Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling - 4 stars

I Just did a reread of this book with my group and could not believe how much more I enjoyed it this time around. I have experienced a lot more middle grade reads since reading this book the first time, 3 years ago, and I think that has played a big role in it along with eventually reading the whole series and growing with the characters. I found it to be very engaging for me and I love the pacing of the story. Also this time I discovered that this can be a very magical world for children and adults alike and I am glad I vested a bit more time and understanding into the story with this reread. I felt swept away pretty much this time around.

The characters, to me, have always been great even if I did not always enjoy these first few books. I like the antagonists and protagonists alike because they are written so well. I also love the fact that readers get to watch them grow up and get to do what the characters are doing at whatever point they are in the story. They are developed pretty well just in this first book, but definitely get increasingly better with each one of the books. I have to say though that one of my favorite characters has always been Hagrid. I find him to be very loyal and someone I would definitely want on my side for sure. He brings so much to the story.

I can recommend this even if you are an adult. Middle grade reads can be magical and are a nice break from our adult books and adult life as well. I certainly look forward to rereading the rest of this series with my group.