by J.K. Rowling
Part of Harry Potter
Rating: 3.75 (2 ratings)
First published 1997
Harry Potter lives with his cruel aunt and uncle at number four, Privet Drive. Strange letters begin arriving, written in green ink on yellowish parchment and sealed with purple wax. His aunt and uncle snatch them away before Harry can read them. On his eleventh birthday, a giant man named Rubeus Hagrid appears with shocking news. Harry is a wizard. The letters came from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry has a place waiting for him. The purple seal bears a coat of arms with four animals: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding the letter H. Harry has never heard of Hogwarts, but Hagrid reveals that the magical world knows Harry well. His ordinary life with the Dursleys was built on lies. Now Harry must leave everything familiar behind and enter a world where magic is real and he belongs somewhere at last.
Genres: fiction, fantasy, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, whimsical
Tropes: chosen-one, found-family
Setting: 4 Privet Drive, Diagon Alley, England, Forbidden Forest, Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, King's Cross Station, Leaky Cauldron, London, Platform Nine and Three-quarters
Period: Late 1990s
332 pages · Paperback · Bloomsbury