Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Holy moses, three posts in one day! That's some kind of record for me, I'm sure. I guess I just have a lot to say today.

I finished HP 2, so it is time for my second review. I'm sure nobody really cares, but I have fun writing them. Chamber of Secrets is probably my least favorite Harry Potter book, though that's not to say that I don't still enjoy it. When I first read the series (when Goblet of Fire had just come out), I remember thinking about how Chamber of Secrets seemed like a bit of a tangent. Books one and three were all about trying to thwart Voldemort's return to power, but it seemed like book two was its own separate story. I guess it's true that if Tom Riddle had taken all of Ginny's soul he would have been back, but it just didn't feel the same as when Voldemort returns in book four. Then, of course, Half-Blood Prince came out, and the revelation that Riddle's diary was a horcrux suddenly made Chamber of Secrets much more pertinent and important. What Harry does in the Chamber is one of the most important things he does in the course of the story. It is the first time that Harry moves toward permanently destroying Voldemort.

The Good: Ron, Fred, and George coming to rescue Harry from the Dursleys; Harry's first stay in the Burrow; Harry beating Malfoy at Quidditch despite having a broken arm; Ron's bravery in following the spiders; the Ford Anglia saving the day; Harry and Ron discovering that Moaning Myrtle was killed in the last attacks; Harry and Ron visiting Hermione and putting all the puzzle pieces together; the teachers ganging up on Lockhart just to get him out of the way; Lockhart getting blasted by his own Memory Charm; Harry defeating Riddle and the basilisk and saving Ginny with Fawkes's help; Harry discovering that he pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the hat; the introduction of agency as a main theme: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"; Lucius Malfoy getting blasted down the stairs by Dobby.

The Bad: The Dursleys hitting an all-time abusive low; Dobby sealing the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters; Snape finding Harry and Ron after they crash the car; the rogue Bludger; the dueling club fiasco; Harry finding Justin Finch-Fletchley and everyone thinking Harry did it; Aragog and the spiders.

The Ugly: Everything about Gilderoy Lockhart, but especially his willingness to attack two twelve-year-old boys for the sake of saving face; Draco Malfoy saying it was a pity Hermione hadn't been killed by the monster; Harry getting covered in slime, blood, and ink—I'm not sure why, but the description of Harry wiping slime and blood off of his glasses grosses me out every time.