Harry Potter and the Chamber of Lies, by Draco Malfoy
Written: Jun 22 '05
Product Rating:
Pros: Gilderoy Lockhart and other fun, new characters.
Cons: Just doesn't hold my interest like the others.
The Bottom Line: While reading the Harry Potter series, don't skip it. If you like mysteries, this may even be your favorite. Don't stop with this one though, they get better!
Jellyn's Full Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Pot...
People wouldn't like Harry Potter so much if they knew the truth about him. This book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is nothing but another pack of lies. Harry Potter is an innocent victim. Harry Potter solved a mystery. Harry Potter saved his fellow students. Harry Potter saved the whole entire world single-handedly. And if that's not enough, this book has to start attacking me and my father. Dark Arts implements and supplies in our mansion? Puh-lease. We're upstanding citizens of the wizarding community. My father's even a Hogwarts governor! We contribute to St. Mungo's hospital on a regular basis. You won't find a better and more charitable family. But you don't get that impression from this book, no. This book would have you believe I'm a whiny brat who has to buy his way onto the Slytherin team. I know more about flying than Potter knows about picking his nose!
Don't buy this book. Your money would be better spent buying flobberworm dung.
-Draco Malfoy
Introduction
Who knew Draco could type? Anyway, don't listen to him. Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the Harry Potter series. If you haven't read the first one, I encourage you to read that one first. Not only are the books sequential, but the world is slowly revealed to us in each successive book, so you may be a bit confused by some things if you haven't read the first.
I've found Chamber to be my least favorite of the books. I have trouble remembering what even happened in it after I've read it. By now I've read it several times though, so I've finally got most of the facts and events in my head well enough. However, this is the one most like a mystery book, so if you prefer to read mysteries, you may find this book is actually one of your favorites in the series.
Plot
Harry's home for the summer with his horrible relatives, the Dursleys. A strange creature Harry learns is a House Elf, a slave for a prominent wizarding family, arrives to tell him not to go to Hogwarts. And to get him into trouble. As a result of the house elf's actions, the Dursleys lock Harry into his room and put bars on the windows. Fortunately his friend Ron and Ron's brothers, Fred and George, arrive by slightly illegal flying car to rescue him. Later, when he and Ron miss the train to school, they steal the car to fly to Hogwarts. Needless to say, this ends badly.
The mystery, and plot, of the year, is who is opening the Chamber of Secrets. Who is leaving strange messages on the walls and Petrifying students? A Petrified student is one who is rendered completely immobile and senseless. Whoever it is seems to be targeting Muggleborns, students who were born to two non-magic parents. I won't say too much more, lest I give away clues to the mystery.
Good Bits
In this book, we get to see the flying Ford Anglia for the first time. We get to see more of Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister. We meet Moaning Myrtle, Fawkes, Aragog, and everyone's favorite narcissist, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. We learn what Polyjuice potion is, what a house elf is, how to use floo powder, and many other cool bits and pieces of the wizarding world.
My Thoughts
While this is my least favorite of the series, this book is not to be skipped. You'll be missing out on some favorite characters and cool bits. Consider this as one more small adventure on your quest to discover all there is to know about the world of Harry Potter.
If you've gotten this far in the series and are thinking about stopping, I urge you not to. Book 3, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite. So read this one and keep going!
Details
The version of the book I read is the American paperback version. ISBN 0439064872. The spellings have been Americanized and a few of the words, as well, but at least this one got to keep its original title, unlike Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone.
When the Chamber of Secrets is opened again at the Hogswart School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, second-year student Harry Potter finds himself in dang...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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