet read the books, maybe watch the movies too. And if you have been through the whole series, Fantastic Beasts included, (or even the Cursed Child play and book that nobody really enjoyed), perhaps watch the new 20th anniversary reunion movie between all the actors from the first movie. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and all the actors (except, Richard Harris, and Alan Rickman, may they rest in peace) will be there, along with J.K Rowling herself!

The Harry Potter series is in libraries basically everywhere. Champaign Public Library, Urbana Free, Our own library (I think), U of I's library, etc. (Really, without that series then is it even a library?)