Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 10/01/1998 Gr 4-7-Harry Potter has spent 11 long years living with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, surely the vilest household in children's literature since the family Roald Dahl created for Matilda (Viking, 1988). But like Matilda, Harry is a very special child; in fact, he is the only surviving member of a powerful magical family. His parents were killed by the evil Voldemort, who then mysteriously vanished, and the boy grew up completely ignorant of his own powers, until he received notification of his acceptance at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once there, Harry's life changes dramatically. Hogwarts is exactly like a traditional British boarding school, except that the professors are all wizards and witches, ghosts roam the halls, and the surrounding woods are inhabited by unicorns and centaurs. There he makes good friends and terrible enemies. However, evil is lurking at the very heart of Hogwarts, and Harry and his friends must finally face the malevolent and powerful Voldemort, who is intent on taking over the world. The delight of this book lies in the juxtaposition of the world of Muggles (ordinary humans) with the world of magic. A whole host of unique characters inhabits this world, from the absentminded Head Wizard Dumbledore to the sly and supercilious student Draco Malfoy to the loyal but not too bright Hagrid. Harry himself is the perfect confused and unassuming hero, whom trouble follows like a wizard's familiar. After reading this entrancing fantasy, readers will be convinced that they, too, could take the train to Hogwarts School, if only they could find Platform Nine and Three Quarters at the King's Cross Station.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library - Copyright 1998 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/1998 Harry Potter lives a Cinderella life (the pre-godmother phase) with his unpleasant aunt, uncle, and cousin Dudley until one day he’s summoned to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is the first Harry’s heard of his illustrious wizardly heritage (his aunt and uncle are Muggles, non-wizards, who loathe and fear the wizard strain in the family), but at his new boarding school he soon learns the ropes, finds friends, becomes a sports star, and—oh, yes—ends up in combat with one of the greatest evil forces in the universe. In point of fact the last element is the least significant in the story: this is largely an old-fashioned British public-school saga with nasty boys from the competing house, idolized masters, swots turning out to be decent sorts, weedy younger kids demonstrating their loyalty, and blow-by-blow descriptions of sports events. Rowling has carefully created a magic-infused institution of higher learning, and readers will relish many of the fantastical details, such as the portraits that ensure obedience to curfew and the social status attached to different familiars (“If I’d brought a toad I’d lose it as quick as I could”). Some aspects of the magical world, however, seem inserted largely because the author laboriously created them (the sport of Quidditch) and interfere with the plot rather than advancing it; the tone also relies on a studied whimsicality that probably won’t sit well with readers hoping for Golden Compass-type thrills. It’s also not clear that the stakes are anything to get excited about—Harry’s victory over evil seems merely to mean his house’s victory in intramural competition, and his loss would seem merely to have caused a change in headmaster and school policy. Still, the carefully imagined world of the wizardly school and the triumph of the underappreciated young hero will suffice to keep many wannabe wizardlings reading. - Copyright 1998 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 09/15/1998 *Starred Review* Orphaned in infancy, Harry Potter is raised by reluctant parents, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, an odious couple who would be right at home in a Roald Dahl novel. Things go from awful to hideous for Harry until, with the approach of his eleventh birthday, mysterious letters begin arriving addressed to him! His aunt and uncle manage to intercept these until a giant named Hagrid delivers one in person, and to his astonishment, Harry learns that he is a wizard and has been accepted (without even applying) as a student at Hogworts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There's even more startling news: it turns out that his parents were killed by an evil wizard so powerful that everyone is afraid to so much as utter his name, Voldemort. Somehow, though, Harry survived Voldemort's attempt to kill him, too, though it has left him with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead and enormous celebrity in the world of magic, because Voldemort vanished following his failure. But is he gone for good? What is hidden on the third floor of Hogworts Castle? And who is the Man with Two Faces? Rowling's first novel, which has won numerous prizes in England, is a brilliantly imagined and beautifully written fantasy that incorporates elements of traditional British school stories without once violating the magical underpinnings of the plot. In fact, Rowling's wonderful ability to put a fantastic spin on sports, student rivalry, and eccentric faculty contributes to the humor, charm, and, well, delight of her utterly captivating story. (Reviewed September 15, 1998) - Copyright 1998 Booklist.