Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

You have in your Hand the pivotal fourth novel in the seven-part tale of Harry Potter's training and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron and the Weasley's. He wants to dream about Cho Chang his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal fourteen-year-old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal- even by wizarding standards.

And in his case, different can be deadly.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, "He's at Hogwarts...He's at Hogwarts."

Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

I was happy to begin the second Harry Potter book, which turned out to be filled with plenty of laughs, but still gives the sense of 'what will happen next?' to the reader. We begin with Harry Potter, who returned to the Dursleys, his uncle Vernon, aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudley, after the end of the school term. But the Dursleys despise Harry, especially now that he has become a wizard, and Harry feels like he's left his own home behind him at school.

This book was a little more serious than the first one. Because, although you get plenty of laughs from the slightly ridiculous characters of Dobby the house elf and Gilderoy Lockhart, the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, there is danger in the school. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry and his two friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, were the only two students who knew that something strange was afoot at Hogwarts. But in this book, all the students are exposed to the dangers that begin to reveal themselves in the school.

I liked the fact that Ron's wand is broken in the beginning of the book and how, though it caused Ron quite a bit of grief through most of the story, it ended up saving both Ron and Harry from a very sad fate.

In my opinion, Hermione was more of an open character in this book than she was in the first one. I was glad for this because Hermione is one of my favorite characters so far. Her quick thinking resourcefulness is a compete necessity, how on earth would Ron and Harry get through school without her?

And, of course, there was no less of the thoroughly hilarious twins, Fred and George Weasley. Nothing seems to dampen their spirits and simply reading about their mischievous nature makes you want to smile.

The main point to the story was loyalty. How, although Ron and Harry had a good chance of getting killed or, worse in Hermione's mind, expelled, they continued to search for any clues that might help them stop the attacks on the Hogwarts students. How Ron and Hermione stood by Harry when few others would. And even in the face of serious danger, Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained loyal to each other and to the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

I definitely thought it was well worth reading and very enjoyable, I am glad that this book was recommended for me to read.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

When a person who has read numerous novels of fantasy and science fiction first begins to read "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" it may be difficult to align with J.K. Rowling's universe. Rather than build upon existing mythology, J.K. Rowling started from scratch and created a self-consistent universe unique from all others. The result is that some readers may initially attempt to fit their paradigms of magic, wizardry and witchcraft to Rowling's story, and become frustrated until they wipe away those paradigms. It is for this reason that children enjoy Rowling's universe so well. They have yet to acquire the preconceived notions of adults, and Harry Potter is so fun to read that they fall into the story immediately.

Harry Potter is the stereotypical of the classic nerd. He wears broken glasses, his clothes fit poorly, and he is put down by his aunt and uncle. Into this rather mundane and pitiless world comes a mysterious letter from a place called "Hogwart's. " Suddenly Harry realizes there is more to the world than living under the stairs, and we travel the road to knowledge and a better life with Harry because we want to BE Harry.

When Harry was a baby he encountered Voldemort, considered to be an evil wizard. Voldemort was nearly destroyed in the encounter and Harry Potter became famous, even though he was removed from the world of magic until he turned 10 years old. Unfortunately, Harry's parents did not survive the encounter and thus Harry came to live with his cruel aunt and uncle, both "muggles" who despised and denied the existence of magic.