Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, #2)

"It's our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

[Click here to see my review of book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the story of Harry's second year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After spending a terrible summer with the Dursley's, Harry is just about to return to school when a strange creature that calls himself Dobby shows up in his bedroom. Dobby warns Harry that terrible things are going to happen at school this year and he mustn't be there, because it would put his life in grave danger.

Harry, however, refuses to stay with his horrible family and dismisses Dobby's warning as a cruel joke played by someone who doesn't want him back. But things start going wrong from day one: Ron and Harry can't get onto the platform for the Hogwarts Express and have to find other means of getting to school. That's merely the beginning of it.

Then Harry starts hearing voices that no one else can and something starts attacking the Muggle-born students. No one is safe. A rumor about the Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin's heir passes through the student body quickly as fire. Can Harry find out who the Heir of Slytherin is and stop the monster that's attacking the students in the process? Can he protect his friends and convince people that he is not the heir?

Rowling draws us into the sequel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with the same eagerness and excitement that made the first book so wonderful. Once again, she manages to knock us off our feet with her masterful storytelling and her way of keeping us hooked from beginning to end.

Not only does she write wonderful characters that you get to grow with and learn to understand as if they were close friends, but the story itself is filled with twists and turns that one wouldn't have expected, yet would never question. When an author can have you coming back to the story time and time again, wanting to delve into it just once more, that's what makes a truly good book. And that's what J.K. Rowling has in this series of books. You'll always come back wanting more.

Rating: ★★★★☆

[Click here to see my reviews of book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.]

The ink shone brightly on the paper for a second and then, as though it was being sucked into the page, vanished. Excited, Harry loaded up his quill a second time and wrote, "My name is Harry Potter." 
The words shone momentarily on the page and they, too sank without a trace. Then, at last, something happened.
Oozing back out of the page, in his very own ink, came words that Harry had never written.