Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Some first reactions: “What? I'm reading Harry Potter?” “Why are there entire chapters devoted to this obnoxious contact/broomstick sport quidditch?” “How can I care about hating Harry Potter's ‘muggle' family when they're so boringly and unrealistically evil?” “Gah! What? Why... I can't stop reading!”

Harry Potter, I'd been told, creates a universe, but it seems more like one pulled from directly from Pratchett or Tolkien, with a writing style that's just a little too bland. It is pretty dark for a kid's book, so it does has a fresh tone and feel (well, since Dahl's children's books at least). But the fantasy tropes are so bare-bones, and I'm surprised Rowling doesn't attempt to detail her dragons and cauldrons and spells with something that truly makes them hers. I had a hard time getting through the novel with all the cardboard characters, the obnoxious adverb use in dialog, and Rowling's utter lack of anything interesting to say at the end of a chapter. There's no spunk or wit, surprisingly; characters are sad and happy and jealous and mean, but they're rarely cute or funny or engaging.

But you've likely heard this before. Overreactions to overrated literature. And hey, look, I still finished it, and I'm still wanting more. And I can say this for it: it does intrigue very well. For a first book, it starts us with an exciting grand narrative (though the second novel grabbed me more with a real story arc and mystery). But it's not the next Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. It's cute, but there's very little edge to it, and there's very little of a world to get lost in. Good thing there's a good mystery within. We'll see how this goes...