From Goodreads: 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 Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girl’s bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble beings, 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.

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This second book in the famous Harry Potter series is just as riveting and captivating as the first, solidifying in my mind that Rowling is an absolutely amazing author.

Truth be told, I actually have found that I don’t usually like fantasy novels all that much, but the world that Rowling creates for Harry Potter actually makes me feel right at home, and I can easily connect with the characters.  This might have something to do with the fact that I watched the movies first, so I have visuals and such imprinted in my brain, but even so, this fantastical world is easy to follow and become a part of, in my personal opinion.  The story jumps right off the page, wrapping readers up in the awesomeness that is Hogwarts and beyond.

One aspect I really love about this novel is its continuous detail.  From the wizards to their families, potions, spells, and backstory, there is just so much detail that it blows my mind.  Rowling is complete in her descriptions and creation of this world, and the fact that it exists right alongside the human world (which opens the doors for that giddy wishful thinking that maybe, just maybe, it all exists) brings a spark of wonder and jubilation to all.

Dobby is an awesome addition in this novel, and I really liked the introduction of the House Elf.  His abilities and class within the wizarding world is also a bit of a social commentary on our very own society and the way society has treated others, such as slavery, and even the way society treats people today.

And of course, I love the ingenious way that Rowling found to bring Voldemort back into the picture.  The idea of the journal was ingenious, and I am amazed how Rowling is able to bring everything together, from book one to two, and how she’ll be able to keep this up in the next five books as well.  Amazing.

Another aspect that I adore about both novel and movie is that, I feel, the movie got it right, from the big to the small, the casting and characters were perfect, in my mind. Professor Lockhart was even more annoying in the book than in the movie, and I loved Rowling’s portrayal of him. Potter is, as always, a wonderful role model, and this novel is an all-around feel good story with many happenings to keep it all interesting.  From Dobby and his mischievous antics to a Quidditch match gone awry, from spiders trying to eat people to a snake with the same powers as Medusa, the novel kept me glued to the pages and in this for the long haul. Of course, the characters are even more defined in the novel than they are on the big screen, making it impossible for readers not to connect with them on some level; I loved every minute of this. Book still beats movie, but it’s another close call. Five stars.

I own all these novels and movies.