Book Review

Okay, so the only review I ever wrote of the Harry Potter books was a review for the entire set. I've never reviewed them one by one and since I'm re-reading the series for the first time in a few years, I thought I'd give a go at reviewing them one by one. If you're one of the few people in the world who haven't read it, beware of some spoilers.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I often think of this as Harry's worst year.  I mean, the most traumatic sufferings are yet to come, but in this year he was on the wrong side of everything, having to prove that he's not the problem. Indeed, it wouldn't be the last experience like that either, but the characters are still so young at this point and there's still so much for them and the readers to learn which gives that added feeling of discomfort and tension to the events therein. That's why this is also a "stand alone" book in the saga. The underlying story of Harry vs. Voldemort doesn't move at all in this book and the plot is, once again, very simple. Harry faces a shadow of Voldemort's teenage self at the end, the relevance of which isn't unpacked until the 6th book. But there was still important world building to be done and the build up to Harry's second teaser encounter with Voldemort was the canvas for that world building.  Harry's ability to understand and speak the language of snakes is explored and it's only ever used as an offensive weapon in this book, enabling him to save a student from a snake attack and open the Chamber. From here on out it would only be used passively, enabling Harry to listen in on snake-speak to gain the advantage of information. This along with the battle with the snake at the end is probably some of the reasons the Potter series developed a bad reputation for violence or demonic influence but the objective reader can see that it's a plot device that would give the inexperienced hero some kind of equalizing advantage with the more experienced villain. Elves were also introduced in this book. Tolkien set the standard for elves drawing from Norse texts presenting them as god like, or at lease superior to humans and that's the direction most fantasy writers tend to go with elves. But Rowling went with the Germanic elven lore which featured mischievous, but working elves -  such as the cobbler elves we've seen in cartoons growing up or Santa's toy making elves. In this book we meet House Elves which are the servant underclass of the magical world. Dobby the abused house elf is an important character that would be brought back several times to help develop the social-political landscape of the magical world.
The Hogwarts castle itself would be ever expanded upon as the series unfolded so they were forever introducing new areas, rooms, and details in each book.  The Death Day party of the Gryffindor ghost is an imaginative and comical scene that must be read in the book because it was cut from the movie for time constraints. But, the only major site introduced in this book would be the Chamber of Secrets itself.  Although it would never be seen again, the creativity is delightful as we learn of a hidden gallery devoted to Salazar Slytherin that contains a giant snake and is accessed from a girl's bathroom. But it's the little things in this book like bathrooms that give the series it's believable touch. Dumbledore's office and Phoenix bird are others and of course, the Wesley's family home, the Burrow. Instead of a normal person being astounded by the the features of  the hidden world, we see a glimpse of how a fully wizarding family lives in this world that is the normal world for them. The age range and personalities of the Wesley children along with the parents is important to experiencing the many viewpoints of life in this world. And even though we knew from the first book that the wizarding world had it's own government, we see more of how it functions in the characters of Arthur Wesley, Lucius Malfoy, and the magical world's Prime Minister, Cornelius Fudge. This book also confirms that the character of the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher will continue to be a wild card, changing with every book which is a great and unique hook to get the readers to come back for more to see what they'll end up with next for a teacher along with more unfolding development of the wizarding world since the plot of this book is wrapped up with Slytherin's great snake being defeated and Harry saving the girl.
Although it stands alone like the first book, it is referenced again towards the end for some of the most important details of Harry's defense against and defeat of Voldemort, so although it seems almost unnecessary in the progression, it is actually quite vital and a great little story of its own.