J.K ROWLING (1997) Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone. Bloombsury

By Fernando Alonso Pérez-Chao 1º Bachillerato EFL

Everything starts when Harry Potter, an apparently normal boy finds out who he really is: the most famous wizard in the world. Everyone knows him because he was the only one who survived to a Voldemort's attack (the most powerful dark wizard in the world). He's known literally by the name “the boy who lived.”

Once he discovers who he is, he will go to a magical school called Hogwarts, and there he will learn how to use his wand, how to cast a spell on someone, how to defend himself from the dark magic and lots of other spells. He will also make really good friends who will help him when he needs it.

The Harry Potter saga (formed by 7 books) is probably the best saga I have ever read. This book especially, which I read in Spanish and now in English is most likely the best one. It reminds me of my childhood memories when I used to dream with a world like the world where Harry Potter lives. It’s quite a long book (especially if you read it when you are a child) that takes you to a world of fantasy and magic where everything is absolutely different: lifestyle, school subjects...

I like the different relationships that we find in this book, and I specially love how Harry appreciates his real friends, in spite of their mistakes. He needs them to live, and he realizes it because he had lived the first 11 years of his life with no friends, and that's why he appreciates them that much.

I would recommend this book to all kinds of people, but especially to children and teenagers. To the first group, basically because if they read the saga while they are growing up (as I did) they will see the world in a different way, which is crucial to develop their imagination and appreciate the little things that childhood has. And finally to the second group, because sometimes when you are a teenager you don't realize that you used to be a child not that long ago, and reading this saga could help you to remember the child that you have inside, something that you can't forget.

This book has been recommended before (see March posts)