Another Harry Potter book done. I hate to be conformist, but I am reading these in order, so this time, Harry's in year 2 of Hogwarts, and encounters more mayhem. I normally give at least a brief plot review, but have decided not to for the Potter books. Google it if you don't already know it.
How was book 2 of the Harry Potter saga? Like book 1, it was very good. A few minor things started bothering me this time around, as they seem to come up often:
1) Harry, Ron, and Hermione almost never tell their instructors the truth. I get that in some cases- avoiding Snape or unstable teachers, but they never even confide in Dumbledore until the end. It makes for more suspense, certainly, but seems as though they're making it harder than it has to be.
2) Harry gets caught often in awkward situations- being in the wrong place at the wrong time- and that starts to wear after a while. (Almost) never his fault, it makes for a lot of suspense/drama throughout the book, but can be tiring. In a way, I was reminded of Ken Follett's World Without End. Also an excellent book, the characters there are always involved in so much drama that, towards the end, it gets increasingly unbelievable, and it starts to take away some of the magic.
To me these are pretty minor points, but if they continue in the books, I'll get increasingly bothered by it. For what it is- a children's book- it's excellent. My personal struggle in reading is just to remind myself that this is not epic fantasy- and not supposed to be. It's a kid's book, and a good one.
Rating: A
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