Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

With all the hubbub about this book I was cautious thinking I wouldn't like it. After all, books like the Hunger Games are also very popular, but I found it to be rather poorly written and the story not that great. Harry Potter on the other hand has a lot of great elements and reminds me of great authors of the time and I don't think it's unfair to say that Rowling is like a Roald Dahl of our times. I know of only one modern day children's author that writes better, that I have read, and that would be Philip Pullman. Granted, I haven't read a lot. Sure, I've Neil Gaiman, but I very much his style of leaving a lot of loose ends, and going nowhere (Or should I say neverwhere?) with side stories.

Rowling spins a good tale, the language is good and plenty descriptive, and the characters have interesting personalities.