Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Review
from Amazon.com
It's hard
to fall in love with an earnest, appealing young hero like Harry Potter and then
to watch helplessly as he steps into terrible danger! And in J.K. Rowling's Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the much anticipated sequel to the
award-winning Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
he is in terrible danger indeed. As if it's not bad enough that after a long
summer with the horrid Dursleys he is thwarted in his attempts to hop the train
to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin his second year. But
when his only transportation option is a magical flying car, it is just his luck
to crash into a valuable (but clearly vexed) Whomping Willow. Still, all this
seems like a day in the park compared to what happens that fall within the
haunted halls of Hogwarts.
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