Once every few years, I go back to reading the Harry Potter series. Ever since I was young, I have been in love with this series. I still remember all the times my dad read those books to me before bed and the fights with my older sister because I wanted to read them, and they were standing in her bedroom bookcase.

Harry Potter is a boy who lost his parents when he was still a baby. His aunt and uncle take him in after they find him on their doorstep. It isn’t a lovely household to grow up in. His aunt and uncle let him do all the nasty chores and never took him when they were going to do something fun with their own son. Harry always wishes there was a way for him to escape this situation. It finally happens on his eleventh birthday. A letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrives.

“The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

We follow Harry while he gets his stuff for school, goes to school, and learns about magic. We see him make friends and even enemies. A lot can happen in one school year, especially if it’s a magic school. When he and his friends discover something they are not supposed to know about, they dive head-first into a big mystery. In a magical world, everything can happen. There are wolves, centaurs, vampires, ghosts, and even more.

“And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?”
“Throw it away and punch him on the nose,"

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Even after reading this book for the fifteenth time, I still love every bit of it. I love exploring the magical world, and even though I have read it so many times, there is always something that didn’t catch my eye the last time around. This is the first book in the series, and it is effortless to get into. The world-building is not at all difficult to understand. 

The characters are well-rounded. There are things they are good at, but they also have flaws and things they dislike. It probably isn’t a popular opinion, but I don’t really like Harry’s character. I find him to be a little bit of an annoying person. What I find most interesting and enjoyable in the Harry Potter books are the characters around Harry, and Draco Malfoy will always have a special place in my heart. 

This book will always be a 5-star read for me.