Hello y’all wonderful people, pure-bloods, half-bloods, Muggle-born witches and wizards, and Muggles, and welcome to the first Thriving Thursday of October!
Today I’m gonna talk about the book that made me fall in love with reading; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by the amazing and super, super talented and unique J. K. Rowling.
It’s been almost fifteen years that my parents bought me this little gem as a Christmas gift. I was extremely happy, as I recall, because I always loved books and reading. So, my Mom and I started reading the book simultaneously. Or so we did, up till the third chapter…
After that, I had to read it all at once! It was -and still is- my precious! This was more than love… It was adoration!
For those five people who don’t know the story of Harry Potter, let’s get straight to the synopsis. After that, things might get a bit spoilery. But, no worries, dearies! That’s the true beauty of this novel; its pure magic!
We’ll have plenty of time to discuss after the review is over.
“Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.
Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.
Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment in the series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.”
This is the official synopsis of the first book, yet this time I read the 20th anniversary Ravenclaw edition that I got from Bloomsbury Publishing earlier this summer.
So, the synopsis of this particular edition quotes as such:
“Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw …
Twenty years ago these magical words and many more flowed from a young writer’s pen, an orphan called Harry Potter was freed from the cupboard under the stairs – and a global phenomenon started. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has been read and loved by every new generation since. To mark the 20th anniversary of first publication, Bloomsbury is publishing four House Editions of J.K. Rowling’s modern classic.
These stunning editions will each feature the individual house crest on the jacket and sprayed edges in the house colours. Exciting new extra content will include fact files, profiles of favourite characters and line illustrations exclusive to that house. Available for a limited period only, these highly collectable editions will be a must-have for all Harry Potter fans in 2017.”
Hey… Proud Ravenclaw here speaking! 💙
So in this first instalment, we get to meet a 10-year-old orphan boy, Harry Potter, whose ruthless uncle and aunt, along with his bully cousin, make his life a living hell!
Things change abruptly though once he finds out this…
..and yes, I know that this is the movie quote, while in the book Hagrid said “Harry, you’re a wizard”, but, you get the point folks!
And this is where J. K. Rowling takes things to a whole new level!
This woman managed to create a whole new world within our world. A community full of beauty and magic and prejudices and everyday problems and everything a very real community of people has!
Taking us from London up till the stunning lakes of Scotland and introducing us to each and every teacher of the most amazing school of all time, Hogwarts, as well as building characters, relationships, friendships and rivalries, was LITERALLY like returning home after a really long time!
This magical world keeps mesmerizing me, it keeps bringing tears of joy into my eyes and it keeps reminding me that I will always wait for my own Hogwarts later. Even if I’m almost 25 years old… It’s never late to study magic!
Moving on, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a novel with beautiful descriptions, very vivid images, witty dialogues and amazing, breathtaking narration! I never felt that it was slow paced or anything.
I could see, feel, hear, smell and taste EVERYTHING! Especially during the Halloween dinner, I even felt envious that I weren’t at Hogwarts! Even if the mountain troll shook things up a little bit…
And, of course, the most amazing thing of all! J. K. Rowling invented this superbly fun and awesome game, Quidditch, which I absolutely ADORE and I’d gladly go watch those matches every single day! Too bad I can watch them only in my dreams and the Harry Potter movies… 😢
Yet, as I’m more experienced in the literature sector now, I need to point out a few things that seemed a bit off to me. But then again, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was J. K. Rowling’s debut novel, so it kinda makes sense.
So, let me ask a few things…
A) How did Harry, Ron and Hermione instantly became friends after the mountain troll attack?
B) How could they possibly have forgotten the invisibility cloak at the top of the Astronomy tower?
C) How did they manage every year to find the barrier to go to Platform Nine and Three Quarters? I used to get lost in King’s Cross station!
D) When playing wizards’ chess, if you broke your pones, you should buy a new set every time?
E) Nicolas Flamel was only staying alive because of the existence of the Philosopher’s Stone? That doesn’t really make sense… he should have gotten immortal after so many centuries, brewing the elixir of life. Right?
And now, my biggest question of them all…
When Dumbledore visits Harry in the hospital wing, he mentions something; that Snape owed a debt to Harry’s dad and that’s why he was protecting him this whole year. Is that accurate? I mean, Snape was in love with Lilly, Harry’s mother, so I think that that’s the reason why he basically sacrificed himself, so Harry could defeat Voldemort at last. Right? What was that debt Dumbledore was talking about?
Finally, since this time I read the Ravenclaw edition, aside from the map of Hogwarts, there were some super cool stuff about the history of Ravenclaw; some known students and alumni, the ghost of Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick and so on.
Did you guys know that Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout had a relationship? 😯Yeah! That’s right! They were together! I still can’t believe it myself!
And that’s why I think that J. K. Rowling should definitely write many more stories revolving around that universe!
Either way, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will always have a very special place in my heart, no matter what!
This whole story is magical, unique, honestly one-of-a-kind!
The characters are all so different with one another, having their own, unique personalities, their strengths and weaknesses, things they like and dislike, hopes and fears…
And, to me, that’s what makes those books so popular and loved; that everyone, EVERYONE, can relate to at least one character.
I will always relate to her, for obvious reasons!
This novel is the one that captivated me right form its cover and kept me bewitched long after the end of it.
It’s biased, I know, but some books have a special place in our heart and soul because they helped us face some really difficult and shitty periods in our life. And losing your grandfather in a car crush… well, that’s pretty shitty!
So, thanks J. K. Rowling for bringing Harry Potter in my life and helping me get through this hard period of my life! I wish and hope that no 10-year-old faces something similar! And if they do, I hope they have Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to keep them company!
Thank you, Jo, for creating this whole world and bringing all those characters in my life!
I will be eternally grateful!
And thank you all for being here again this week! It means the world you keep coming back to my blog-home! Virtual hugs, cupcakes and cookies to each and every one of you! 💙
As for me, I’m gonna drink my potion now!
Till next time… Toodles!
Victorious Pages 
Thank you! I’ll make sure to have this ready by Halloween!
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