book 2 of Harry Potter

by J. K. Rowling

isbn: 0439064864
subject: SF, Fiction and Literature, Children's Books
finished: 8/9/2000

The second Harry Potter book is good in many of the same ways that the first one was good -- it has lots of hair-raising adventures, schoolboy antics, bad puns, and sly parodies of modern life. Unfortunately, I thought it was too similar to its predecessor; the two books have essentially the same plot structure. However, Chamber of Secrets does contain further developments in two areas: the main characters and their relationships continue to grow and mature, and we learn more about Hogwarts' history, particularly the parts pertaining to Harry and his complex relationship with Lord Voldemort. I enjoyed this book but hope that not all future installments will follow the same formula.