All 7 Harry Potter books, ranked worst to best
By Bryce Olin
Harry Potter books, ranked
The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling are some of the most popular books in the world. The book series began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997, known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S. In the two decades since the books series began, more than 500 million copies have been sold worldwide, according to Scholastic.
There are seven books in the series, but which book is best? We ranked the Harry Potter books from worst to best.
Harry Potter books in order
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone / Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)
Let’s get the ranking of the Harry Potter books started with the worst of the seven, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book of the series. It was published in 1998, one year after the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is not bad, but it is the worst of the Harry Potter books, and I don’t think that’s particularly debatable. It’s more about every other book just being better.
In the book, Harry, Ron, and Hermione try to figure out who opened the Chamber of Secrets and unleashed a monster on the school. After Hermione is petrified, Harry, Ron, and Professor Lockhart venture into the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny Weasley, who has been possessed by the soul of Tom Riddle, unleashed from his diary.
Aside from the diary being destroyed and it helping lead Dumbledore to his ultimate conclusion that Voldemort made horcruxes to preserve pieces of his soul should he be killed, there isn’t much in here that contributes to the future of the series. Ron and Hermione do return to the Chamber of Secrets and use the basilisk fangs to destroy Helga Hufflepuff’s cup much later on.
We also get a good moment at the end of this book when Harry Potter tricks Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock, thus freeing the house elf from servitude.