Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Author: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Scholastic 1999

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 352

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: HP; My Years

How I Got It: Own it!

This one is a reread for me. It's been awhile since I read the series. I remember reading the first couple of books out loud to the boys when they were infants. SO that's what eight years ago? I read the last few books as they came out, but overall it's been awhile.

Instead of doing a traditional review, I thought I would just give you some of my reread thoughts. Things I noticed, things I loved, quotes I like, etc. And then I will have a mini review of movie vs. book.

Book fun:

Favorite scene: From this book I have a few favorite scenes. First, the introduction of Gilderoy Lockheart in Flourish and Blotts is too cringe-worthy. I want to get away from him just like Harry. But the way Rowling writes it, I see everything play out in my mind. Second, I love Harry and Ron's arrival to Hogwarts (car and whomping willow), but especially the scolding they get from Snape. He's so scary. I love it. Finally, I love the Deathday Party for Nearly Headless Nick. I can almost smell the rotten food.
Favorite character: I'm going to have to god with Tom Riddle for this book. Even though we don't meet him until Chapter 13, it's just an amazing reveal. We're as much in the dark as Harry until the final showdown in the Chamber. He is such a memorable character!
Favorite expressions: "Definitely dodgy" (Ron) {I really think we Americans need to start using the word dodgy, Love it!], "load of dung" (Fred), "great sizzling dragon bogies" (Filch)
I forgot how slow this book seems to be. The basilisk doesn't petrify it's first victim until page 146. And then everything just seems to happen at once.
Rowling spends a lot of time in the beginning of the book discussing the wizarding world and points from the first book. I guess given the that this is book two and it was targeted at elementary students, it would make sense. But for me, I skimmed through parts of a few chapters to get to the new information. If I'm remembering correctly, this decreases as the books go on.
Tom Riddle was a prefect and won a trophy for "closing" the Chamber. I completely forgot how accomplished he was while at Hogwarts. It puts a whole new spin on the sociopath angle.

Favorite quotes:

"Because that's what Hermione does," said Ron shrugging. "When in doubt, go to the library" (255)
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." (Dumbledore) (333)

Movie fun:

Overall I really like this movie adaptation. It follows the book fairly completely. The story retains the suspense and disbelief without all of the repetition of the backstory. The Hogwart's world is beautiful and moody. And of course, Alan Rickman's Snape is one of my favorite characters to see on the big screen. It's great to see the kids starting to grow up and come into their own.

My favorite scenes: The dueling club. I absolutely love the grandeur. Plus, Lockheart versus Snape is just the height of movie drama. And don't you just love Lockheart's dueling outfit. Hee hee

Things I wished to see, but didn't: The Deathday Party. I love the house ghosts and wish they could have worked in more scenes with them, especially Nearly Headless Nick. I know it would have added too many minutes to the movie, but still it would have been nice.

Harry Potter: