All 7 Harry Potter books, ranked worst to best

By Bryce Olin | Jun 19, 2023

LONDON - FEBRUARY 28: Part of a collection of 550 first edition Harry Potter books are displayed on February 28, 2008 in London. Bloomsbury Auctions are selling the collection, known as 'The Property of a Gentleman', in their Children's and Illustrated Books, Original Artwork, Private Press and Limited Editions' two day sale on February 28 and 29, 2008 in London. The collection of Harry Potter books range from Finnish, Gaelic, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Welsh and six different Indian dialects to Hebrew, Turkish, Polish,Indonesian, ancient Greek and Latin. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) /

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Harry Potter Series: Classic Editions Illustrated by Mary GrandPré. Image courtesy Scholastic /

5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is the first book of the Harry Potter series. It was published in 1997, and it kickstarted one of the most popular book series of all time.

The first book introduces readers to Harry Potter, the boy who lived, and his journey into the wizarding world, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and a life he doesn’t fully understand after growing up with his aunt and uncle. Harry’s parents died in a car crash, or so he was led to believe. In reality, they were killed by one of the most powerful wizards of all time, Lord Voldemort, while he improbably survived.

Readers follow Harry to Hogwarts where he begins his studies to be the best wizard he can be. There, he meets his first real friends, Ron and Hermione, and gets caught up in a plot to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone, a stone that would give its possessor immortality.

There’s something truly magical about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, an ingenuity that covers up some of its flaws. This may not be the best written book in the series, but it’s full of imagination, and that counts for a lot. The book does a great job introducing fans and Harry to this magical world and laying the base to build an epic book series full of adventure.

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