Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (original 1998; edition 1999)

While this review indicates a 2022 read date, I had actually read this several times before that.
EDIT 2022: I added two thousand more words to the furious blog post I originally wrote in 2019, and the post might need a part II. She's a raging anti-Semite. I watched the Jon Stewart clip and I, a Conservative Jewish person, laughed and agreed with him. I'm so sorry he had to apologize in order to save his career while she wrings out every dollar she can of a series she wrote twenty years ago. This book itself...doesn't hold the same sense of wonder it once did. I feel comfortable not reading it again, and am going through the series to learn if I feel this way about the other books.

EDIT 2021: I wrote a furious blog post about how problematic this series is in 2019, before JKR decided to screech about her terrible opinions about trans women. Trans women are women. This series is problematic for a lot of reasons. I will probably still read it annually because of what it represented for me once upon a time.

This is the book that made me plan to reread the series on a yearly basis. I decided so, this afternoon. Coming from me, that's high praise. I rarely read after the first book in a series. I own and often read The Hunger Games series, but that's it. I'm greatly enjoying reading these again ( )

Harry Potter has returned home to his aunt and uncle's house where he is not allowed to be who he is - he also has not heard from his friends all summer. At the worst possible moment, Harry returns to his room to find Dobby, a house-elf waiting for him in his room warning him that it is unsafe for him to return to Hogwarts. After Dobby's visit, Harry is locked in his room unsure how he will get to school. Here comes Ron and his brothers in a flying car to the rescue! The new year at Hogwarts begins with harder classes and a new mystery.

Between a new out of this world Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, students being petrified by an unknown monster and he is hearing a voice that no one else can hear. It becomes known that the heir of Slytherin has released the monster that is petrifying people and Hogwarts may have to close. After Ginny Weasley is taken by the monster, Harry goes into the Chamber of Secrets and attempts to free the school of this monster.

This is another wonderful story that leads you further into the world of Hogwarts and allows you to get to know how deeply Voldemort's hate for Harry actually goes. He is willing to hurt anyone he needs to destroy Potter. ( )

Перше читання - у 2002 (ISBN13: 9785353003090)

Перечитування у 2015:

Не набагато краща за першу книжку.
Але все ж таки краще. Більш захоплива.
В цій книзі є вже відголоси наступних книжок (примітила дещо з 5ї та 6ї).

Читала й кращі книги. Набагато кращі. ( )

I've seen this movie but had never read the book. After this one it will be all new territory for me. Listened to this while studying this week. ( )

@ the second re-read:

★★★★ ½
I honestly didn't enjoy the last 20 pages or so like the rest of the book. I don't know, they seemed to be written in a too fast paced way, especially the fight with the Basilisk.
Anyway, it's been literally YEARS since I started to ask myself a simple question: Ginny, why do you even exist??
She's so.. Useless and stupid. I know that she's only 11 in this book, but (having previously read all the books) I already know that she doesn't improve at all, so I can't help myself but to despise her right from the very beginning of the series. ( )