Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, 2) - Softcover

Rowling, J. K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0439064872 ISBN 13: 9780439064873

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2000

Synopsis

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone - or something - starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects... Harry Potter himself!

About this title

Review

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, and after listening to this fantastic reading of what is sure to become an absolute classic, there is little doubt that Rowling's stories will continue to capture the imaginations of generations of young readers long into the future.

After surviving his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and then enduring a summer holiday with the dreadful Dursleys, Harry is ready and raring to get back to his school friends. But something is trying to stop him, and after missing the Hogwart's Express he just about makes it to the school gates on time courtesy of a flying car and rather a lot of magic. But the eventful journey back to school is just the beginning and when rumours about the mysterious Chamber of Secrets start to spread Harry realises that his second year is going to be just as eventful as the first.

Matching Stephen Fry's endearingly snooty vocal chords with Rowling's superb storytelling skills was a stroke of genius: Fry manages to give further depth to an already complex and utterly absorbing plot by adding an irreverent wit and a deep-rooted touch of class to a compelling and magical tale.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a fantastic book, and this stupendous audio version is perfect for long car journeys and sleepless nights, and is an ideal way to introduce reluctant readers to the awe-inspiring world of Harry Potter. (Ages 9 and over) --Susan Harrison

Review

'The most remarkable publishing sensation for a generation ... the story is told with such momentum, imagination and irrepressible humour that it can captivate both adults and children' Sunday Express 'The Harry Potter books are that rare thing, a series of stories adored by parents and children alike' Daily Telegraph 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is as good as its predecessor ... Hogwarts is a creation of genius' TLS 'Joanne Rowling's second book is just as funny, frightening and unexpected as her first' Daily Mail

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0439064872
• ISBN 13: 9780439064873
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 341
• Illustrator: Grandpr Mary