Harry Potter Boxed Set, Books 1-5 (Harry Potter, #1-5) By J.K. Rowling

read Ù eBook or Kindle ePUB Í J.K. Rowling

Box Set containing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! Harry Potter Boxed Set, Books 1-5 (Harry Potter, #1-5)

I rated all the HPs 5 stars, so 5 in one box would be what....25 stars? 9780439682589 Check out my reviews on the main page of each individual book! 9780439682589 Pretty much hated the first book (unfortunately), the second and third were just OK. The rest were GREAT. Gotta love Draco! 9780439682589 The Harry Potter series was the book series that turned me into a reader. I wasn't much of a reader before I was introduced to this WONDERFUL magical world! I thank Harry Potter for my life. Because I don't know where I would be if I didn't have books and I wouldn't have books without starting to read without the series. Hermione Granger is the person who is the role model that I will always remember because she was a leader, she was intelligent, and like me, she was a book person! Books hold the key to knowledge! And knowledge is what Hermione had to get her out of tight spots and get her homework done ON TIME! Harry was amazing because he was courageous , brave, and he did what had to be done to save the people he loved.

I will re-read this series over the course of my lifetime many times, because you can't get enough of it! 9780439682589 I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Need I say more? no? Well I will anyway! Harry potter was the book that turned me into a writing loving reading hating child (because i was not very good at reading at the time) into a writing loving reading ADORING child! Harry potter had everything I could ever want in a book and it set the tone for many books that I read after it and I also watched all the movies though they were a bit dissapointing but a very good attempt all the same anyway no matter what new book I read I will always be a die hard Harry Potter fan because after readiing the Harry Potter series I thought if this book could be so goood and actually make reading fun for me then maybe books arnt so bad after all lol 9780439682589

Only watched the movie but I want to buy and maybe read the book :) 9780439682589 The series is so eminently readable, it's hard to put down. Whoever knew poor orphan Harry would face so many trying times in his young life? Many many times I've laughed while reading. Small wonder Rowling is a prize-winner. The complex come-of-age stuff and tales of the larger moral universe are engaging (sometimes so harsh!) and mysteries are satisfying too. For me I think the first book was the most charming and had the most emotional impact. Of course I'm only too happy to continue reading... Must find out how the saga ends. 9780439682589 Harry Potter is a nice enough read, no doubt. I read it during my first English learning stages (after about 9 months of English courses during high school) because the language was so very easy to understand. It was quite entertaining, sure, especially the first three books, but it didn't have a lot of substance. I could easily name a couple of children's fantasy books (not to mention adult ones) I found much more challenging and enthralling than Harry Potter. I guess, I just don't really understand where all the hype is coming from. Actually I thought that from the fourth book onwards the books lost a lot of zeal and became longer and, well, lengthy, too. I lost interest during the fifth book and didn't even start the rest.
So, altogether, definitely not bad, but not really special, either. The huge success of this series is probably just one of the things that's always going to be a mystery to me (besides the clever merchandising, of course).
9780439682589 The Sorcerer's Stone: 4/5

Harry Potter had his life stolen from him before it ever had the chance to begin. He's haunted by nightmares of green explosions and evil laughter. His parents were violently murdered when he was just a baby. He's forced to live with his wicked aunt, uncle and cousin who treat him worse than garbage. His life is a complete disaster until he learns on his eleventh birthday that's he's a wizard destined for great things as well as having already accomplished quite a few of them without even realizing it. Many strange, exciting and dangerous things are waiting for him at Hogwarts; the notorious school for wizards.

To say I'm very late to the party is an understatement. Harry Potter was pretty much the only fantasy series I ever heard other people my age talking about when I was younger and they spoiled it for me before I ever had the chance to read it myself. After many years have passed and having read hundreds of other fantasy series, I've forgotten about most of the chatter, hype and spoilers revolving around the critically acclaimed series and I decided it was the perfect time to give it a go. I'm glad I did because I enjoyed it far more than I expected I would.

It was fun and witty, adventurous and full of simple yet relatable emotional depth. There were moments that made me feel for the protagonists such as when Harry looked into the Mirror of Erised and saw his dead parents that he desperately wanted to be meet since he was a baby and when Harry solidified his friendship with Ron and Hermione after battling the troll. There were also a lot of charming antics and quips that genuinely made me laugh at times, especially the line regarding Dudley at the very end of the book.

The opening chapters didn't intrigue me all that much at first, but once Hagrid was introduced I ended up growing attached to his character and many others that were introduced soon after. Hagrid remained my favorite character to the end of the book. He's intimidating yet a big softy, he loves breeds of creatures that have been shunned and deemed unworthy of affection because of their dangerous reputations, he stands up for the defenseless and he's an all around cool and jolly guy.

I like the gentle and mysterious nature of Dumbledore, there's more to him than meets the eye. Snape strikes me as the tragic antihero type that acts cruel to hide his inner insecurities and fear of showing affection do to past trauma. I’m also curious about Voldemort and his relationship with Harry’s parents. Voldy is a creepy, spiteful bastard and he knows how to make an entrance. I'm looking forward to finally getting to know these characters that I've heard so much about.

***

Chamber of Secrets: 4/5

Harry is back at Hogwarts after another brutal summer with the Dursley family and it's not all fun and games when he returns. Snape and Malfoy are still giving him trouble, a malicious voice whispers dark things to him that no one else can hear, someone or something is attacking the students and Harry is framed as the most likely suspect. Harry and his friends have no choice but to put their lives on the line to get to the bottom of things and prevent the destruction of Hogwarts from within by unraveling its many forgotten secrets.

A bit of a slow burner in the beginning, but I ended up appreciating the world building regarding the more defined relationships between wizard and muggle societies and how they can coexist, as well as learning about the histories of each respective branch at Hogwarts, especially regarding Slytherin and its connections to both Harry and Voldemort. Another thing I really liked about this book was the well-crafted murder-mystery vibe and the more dark themes of crime and violence sprinkled throughout it. I thought I knew who the culprit was for most of the book, but it turns out that I couldn't have been more wrong. I love being surprised and the revelation of the true culprit was really cool. I can see the series being more plot-focused and mature as it goes on.

(Hagrid is still the GOAT and Dumbledore's pretty cool too, even if he's a bit reckless and makes questionable decisions sometimes.)

***

Prisoner of Azkaban: 4/5

The deranged serial killer Sirius Black has broken out of Azkaban; the most brutal and horrifying prison for criminal wizards in the world. Harry has finally had enough of the Dursleys abuse and storms off on his own, not knowing that Sirius Black is searching for him. Omens of death are all around Harry, and this is confirmed in his first divination class at Hogwarts when Professor Trelawney predicts that his time is almost up. At his most trying year at Hogwarts yet, Harry confronts the bizarre horrors of the soul-sucking creatures known as dementors, comes face-to-face with an escaped mass murderer and uncovers the dark secrets that led to his parents tragic deaths.

I’m noticing that the themes within the books are slowly getting more dark, mature and personal. It gives the feeling that we’re growing up along with Harry and his friends which is a nice touch. It keeps things interesting and gives a sense of constantly growing danger on the horizon.

My favorite part of Prisoner of Azkaban is the introduction of Sirius and Lupin, two interesting and fleshed out characters who have mysterious relations with Harry and his parents. I especially loved the surprising revelation of the ‘true’ villain of this book, shedding some light on what really happened on the day Harry’s parents were killed. The final six or so chapters were the most thrilling stuff I've seen from the series so far. The introduction of the dementors, the psychological thriller elements of betrayal and long lasting grudges being dug up and the looming promise of Voldemort's return made this more intense than Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. More darkness and horror is always welcome in fantasy. Even Ron's pet rat Scabbers gets some huge development that I certainly wasn't expecting.

Hagrid is still my favorite character but Sirius and Lupin have quickly worked their way up to my 2nd and 3rd favorites. I also like Hermione much better in this one as she's been easing up on the snobbish attitude and showing some grit. She also stood up for Harry and Ron quite a bit in this one even when they couldn't appreciate what she was doing for them. She's earned my respect.

I hear the second half of the series is where all the best stuff happens so I’m excited to be fast approaching that point.

***

Goblet of Fire: 5/5

Goblet of Fire begins with Harry having a dreadful vision of Voldemort conspiring with Wormtail about his destined resurrection to power. He wakes with his scar burning more than ever, reminding him that danger is growing closer and closer. He joins Hermione and the Weasley's at the Quidditch World Cup to take his mind off the constant burning of his scar, only for things to go horribly wrong. When the sign of the dark mark is seen at the event, the imminent return of Voldemort is made known to all. On top of this, Professor Dumbledore announces the return of the Triwizard Tournament, an ancient tradition that allows wizarding schools from all around the world to bond and compete in friendly competition. Things get even worse at Hogwarts when Harry's name is mysteriously drawn from the Goblet of Fire, forcing him to compete in many dangerous competitions against foreign wizarding schools against his will. All while dealing with the pressures of puberty, trying to discover who snuck his name in the Goblet of Fire and the looming threat of Voldemort, Harry faces his most challenging year at Hogwarts yet.

The first three books are fun and witty adventure stories with touches of emotional triumph, moral dilemmas and subtle creepiness, but this one completely blows everything that came before it out of the water. The characters are growing and learning about love, religion, slavery, genocide, prejudice, racism and the darker side of the wizarding world. People are starting to die and scandalous truths are being revealed. Traitors as far as the eye can see, double agents hunting down innocent wizards and muggles, Voldemort coming back in full force. The stakes are higher than ever before.

So many crazy things happened in this book that completely changed the tone and intensity of the series. The jolly days of childhood are over and the horrors of the world are slowly coming into view. The trials of the Goblet of Fire were exciting and much more interesting than the typical quidditch competitions. The introduction of several other wizarding schools into the story expanded the horizons of the main characters and opened the world to more intriguing possibilities.

I’ve learned to appreciate and sympathize with Harry a lot more as he was incredibly brave and noble this time around. His final scene at the end of the book involving a certain act of kindness to Ron’s siblings really solidified the respect I have for him. I also enjoyed his friendship with Cedric.

One thing that did annoy me a bit was the mistreatment of Hermione. I always thought she was a much better friend to Harry than Ron, yet both of the boys always seem to take her for granted and never give her the respect she deserves. Even when Harry and Ron have a big falling out over something very childish, Hermione instantly swoops in to support Harry and tries to mend their friendship. And right after the drama between the boys is settled, they go right back to treating Hermione as a third wheel. She deserves better imo.

(Hagrid is still the GOAT, his relationship with Madam Maxine made for many entertaining scenes that also introduced some interesting lore regarding the history of giants.)

***

Order of the Phoenix: 5/5

Voldemort is now back in power and wreaking havoc in the shadows. Gathering his army of Death Eaters, releasing dark wizards from their cells in Azkaban, regaining influence over the Dementors, unleashing despair, discord and darkness all around. Harry and Dumbledore want to spread the news of Voldemort's return so they can gather support and plan a counterattack, but the grimy tactics used by the Ministry of Magic to slander their efforts so they can keep themselves in power throws a wrench in the equation. To undermine Dumbledore, the Ministry of Magic employs the delightfully dreadful Dolores Umbridge to dismantle Hogwarts from the inside.

With Dolores spreading harmful misinformation, humiliating the teachers, torturing the students and destroying any chance of being able to stand up to Voldemort out of pure ignorance and selfishness, Harry and his friends take matters into their own hands by gathering a rebellious group of young wizards and teaching them all they need to know about defense against the dark arts. Illegally training a private pack of young wizards, dealing with puberty, awkward romance, excessive teen angst, standing up to the corrupt officials running the Ministry of Magic and taking a stand against Voldemort's wicked supporters, Harry has more on his plate than ever before.

Order of the Phoenix is a rollercoaster of emotions, mostly negative but in a good way. For example, the main characters got on my nerves more than they ever have. Harry, Ron, Sirius, Hagrid, Snape, Dumbledore and even some of the new characters were painfully selfish and pigheaded at times, yet their reactions to their circumstances were often so realistic and believable that I never viewed them in a way that I felt was poorly written. Rowling does a great job of portraying just how frustratingly self-centered, illogical, petty and obnoxious teens can be at the height of their angst. There were times where Harry was so passive-aggressive, short-tempered and petty that I wanted to slap him silly, but at the same time I perfectly understood his feelings and never blamed him for reacting how he did.

Rowling also does a good job of portraying the ignorance, entitlement, close-mindedness and pretentiousness that many adults exhibit as well. Dumbledore makes many mistakes and is often too forgiving for his own good. Snape is a childish jerk that's unjustifiably cruel and unfair, yet his feelings and actions are understandable when you learn the context of his horrific upbringing. Sirius has a lovable rockstar attitude but is sometimes reckless and causes trouble for others. Even Hagrid who normally comes off as a lovable guy is hard to make excuses for this time around because his bad habit of endangering peoples lives with good intentions just keeps getting worse and worse (still love his character though). Then there's Umbridge, the excruciating queen of sass who acts like an amalgamation of every evil school teacher and politician stereotype you can imagine. The teens and adults were equally frustrating, but their character development throughout the story is better than it's ever been.

I especially enjoyed the much-desired development of the more minor characters such as Neville. Neville went from being a forgettable side character to being a respectable secondary protagonist with a tragic backstory and an awesome turnaround as he joins Harry in his fight against Voldemort to avenge his parents against Voldemort's most loyal servant Bellatrix. Ginny gets much more personality other than just being known as the girl who has a crush on Harry. Luna Lovegood is a fun and quirky new character who brings out the best in the others. We get more context about Sirius's dark family history as well as Snape's upsetting background. Hermione is as reliable as ever. Even the comic relief characters Fred and George had quite a few badass moments and I often found their chaotically carefree attitudes endearing.

Similar to Goblet of Fire, I really didn't appreciate the mistreatment of Hermione from Harry and Ron once again. They continue to take her for granted, disrespect her and make unnecessary passive-aggressive remarks about her in spite of her constant support. She's a great character, a loyal friend and always has everyone's best interests in mind, but no one seems to give her the respect or affection she deserves. I also felt like Luna suffered similar undeserved treatment this time around. They both deserve better.

I did have my gripes here and there, but most were justified and understandable in the context of the plot. The final quarter of the book really escalated things to new heights. A huge climactic battle between Harry's new crew and the Death Eaters, the sudden death of one of the best characters, a heart-wrenching confession from Dumbledore, as well as the foreboding sense that things are bound to get much worse before they get better. Overall, I felt the character work was fantastic and I loved the development of all the side characters. Neville was really the star of the show this time, he had the most triumphant and sympathetic moments.

Though he annoyed me for much of the book, Harry himself also got some good development. He realizes that his role models aren't as perfect as he once thought after learning about the questionable choices of Dumbledore, Sirius and his father James. His mess of a relationship with Cho teaching him about romance, respect and empathy. Taking on the role of a teacher and leading a group of rebel wizards around also gave him an opportunity to prove his worth as the lead hero. 9780439682589 I like it because I like adventure books and Harry Potter is very fascinating 9780439682589