Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Most reviews were very favourable, commenting on Rowling's imagination, humour, simple, direct style and clever plot construction, although a few complained that the final chapters seemed rushed.
The writing has been compared to that of Jane Austen, one of Rowling's favourite authors, or Roald Dahl, whose works dominated children's stories before the appearance of Harry Potter, and of the Ancient Greek story-teller Homer. While some commentators thought the book looked backwards to Victorian and Edwardian boarding school stories, others thought it placed the genre firmly in the modern world by featuring contemporary ethical and social issues. Synopsis[edit] Plot[edit] Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The book was published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury and in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc.
Although Rowling found it difficult to finish the book, it won high praise and awards from critics, young readers and the book industry, although some critics thought the story was perhaps too frightening for younger children. Much like with other novels in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets triggered religious debates; some religious authorities have condemned its use of magical themes, while others have praised its emphasis on self-sacrifice and on the way in which a person's character is the result of the person's choices. Several commentators have noted that personal identity is a strong theme in the book, and that it addresses issues of racism through the treatment of non-magical, non-human and non-living characters. Plot[edit] Lockhart turns out to be an incompetent teacher, more concerned with personal celebrity than teaching.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The book was published in the United Kingdom on 8 July 1999 by Bloomsbury and in the United States on 8 September 1999 by Scholastic Inc.[1][2][3][4] Rowling found the book easy to write, finishing it just a year after she had begun writing it.
The book sold 68,000 copies in just three days after its release in the United Kingdom, and since has sold over three million in the country.[5] The book won the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was short-listed for other awards, including the Hugo. Plot[edit] On an illegal visit to the village of Hogsmeade (thanks to The Marauder's Map, given to him by George Weasley and Fred Weasley), Harry overhears some of his teachers talking with Fudge about Black, saying that Black was a friend of Harry's parents, but he betrayed them and gave Voldemort access to their house, and that he also killed thirteen Muggles and his former friend Peter Pettigrew. Pre-release history[edit] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Synopsis[edit] Plot introduction[edit] Harry learns that he is a wizard when he is 11 years old, just before he enrolls in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and is confronted by Lord Voldemort who is trying to regain power. In Harry's first year he has to protect the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort and one of his faithful followers at Hogwarts. After returning to the school after summer break, students at Hogwarts are attacked by the legendary monster of the "Chamber of Secrets" after the chamber is opened. Plot summary[edit] At the start of the book, Harry sees Frank Bryce being killed by Lord Voldemort in a vision, and is awoken by his scar hurting. At Hogwarts, the students are told that Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody will be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for one year, and Hogwarts will host the Triwizard Tournament, starting in October at the opening feast. Harry then has to ask a partner to the Yule Ball. Themes[edit] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Plot[edit] At Hogwarts, Harry learns that Dolores Umbridge, an employee to the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, would be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Umbridge and Harry clash, as she, like Fudge, refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned. She punishes Harry for his rebellious outbursts by having him write "I must not tell lies" with a blood quill that carves the phrase into his skin with his own blood. She also refuses to teach her students how to perform defensive spells, prompting Harry, Ron and Hermione to form their own Defense Against the Dark Arts group, called Dumbledore's Army.
Many students sign up, including Neville Longbottom, Fred and George Weasley and Luna Lovegood. There, Umbridge provokes the centaurs by insulting them and is taken captive by them. Dumbledore explains to Harry that the prophecy states that neither Harry nor Voldemort can live while the other survives. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.