Amazon.com
It's hard to fall in love with an earnest, appealing young
hero like Harry Potter and then to watch helplessly as he
steps into terrible danger! And in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets, the much anticipated sequel to
the award-winning Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, he
is in terrible danger indeed. As if it's not bad enough that
after a long summer with the horrid Dursleys he is thwarted
in his attempts to hop the train to the Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin his second year. But when
his only transportation option is a magical flying car, it
is just his luck to crash into a valuable (but clearly vexed)
Whomping Willow. Still, all this seems like a day in the park
compared to what happens that fall within the haunted halls
of Hogwarts.
Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to
Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy
is out to get him. Soon it's not just Harry who is worried
about survival, as dreadful things begin to happen at Hogwarts.
The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim,
"The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir,
Beware." But what exactly does it mean? Harry, Hermione, and
Ron do everything that is wizardly possible -- including risking
their own lives -- to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly
mystery. This deliciously suspenseful novel is every bit as
gripping, imaginative, and creepy as the first; familiar student
concerns -- fierce rivalry, blush-inducing crushes, pedantic
professors -- seamlessly intertwine with the bizarre, horrific,
fantastical, or just plain funny. Once again, Rowling writes
with a combination of wit, whimsy, and a touch of the macabre
that will leave readers young and old desperate for the next
installment. (Ages 9 and older) -- Karin Snelson
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