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

2012 Book 152: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

written by J. K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

Reason for Reading: I'm rereading these books along with Lost Generation Reader. 

My Review

Harry hopes his second year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry will be calmer than last year's. However, even before the school-year begins, Harry meets a house elf who is determined to keep Harry from even STARTING his school year. Harry perseveres, however, and delves into trouble yet again when the Chamber of Secrets is opened and some stealthy beast begins to petrify his classmates. Will Harry and his friends be able to stop the beast before it manages to kill someone? Harry also gets his first taste of xenophobia in the wizarding world, when he learns a new naughty epithet (the m-word). And I bet you'd never guess which bratty little villain uses the word? I'll give a hint. He's blonde. ;)

This second installment of the Harry Potter series is just as delightful as the first. It, like its predecessor, is aimed at the younger end of the YA spectrum, which suits me just fine. The narration by Jim Dale is quite enjoyable--in fact, I liked this narration better than his narration of the Sorcerer's Stone. He's got different voices for each of the characters, and his voice definitely engaged me. 

The entire Harry Potter is a popular book on the "banned and challenged" lists released by the ALA. Personally, I didn't see anything objectionable in this book. Accusations of "satan worship" and "encourages interest in the occult" are silly. There isn't any language or objectionable morals that I can see--other than the fact that Harry, Ron, and Hermione steal, lie, and generally disobey rules. Of course, they do these things with the best intentions, and often because they feel the adults don't listen to them. Also, they don't hurt anyone with their antics (though they certainly endanger themselves). But let's be honest with each other. Would YA books be interesting to ANYBODY if the protagonists were perfect little angels who allowed the adults to take care of all the important stuff? Of course not.