Book Review #16 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling

Reason of choice

Since I started to read the Harry Potter series, I would have to read this book. For that reason and for being one of my favorites, due to the many details that the author gives us throughout the book that lead us to understand everything at the end, I chose to read this book.

Reaction to the first pages

Once more, since I knew how the story would go, I wasn’t surprised by anything but, again, remembering some little details that are only present in the books made me want to keep reading the book to look for more of them.

Summary

In the end of the first book of this series, Harry’s friends told him that they would be sending him letters but he didn’t receive any during the whole summer, which made him feel more alone than he had ever felt before. However, in a very important day for Harry’s uncle, he was visited by Dobby, a house-elf who told him not to go to Hogwarts because terrible things would be happening in there. Moreover, Harry found out that he was the responsible for him not getting any letter from his friends.

Harry told Dobby that he had to go back to Hogwarts no matter what, so Dobby ruined the meeting of Harry’s uncle, which made Harry get imprisoned in his room. Fortunately for him, the Weasleys were worried about him, because he hadn’t replied to any letter, so they went to get him in their flying car and took him into their house.

Harry stayed in Weasleys’ house until the start of the school. In the day of going to school, Harry and Ron were the last ones to cross the barrier to catch the train but they weren’t able to do so, which led them to fly to Hogwarts in Mr. Weasley’s car. When they were arriving, they lost the control of the car and they crashed into the Whomping Willow, which attacked them, breaking Ron’s wand. For that reason and for being seen by Muggles flying the car, they almost got expelled.

Harry’s punishment was to help Gilderoy Lockhart, his new Defense Against the Dark Arts’ teacher, to answer his fan mail. While he was in his detention, Harry swore he had heard a voice, while Lockhart hadn’t heard anything. Some days later, Harry heard the same voice again, but this time he was with Ron and Hermione, but they hadn’t also heard anything. In spite of that, Harry followed the voice until they found Mrs. Norris, Mr. Filch’s cat, petrified and a message on a wall.

After the attack, everyone was scared but nothing happened until the day that Harry’s arm was broken by a bludger, that he knew, later, that had been enchanted by Dobby to make him go home. Dobby also confessed that he was the responsible for not letting Harry and Ron get through the barrier to catch the train. In that night, Colin Creevey, a first-year Gryffindor and Muggle-born was attacked.

Due to the attack, Lockhart organized a duel club for the students to defend against the attacker. In there, everyone found out that Harry could talk with snakes, which led everyone to think that he was the attacker, the Heir of Slytherin, and the one who was able to control the monster inside the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry and his friends were convinced that the Heir of Slytherin was Malfoy, so they made a potion that would transform themselves into members of the Slytherin to confirm their suspicions. In the day the potion was finished, they discovered not only that Malfoy wasn’t the Heir of Slytherin but they also found out that the Chamber had been opened before.

After some time, Harry found Tom Riddle’s diary in the bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle, which was the place where they prepared the potion. It was completely blank but Harry felt it was hiding something and one day he tried to write something in there and it answered back. After some “talking” with the diary, it showed Harry that Hagrid was expelled because it was believed that he was the responsible for the death of the girl back when the Chamber had been opened.

Harry told this to his friends but they didn’t want to ask Hagrid about it, but Harry and Ron were forced to do it because Hermione was petrified. However, they weren’t able to ask him because he was taken into Azkaban, having only time to tell the boys to follow the spiders. They did it and went to the nest of Aragog, Hagrid’s huge spider that he had raised and that was believed to be the monster of the Chamber, but Aragog told them that he was given to Hagrid by a stranger and that the monster was the thing that the spiders feared the most.

They had troubles to run from Aragog’s nest but they did it. Some days later, they went to visit Hermione and they found in her hand a paper that made it clear that the monster was a basilisk, a giant snake that could live for many years and that was the thing the spiders feared the most. Moreover, Harry understood why Hermione had wrote “Pipes” in that page: that was the way how it moved through the castle without being seen.

In that same day, Ginny, Ron’s sister, was taken into the Chamber and the boys went to get her with Lockhart, who was trying to run away and who lost his memory due to Ron’s defective wand. In the Chamber, Harry killed the basilisk with the help of Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix, and saved Ginny by destroying Tom Riddle’s diary. In the end, Harry found out that Dobby belonged to the Malfoys but he was able to free him from his slavery condition.

Highlights

In my opinion, the main highlight of this book is the ability of the author to create an amazing story around some details given throughout the book and that altogether make sense and explain everything that happened since the very beginning.

Recommendation

The highlight pointed above is the main reason why I think this book should be read. However, being this part of an amazing series, I have to say that the reading of this book is necessary to understand the whole plot of the series. I must also add that this book as a standalone isn’t that great as it is along the other books of the series.

Click here to read the Book Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.