Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
by J.K. Rowling
★★★★☆
Harry Potter enters his second year at Hogwarts with a bang… literally. He crashes into a tree while flying a car to school. The second book in the series has never been my favorite, but I was surprised, upon re-reading it, to discover how many small details foreshadow events in future books. They seem unimportant here, but in retrospect Rowling was clearly setting up the final premise early on.
There are also so many important characters that are introduced in this installment. We meet Dobby and see his eternal loyalty unfold from the first chapters. We meet the entire Weasley family (except the eldest brothers) and visit their home, the Burrow, for the first time. They truly become Harry’s family and so this is an important event. We also see Dumbledore’s office for the first time and his role becomes more prominent.
This is also the book where Voldemort becomes more than just a generic baddie. Until now we knew nothing about his past. Learning about his heritage, childhood and “normal” years makes him an interesting adversary, instead of just a villain. I love Harry’s struggle with the similarities between him and his foe. It adds another great layer to the story.
Rowling has an interesting habit of splitting up the core group at the end of many of the books. In the first one, Ron is separated from Hermione and Harry at the chess game. In the second book, Hermione is debilitated before the Chamber of Secrets sequence. In the third book, Ron is again out of commission before the final section. I never really noticed that before, but it’s an interesting trend. Side note: What happened to Neville? He is barely mentioned at all in this book, which is sad.
A few things I'd forgotten about the second book:
1) This is the first time Harry is really disliked or feared by other students. In future books this happens frequently, but this book marks the first time Harry is rejected by many of the people he knows in the wizarding world.
2) I’d forgotten all about Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party. It provides a chance to meet a few of the house ghosts, which is important in the final books.
3) Fawkes is such a critical character in this book. I’d forgotten how crucial the phoenix’s role is and how important it is that he comes when Harry needs him. It speaks volumes about Harry’s loyalty to Dumbledore at a time when Harry didn’t know him well.
Read for the Harry Potter Challenge hosted here.
