book review for harry potter and the chamber of secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

By j.k. rowling.

'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' is quite popular but is also one of the least well-received books in the Harry Potter series. It does have a lot of interesting developments that set up the narrative for upcoming books.

Article written by Mohandas Alva

M.A. Degree in English Literature from Manipal University, India.

‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ by J. K. Rowling is probably most known for being a very memorable and significant book in the entire series. It has a lot of very memorable events, including Harry spending time in the Burrow for the first time, Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy fighting each other, Lord Voldemort revealing himself as Tom Riddle, and the truth about the actual reason that Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts. Although not as popular as the other books, it is very significant for addressing a lot of social issues and political problems that have plagued our world throughout history.

Addressing Discrimination and Slavery

One major triumph of ‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ is its open criticism and illustration of discrimination. While the first book is heavily involved in world-building and keeping its repute as a kid’s book for entertainment, this book delves right into the struggle of being discriminated against when it introduces Salazar Slytherin’s claims on blood superiority and eventually connects these to that of Lord Voldemort .

The reader is familiarized with what is actually at stake here. More than being just about blood superiority, ideas like these tend to grow into venomous monstrosities that are very difficult to defeat once strong. One could draw a parallel between Nazi Germany and this idea. It is also safe to say that the Basilisk , the beast in Slytherin’s Chamber, is a metaphor for these very ideologies that have grown over the centuries to consume more followers and believers, making it more dangerous than ever.

Another idea that the story of ‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ heavily deals with is how slavery is openly treated as a normal occurrence. When Dobby explains his predicament and the fact that he is a house-elf, Harry is taken aback and eventually begins to question the structure of how house-elves come to be. This is to resonate with the thoughts of the reader and sheds light on what is actually happening when slavery is being normalized.

However, in the magical community, house-elves are a very normal occurrence, and there are several thousands of house-elves employed within the Hogwarts castle for several chores, as is revealed in later books. By making Harry conscious of how the mere existence of house-elves is, in fact, unethical and immoral, the narrative invokes the readers’ minds to think about this problem.

Free Will, Determinism, and Identity

‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ has a very interesting argument that questions the nature of identity. It delves deeply into the human condition and its struggles and alludes to the constant doubt that we all possess about our lives – Do we exist for a reason, or do we create reason as long as we exist? It is famously known as the debate between a case for free will and determinism.

When Harry lacks clarity on who he is, he seeks to find out if he could have been in Slytherin house or even if it’s possible for him to be an evil dark wizard. These questions arise from his clouded sense of identity arising from doubt. He ceases to see the true nature of his identity as more sources of doubt engulf around him. It is only when Professor Dumbledore claims that identity is solely a function of what we choose to act upon that Harry realizes that it is his choices and what he does that define who he is. Beyond that truth, there is no real need for justification of who he is.

Tom Riddle’s Diary and Manipulation

Manipulation has always been a major difficulty to oversee. When people are in power or have enough resources to create an elusive reality, they tend to make other people believe what they want them to believe. Tom Riddle’s diary is a major example of manipulative entities. It could be powerful governments, excessively capitalistic companies, media, or anything else that uses different means to convince us that something is the case when it actually isn’t.

Tom Riddle used his abilities to understand people’s psyches to learn about Ginny and eventually exploit her vulnerabilities and finally possess her and do things that she would otherwise never do. He also eventually manipulated Harry into believing that Hagrid was responsible for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago, which Harry believed to be true for a while.

Dealing with Fame

Harry Potter is undoubtedly one of the most famous wizards in all of Great Britain. However, he is not someone who seeks attention. He even faces a lot of challenges dealing with too much fame and attention. But as soon as Gilderoy Lockhart graces his presence in this book, we are treated with a very different representation of fame. Lockhart is very attention-seeking and almost a talentless wizard with no actual substance to represent all his accolades. Yet he basks in the glory of fame, something he doesn’t even deserve. By juxtaposing these two characters in the same book , Rowling captures the two sides of what fame can do to a person.

Why does Gilderoy Lockhart try to run away in the end?

Gilderoy Lockhart is a phony and a con man who makes outlandish claims about his exploits and adventures in the books he writes. None of these stories are even about the things he did. Therefore, when he is actually assigned the task of saving Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, he decides to flee.

Why does Tom Riddle’s Diary get destroyed by Basilisk Fangs?

Basilisk Fangs are highly venomous and contain the magical abilities to evade the black magic used to make a Horcrux and eventually destroy the part of the soul that is hidden in it. Harry used it to great effect to stop Lord Voldemort from coming back to his life form.

Why was Ron sent a Howler by Mrs. Weasley?

Ron was sent a Howler, which is a very angry magical letter that explodes after being read. His mother, Mrs. Weasley, was enraged because he had taken his father’s flying car along with Harry to go to Hogwarts after they missed the train when the barrier for platform nine and three-quarters stopped working.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Review - A Great Anchor between its Sequels and Prequel

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Digital Art

Book Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book Description: 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' explores new themes like slavery and discrimination, setting the stage for the series with crucial details and a fun narrative.

Book Author: J.K. Rowling

Book Edition: First Edition

Book Format: Hardcover

Publisher - Organization: Bloomsbury Publishing

Date published: July 2, 1998

Illustrator: Mary GrandPré

ISBN: 978-0-7475-4227-0

Number Of Pages: 352

Writing Style
Lasting Effect on the Reader

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book Review

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling was published in 1999 and is a great way to connect the first installment to the rest of the books in the series. It delves deeply into a lot of new avenues that aren’t explored in the first book. Although not considered as one of the best in the series, it has its own credits. It deals with several interesting problems like slavery and discrimination and also makes a decent attempt to build up the next book in the series by revealing some details that will become crucial in later books. Overall, it is a fun read and does justice to the Harry Potter Series, despite containing minor plot holes.

The plot is very considerate of its prequel and the sequels and anchors the two well.
It deals with several major problems of the real world and builds parallels with it.
It inspires readers to do new things by speaking in favor of actions and choices over abilities.
The characters are well developed and the story world is well structured and interesting.
It has several plot holes which make the stakes of the climax slightly lower.
It doesn’t account for several mishaps by the headmaster and stuff and therefore makes it a less believable story.
It portrays Hogwarts in a very unrealistically dangerous light making it difficult to see it in a realistic perspective.

book review for harry potter and the chamber of secrets

Summon your wit and wisdom—our Harry Potter Trivia Quiz awaits you! Do you have the knowledge to claim the title of Master Witch or Wizard? Take the challenge now!

1) Who teaches Herbology at Hogwarts?

2) Which creature can transform into a person's worst fear?

3) What does the incantation "Obliviate" do?

4) Which object is NOT one of the Deathly Hallows?

5) What is the effect of the Cheering Charm?

6) What is the name of the goblin who helps Harry, Ron, and Hermione break into Gringotts?

7) In the "Order of the Phoenix," who is NOT a member of the original Order of the Phoenix shown in the old photograph that Moody shows Harry?

8) What are the dying words of Severus Snape in both the book and the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"?

9) What form does Hermione Granger's Patronus take?

10) What is the name of Harry Potter's pet owl?

11) Which spell is used to open the Marauder's Map?

12) Who originally owned the Elder Wand before Dumbledore won it?

13) What is Dumbledore's full name?

14) Which potion did Hermione brew in her second year that allowed her, Ron, and Harry to assume the identities of Slytherins?

15) What specific type of dragon does Harry face during the Triwizard Tournament?

16) What is the name of the train that takes students to Hogwarts?

17) What is the name of the book Hermione gives to Harry before his first ever Quidditch match?

18) Who was the Peverell brother that owned the invisibility cloak?

19) What was the last Horcrux to be destroyed?

20) What does the Mirror of Erised show?

21) Who is the Half-Blood Prince?

22) What creature is Aragog?

23) What potion is known as "Liquid Luck"?

24) Which character is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in the Battle of Hogwarts?

25) In which Harry Potter book does Harry first speak Parseltongue?

26) What is the name of the goblin-made object that is supposed to bring its owner prosperity, but also brings them into conflict with goblins?

27) What animal represents Hufflepuff house?

28) What is the core ingredient of the wand owned by Harry Potter?

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About Mohandas Alva

Mohandas is very passionate about deciphering the nature of language and its role as a sole medium of storytelling in literature. His interests sometimes digress from literature to philosophy and the sciences but eventually, the art and craft of narrating a significant story never fail to thrill him.

About the Book

The Harry Potter section of Book Analysis analyzes and explorers the Harry Potter series. The characters, names, terminology, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros ©. The content on Book Analysis was created by Harry Potter fans, with the aim of providing a thorough in-depth analysis and commentary to complement and provide an additional perspective to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

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HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

From the harry potter series , vol. 2.

by J.K. Rowling ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 2, 1999

Readers will be irresistibly drawn into Harry's world by GrandPre's comic illustrations and Rowling's expert combination of...

This sequel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1998) brings back the doughty young wizard-in-training to face suspicious adults, hostile classmates, fretful ghosts, rambunctious spells, giant spiders, and even an avatar of Lord Voldemort, the evil sorcerer who killed his parents, while saving the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from a deadly, mysterious menace.

Ignoring a most peculiar warning, Harry kicks off his second year at Hogwarts after a dreadful summer with his hateful guardians, the Dursleys, and is instantly cast into a whirlwind of magical pranks and misadventures, culminating in a visit to the hidden cavern where his friend Ron's little sister Ginny lies, barely alive, in a trap set by his worst enemy. Surrounded by a grand mix of wise and inept faculty, sneering or loyal peers—plus an array of supernatural creatures including Nearly Headless Nick and a huge, serpentine basilisk—Harry steadily rises to every challenge, and though he plays but one match of the gloriously chaotic field game Quidditch, he does get in plenty of magic and a bit of swordplay on his way to becoming a hero again.

Pub Date: June 2, 1999

ISBN: 0-439-06486-4

Page Count: 341

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1999

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

More by Soman Chainani

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by RaidesArt

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Julia Iredale

Netflix Drops ‘School for Good and Evil’ Trailer

THE LAST EVER AFTER

From the school for good and evil series , vol. 3.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2015

Ultimately more than a little full of itself, but well-stocked with big themes, inventively spun fairy-tale tropes, and...

Good has won every fairy-tale contest with Evil for centuries, but a dark sorcerer’s scheme to turn the tables comes to fruition in this ponderous closer.

Broadening conflict swirls around frenemies Agatha and Sophie as the latter joins rejuvenated School Master Rafal, who has dispatched an army of villains from Capt. Hook to various evil stepmothers to take stabs (literally) at changing the ends of their stories. Meanwhile, amid a general slaughter of dwarves and billy goats, Agatha and her rigid but educable true love, Tedros, flee for protection to the League of Thirteen. This turns out to be a company of geriatric versions of characters, from Hansel and Gretel (in wheelchairs) to fat and shrewish Cinderella, led by an enigmatic Merlin. As the tale moves slowly toward climactic battles and choices, Chainani further lightens the load by stuffing it with memes ranging from a magic ring that must be destroyed and a “maleficent” gown for Sophie to this oddly familiar line: “Of all the tales in all the kingdoms in all the Woods, you had to walk into mine.” Rafal’s plan turns out to be an attempt to prove that love can be twisted into an instrument of Evil. Though the proposition eventually founders on the twin rocks of true friendship and family ties, talk of “balance” in the aftermath at least promises to give Evil a fighting chance in future fairy tales. Bruno’s polished vignettes at each chapter’s head and elsewhere add sophisticated visual notes.

Pub Date: July 21, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-06-210495-3

Page Count: 672

Review Posted Online: June 25, 2015

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling - review

In the second of the series, strange things are happening at Hogwarts. Lots of people are getting petrified by a weird creature travelling through the pipes and Harry finds out he has the power to talk to snakes! The new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher is very flashy but incredibly stupid.

All of this trouble started when a house elf appeared on Harry's bed warning him not to go back to school. Then, when Harry and Ron are trying to get to platform 9 3/4, the barrier is sealed. When he is playing Quidditch, an especially rough bludger starts to target him and he ends up with a broken arm, and then no bones left-thanks to the new teacher. He is told to follow the spiders to a giant spider which tries to eat him and he must save everyone by destroying the monster, and a past version of his arch-nemesis.

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (Book 2) Large Print edition

This was another great novel, definitely more spooky than the last. Spooky and adventurous. 10/10

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What readers think of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, plus links to write your own review.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

by J.K. (Joanne) Rowling

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Book Review

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets.

J.K. Rowling
Adventure , Fantasy

Readability Age Range

Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

Year Published

After a particularly horrible summer at home with the Dursleys, Harry can’t wait to return to Hogwarts for his second year. Banished to his bedroom, Harry receives a visit from an elf named Dobby, who warns him that he must not return to the school, for great danger awaits him there. Finally, he is rescued from his bedroom prison by Ron and his brothers in their flying car. Despite Dobby’s warnings, Harry returns to Hogwarts and stumbles right into the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

On Halloween night, Harry, Ron and Hermione find a message painted on a wall that reads, “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware.” They soon discover that the Chamber of Secrets contains a deadly monster, that it hasn’t been opened for 50 years, and that the last time it was opened, someone died. “The heir” in the message refers to a descendant of one of the school’s four founders, Salazar Slytherin, who had an affinity for the dark side of magic.

Apparently, only Slytherin’s heir would be able to open this Chamber of Secrets and use the monster within to cleanse the school from all “Muggle-borns” and “halfbloods” whom he felt were unworthy to study magic. Suddenly, students who don’t come from “pureblood” wizarding families begin turning up petrified. Harry and his friends must solve the mystery before the monster goes beyond petrifaction and kills again.

At the end of this story Harry again meets and defeats Voldemort, who has found another body to inhabit, and another life to feed off. Again, Harry defeats the evil one, but questions linger in the air, and the reader must assume that Harry still hasn’t seen the last of his enemy.

Positive Elements

1) denunciation of pride..

New professor Gilderoy Lockhart is unbearably vain and perpetually concerned with image and publicity. Because it is Harry and Ron—not Lockhart—who defeat the monster in the Chamber, he is uncovered for a pompous fool. The message is clear that actions speak louder than words and that self-aggrandizement is a hollow joy.

2) Justice.

One mystery left unsolved in Book I is finally unraveled—why was Hagrid expelled from Hogwarts? Justice is finally served when Harry, Ron and Hermione prove that Hagrid was framed by the student who would later become Lord Voldemort.

3) Respect.

Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore are portrayed as adults very worthy of respect—Harry always wants to please them, and he is repeatedly rewarded for the good choices he makes under their advisement.

4) Loyalty.

Harry and Ron defend Hagrid and see his name returned to its deserved good repute, because he is their friend and they believe in him. Also, Harry’s loyalty to good professor Dumbledore is what summons help to him in his battle in the Chamber.

5) Courage.

Harry’s selfless bravery is what allows him to save Ginny’s life and defeat the monster, even at a risk to his own life.

6) The power of truth and love.

When he meets Voldemort and the monster in the Chamber, Harry repeatedly speaks what he knows to be true, even though he doesn’t understand how it will help. The truth helps to disarm Voldemort. Also, Harry again appeals to the sacrificial love of his mother, who died to save him. This love is something the enemy can neither understand nor overcome.

Disobedience and Lying

Harry repeatedly lies to avoid answering difficult or annoying questions or to avoid explaining his actions. And, as in Book I, it is through breaking rules that the heroes solve the mystery and defeat the enemy: “‘There might be a way [to find out who is the Heir of Slytherin],’ said Hermione slowly, dropping her voice still further with a quick glance across the room at Percy, ‘Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We’d be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect.'”

But, in contrast with the punishment and apparent repentance in Book I, Harry and his friends are ultimately rewarded, not punished, for their rule breaking in Book II: “‘I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules,’ said Dumbledore [the Headmaster]. … ‘Which just goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words.'”

Harry’s Family

Harry’s awful adoptive family (“It’s not possible to live with the Dursleys and not hate them”) is again compared with the love of the surrogate family he’s found through his Hogwarts friends (“What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron’s, however, wasn’t the talking mirror or the clanging ghoul: It was the fact that everyone there seemed to like him.”)

Ron shows selfless devotion to his own family when his sister Ginny’s life is in danger: “‘I’m going down there [into the Chamber of Secrets],’ he said. He couldn’t not go, now that they had found the entrance to the Chamber, not even if there was the faintest, slimmest, wildest chance that Ginny might be alive.”

Bathroom Humor

For some reason, author J.K. Rowling chooses to make the scene of the mystery’s unraveling a bathroom. So you have a ghost that hides in a toilet and repeated (though, admittedly, not vulgar) references to bathroom things: “I don’t want to talk to Moaning Myrtle. … She haunts one of the toilets in the girls’ bathroom on the first floor. … It’s been out of order all year because she keeps having tantrums and flooding the place. I never went in there anyway if I could avoid it; it’s awful trying to have a pee with her wailing at you.”

Violent Content

The monster in the Chamber of Secrets speaks to Harry through the castle’s walls, saying, “Come … come to me. … Let me rip you. … Let me tear you. … Let me kill you.”

The resident dormitory ghost Nearly Headless Nick complains about the way he was killed (since the murderer didn’t succeed in completely decapitating him, he has been disqualified from participating in the Headless Hunt): “‘… you would think, wouldn’t you,’ he erupted suddenly … ‘that getting hit forty-five times in the neck with a blunt axe would qualify you to join the Headless Hunt?'”

Moaning Myrtle, though already dead, tries to kill herself again. When Harry defeats the monster in the Chamber, the scene is bloody: “A sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake’s tail thrashed, narrowly missing Harry, and before Harry could shut his eyes, it turned—Harry looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured … blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony.”

Spiritual Elements

As in Book I, magic is employed extensively as a tool, an art, a diversion and a weapon. “Bless them, [Muggles, or nonmagical people] will go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it’s staring them in the face.”

“Harry stared around. He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. … Opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders.” The Dark Arts are again portrayed as frightening, dark and an evil that Harry and his friends must fight against.

Harry also finds out that he’s a parselmouth, or someone who can talk to snakes. At first he is frightened because the ability to speak in this tongue has generally been granted only to Dark wizards, but eventually it becomes clear that Harry will be able to use his parseltongue for good—to defeat the monster in the Chamber of Secrets.

For many children, curiosity about things such as “parselmouths,” “shrunken heads” and “Moaning Myrtles” cannot be met in a healthy manner. And they can become enamored with what Star Wars calls “The Dark Side” and Rowling calls “The Dark Arts.” A Christian parent’s responsibility, then, is to direct children away from witchcraft and worldly wisdom, and toward the proper source of truth—the Bible.

Plot Summary

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

It is the second book in J.K Rowling's fantastic book series Harry Potter. 12 year old Harry has just come back from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to spend a dreadful summer at Number 4 Privit Drive. Little does he know his summer is about to get worse. Uncle Vernon is expecting to get one of the best deals of his life during a visit from the Masons. Unfortunately it doesn't go as planned when a house elf shows up in Harrys bedroom with an ominous message. The elf proceeds to try to get Harry expelled from Hogwarts by dropping a pudding on Mrs. Masons head. Uncle Vernon puts bars on Harrys window to stop him form getting out. Harry is in despair when the Ron (his best friend), Fred, and George(Ron's twin brothers) Weasley save him from the clutches of his aunt an uncle and he spend the restof the summer with them.

Harry is back at Hogwarts after an eventful journey. He's ready to start a new peaceful year at Hogwarts. That doesn't go to plan when he starts hearing a mysterious voice in the school corridors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione partake on a amazing and thrilling journey to uncover who is petrifying the students. This book is absolutely amazing and is worth reading. It has magic, mystery, and loads of adventure.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book Review

A sleeping evil awakens under the castle of Hogwarts. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second installment to the Harry Potter series. A sequel that gives what we were looking for an solidifies a desire to read the entire series. Let’s dive in and see what this chapter of the series is all about. I will do my best not to spoil anything major for this book.

Introduction

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released in June 1999. This book is slightly longer than the previous entry clocking in at 341 pages that are shared between eighteen chapters. J.K. Rowling takes us into another mystery for Harry, Ron and Hermione to solve involving the heir of house Slythrine.

This book starts with Harry back at Privet Drive. He has been writing to his friends but has not been receiving letters back. This has really isolated him. Now that he has experienced the wizarding world, he wants nothing more than to return to it. However a house elf named Dobby appears and tells him not to go back to the school and that something really bad will happen there this year. Harry finds out that Dobby has been holding back his letters and chases him. This causes him to interrupt the dinner party his aunt and uncle are having when Dobby uses a hover charm to float a cake over one of the guests head and drop it.

This leads Harry to get in trouble and he gets locked into his room. Eventually Ron Weasly and his two brothers Fred and George come to rescue him and take Harry to their home. This leads to the return to the magic setting that the Diagon Alley chapters of the previous novel had, but this time, in a more homey situation which is very refreshing. It also allows us to learn more from several new characters that were not touched on very much aside from names in the previous book.

That is one of the biggest strengths of this book. It builds very well off the previous book with very little recap needed. The initial shock on a magical world is gone. Now, it’s time to expand on it and really begin to grow the wizarding world. The section in Diagon alley for this book tacks on the idea more heavily of celebrities in the wizarding world with Gildoroy Lockheart. An author who has achieved many fantastic tasks. We also see the view of another section of the wizarding world for the first time. This is the darker side, the evil side if you will. It introduces some more of Malfoy’s family and also shows how the wizarding world also has political divides.

The return to Hogwarts is handled differently than the past book as well. It’s all these small changes that I believe really make this book feel new and expand on the world with several different ideas.

This book noticeably does less school lessons with more time devoted to moving the plot of the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. Harry Potter gets himself in trouble being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This spirals downward and leads to detention and eventually isolation with the whole school no longer trusting him. In a way this is a book that shows school bullying at their second year. The derogatory term “Mud Blood” is uttered by Malfoy to Hermione and we get once again a better sense of the bullying and political differences of families in the wizarding world.

We the readers get to learn some new spells along the way in this book as well as take a deeper dive into the class of potion making in a sense. A whole several chapters are spent in the development and use of the Polyjuice potion. A potion that will have major consequences on the rest of the series. best to learn it young!

There is plenty of comical relief in this book even through it feels rather bleak at times. Everything from Ron’s wand breaking to the Gilderoy Lockhear shenanigans that happen throughout the year after he gets the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. There is even a Valentines bit in this book that I feel is very well placed in the series for character romance. This is treated only as a crush a not a full blown relationship between 12 year olds that would feel very cringy at best.

The conclusion of this book feels much more epic than the previous book. There are some tropes that can be pulled from the fantasy genre here but at the end of the day, the end of the book pays off nearly all the established questions and leaves me asking for more after a satisfying battle that I am trying not to spoil my review.

Overall the character development is great, every character seems to grow and we learn more about them throughout the book. This is effective for more than just the main characters but the supporting characters as well which really makes this world feel very lived in deep.

The Chamber of Secrets does it’s best and good effort of living up to the first installment of the series. It grows the wizarding world and gives us the reader to be more invested in characters that are not the three main leads. We also get a good idea for where the series is planning on heading in the future as Voldemort is still a major threat to the world. This book meets the goals that J.K Rowling set out to achieve. It does not manage to reach the first books level in my honest opinion but is a successful sequel nonetheless. This book is still a fantastic read and worth everyone’s time. There are major setups in this book for future books to come so it’s a very important book as well that cannot be skipped.

If you want to find out where this book ranks in the series you can check out our ranking list for the Harry Potter book series here !

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Harry potter and the chamber of secrets: harry potter, book 2, common sense media reviewers.

Potter sequel is a creature-packed page-turner.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Harry Potter, Book 2 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Author J.K. Rowling borrows from many established

Full of positive messages about the power of love,

Main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione, models o

There's a little diversity at Hogwarts. Lee Jordan

Kids are in peril often, but at the hand of fantas

A mention that Percy Weasley's younger sister Ginn

Hermione is called a "mudblood" by Draco, an offen

Educational Value

Author J.K. Rowling borrows from many established stories and myths to piece together her magical world. Kids can look up more about basilisks, giant spiders, flying brooms, magic wands, etc., compare the author's take with other interpretations, and think about how and why she weaves these magical elements and beings into her stories.

Positive Messages

Full of positive messages about the power of love, friendship, and self-sacrifice. Also, about not letting your background dictate who you become. Harry is afraid of his similarities to Voldemort, but Dumbledore reminds him that it's the choices we make that make us who we are. Also, the wizarding world's version of racism and classism is introduced (some pure-blood wizards despise those who are not) and shown as wrong. A flashy professor provides a lesson about fame at any cost.

Positive Role Models

Main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione, models of dedicated friends, are rewarded for their bravery. They are usually punished for rule-breaking, but also get away with quite a bit, especially when they're trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets -- they steal potion ingredients, knock out other students with a sleeping potion, and then impersonate them to get information. It's all in the name of saving other Hogwarts students, though, which of course they do in the end. Dumbledore (Hogwarts' eccentric headmaster) is a wonderful mentor to Harry, showing up with sage advice when needed. Harry shows him loyalty at just the right time and is rewarded with the tools to save the day.

Diverse Representations

There's a little diversity at Hogwarts. Lee Jordan is described as having dreadlocks, and the Indian Patil twins are in Gryffindor house. Some diverse family structures are described: Harry lives with his aunt and uncle and Neville with his grandmother. Harry and Ron bond over growing up with second-hand clothes and wishing they had more money. Ron's insecurity over being from a poorer family comes up a lot. Women have prominent roles at Hogwarts: Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout are both heads of houses. There are two girls on the Gryffindor quidditch team. There's only one large-size character who isn't a bad guy, and that's Hagrid. Lots of negative language around the size of Dudley and his father and Malfoy's Slytherin friends Crabbe and Goyle.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Kids are in peril often, but at the hand of fantasy creatures most of the time: giant spiders and an angry tree attack, and a basilisk (giant serpent) has Medusa-like abilities, nearly killing characters and putting them in a rigid, comatose state -- it also chases Harry. Harry falls from his broom and breaks his arm, then bones in his arm are magically and mistakenly removed. A house elf punishes himself by hitting his head repeatedly. In a practice wizards' duel, a (small) snake threatens a student. A spell backfires and Ron coughs up slugs. Two main characters almost die in the book's climax. Two fathers have a fistfight. A party for ghosts makes light of many ghosts who had been beheaded and can take off their heads for sport. Mentions of Harry's parents dying in a magical attack when he was a baby. Harry is routinely treated poorly and threatened by his aunt and uncle.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A mention that Percy Weasley's younger sister Ginny catches him kissing his girlfriend.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Hermione is called a "mudblood" by Draco, an offensive term in the Potter world meaning "dirty blood," for being part wizard and part muggle.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in J.K. Rowling' s Harry Potter series about an orphan boy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you're flying through the Potter books faster than a Quidditch seeker because kids have been begging, note that after Book 2, the series gets more complex and scarier, and a break between Book 2 and Book 3 may be warranted, especially if you're doing a read-aloud party with siblings of different ages. Harry Potter Age-by-Age Guide as well as details in individual reviews will help you decide. Also of note: this one is tough on kids who are afraid of monsters like giant snakes and spiders. Both attack school kids in tense scenes. Some kids (and a cat) end up in a coma-like state, and two students nearly die in the book's climax. There are also a lot of ghosts, but they are often more silly than scary. Something not in the movie (that otherwise sticks very close to the source material) is Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party, where decapitated ghosts throw their heads around for sport. Main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione are rewarded for their bravery, but after quite a bit of rule breaking. The story is full of positive messages about friendship and that our choices show what we truly are more than our abilities and backgrounds. This book is also available in an illustrated edition with art by Jim Kay.

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Community reviews.

Parents say (32)
Kids say (139)

Based on 32 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, Harry's summer at his aunt and uncle's house is bad enough when a house elf named Dobby shows up. Dobby warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts, that something dangerous is going to happen, and when Harry won't listen, Dobby performs a hover charm and dumps Aunt Petunia's prize pudding on the floor in the middle of a dinner party. Harry doesn't know what's worse: the threatening owls from the Ministry of Magic accusing him of performing underage magic or getting locked in his room with bars on the windows. When his best friend Ron Weasley and his brothers embark on a midnight rescue in Mr. Weasley's enchanted flying car, Harry's summer is saved. Then September 1 arrives. Ron and Harry are in a panic because they can't get through to Platform 9 ¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express. They decide the only way to make it on time is to chase the train in the flying car. When they get to Hogwarts, their not-so-brilliant plan lands them in serious trouble, but it's nothing compared with the trouble brewing at school. A message appears on a castle wall in blood proclaiming that "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened," and students wandering the corridors alone are ending up in mysterious coma-like states. It's no wonder Dobby didn't want Harry to return to school.

Is It Any Good?

While this sequel doesn't have the impact of the Potter origin story, it's an exciting creature feature with an engrossing mystery to solve. Many, especially older readers, consider this the lesser of the Potter books, but for younger readers, this is an ideal way to ramp up for the rest of the series. The fear is of external forces -- monsters -- not the less tangible, like how the Dementors in Book 3 embody fear itself. And the mystery builds in a more straightforward manner with steps Harry, Ron, and Hermione take to uncover clues: brewing a potion, playing the spy, and breaking all kinds of school rules in the process as they do.

All that said, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets preps young fantasy fans to take on the meatier stories to come. The monsters sure are scary, and the scenes in the Forbidden Forest and the Chamber of Secrets are thrilling. What was Hagrid thinking telling Harry and Ron to "follow the spiders"? And as for the mystery, efforts to solve it may be methodical but the Chamber of Secrets has quite a few secrets to reveal -- some that only come to light in Book 6. Mouths will be hanging open in that climactic moment when the Heir of Slytherin is revealed at last and appetites will be whetted for more Potter mystery and excitement to come.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the big scary monsters in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Are you afraid of monsters? Does reading about them make you more afraid? Ron really hates spiders. How does he deal with his fear? What does it say that someone with such a fear is still in Gryffindor, the house for the bravest witches and wizards?

Kids just getting into the series will find a whole world of Harry Potter available to them, from Chocolate Frogs for sale at the grocery store to theme parks. A diehard Potter fan can spend a lot of money in their lifetime on merchandise and experiences. Do you think this is worth your money? Are there other ways you can celebrate books you love without raiding your piggie bank?

Will you read more of the series? Are you ready for the stories to get darker and more complex? Will you read some other books in between or plow right through as some kids do?

Book Details

Author : J. K. Rowling
Illustrator : Mary Grandpre
Genre : Fantasy
Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Adventures , Brothers and Sisters , Cats, Dogs, and Mice , Friendship , Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
Character Strengths : Courage , Teamwork
Book type : Fiction
Publisher : Scholastic Inc.
Publication date : June 20, 1999
Number of pages : 341
Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Award : ALA Best and Notable Books
Last updated : July 14, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Book review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the Harry Potter series and is the first to really delve deeper into Lord Voldemort’s background, increasing the magical world we found ourselves enveloped in the first book.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling book review

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase The Chamber of Secrets via one of these links, I’ll receive a small commission to support the blog at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product.

As I read the penultimate book in the Harry Potter series, Half-Blood Prince, I thought I’d carry on my reviews of the previous books in the series which I’ve read over the past year. The Chamber of Secrets leads on from The Philosopher’s Stone ( read my review of that here if you haven’t had the chance yet ) and expands upon the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Plot – 4.5/5

The Chamber of Secrets finds Harry, Hermione, Ron and friends back at Hogwarts for their second year. They’ve had the summer off after the heroic trio faced off against some magical trials, climaxing with Harry meeting Voldemort for the first time vicariously through their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrel.

JK Rowling starts off this sequel by reminding us exactly where Harry comes from but quickly also reminding us how contrastingly exciting the magical world is he can go back to. Upon returning to Hogwarts, Harry Ron and Hermione hope for a quiet year than the last but when a student is found “petrified” with blood on the wall saying “the chamber has been opened” things take a dark turn. When it comes out that this isn’t the first time this has happened, the trio find themselves once again involved in trying to find out what is happening.

Chamber of Secrets improves on Philosopher’s Stone in almost every single aspect – we find out more about Lord Voldemort including his history at Hogwarts, some of our favourite heroes end up in harm’s way and there’s a genuinely darker aspect to this book that draws you in.

Characters – 5/5

Something that many people say is the reason Harry Potter has done so well is the incredible characters that JK Rowling has created and continues to build upon throughout the novel. Harry, Ron and Hermione’s friendship is one that all kids strive to have – heck any adult would strive to have too. The characters around this trio are memorable for either their kindness, evilness or hilarity too.

In this particular book , we see the main trio’s friendship build and see them face some of their biggest fears in an attempt to save the school from a dark history that could see students being killed off. Their dynamics show their age brilliantly – Ron is growing into an awkward young man, Hermione is still the composed intelligent young woman and Harry is the slightly quiet but incredibly brave hero. The likes of Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid and so many other characters bring in such a wonderfully diverse selection of different characters to love.

Summary – 5/5

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling once again delivers a wonderfully magical book. You’re probably wondering if it still holds up after all this time? And the answer is well and truly: Yes! There’s a reason people are still buying these books in their droves these days – their perfectly crafted world, wonderfully built characters and approachable writing style make them a must-read for any fiction fan.

The Chamber of Secrets continues this, building on our favourite characters, expanding on this brilliantly developed world and doing it all whilst effortlessly balancing humour and seriousness really well.

Pick up a physical copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets from Amazon.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (Harry Potter: Book 2)

J.K. Rowling’s series began with the Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets continues the adventures of the young wizard Harry and his friends at Hogwarts.

The Chamber of Secrets begins, as did the Philosopher’s Stone, with Harry once again at home with the dreadful Dursleys. The Dursleys are, to put it mildly, unpleasant and the arrival of the house elf Dobby sets in motion a chain of events that ends with Harry, thanks in no small part to a flying car, happily back at Hogwarts. There are mysterious happenings at Hogwarts and Harry, assisted by his staunch friends Hermoine and Ron set about discovering the truth to the Chamber of Secrets and look for clues to help them understand the attacks on the children at the school.

All the ingredients that made The Philosopher’s Stone a much-loved success are once again here in abundance. This is a rich fantasy tale, fuelled by J.K. Rowling’s vivid imagination and full to the spine with magic, spells, companionship and humour. The humour, in particular, is once again rich in the narrative, a humour that will make both children and adults laugh at loud. Gilderoy Lockhart is a superb character that steals the spotlight from Harry and his friends on more than one occasion.

Cynics may say that the success of the first Harry Potter book made this success of The Chamber of Secrets inevitable. That would, however, be extremely unfair as this is a fine book in its own rights and deserves to be praised every bit as highly as the original. The Harry Potter series is a must read for all children as they are best enjoyed when the imagination is undimmed by age.

The Harry Potter series cannot lay claim to being the most original as J.K. Rowling has drawn on many influences within their construction. The lovely thing is that she pays homage to these influences in her own style and this has made her stories compellingly unique. The ability to completely immerse the reader in a fictional world and make it seem so real is her strongest card and her strong characterisation further enhances this. This is a much darker and adult themed book than its predecessor and this again is well played as the books mature along with Harry Potter.

A delightful fantasy story full of magic, mystery and laughter.

9/10 A delightful fantasy story full of magic, mystery and laughter.

Buy on Amazon

Review by Amanda White

11 positive reader review(s) for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

362 positive reader review(s) in total for the Harry Potter series

JK Rowling biography

Shreya from India

I enjoyed this book. It was packed with action, fantasy, adventure. My favourite part was Harry going into Riddle's diary... this book made me go into Harry Potter's world. It helped me in my book review.

Someone from Somewhere

Interesting, great twist, great mystery, a few awkward and questionable scenes, but all in all good, but not as good as the others, yet still better than Philosopher’s Stone.

Dick Smith from Ameria

Itthink this is a great book.

AC from USA

it was good

Anjitha from India

I really loved Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The snake language, Parseltoungue fascinated me a lot. The Polyjuice potion was just amazing. I enjoyed the part when Harry communicated with Tom Riddle and went 50 years back in time through riddle's diary. I recommend this book to all.

Katie from Chippemham

Dhanin from India

This deserves more than 100 star rating.

Thasindu from Australia

One word: Amazing.

Amara from Australia

Wow! This book is absolutely wonderful! I loved every part of the book infact i am doing a book review on this book tomorrow to my class. Thanks JK Rowling!

K from India

Deven from US

I love this book and it is an excellent book and I recommend it to children as well as adults. I also liked the part of the Polyjuice potion and when at last, Harry Potter fights with the dragon.

Simon from Canada

Wow! It was amazing, there was a thrill throught the book. My favrourite part was the end.

Laura from England

Wow! I love this book, there aren't any boring parts. My faveriot bit is when they take the polyjuice potion :) The books are so unique. I love them :D

9.4 /10 from 14 reviews

All JK Rowling Reviews

Harry Potter (Harry Potter)
The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Harry Potter Companion)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter Companion)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter: Book 1)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter: Book 2)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter: Book 3)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter: Book 4)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter: Book 5)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter: Book 6)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter: Book 7)

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Throughout the summer holidays after his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter has been receiving sinister warnings from a house-elf called Dobby.

Now, back at school to start his second year, Harry hears unintelligible whispers echoing through the corridors.

Before long the attacks begin: students are found as if turned to stone.

Dobby’s predictions seem to be coming true.

Publishers: UK Print – Bloomsbury US Print – Scholastic eBook – Pottermore Digital Audiobook – Pottermore UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury US Illustrated – Scholastic UK MinaLima edition – Bloomsbury US MinaLima edition – Scholastic

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2

In this sequel to HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, we find Harry spending the summer vacation with his awful relatives, the Dursleys, following his first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Dursleys are so fearful of Harry's growing magic talents that they lock his school books and wand away in a closet and even lock Harry in his tiny bedroom. Harry worries he'll never get back to Hogwarts and his friends, until he's rescued by his best buddy, Ron Weasley, who arrives in a flying car to take Harry away.

The second year at Hogwarts should be smoother sailing, right? Not so. First, Harry receives a strange warning from a house elf named Dobby. Then, when he arrives at Hogwarts Harry must face a vain new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and his old enemies, Malfoy and Snape. And, even more troublesome this year, some evil force is turning Muggle-born students (those born to humans, without magical blood, including Harry's pal Hermione) to stone. Who could be doing such a thing?

While Harry and Ron try to unravel the mystery of petrification, they discover information about the Chamber of Secrets, a hidden room in Hogwarts that is rumored to be home to a horrible monster. Old legends, clues, and research eventually lead Harry and Ron to the Chamber of Secrets for a showdown with evil like they've never seen before. And Harry must triumph over the Dark forces in order to save Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister (now a first year at Hogwarts), who has been taken over by a nasty wizard. See if he succeeds in this rollicking, spine-tingling adventure. You're sure to love all the fast-moving action, magic and fun in every chapter.

Reviewed by Shannon Maughan on August 15, 2000

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2 by J. K. Rowling

Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Genres: Fantasy
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
ISBN-10: 1338299158
ISBN-13: 9781338299151

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Hardcover – July 1, 1999

Purchase options and add-ons.

Book 2 of 7 Harry Potter
Print length 352 pages
Language English
Grade level 4 - 7
Lexile measure 940L
Dimensions 6.3 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
Publisher Scholastic
Publication date July 1, 1999
ISBN-10 9780439064866
ISBN-13 978-0439064866
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, Book 3) (3)

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Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him. Soon it's not just Harry who is worried about survival, as dreadful things begin to happen at Hogwarts. The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim, "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware." But what exactly does it mean? Harry, Hermione, and Ron do everything that is wizardly possible--including risking their own lives--to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly mystery. This deliciously suspenseful novel is every bit as gripping, imaginative, and creepy as the first; familiar student concerns--fierce rivalry, blush-inducing crushes, pedantic professors--seamlessly intertwine with the bizarre, horrific, fantastical, or just plain funny. Once again, Rowling writes with a combination of wit, whimsy, and a touch of the macabre that will leave readers young and old desperate for the next installment. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

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From library journal, from booklist, from kirkus reviews, about the author.

J.K. ROWLING is the author of the seven Harry Potter books, which were first published between 1997 and 2007. The enduringly popular adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione have sold over 500 million copies, been translated into over 80 languages, and made into eight blockbuster films. Alongside the Harry Potter series, she also wrote three short companion volumes ― Quidditch Through the Ages , Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , and The Tales of Beedle the Bard ― which were published in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos. In 2016, J.K. Rowling resumed Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , which she wrote with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, and which is now in theaters across the world. In the same year, she wrote the screenplay for the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , the first in a series featuring magizoologist Newt Scamander. She is also the author of a stand-alone novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy , and, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, writes the Strike detective series. In 2020, J.K. Rowling returned to publishing for younger children with the fairy tale The Ickabog , the royalties from which she is donating to groups affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. She lives in Scotland with her family, and is at her happiest alone in a room, making things up.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0439064864
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic (July 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780439064866
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0439064866
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8+ years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 940L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.3 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
#164 in Children's Friendship Books
#204 in Children's Fantasy & Magic Books
#249 in Children's Action & Adventure Books (Books)

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About the author

J.k. rowling.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels for adults and children, and a bestselling crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been translated into 85 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers.

Alongside the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of her international children’s charity, Lumos. The companion books and original series are all available as audiobooks.

In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London, and is now thrilling audiences on four continents. The script book was published to mark the plays opening in 2016 and instantly topped the bestseller lists.

In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Inspired by the original companion volume, it was the first in a series of new adventures featuring wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018 and the third, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released in 2022.

The screenplays were published to coincide with each film’s release: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Original Screenplay (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay (2022).

Fans of Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter can find out more at www.wizardingworld.com.

J.K. Rowling’s fairy tale for younger children, The Ickabog, was serialised for free online for children during the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and is now published as a book illustrated by children, with her royalties going to her charitable trust, Volant, to benefit charities helping alleviate social deprivation and assist vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.

Her latest children’s novel The Christmas Pig, published in 2021, is a standalone adventure story about a boy’s love for his most treasured thing and how far he will go to find it.

J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. The first of these, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published to critical acclaim in 2013, at first without its author’s true identity being known. The Silkworm followed in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. The series has also been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO.

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.

As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling has received many other awards and honours, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Award.

J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children’s charity fighting for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.

www.jkrowling.com

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, harry potter and the chamber of secrets.

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The first movie was the setup, and this one is the payoff. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" leaves all of the explanations of wizardry behind and plunges quickly into an adventure that's darker and scarier than anything in the first Harry Potter movie. It's also richer: The second in a planned series of seven Potter films is brimming with invention and new ideas, and its Hogwarts School seems to expand and deepen before our very eyes into a world large enough to conceal unguessable secrets.

What's developing here, it's clear, is one of the most important franchises in movie history, a series of films that consolidate all of the advances in computer-aided animation, linked to the extraordinary creative work of J.K. Rowling, who has created a mythological world as grand as "Star Wars," but filled with more wit and humanity. Although the young wizard Harry Potter is nominally the hero, the film remembers the golden age of moviemaking, when vivid supporting characters crowded the canvas. The story is about personalities, personal histories and eccentricity, not about a superstar superman crushing the narrative with his egotistical weight.

In the new movie, Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe , a little taller and deeper-voiced) returns with his friends Ron Weasley ( Rupert Grint ) and Hermione Granger ( Emma Watson , in the early stages of babehood). They sometimes seem to stand alone amid the alarming mysteries of Hogwarts, where even the teachers, even the august headmaster Albus Dumbledore ( Richard Harris ), even the learned professors Snape ( Alan Rickman ) and McGonagall ( Maggie Smith ), even the stalwart Hagrid the Giant ( Robbie Coltrane ) seem mystified and a little frightened by the school's dread secrets.

Is there indeed a Chamber of Secrets hidden somewhere in the vast pile of Hogwarts? Can it only be opened by a descendent of Salazar Slytherin, the more sinister of the school's co-founders? Does it contain a monster? Has the monster already escaped, and is it responsible for paralyzing some of the students, whose petrified bodies are found in the corridors, and whose bodies are carried to the infirmary still frozen in a moment of time? Do the answers to these questions originate in events many years ago, when even the ancient Dumbledore was (marginally) younger? And does a diary by a former student named Tom Marvolo Riddle--a book with nothing written in it, but whose pages answer questions in a ghostly handwriting--provide the clues that Harry and his friends need? (Answer to all of the above: Probably.) This puzzle could be solved in a drab and routine movie with characters wandering down old stone corridors, but one of the pleasures of Chris Columbus' direction of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is how visually alive it is. This is a movie that answers any objection to computer animation with glorious or creepy sights that blend convincingly with the action. Hogwarts itself seems to have grown since the first movie, from a largish sort of country house into a thing of spires and turrets, vast rooms and endlessly convoluted passageways, lecture halls and science labs, with as much hidden below the ground as visible above it. Even the Quiddich game is held in a larger stadium (maybe rich alumni were generous?). There are times, indeed, when the scope of Hogwarts seems to approach that of Gormenghast, the limitless edifice in the trilogy by Mervyn Peake that was perhaps one of Rowling's inspirations.

The production designer is Stuart Craig, returning from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." He has created (there is no other way to put it) a world here, a fully realized world with all the details crowded in, so that even the corners of the screen are intriguing. This is one of the rare recent movies you could happily watch with the sound turned off, just for the joy of his sets, the costumes by Judianna Makovsky and Lindy Hemming, and the visual effects (the Quiddich match seems even more three-dimensional, the characters swooping across the vast field, as Harry finds himself seriously threatened by the odious Malfoy).

There are three new characters this time, one delightful, one conceited, one malevolent. Professor Sprout ( Miriam Margolyes ) is on the biology faculty, and teaches a class on the peculiar properties of the mandrake plant, made all the most amusing by students of John Donne who are familiar with the additional symbolism of the mandrake only hinted at in class. The more you know about mandrakes, the funnier Sprout's class is.

She is the delightful addition. The conceited new faculty member, deliciously cast, is Gilderoy Lockhart ( Kenneth Branagh ), author of the autobiography Magical Me, who thinks of himself as a consummate magician but whose spell to heal Harry's broken arm has unfortunate results. And then there is Lucius Malfoy ( Jason Isaacs ), father of the supercilious Draco, who skulks about as if he should be hated just on general principles.

These characters and plot elements draw together in late action sequences of genuine power, which may be too intense for younger viewers. There is a most alarming confrontation with spiders and a scary late duel with a dragon, and these are handled not as jolly family movie episodes, but with the excitement of a mainstream thriller. While I am usually in despair when a movie abandons its plot for a third act given over entirely to action, I have no problem with the way "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" ends, because it has been pointing toward this ending, hinting about it, preparing us for it, all the way through. What a glorious movie.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie poster

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Rated PG For Scary Moments Some Creature Violence and Mild Language

161 minutes

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy

Alan Rickman as Prof. Snape

Maggie Smith as Prof. McGonagal

Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid The Giant

Richard Harris as Prof. Albus Dumbledore

Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy

Directed by

Chris Columbus
Steve Kloves

Based on the novel by

J.K. Rowling

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10 Things That Happen In Every Harry Potter Book

Harry potter: 13 differences between the sorcerer’s stone & the philosopher’s stone, the harry potter tv show needs to fix 1 prisoner of azkaban change that hurt the movies.

Chamber of Secrets lacks the wonder and plot twists of other books, but sets up crucial elements for the series.
Goblet of Fire is tonally uneven but marks a significant turning point in the series with entertaining storylines.
Sorcerer's Stone is a magical introduction with hints of darker storylines, capturing readers with classic storytelling tropes.

Every reader of the Harry Potter books will have their favorite, but a few are generally considered the best and others the worst. Chronicling young Harry’s coming-of-age and his conflict with Lord Voldemort to determine the fate of the Wizarding World, Harry Potter is one of the most popular fantasy book series of all time. It is often credited with reviving reading culture and has spawned two connected movie franchises, an upcoming TV show, and several theme parks and other destination experiences.

Certain books in the Harry Potter series bear the burden of world-building and therefore come across as interim novels before the series gets to its biggest events. However, other installments demonstrate that it is possible to set up vital plot elements while still constituting compelling prose. Its overall biggest strength is in the characters, where even the supporting arcs merit audience investment, elevating even the de facto worst book of the series.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series includes ten events or tropes that occur in one way or another in each of the seven iconic books.

7 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Chamber of secrets is slow in comparison to the other books..

In retrospect, an entire book dedicated to the threat of an evil serpent living in Hogwarts castle and the blame somehow being cast upon Harry and Hagrid seems strange. Landing in the middle of the pre-Voldemort trilogy, Chamber of Secrets doesn’t have the wonder of its predecessor or the amazing plot twists of its sequel. It does have some good plot twists, such as Ginny’s role in the attacks on students and the “I am Lord Voldemort” reveal, while the overall story twists the childlike magic of the first novel, dipping into darker aesthetics.

Chamber of Secrets’ biggest contribution to the series’ overall plot is setting up the politics of blood purism in the Wizarding World, the crux of the conflict with Voldemort and his followers. The introduction of characters like Dobby and the dynamics between Harry and the Weasley family are also highlights. However, people who are re-reading Harry Potter are likely just waiting to get to better things during Chamber of Secrets , one of the books where the ways the world revolves around Harry are the most contrived.

6 Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

Goblet of fire is slightly confusing, with a shocking change in tone..

The other time that the Wizarding World bends out of shape to place Harry at the center of things in an awkward way is when he is selected as a Triwizard champion in Goblet of Fire . Granted, Harry is the protagonist of the series and the target of Lord Voldemort’s constant assassination attempts, and there is a story-relevant reason for him being forced into the Triwizard Tournament . Yet fans love to criticize how the Ministry of Magic representatives decide to make Harry a champion rather than just calling it a mistake and excusing him from it.

On other fronts, Goblet of Fire can come across as meandering. Part of this is due to J. K. Rowling realizing a plot hole midway through writing it and having to go back and undo it. It is also tonally strange when most of the book is dominated by the festivities of the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament until the final dark chapters depicting Voldemort’s return. Cedric Diggory’s death is a tragic, effective moment that illustrates Voldemort’s cruelty and indicates what is to come.

Goblet of Fire also represents a vital crossroads for the Harry Potter series, even if not everyone loves reading it. It is a strange mix of entertaining and seemingly pointless storylines: The beginnings of teen romantic drama are amusing, while Rita Skeeter blasting that romantic drama in the newspapers is cringe-worthy. There are reasons to love Goblet of Fire and reasons to hate it, but other books in the series are decidedly better.

5 Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone

Sorcerer's stone is the magical introduction to the world of harry potter..

Harry is dazzled by his introduction to the Wizarding World, while hints of darker things lying in wait there set up a bigger story.

Some people will dismiss Sorcerer’s Stone as the serviceable opener of the series that does what it needs to do, so bigger and better things can happen later. However, the way it does this merits reevaluation. The first few chapters leading up to Hagrid’s arrival are a strange but spectacular mystery of what is causing the bizarre events in Harry and the Dursleys’ lives, while Harry receiving an explanation in the form of a Hogwarts acceptance letter is incredibly satisfying while promising years of magic to come.

The rest of the book demonstrates a kind of magical wonder that only appears in brief flashes throughout the rest of the series. Harry is dazzled by his introduction to the Wizarding World, while hints of darker things lying in wait there set up a bigger story. Sorcerer’s Stone utilizes a classic children’s literature trope in the protagonist’s transition from the mundane world to the magical one, which captured the minds of readers from the beginning.

In the UK, Harry Potter’s first story is called The Philosopher’s Stone but stateside it’s Sorcerer’s Stone. What are the differences between the two?

4 Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Order of the phoenix is the darkest harry potter book yet with many amazing characters..

Order of the Phoenix was the darkest, most mature Harry Potter book yet — at the time. There is a feeling of a promise being honored now that the overall plot of the war with Voldemort is finally taking shape. This brings with it the introduction of many new fan-favorite characters who are members of the Order of the Phoenix , while others’ return gives the series a sense of continuity. The scope of the action is bigger, while readers are provided with a love-to-hate villain in Dolores Umbridge who both compliments and contrasts the threat of Voldemort.

Order of the Phoenix is one of the points in the series that is poignantly written, even if it is emotionally strenuous to read. The Wizarding World turns against Harry; Voldemort’s return and the Ministry’s campaign force Harry and his friends to grow up sooner rather than later, even though the reality that they are nearing adulthood becomes clear. However, they rise to this responsibility by forming Dumbledore’s Army.

Dumbledore’s Army fulfills a beloved trope of a young rebellion taking shape in the face of corrupt authority figures. However, it avoids the feeling of being too trope-y characterizing every rebellion-based series that came after The Hunger Games . Order of the Phoenix pushes the story and the characters further than ever before, illustrating their strengths and flaws while stressing their need for each other.

3 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

Deathly hallows is the satisfying conclusion to harry potter..

Deathly Hallows is the conclusion that ties the entire series together, with beats that nod to Sorcerer’s Stone and subtle symbolisms that readers are still dissecting. The story demands that Harry, Ron, and Hermione be away from Hogwarts, but their return to the series’ primary setting for the final battle creates the perfect “it all ends here” feeling. As the characters reunite for their final stand, the narrative gives the Hogwarts teachers some amazing moments to truly showcase their knowledge of magic, and in McGonagall’s case, to have the epic face-off with Snape that she deserves.

The biggest caveat of Deathly Hallows is that it is too miserable to read, but every death has an individual narrative purpose — such as Remus and Tonks’ deaths drawing a parallel between Harry and Teddy — as well as generally illustrating the cost of war. There are happy moments mixed in: Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Teddy’s birth, and Percy reuniting with his family. Deathly Hallows is a heartbreaking but satisfying whirlwind of epic final battles where everything is wrapped up, before giving the characters a happy ending of peaceful family life (not considering The Cursed Child’s plot).

2 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Prisoner of azkaban features beloved characters and wild plot twists..

Prisoner of Azkaban is a fan-favorite primarily due to the introduction of Sirius and Remus , who bring with them more information about Harry’s past and his parents. The book gives a fuller picture of the Potter family, where Lily and James’ lives have a bearing on the story rather than just their deaths. The story is built around a wild plot twist and a theme of time ticking away, something director Alfonso Cuarón illustrated beautifully in the movie adaptation.

Prisoner of Azkaban is possibly the best book to re-read because once readers know the plot twist, they realize all the tiny hints throughout. Remus’ odd reaction to Harry mentioning Sirius, the description of Scabbers missing a toe, and other moments all contribute to a classic mystery where all the seemingly unrelated elements fit together in the end. However, Prisoner of Azkaban also showcases that the Wizarding World is fallible — the government consistently arrests the wrong people — demonstrating that Voldemort is not the only evil out there and contributing to a more complex story.

HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV remake has the chance to right the wrongs of the movies, including a frustrating Prisoner of Azkaban change.

1 Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Half-blood prince's slower plot allows for more elegant writing..

However, Half-Blood Prince stands out as the best-written Harry Potter book because it is also deeply romantic.

Half-Blood Prince had its work cut out, needing to set up all the plot points necessary to make the last book happen. However, the exploration of Voldemort’s origins is one of the novel's greatest strengths. It also introduces even more nuances to the story and themes with Draco’s hesitance to murder for Voldemort and the continued politics with the Ministry and teachers. Amid all this, Harry has become a young man who verbalizes his opinions about the government and the school in a way even more mature than leading secret rebellions.

However, Half-Blood Prince stands out as the best-written Harry Potter book because it is also deeply romantic. Major storylines are about finding happiness while the world is burning down; everything comes full circle with Harry and Ginny’s relationship , as well as Ron and Hermione’s . There is some drama in the Weasley family with Molly not approving of Fleur — they reconcile after Bill is attacked, only for Tonks to drop the bombshell of her relationship with Remus seconds later. This novel of gradual plot progression in both the major conflicts and relationships is a strong contender for the best in the series.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students' time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.

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A Guide to Identifying Harry Potter First Editions

Harry Potter has captivated readers of all ages since its debut, becoming a global cultural phenomenon. For book collectors and enthusiasts, a first edition from J.K. Rowling's series is often a prized possession, and while different first editions range in value, many are sought after as books to collect and value. With fans and book lovers alike owning copies, you might have one of these highly collectible first editions and not even know it. So, how can you tell if your copy is a first edition? In this guide, we will delve into the world of Harry Potter first editions and provide valuable insights and tips for identifying first editions.

Understanding First Editions

A first edition refers to the initial print run of a book. It is the very first version of the book that is released to the public by the publisher. These are often sought after by collectors for their primacy and often rarity. Frequently, the first print run of an author's first book is issued in relatively small numbers. These can contain errors or misprints that are corrected in later editions. Each subsequent print run of the book is considered a later edition. Each edition often has its own set of identifiers, including print lines, copyright page details, and specific printing features. Dust jackets, bindings, and imprints can also set a first edition apart from its later printings. Owning a first edition can offer a tangible connection to the author's creative vision, and due to its primacy, offers an important link to the initial moment of publication.

Identifying Harry Potter First Editions

You can often tell if your copy is a first edition by looking at identifying features such as the publisher, publication date, publication location, and print run found on the copyright page. Additionally, be aware of misprints and irregularities associated with certain printings (also called issue points) to help you understand which edition you own.

The first book in J.K. Rowling's now-iconic series was released in the UK by Bloomsbury in 1997 as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone . This is regarded as the true first edition and it was published in limited quantities in both hardcover and paperback formats. There are many features that set it apart from later editions, and the cover is the first place to look. Make sure you see the illustration by Thomas Taylor featuring Harry in front of Hogwarts Express with the UK version of the title (it was changed to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when it was published in the United States by Scholastic). Next, make sure that you see “Bloomsbury” printed at the bottom of the title page as the publisher and “1997” as the only year on the copyright page. Another feature to look for on the copyright page is the print line. The first edition has "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" as the print line. Other identifiers include typos that were corrected in later editions. There is a typo on page 53, for example, where "1 wand" is repeated twice in the list of school supplies Harry needs for Hogwarts. There’s also a missing “o” in “ Philosopher’s Stone ” on the back cover. Your copy must have all of these identifying features in order to be a true first edition.

The features outlined above set Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone apart from its US edition, first printed by Scholastic in 1998 with the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone . The US edition of this book features a different book cover, illustrated by Mary GrandPré. The US first edition bears the print line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" and the phrase "First American edition, October 1998" on the copyright page.

Subsequent books in the series are similar to the first, in that they also have specific identifiers such as print lines, copyright page details, and characteristics unique to the first edition. The first edition of Chamber of Secrets , for example, was released in the UK in 1998 by Bloomsbury. Thus, the first edition will have “1998” and “Bloomsbury” printed on the copyright page, as well as a print line reading: “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.” Prisoner of Azkaban was published in 1999, and released in the UK by Bloomsbury. Make sure your book only shows “1999” and “Bloomsbury” on the copyright page. Also check the print line, which should read “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.” The first issue has “Joanne Rowling” on the copyright page, rather than "J.K. Rowling," and there is a misprint on page 7 where the last line in the quote is split. Goblet of Fire , Order of the Phoenix , Half-Blood Prince , and Deathly Hallows all have the same identifying features, clearly stating “First Edition” on the copyright page.

Consult the Experts

If you are still unsure if your copy is a first edition or if you would like to determine whether or not you own a valuable copy, make sure to consult a specialist. Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts department is the leader in the industry. Founded in 1744, by bookseller Samuel Baker, Sotheby’s started out as an auction house handling the sale of renowned libraries. Our long and rich history has positioned us as the foremost experts in the field of rare books. If you think your Harry Potter title is a first edition, reach out to our team of specialists by submitting to Sell with Sotheby's . Make sure to include photos of the book, its condition, as well as the title and copyright pages to receive a valuation. Your book could grace the auction block or be sold Now on our Marketplace. You can also read our guide on How to Tell if Your Harry Potter Book is Valuable .

Looking to buy a copy? Follow our upcoming auctions where you will find highly coveted copies in fine condition. There will be several remarkable Harry Potter works during our June Book Week , including the original cover art for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . Sotheby's also has collectible copies available Now for immediate purchase on our Marketplace.

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Alfonso Cuarón thought Harry Potter offer was ‘really weird’ until Guillermo del Toro called him an ‘arrogant a--hole’

“I was confused because it was completely not on my radar,” the “Prisoner of Azkaban” filmmaker said.

Alfonso Cuarón admits that he was an odd choice to direct the third Harry Potter movie.

In a new interview with Total Film commemorating the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , the Children of Men filmmaker said he was as surprised as anyone when he was offered directorial reins for the wizard sequel, as he’d just come off of his seminal erotic road-trip masterpiece Y Tu Mamá También . "I was confused because it was completely not on my radar," Cuarón said of the Potter series.

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

The Roma filmmaker said he changed his mind after discussing the project with a friend. "I speak often with Guillermo [del Toro], and a couple of days after, I said, 'You know, they offered me this Harry Potter film, but it’s really weird they offer me this,’” Cuarón recalled. “He said, 'Wait, wait, wait, you said you haven’t read Harry Potter ?' I said, 'I don’t think it’s for me.' In very florid lexicon, in Spanish, he said, 'You are an arrogant a--hole.'"

After Home Alone director Chris Columbus brought a family-friendly sense of wonder and whimsy to the first two Potter films — Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets — Warner Bros. opted to shake things up by hiring a new filmmaker with different sensibilities. Cuarón had previously adapted other pieces of popular literature, including Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess , and he brought a wildly different tone to the third Hogwarts adventure.

Harry Potter producer David Heyman explained the decision to hire Cuarón. "I’d seen Y Tu Mamá También , which I loved, and I oddly thought he’d be the perfect director for the third Potter ," he said. "That’s not what some might think. Can you imagine what some thought Harry, Ron and Hermione would get up to, having seen Y Tu Mamá También ?... Y Tu Mamá was about the last moments of being a teenager, and Azkaban was about the first moments of being a teenager… I felt he could make the show feel, in a way, more contemporary. And just bring his cinematic wizardry.”

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Indeed, Cuarón’s Prisoner of Azkaban marks an invigorating departure from the style of the preceding two movies — it employs a color palette with greater emphasis on grays and blues, and swaps the students’ formal robes for casualwear that makes them feel more like everyday teenagers. The constantly-roaming camerawork that later breathed incredible energy into movies like Children of Men and Gravity brings a strong sense of urgency to Azkaban , and the thematic focus on Harry’s blossoming self-reliance makes for a thoughtful, intimate coming-of-age story that really reckons with its characters growing up.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban premiered in New York City 20 years ago today. Read Total Film's interview excerpt with Cuarón here .

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Alfonso Cuarón Got ‘Confused’ by ‘Harry Potter’ Director Offer and Found It ‘Really Weird,’ Then Guillermo del Toro Called Him an ‘Arrogant A–hole’

By Zack Sharf

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Alfonso Cuarón marked the 20th anniversary of his film “ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” with a new interview in Total Film magazine , in which he admitted that he felt totally strange when Warner Bros. called to offer him the chance to direct the third “Harry Potter” movie. Chris Columbus was stepping aside from the director’s chair after helming “Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Chamber of Secrets,” but the Mexican director behind the erotic road trip drama “Y Tu Mamá También” didn’t exactly scream “Harry Potter.”

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Del Toro’s words were even more harsh. As Cuarón revealed at the Telluride Film Festival in 2018, del Toro actually launched into a tirade and said: “Fuckin’ skinny, you’re such a fuckin’ arrogant bastard. You are going right now to the fuckin’ bookshop and get the books and you’re going to read them and you call me right away.”

“When he talks to you like that, well, you have to go to the bookshop,” Cuarón admitted, adding that he quickly fell in love with the series after reading the books. “I called [del Toro] and said, ‘Well the material’s really great.’ He says, “Well, you see you fuckin’…,’ I mean, it’s just untranslatable from the Spanish.”

Speaking to Total Film to mark the movie’s 20th anniversary, franchise producer David Heyman said he just had a hunch that Cuarón was the right person for the job even if on paper it was a strange choice.

“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” opened in the U.K. on May 21, 2004 and hit U.S. theaters on June 4, 2004. Reviews for the film were outstanding and it went on to gross $804 million at the worldwide box office.

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Every Harry Potter Horcrux And The Order They Were Destroyed

In Harry Potter, the Golden Trio sought to destroy Voldemort's seven Horcruxes hidden in Hogwarts and the wider Wizarding World.

It's important to remember the ongoing controversial statements by the creator of the Harry Potter franchise. CBR supports the hard work of industry professionals on properties fans know and love and the wider world of Harry Potter that fans have adopted as their own. You can find CBR's continuing coverage on Rowling here .

In the Wizarding World, Horcruxes are nearly indestructible objects within which a powerful wizard uses dark magic to hide a piece of their soul. This is done with the intention of becoming immortal. Before the events of Harry Potter , Voldemort intentionally split his soul into seven pieces and hid them in items meaningful to him. Because the Dark Lord had placed parts of his soul in 7 Horcruxes, it was nearly impossible for anyone to defeat him. Creating Horcruxes was widely considered to be an act of pure evil, as it required the creator to take at least one life per Horcrux. Further, destroying these accursed objects was practically impossible without access to unique forms of magic like the Sword of Gryffindor and the Basilisk's Fang.

To destroy a Horcrux and the soul fragment it contains, the item must be damaged beyond repair. Further, its eradication may come with spilling blood. All 7 Horcruxes in Harry Potter were scattered in different hiding spots , each more secretive than the next. That said, each time a Horcrux was destroyed, Voldemort got weaker. The Golden Trio set about on a Horcrux hunt during Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows , but they had already destroyed two by the time they embarked on their harrowing journey. It can be confusing for even die-hard fans to keep up with who destroyed which Horcrux and how.

Updated on January 29, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: With the currently untitled Harry Potter TV show being announced, interest in the popular franchise has risen once again. We've updated this article to include more details about the 7 Horcruxes in Harry Potter , which are some of the most important pieces of magic in the series.

What Are The 7 Horcruxes In Harry Potter, & How Were They Destroyed?

Tom riddle's diary was created through moaning myrtle's death, destroyed in harry potter & the chamber of secrets, why lord voldemort wanted to kill harry potter.

Voldemort created the Diary Horcrux before leaving Hogwarts, presumably exploiting Myrtle Warren's death for the purpose. Tom Riddle's diary was the first of the 7 Horcruxes in Harry Potter to be destroyed, and Harry didn't even realize what he was doing. The journal was hugely important to Voldemort, as it proved he was the Heir of Slytherin. It was secretly slipped into Ginny Weasley's bag right before Harry's second year at Hogwarts. Ginny had been writing to Tom Riddle about her fears, which enabled him to use her to open the Chamber of Secrets.

Once the chamber was open, Harry found the book and quickly learned that it belonged to Tom Riddle. Harry entered the chamber to save Ginny and seal it for good, but he found her unconscious next to a teenage Tom Riddle . The latter identified himself as a memory and stated that he was using Ginny's life force to become strong and corporeal again. Riddle unleashed the Basilisk on Harry, but he was able to kill the beast by stabbing the reptile with its own fang. The venomous fang is one of the few things that can damage something beyond magical repair. Harry stabbed the diary, which caused it to leak ink-like blood.

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring Became A Horcrux When Voldemort Killed His Family

Destroyed in harry potter & the half-blood prince.

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring has a gold band and a black stone that's engraved with the Deathly Hallows. It was a family heirloom that was passed down by Salazar Slytherin and Cadmus Peverell. The ring stayed in the Gaunt family for generations until Tom Riddle stole it. The ring was turned into a Horcrux soon after this, with the murder of Tom's father and grandparents presumably fueling the process. However, the ring's centerpiece was actually the Resurrection Stone, a fact that neither Tom Riddle nor the Gaunts knew.

Dumbledore recognized the Deathly Hallows symbol and realized what the stone really was. Before the events of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince , Dumbledore took the Gaunt ring to Hogwarts and destroyed it with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor. This was possible because the sword had already absorbed Basilisk venom from the time Harry had used it to kill the beast in The Chamber of Secrets .

Salazar Slytherin's Locket Was Created With The Death Of An Unknown Muggle

Destroyed in harry potter & the deathly hallows: part 1, 10 harry potter storylines fans can't agree on.

Tom Riddle gained Salazar Slytherin's locket after it was sold by his mother to Hepzibah Smith. He would eventually kill a Muggle to make it a Horcrux. Salazar Slytherin's locket was one of the most difficult Horcruxes to find and destroy. Dumbledore took Harry to the Horcrux Cave, where he thought the necklace would be. They were trapped by the cave's many enchantments, which only allowed Tom Riddle to enter. Nevertheless, the two strong wizards obtained the locket and made it out safely. Once Dumbledore was gone, though, Harry realized that the locket was a fake.

The real locket was being worn by Dolores Umbridge, so Hermione switched the two lockets and gave the real Horcrux to Harry. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took turns wearing the locket, as it greatly affected whoever was wearing it. Unfortunately, Ron's mood was affected the most. When Harry opened the locket, it immediately began tormenting Ron with sounds of his mother's disapproval and images of Harry and Hermione being intimate. In his anger, Ron smashed the locket and destroyed it. Ron destroyed the Horcrux with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, which he and Harry inexplicably found at the bottom of a lake in the Forest of Dean.

Helga Hufflepuff's Cup Required Hepzibah Smith's Death To Become A Horcrux

Destroyed in harry potter & the deathly hallows: part 2.

Voldemort beguiled Hepzibah Smith, worming his way into her confidence. This allowed him to murder her with impunity, thereby creating the Hufflepuff Cup Horcrux. Unfortunately, however, Smith's house-elf was punished for the crime. After Voldemort turned Helga Hufflepuff's Cup into a Horcrux, he gave it to Bellatrix Lestrange, who promised to protect it. As one of Voldemort's most loyal followers, Bellatrix took extensive measures to ensure it would never be found. She locked it in her family vault at Gringotts, which was famous for being impossible to break into. Still, that didn't stop the Golden Trio.

During their Horcrux search, Bellatrix kidnapped Hermione and tortured her for information. Although the Golden Trio hadn't found the Hufflepuff cup yet, Lestrange's frenzied behavior gave Harry the hunch that it was in her possession. He was right, and they decided to break into Gringotts. The trio had to be incredibly cautious; if they touched the wrong cup, it would multiply exponentially and suffocate them. Harry saw the correct cup, and they successfully removed it from the bank and took it back to Hogwarts. Soon after, Hermione destroyed it with a Basilisk fang.

Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem Was Transformed Into A Horcrux Through An Albanian Peasant's Murder

10 most troublesome hogwarts students (and why fans love them).

Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was a piece of lost lore for centuries before Voldemort discovered it in an Albanian forest. He later murdered a local farmer to make it a Horcrux. Harry learned that the diadem was a Horcrux through his internal connection with Voldemort, and he also discovered that it was located somewhere in Hogwarts. Luna Lovegood helped Harry with his search by pointing him in the direction of The Grey Lady, a Hogwarts ghost who turned out to be Rowena's daughter.

Helena Ravenclaw then gave Harry the necessary clues to figure out exactly where the diadem was hidden. The Golden Trio headed to the Room of Requirement to search for the lost diadem. Before they could do anything, however, they were met by Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. A fierce battle broke out, and Vincent Crabbe cast a Fiendfyre spell. Although this pyrokinetic dark spell destroyed the diadem in the Harry Potter books, Harry ended up stabbing this Horcrux with a Basilisk fang in the final movie.

Harry Potter Is The Only Known Accidental Horcrux In The Story

One of the franchise's most surprising reveals was that Harry Potter himself was a Horcrux. However, he didn't fit the classic definition of one, as he wasn't intentionally enchanted by Voldemort. Instead, when Voldemort killed Harry's parents, the spell essentially bounced off Harry and landed back on Voldemort, which left a segment of the Dark Lord's soul lodged within a helpless baby.

In Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 , Harry and Voldemort had a final showdown in the Forbidden Forest. It ended with Voldemort casting the killing curse, Avada Kedavra and killing Harry. Luckily, the Boy Who Lived came back to life, free from the Horcrux curse. Voldemort had only destroyed the soul piece in Harry, which felt like poetic justice. When Harry finally returned to the living, he was unburdened by the curse that had haunted him all his life.

Nagini Was The Last Horcrux Voldemort Created

Nagini was the last Horcrux Voldemort created. This transformation took place in the summer of 1994, with the brutal murder of Bertha Jorkins. When Lord Voldemort eventually found out that Harry was hunting the 7 Horcruxes, he put Nagini in an enchanted cage for her own protection. Once he thought he had killed Harry Potter for good, he released Nagini, so she could be by his side during the Battle of Hogwarts. She was draped across his shoulders like a macabre shawl as he and the Death Eaters strutted back to Hogwarts in false victory.

Neville Longbottom openly defied Voldemort when he heard about Harry's demise. As punishment, Voldemort attacked Neville and left him unconscious. When he woke up, Neville saw the Sword of Gryffindor lying underneath the Sorting Hat, so he took it and quickly ran to Ron and Hermione's aid. In a tense moment, Nagini cornered Ron and Hermione and was about to strike when Neville beheaded her. Neville destroyed the last of the 7 Horcruxes and proved himself a worthy wizard in the process. Voldemort was later defeated in the closing moments of The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 , ending the threat forever.

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter franchise follows the adventure of a young boy introduced a whole new world of magic, mayhem and darkness. Traversing the obstacles in his path, young Harry's rise to heroics pits him against Lord Voldemort, one of the most dangerous wizards in the world and all his minions.

Harry Potter: The Three Actors That Played Dumbledore, Ranked

Between Michael Gambon, Jude Law, and Richard Harris, who is the top Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise?

The Big Picture

Michael Gambon masterfully embodied Harry Potter's Dumbledore, showcasing the character's complexity and emotional depth over five films.
Richard Harris brought warmth and charm to the role, establishing Dumbledore as a mentor figure with poignant moments.
Jude Law's portrayal of Dumbledore was limited by weak material, despite showing emotional vulnerability and charisma on screen.

It's hard to think about the world of Harry Potter without thinking of Professor Albus Dumbledore. Outside of maybe Gandalf ( played by the iconic Sir Ian McKellen , who almost played Dumbledore himself), there isn’t a wizard in fantasy literature who is as beloved as Dumbledore. The Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry helped to introduce Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe ) and his friends to the magical world. Over the course of the seven Harry Potter books , Albus Dumbledore became one of the most complex characters within the series. There was a layer of intrigue within his presence, and although readers learned many secrets about Dumbledore’s past, some mysteries remained shrouded in secrecy . The novels quickly proved that they couldn’t be contained to the page alone, and a film series was quickly put into production. Unquestionably, the biggest challenge would be finding three young actors who could grow and develop over the course of seven years (and ten years of production). However, nailing Dumbledore was just as important. The films needed a prominent mentor character who could be both tender and powerful.

Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, and Jude Law All Brought Something Different to Dumbledore

The legendary Irish actor Richard Harris was cast in Christopher Columbus ’ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , but he tragically passed away after The Chamber of Secrets wrapped filming. He was subsequently replaced in the next film by another acclaimed Irish thespian, the legendary Michael Gambon , who tragically died in 2023 after having left an indelible mark on the Harry Potter series with his iconic portrayal as the Hogwarts Headmaster.

The Harry Potter prequel series decided to show a younger version of Dumbledore, and Jude Law first appeared in the second film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald . However, it appears that Dumbledore's adventures on screen may have reached a standstill. Following the underperformance of the third Fantastic Beasts film at the box office , it appears that Warner Brothers leaving the series behind . Controversy continues to surround original Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling , whose transphobic comments have made many longtime Wizarding World fans contemplate their dedication to the series. Although Rowling has never offered any condolences to the fans who were offended by her rhetoric, Warner Bros. officially confirmed the development of a seven-season Harry Potter television series with Rowling as a producer .

The complexity surrounding Rowling and a modern reprisal of the franchise specifically relates to the films' depictions of Dumbledore himself. Dumbledore was confirmed by Rowling to be an LGBTQ character , even if she's done very little to note that in her work itself. Nonetheless, Harry Potter fans (and specifically LGBTQ fans) should not have to associate Rowling's complex feelings about the character with the lovely performances that brought him to life. Each of these great actors showed a different side of the complex mentor, friend, mystery, and icon that is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Here are all three Dumbledore actors, ranked.

3. Jude Law

Appears in 'fantastic beasts: the crimes of grindelwald' and 'fantastic beasts: the secrets of dumbledore'.

It’s no fault of Jude Law that his depiction of Dumbledore comes in last place. While there’s nothing wrong with his interpretation, Law was unfortunately saddled with the weakest material of the three actors . Fans were excited about the possibility of Dumbledore’s return when it was announced that he’d appear in the Fantastic Beasts series, as the Harry Potter books hinted at the complex backstory of Dumbledore’s relationship with the evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald. In the years since, Rowling revealed that the relationship was romantic. Unfortunately, this is barely mentioned in The Crimes of Grindelwald , and Law shares few scenes with Johnny Depp . He's granted little more than an extended cameo , which feels a little disappointing considering how heavily promoted his appearance was in the film's marketing material. The film's rewriting of the Dumbledore family history landed with a dud in particular because Law himself was barely onscreen to react to it.

10 Characters the Harry Potter Movies Wasted

Thankfully, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore improves on its predecessor in nearly every way. Not only was Mads Mikkelsen a better choice to play the series antagonist, but the film spent more time focusing on both men’s heartbreak. It is still rather tame, in what could have been a great opportunity for major LGBTQ inclusion in a blockbuster series. Law shows more emotional vulnerability within Dumbledore, but still has his charisma. While there’s still the same sense of mystery to him, Law has a youthful whimsy that is distinct , and we see some of the same playfulness that would become common to the character in the Harry Potter series. During the final battle, Dumbledore gifts the muggle baker Jacob Kowalski ( Dan Fogler ) with a wand and offers him words of inspiration that allow him to show bravery in the face of evil.

The Fantastic Beasts series seemed to experience a major shift at their midpoint; while originally it seemed like the prequel series would be little more than a few silly monster adventures and capers set within the Wizarding World, it became clear that the franchise was being used to show the extended backstory of the first "Wizarding War." While fans may disagree with this change of direction, it certainly made more sense to feature Dumbledore as a more prominent part of the series . Despite his somewhat reduced screen time, the strength of Law's role in the last two installments suggests that he would have been a much more charismatic and interesting lead protagonist than the rather bland performance by Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

2. richard harris, appears in 'harry potter and the sorcerer's stone' and 'harry potter and the chamber of secrets'.

Richard Harris’ death was a tragedy for the world of cinema in general, especially considering how active he was in his later years. Harris had played roles as iconic as King Arthur in the 1967 musical film Camelot and "English Bob" in Clint Eastwood 's beloved western Unforgiven , but he did not treat his role in the Wizarding World series with any less respect. Harris perfectly fits the tone of the first two Harry Potter films. While the later films got much darker , the first two installments are relatively light family fare. They are very much intended for audiences who are the same age as the characters, and Dumbledore needed to be a warm, nurturing presence . Harris helped make the expositional scenes interesting, yet still crafted a complex character without hinting at the darkness that would later be revealed.

A ‘Harry Potter’ Director Gave Up His ‘Spider-Man’ Dreams for Hogwarts

Harris simply spiced up the role and helped to define Dumbledore’s unique personality . He shares an important bond with Harry, and they even enjoy laughing together at the disgusting “ear wax” flavor of Bertie Bott's Beans. Harris managed to be commanding without feeling too powerful. Even though The Chamber of Secrets is generally considered to be one of the weaker Harry Potter adaptations, Harris delivers the film’s best line: "It is not our abilities that show who we truly are; it is our choices." In re-watching the franchise with the knowledge of how it ends, it's fascinating to see how poignant and restrained Harris is in these early moments. While the character is clearly burdened with dark secrets that disturb him, he's still able to serve as a force of positivity and offer Harry the guidance he needs to prepare for his destiny.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.

1. Michael Gambon

Appears in 'harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban,' 'goblet of fire,' 'order of the phoenix,' half-blood prince,' deathly hallows — part 1,' 'death hallows — part 2'.

While he was obviously given the most time to develop the role, appearing in six of the eight Harry Potter films, Michael Gambon truly embodied Dumbledore . Throughout his six appearances (while only having a brief cameo in the seventh film), Gambon hinted at the complexity within the character, showing how his relationship with Harry changes over time. As Harry grew older, he realized that his cheerful headmaster had planned things years in advance, and hid many elements of his past from nearly all the other characters. Harry grows to both admire and question his teacher even more. After The Half-Blood Prince , he has to mourn him too. Radcliffe's increased maturity as an actor was evident during the scenes that he shared with Gambon.

10 Missing Locations From The Harry Potter Movies

Gambon made Half-Blood Prince particularly emotional ; even though readers knew Dumbledore's death was coming, losing such a consistent character helped to make the later films even more bleak and mature. Gambon also brought some of Dumbledore’s most iconic sequences to life . For example, his battle with Lord Voldemort ( Ralph Fiennes ) in The Order of the Phoenix is thrilling, and Gambon shows how Dumbledore's relationship with the Dark Lord began in the flashbacks in The Half-Blood Prince . Gambon’s final moments as the character in The Deathly Hallows — Part 2 , in which Harry sees Dumbledore in the Wizard World’s version of the afterlife , are simply perfect. This could have easily been one of the most melodramatic or confusing moments if it didn’t capture the novel’s ambiguity, but Gambon beautifully wraps up the series’ themes.

While he certainly had the most material to work with, Gambon also showed a more human side of Dumbledore , who has lived to regret things from his past, and sometimes struggles with how his actions will be perceived. His conversations with Severus Snape ( Alan Rickman ) shed insight into the dynamic between the two that casts the entire series in a new light. Despite their tremendous success and acclaim, none of the Harry Potter films received any Academy Award nominations in any of the acting categories. However, if there's one performer whose work deserves to be singled out as worthy of recognition, it's Gambon's. Many veteran British actors appear throughout the Harry Potter series, but Gambon might be the strongest of them all.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.

All Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films are available to stream on Max in the U.S.

Watch on Max

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COMMENTS

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Review
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book Review. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling was published in 1999 and is a great way to connect the first installment to the rest of the books in the series. It delves deeply into a lot of new avenues that aren't explored in the first book. Although not considered as one of ...
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
Harry expects it to be a normal year after his experiences the term before but a secret chamber opens, muggle-born students are attacked and Harry must put his life in danger once more. The three ...
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator) Ever since Harry Potter had come home for the summer, the Dursleys had been so mean and hideous that all Harry wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange impish creature who says that if Harry ...
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
This sequel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1998) brings back the doughty young wizard-in-training to face suspicious adults, hostile classmates, fretful ghosts, rambunctious spells, giant spiders, and even an avatar of Lord Voldemort, the evil sorcerer who killed his parents, while saving the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from a deadly, mysterious menace.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (Book 2) Large Print edition This was another great novel, definitely more spooky than the last. Spooky and adventurous. 10/10
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the Harry Potter series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls of the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of Secrets" has been opened and that the "heir of Slytherin" would ...
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets By J.K.Rowling Book review by Abbas Panjwani This is the second book in the Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling, about the young wizard Harry Potter, his best friends Ron and Hermione, and their adventures at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is no ordinary wizard.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
On Halloween night, Harry, Ron and Hermione find a message painted on a wall that reads, "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware.". They soon discover that the Chamber of Secrets contains a deadly monster, that it hasn't been opened for 50 years, and that the last time it was opened, someone died.
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Review. It is the second book in J.K Rowling's fantastic book series Harry Potter. 12 year old Harry has just come back from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to spend a dreadful summer at Number 4 Privit Drive. Little does he know his summer is about to get worse. Uncle Vernon is expecting to get one of the best deals of his life ...
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book Review
August 10, 2019. A sleeping evil awakens under the castle of Hogwarts. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second installment to the Harry Potter series. A sequel that gives what we were looking for an solidifies a desire to read the entire series. Let's dive in and see what this chapter of the series is all about.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Harry Potter, Book 2
Main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermione, models of dedicated friends, are rewarded for their bravery. They are usually punished for rule-breaking, but also get away with quite a bit, especially when they're trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets -- they steal potion ingredients, knock out other students with a sleeping potion, and then impersonate them to get information.
Book review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
The Chamber of Secrets leads on from The Philosopher's Stone (read my review of that here if you haven't had the chance yet) and expands upon the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Plot - 4.5/5. The Chamber of Secrets finds Harry, Hermione, Ron and friends back at Hogwarts for their second year. They've had the summer off after the heroic ...
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling book review
A delightful fantasy story full of magic, mystery and laughter. 9/10 A delightful fantasy story full of magic, mystery and laughter. Buy on Amazon. Review by Amanda White. 11 positive reader review (s) for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. 362 positive reader review (s) in total for the Harry Potter series. JK Rowling biography.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Throughout the summer holidays after his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter has been receiving sinister warnings from a house-elf called Dobby. Now, back at school to start his second year, Harry hears unintelligible whispers echoing through the corridors.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Pottermore Publishing, Dec 8, 2015 - Juvenile Fiction - 341 pages. 'There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year.'. Harry Potter's summer has included the worst birthday ever, doomy warnings from a house-elf called Dobby, and rescue from the Dursleys by his ...
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2. by J. K. Rowling. Publication Date: June 26, 2018. Genres: Fantasy. Paperback: 368 pages. Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books. ISBN-10: 1338299158. ISBN-13: 9781338299151. In one of the most highly anticipated sequels ever, J.K. Rowling takes up where she left off with Harry's second year at Hogwarts.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, Book 2) (2)
Amazon.com: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, Book 2) (2): 8580001045948: J. K. Rowling, ... Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2) Video Review! Honest Reviews From Real People. Image Unavailable. Image not available for Color: To view this video download Flash Player ; VIDEOS ;
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [Rowling, J.K., GrandPré, Mary] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ... Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book Review. Carl Newberry . Videos for this product. 0:44 . Click to play video. Harry Potter Book 2 Customer Review and Closer Look.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie review (2002)
The first movie was the setup, and this one is the payoff. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" leaves all of the explanations of wizardry behind and plunges quickly into an adventure that's darker and scarier than anything in the first Harry Potter movie. It's also richer: The second in a planned series of seven Potter films is brimming with invention and new ideas, and its Hogwarts ...
Every Harry Potter Book, Ranked Worst To Best
In retrospect, an entire book dedicated to the threat of an evil serpent living in Hogwarts castle and the blame somehow being cast upon Harry and Hagrid seems strange. Landing in the middle of the pre-Voldemort trilogy, Chamber of Secrets doesn't have the wonder of its predecessor or the amazing plot twists of its sequel. It does have some good plot twists, such as Ginny's role in the ...
A Guide to Identifying Harry Potter First Editions
Your copy must have all of these identifying features in order to be a true first edition. The features outlined above set Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone apart from its US edition, first printed by Scholastic in 1998 with the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The US edition of this book features a different book cover ...
Alfonso 'Cuarón thought Harry Potter offer was 'really weird' until
Harry Potter producer David Heyman explained the decision to hire Cuarón. "I'd seen Y Tu Mamá También, which I loved, and I oddly thought he'd be the perfect director for the third Potter ...
Alfonso Cuaron Took Harry Potter Offer After Guillermo del ...
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" opened in the U.K. on May 21, 2004 and hit U.S. theaters on June 4, 2004. Reviews for the film were outstanding, and it went on to gross $804 million ...
The 7 Harry Potter Horcruxes (& How They Were Destroyed)
Harry Potter destroyed the diary with the basilisk fang. Marvolo Gaunt's Ring. Albus Dumbledore destroyed the ring with the Sword of Gryffindor. Salazar Slytherin's Locket. Ron Weasley destroyed the locket with the Sword of Gryffindor. Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Hermione Granger destroyed the cup with the basilisk fang.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the 1999 novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling.It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series.The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson ...
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by J.K. Rowling.It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series.The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as ...
Harry Potter
The legendary Irish actor Richard Harris was cast in Christopher Columbus' Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but he tragically passed away after The Chamber of Secrets wrapped filming. He ...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Addressing Discrimination and Slavery

Free Will, Determinism, and Identity

Tom Riddle’s Diary and Manipulation

Dealing with Fame

Why does Gilderoy Lockhart try to run away in the end?

Why does Tom Riddle’s Diary get destroyed by Basilisk Fangs?

Why was Ron sent a Howler by Mrs. Weasley?

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Review - A Great Anchor between its Sequels and Prequel

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HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

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