Author:
J.K. Rowling
Title:
Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets
Number of pages:
352
Publisher:
Bloomsbury
Genre:
Fantasy / Novel
Why’d I chose this book:
After I read the first Harry Potter book, I was sold. When I finished reading the first one it was sure for me that I would be reading the second in no-time.
First reaction:
The same as book 1: I couldn’t stop reading from the very start. It was exciting, funny and interesting, even at page 1!
Summary:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets begins when Harry is spending a miserable summer with his only remaining family, the Dursleys. During a dinner party hosted by his uncle and aunt, Harry is visited by Dobby, a house-elf. Dobby warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts, the magical school for wizards that Harry attended the previous year. Harry politely disregards the warning, and Dobby wreaks havoc in the kitchen, infuriating the Dursleys. The Dursleys angrily imprison Harry in his room for the rest of the summer. Luckily, Harry's friend Ron Weasley steals Harry away in a flying car, and Harry happily spends the rest of the summer at the Weasley home.
While shopping for school supplies with the Weasleys, Harry has two unfortunate encounters. He first encounters Lockhart, one of his teachers, who demands to be in a photo shoot with Harry. Harry then encounters Lucius Malfoy, the evil father of one of Harry's enemies, who almost starts a fight with Mr. Weasley. As Harry prepares to return to Hogwarts, he finds that he and Ron are unable to enter the magically invisible train platform, so they fly the Weasley car to Hogwarts. They land messily, and both boys are given detentions. Lockhart, who believes Harry flew the car to get attention, lectures Harry.
Quidditch practices begin and Draco Malfoy is the new Slytherin seeker. On the field, he calls Hermione a "mudblood," insulting her Muggle heritage. After taunting Hermione, Draco is the suspect when, on Halloween night, someone petrifies the school caretaker's cat and writes a threatening message. Before the cat is attacked, Harry twice hears an eerie voice. He hears it first during his detention and second during a party, moments before the cat is attacked. Everybody in the school is alarmed. By doing some research, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn that fifty years ago a chamber at Hogwarts was opened and a student was killed.
Playing for Gryffindor, Harry wins the Quidditch match against Slytherin. During the game, an enchanted ball hits Harry and causes him to lose the bones in his arm. Dobby, a house elf, has enchanted the ball in an effort to have Harry injured and sent home. That night, Harry sees the body of a first-year who has been petrified arrive at the hospital. Soon after, Lockhart begins a dueling club. During the first meeting, Harry terrifies his fellow students by speaking in Parseltongue to a snake. Harry's ability frightens the others because only the heir of Slytherin, who is responsible for opening the chamber, would have the ability to converse with snakes. Harry comes under further suspicion when he stumbles upon the petrified bodies of Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly- Headless Nick.
Determined to catch the culprit, Ron, Harry and Hermione brew a potion called Polyjuice. The potion allows them to assume the bodies of Slytherins and question Malfoy on the Chamber of Secrets. They find out that Malfoy is not the heir of Slytherin. No more attacks occur for a while, and right before Valentine's Day, Harry finds a diary in the broken toilet. The diary belongs to a ghost named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' restroom. Harry writes in the diary, which responds by writing back. Through this dialogue, Harry meets Tom Riddle, a boy who many years before had accused Hagrid of opening the Chamber of Secrets.
Hermione and a Ravenclaw girl are mysteriously petrified. Harry and Ron venture out of the castle to question Hagrid. Before they reach Hagrid, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and Lucius Malfoy remove Dumbledore and Hagrid from Hogwarts. As Hagrid is led away, he instructs the boys that by following the spiders, they can find out about the Chamber monster. Several nights later, Harry and Ron sneak into the Forbidden Forest to follow the spiders. They discover the monster who killed the girl fifty years before was not a spider, that the girl's body was found in a bathroom, and that Hagrid is innocent. The boys are almost killed by a colony of giant spiders. As they escape, Harry and Ron decide that Moaning Myrtle must have been the girl killed by the monster.
A few days later, Ron and Harry discover a piece of paper with a description of a basilisk on it in Hermione's frozen hand. They deduce the Chamber monster is a basilisk. Before the boys can act on their knowledge, the teachers announce that Ginny Weasley has been taken into the chamber. Ron, Harry, and Lockhart slide down a secret passage in Myrtle's bathroom to underground tunnels. When Lockhart accidentally curses himself, Ron helps him and Harry leaves them behind. Harry enters the Chamber of Secrets and encounters Ginny's still body and Tom Riddle. Tom turns out to be a younger version of Voldemort, who has been enchanting Ginny through his journal. Harry calls for help from Dumbledore. A phoenix and a magic hat arrive. Tom summons a basilisk, but the phoenix punctures its eyes. The hat produces a sword, which Harry uses to kill the giant snake. Harry sticks a basilisk fang through the diary, destroying Tom. Ginny wakes up.
Harry explains his adventure to Dumbledore. Lucius Malfoy storms into the office with his house-elf, Dobby, and Harry frees Dobby from by tricking Lucius into giving Dobby a sock. All is well in the castle as the students leave for their summer vacations.
Characters
Harry Potter: a wizard that become famous for beating Voldemort. He’s twelve years old and a small, a bit skinny boy. He has a thin face, knobbly knees, black, rambling hair, green eyes and a scar in the shape of a lightning on his forehead. The scar he got due to the curse Voldemort spoke on him.
Ron Weasley: Harry and Ron and Hermione are best friends, they’re both in Gryffindor. He and Harry support each other in difficult times and have a lot of fun together. Ron is tall, thin and gangling, with freckles, red hair, big hands and feet and a long nose.
Hermione Granger: she’s born in an ordinary Muggle family. She is best friends with Ron and Harry. Hermione is a real eager student which comes in handy on some moments in the book. She can remember all the spells from their schoolbooks and classes. She has a large tuft of brown hair and big front teeth.
Professor Dumbledore: he’s the headmaster of Hogwarts and the only wizard Voldemort ever feared. Dumbledore’s a very wise and noble man, who can get across very integrating, but at the same time is very humane and can enjoy the little things in life (such a sours and tenpin bowling). He’s an old man, wears half-moon glasses, has a long crooked nose, a long silver beard and a moustache. He impresses Harry a lot.
Hagrid: he’s the game-keeper of Hogwarts. He lives in a hut on the edge of the forbidden forest, and has a soft spot in his heart for big and dangerous animals such as dragons. He’s also one of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s best friends. They often visit him in his hut after school. He’s a little incautious with keeping secrets and doing illegal things, but he means well. Hagrid is a giant man of about twice the length and width of a normal man, has a long, saggy mane of hair, a wide tangled beard and black eyes glinting like beetles. He also plays a little bit bigger role in this book than in book 1.
Draco Malfoy: Harry and Draco can’t stand each other. Draco is a mean, arrogant boy with a long, pale face and sleek white hair who does everything to get Harry and his friends in trouble. He’s very proud on the fact he comes from a family with ‘pure’ wizards blood, and hates wizards and witches born in Muggle families. Malfoy is always accompanied by his ‘bodyguards’, Crabbe and Goyle, who just like Malfoy, are from Slytherin.
Other important characters: Professor Gilderoy Lockheart (teacher Defense Against the Dark Arts) Professor Snape (teacher Potions), the Weasly family (especially Fred, George, Ginny and of course Ron), the Dursley family, Professor McGonagall (head of Gryffindor), Neville Longbottom (clumsy classmate).
Themes
- Friendship
- Adventures
- Wizardry
- Courage
Explanation of the title:
This Harry Potter book also has a title which is easy to explain: Harry Potter is the main character, and the chamber of secrets is the main subject of the book…
Point of view:
The story is told in the third person.
Judgment:
It was even more exciting then the first book, although I found the first book more fun to read, when he gets to know everything in the wizardry world. But in this book, there was more excitement… I really liked the book! I have the same problem as with the first book: I couldn’t stop reading. I’m definitely also going to read the third book, the prisoner of Azkaban.
J.K. Rowling
Title:
Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets
Number of pages:
352
Publisher:
Bloomsbury
Genre:
Fantasy / Novel
Why’d I chose this book:
After I read the first Harry Potter book, I was sold. When I finished reading the first one it was sure for me that I would be reading the second in no-time.
First reaction:
The same as book 1: I couldn’t stop reading from the very start. It was exciting, funny and interesting, even at page 1!
Summary:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets begins when Harry is spending a miserable summer with his only remaining family, the Dursleys. During a dinner party hosted by his uncle and aunt, Harry is visited by Dobby, a house-elf. Dobby warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts, the magical school for wizards that Harry attended the previous year. Harry politely disregards the warning, and Dobby wreaks havoc in the kitchen, infuriating the Dursleys. The Dursleys angrily imprison Harry in his room for the rest of the summer. Luckily, Harry's friend Ron Weasley steals Harry away in a flying car, and Harry happily spends the rest of the summer at the Weasley home.
Quidditch practices begin and Draco Malfoy is the new Slytherin seeker. On the field, he calls Hermione a "mudblood," insulting her Muggle heritage. After taunting Hermione, Draco is the suspect when, on Halloween night, someone petrifies the school caretaker's cat and writes a threatening message. Before the cat is attacked, Harry twice hears an eerie voice. He hears it first during his detention and second during a party, moments before the cat is attacked. Everybody in the school is alarmed. By doing some research, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn that fifty years ago a chamber at Hogwarts was opened and a student was killed.
Playing for Gryffindor, Harry wins the Quidditch match against Slytherin. During the game, an enchanted ball hits Harry and causes him to lose the bones in his arm. Dobby, a house elf, has enchanted the ball in an effort to have Harry injured and sent home. That night, Harry sees the body of a first-year who has been petrified arrive at the hospital. Soon after, Lockhart begins a dueling club. During the first meeting, Harry terrifies his fellow students by speaking in Parseltongue to a snake. Harry's ability frightens the others because only the heir of Slytherin, who is responsible for opening the chamber, would have the ability to converse with snakes. Harry comes under further suspicion when he stumbles upon the petrified bodies of Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly- Headless Nick.
Determined to catch the culprit, Ron, Harry and Hermione brew a potion called Polyjuice. The potion allows them to assume the bodies of Slytherins and question Malfoy on the Chamber of Secrets. They find out that Malfoy is not the heir of Slytherin. No more attacks occur for a while, and right before Valentine's Day, Harry finds a diary in the broken toilet. The diary belongs to a ghost named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' restroom. Harry writes in the diary, which responds by writing back. Through this dialogue, Harry meets Tom Riddle, a boy who many years before had accused Hagrid of opening the Chamber of Secrets.
Hermione and a Ravenclaw girl are mysteriously petrified. Harry and Ron venture out of the castle to question Hagrid. Before they reach Hagrid, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and Lucius Malfoy remove Dumbledore and Hagrid from Hogwarts. As Hagrid is led away, he instructs the boys that by following the spiders, they can find out about the Chamber monster. Several nights later, Harry and Ron sneak into the Forbidden Forest to follow the spiders. They discover the monster who killed the girl fifty years before was not a spider, that the girl's body was found in a bathroom, and that Hagrid is innocent. The boys are almost killed by a colony of giant spiders. As they escape, Harry and Ron decide that Moaning Myrtle must have been the girl killed by the monster.
A few days later, Ron and Harry discover a piece of paper with a description of a basilisk on it in Hermione's frozen hand. They deduce the Chamber monster is a basilisk. Before the boys can act on their knowledge, the teachers announce that Ginny Weasley has been taken into the chamber. Ron, Harry, and Lockhart slide down a secret passage in Myrtle's bathroom to underground tunnels. When Lockhart accidentally curses himself, Ron helps him and Harry leaves them behind. Harry enters the Chamber of Secrets and encounters Ginny's still body and Tom Riddle. Tom turns out to be a younger version of Voldemort, who has been enchanting Ginny through his journal. Harry calls for help from Dumbledore. A phoenix and a magic hat arrive. Tom summons a basilisk, but the phoenix punctures its eyes. The hat produces a sword, which Harry uses to kill the giant snake. Harry sticks a basilisk fang through the diary, destroying Tom. Ginny wakes up.
Harry explains his adventure to Dumbledore. Lucius Malfoy storms into the office with his house-elf, Dobby, and Harry frees Dobby from by tricking Lucius into giving Dobby a sock. All is well in the castle as the students leave for their summer vacations.
Characters
Harry Potter: a wizard that become famous for beating Voldemort. He’s twelve years old and a small, a bit skinny boy. He has a thin face, knobbly knees, black, rambling hair, green eyes and a scar in the shape of a lightning on his forehead. The scar he got due to the curse Voldemort spoke on him.
Ron Weasley: Harry and Ron and Hermione are best friends, they’re both in Gryffindor. He and Harry support each other in difficult times and have a lot of fun together. Ron is tall, thin and gangling, with freckles, red hair, big hands and feet and a long nose.
Hermione Granger: she’s born in an ordinary Muggle family. She is best friends with Ron and Harry. Hermione is a real eager student which comes in handy on some moments in the book. She can remember all the spells from their schoolbooks and classes. She has a large tuft of brown hair and big front teeth.
Hagrid: he’s the game-keeper of Hogwarts. He lives in a hut on the edge of the forbidden forest, and has a soft spot in his heart for big and dangerous animals such as dragons. He’s also one of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s best friends. They often visit him in his hut after school. He’s a little incautious with keeping secrets and doing illegal things, but he means well. Hagrid is a giant man of about twice the length and width of a normal man, has a long, saggy mane of hair, a wide tangled beard and black eyes glinting like beetles. He also plays a little bit bigger role in this book than in book 1.
Draco Malfoy: Harry and Draco can’t stand each other. Draco is a mean, arrogant boy with a long, pale face and sleek white hair who does everything to get Harry and his friends in trouble. He’s very proud on the fact he comes from a family with ‘pure’ wizards blood, and hates wizards and witches born in Muggle families. Malfoy is always accompanied by his ‘bodyguards’, Crabbe and Goyle, who just like Malfoy, are from Slytherin.
Other important characters: Professor Gilderoy Lockheart (teacher Defense Against the Dark Arts) Professor Snape (teacher Potions), the Weasly family (especially Fred, George, Ginny and of course Ron), the Dursley family, Professor McGonagall (head of Gryffindor), Neville Longbottom (clumsy classmate).
Themes
- Friendship
- Adventures
- Wizardry
- Courage
Explanation of the title:
This Harry Potter book also has a title which is easy to explain: Harry Potter is the main character, and the chamber of secrets is the main subject of the book…
Point of view:
The story is told in the third person.
Judgment:
It was even more exciting then the first book, although I found the first book more fun to read, when he gets to know everything in the wizardry world. But in this book, there was more excitement… I really liked the book! I have the same problem as with the first book: I couldn’t stop reading. I’m definitely also going to read the third book, the prisoner of Azkaban.
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