Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

First Read-through: July 2023
I own several different editions of the Harry Potter series at this point, but I've not yet read my copies of the 20th Anniversary House Editions, so I decided that was something I wanted to do this year. The extra house-related content is a fun addition (and makes me want to collect all four editions of each book in the series...), but the obvious standout to me for this set is the overall book design and the illustrations done by Levi Pinfold.

Specific Details I Noticed:

I love how each book's pages are sprayed with its corresponding house's scarf design!
The dust jacket of each book is very unique to this particular set and I love the inclusion of the house crest done by Levi, in particular. (I don't fully understand the crest's meaning or symbolism, but it's still very interesting and cool to look at. ;P) The use of raised text on the front of the jacket is a nice touch as well.
The "naked book" itself is even high quality - with its thatched texture & gold-foiled text on its spine.
The new map done by Levi, found at the beginning of the book, is another of my favourite additions to this set. It's surprisingly detailed and intricate. I also really appreciate the realisticness of Levi's illustrations - specifically when it comes to the houses’ mascots. The portraits of each house's founder and head of house are just plain stunning as well!
With this being the first book in the series (and our introduction to the Wizarding World as a whole), the extra content included in this book is quite basic and already known by many HP fans (myself included). There is information on each house itself, of course, plus specific blurbs on the house founders, relics, ghosts, alumni, common rooms, and each of the heads of houses. The fact sheets for each of the mentioned characters were especially fun to read through.

You can read more of my thoughts (about the story itself) in my review of the illustrated edition, which can be found here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/28a8c489-828c-48dc-a944-b4bdc89e7c60

Content Warnings

graceev's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

harmony323's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

imyerhero's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

reuben394's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

housedesignerking's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A spectacular debut. An 11 year old boy begins receiving these letters that seem to be from no one, except for a label on the back, but his Guardians refuse to let him read the letter, let alone see it except for when he watches them being destroyed. Eventually, going to great lengths for prevent him seeing these letters and more and more copies begin showing up wherever they go, Harry finally gets his letter and reads that he has been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Through a story line that bridges gaps in his knowledge about his parents, meeting new people and starting his education, he finds himself, along with his friend Ron, and eventually Hermione, in the discovery that the scar on his forehead isn't an ordinary cut from some childhood accident or something of the like.

Together, they must do all they can to prevent a very special stone from falling into the wrong hands, even if it means placing themselves in harms way to do so.

Edit 1-21-23: I've read this multiple times now, including the original British release. What's interesting is that this was written almost as if someone were recalling a story they were told or recalling events they witnessed. The other books in this series, if memory serves, are written differently, with more description and characters say a lot more. I still find this to be a great first book and a great introductory book for the story. 5 stars.

Content Warnings

fatfrog's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Content Warnings

More...