Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Haris Poteris ir Paslapciu Kambarys (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

J.K. Rowling

Date: 20 July, 2001   —   Book

product page

Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy, Juvenile

Harry Potter, second year, more fun at Hogwarts, yadda yadda. If you like the first one, the second one is good— and here's the interesting note: Rowling intended the book to be written at the level of the protagonist. This book has Harry at twelve; therefore the target audience is twelve-year-olds. The moral dilemmas are more complex, and the writing is just a bit more advanced. The sneaky thing to do is to get your child hooked on Harry Potter and merely provide the books; once they get past the first few, they will start reading at a higher level without even noticing.

Rowling has obviously done her research; anyone with a grounding in mythology and Latin will be able to figure out plot twists long before they happen. (Even knowing word roots is enough.) This background gives her world a rich texture lacking from many children's books, and enables a great deal of consistency. Ah, well.

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