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Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7) Paperback – Box set, July 1, 2009
Purchase options and add-ons
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level4 - 6
- Dimensions10.6 x 8.5 x 5.5 inches
- PublisherScholastic Inc.
- Publication dateJuly 1, 2009
- ISBN-100545162076
- ISBN-13978-0545162074
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Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Safer chemicalsMade with chemicals safer for human health and the environment.As certified byOEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX requires every component of a textiles product—including all thread, buttons, and trims—to be tested against a list of more than 1,000 harmful regulated and unregulated chemicals which may be harmful to human health. The assessment process is globally standardized, independently conducted, and updated at least once a year based on new scientific information or regulatory requirements. Certification focus: #ProductSafety and #ChemicalsUsed.Certification Number23.HUS.33631 - Sustainability features for this product
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This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Safer chemicalsMade with chemicals safer for human health and the environment.As certified byOEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX requires every component of a textiles product—including all thread, buttons, and trims—to be tested against a list of more than 1,000 harmful regulated and unregulated chemicals which may be harmful to human health. The assessment process is globally standardized, independently conducted, and updated at least once a year based on new scientific information or regulatory requirements. Certification focus: #ProductSafety and #ChemicalsUsed.Certification Number23.HUS.33631 - Sustainability features for this product
Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Forestry practicesMade with materials from well-managed forests, recycled materials, and/or other controlled wood sources.As certified byThe Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) supports responsible forestry, which is a vital solution to combat climate change. Choosing FSC-certified products – whether furniture, building materials, paper, rubber, or textiles – helps protect forests, wildlife, clean water and supports the Indigenous Peoples, forest workers and communities who depend on them. Choosing FSC-certified products can also help to mitigate climate change by supporting responsible management of the world’s forests. For a better future, choose FSC. - Sustainability features for this product
Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Safer chemicalsMade with chemicals safer for human health and the environment.As certified byOEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX requires every component of a textiles product—including all thread, buttons, and trims—to be tested against a list of more than 1,000 harmful regulated and unregulated chemicals which may be harmful to human health. The assessment process is globally standardized, independently conducted, and updated at least once a year based on new scientific information or regulatory requirements. Certification focus: #ProductSafety and #ChemicalsUsed.Certification Number23.HUS.33631
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular Harry Potter books. After the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train journey in 1990, she plotted out and started writing the series of seven books and the first was published as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK in 1997. The series took another ten years to complete, concluding in 2007 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
To accompany the series, J.K. Rowling wrote three short companion volumes for charity, Quidditch Through the Agesand Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of Lumos. She also collaborated on the writing of a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was published as a script book.
Her other books for children include the fairy tale The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig, which were published in 2020 and 2021 respectively and have also been bestsellers. She is also the author of books for adults, including a bestselling crime fiction series.
J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honors for her writing. She also supports a number of causes through her charitable trust Volant and is the founder of the children’s charity Lumos.
To find out more about J.K. Rowling visit jkrowlingstories.com.
Product details
- Publisher : Scholastic Inc.; Kindle edition (July 1, 2009)
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 0545162076
- ISBN-13 : 978-0545162074
- Reading age : 9+ years, from customers
- Grade level : 4 - 6
- Item Weight : 6 pounds
- Dimensions : 10.6 x 8.5 x 5.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the authors
J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels for adults and children, and a bestselling crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been translated into 85 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers.
Alongside the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of her international children’s charity, Lumos. The companion books and original series are all available as audiobooks.
In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London, and is now thrilling audiences on four continents. The script book was published to mark the plays opening in 2016 and instantly topped the bestseller lists.
In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Inspired by the original companion volume, it was the first in a series of new adventures featuring wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018 and the third, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released in 2022.
The screenplays were published to coincide with each film’s release: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Original Screenplay (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay (2022).
Fans of Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter can find out more at www.wizardingworld.com.
J.K. Rowling’s fairy tale for younger children, The Ickabog, was serialised for free online for children during the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and is now published as a book illustrated by children, with her royalties going to her charitable trust, Volant, to benefit charities helping alleviate social deprivation and assist vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.
Her latest children’s novel The Christmas Pig, published in 2021, is a standalone adventure story about a boy’s love for his most treasured thing and how far he will go to find it.
J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. The first of these, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published to critical acclaim in 2013, at first without its author’s true identity being known. The Silkworm followed in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. The series has also been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO.
J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.
As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling has received many other awards and honours, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Award.
J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children’s charity fighting for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.
www.jkrowling.com
Image: Photography Debra Hurford Brown © J.K. Rowling
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book set a good value for money. They consider it a great gift for Harry Potter fans and anyone who enjoys reading. Readers praise the engaging story with loveable characters and a decent pace. The conclusion is also appreciated.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book set offers good value for money. They recommend reading the books even if you've seen the movies.
"...We all know the Harry Potter books are great, but I loved the affordability of this set...." Read more
"...They showed up fast, were a reasonable price and were brand new. The only issues is putting them back in the display box after you have read them...." Read more
"...art, the box and the durability of the books are definitely worth the purchase." Read more
"...And ultimately, I'm glad I did - it's worth it. First, a brief word - if you're buying these for collector's purposes, you may want to order offline...." Read more
Customers appreciate the gift value of the book set. They say it's a great gift for Harry Potter fans and anyone who loves to read. The box is nice and the books are stored nicely.
"...We all know the Harry Potter books are great, but I loved the affordability of this set...." Read more
"It was an excellent gift for lovers of this saga" Read more
"Was shipped on time and very good material. Very nice gift for Christmas" Read more
"Snagged this box set and I’m so glad I did! The packaging is beautiful and looks great on my bookshelf...." Read more
Customers enjoy the story quality. They find the characters likable, the plot engaging, and the conclusion satisfying. The books are described as well-written, timeless, and enjoyable to read aloud. Readers recommend the series for anyone who enjoys magic, adventure, and tales of friendship.
"...Lord Voldemort also makes this list as he is one of the creepiest, evil, and finest villains in literary fiction that I've seen far and wide...." Read more
"...Action sequences occur and can be quite intense, particularly in later volumes, but this is not the story of a big, super-cool hero slaying dragons;..." Read more
"...No spoilers but series is excellent as well. Worth the read for any age or gender." Read more
"...This is, to put it simply, a wonderful series of books. The overall story, the subplots, the characters, the setting, all of it is wonderfully..." Read more
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![An Important Part of My Childhood, Which I Still Love Over 15 Years Later](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/transparent-pixel._V192234675_.gif)
An Important Part of My Childhood, Which I Still Love Over 15 Years Later
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025My son received this book set for Christmas and has already read every book. We all know the Harry Potter books are great, but I loved the affordability of this set. When compared to buying used, it really wasn't much more to buy these new. I'm very satisfied with this purchase.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2014For my reviews of the individual books, check out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Happy reading.
While I got into this book series a bit late in the game (I wasn't even aware of its existence until after the release of the fourth book...shame on me) I quickly caught up and I've been hooked ever since. I don't think any book series has been this solid from beginning to end.
J. K. Rowling spent an extraordinary amount of time even just developing the setting and plot and it shows. The world us Muggles aren't aware of isn't just squeezed into this little space where there happens to be room for it. No, its woven right into our own world so seamlessly that we'd never notice where one world ends and the other begins...it all works flawlessly.
The characters are all great except one (check out my above-mentioned reviews to see who.) They are funny, brave, smart, wonderfully annoying, perfectly psychopathic, and so much more. Everyone has their own specific favorites and that's just fine...there are so many to choose from. My favorite throughout this series is absolutely Hermione Granger. She is smart but doesn't always have all the answers. She's resourceful but doesn't always have exactly what is needed. She's friendly but has her limits. She's tough but can get scared. In my opinion, she is the most flushed-out and most interesting character in these books.
I have a whole pool of characters who make second place on the list after Hermione, including Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, Mad-Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley and pretty much his entire family, and more. Lord Voldemort also makes this list as he is one of the creepiest, evil, and finest villains in literary fiction that I've seen far and wide.
Harry Potter does make that list, but it's a close call. He's interesting because of his background and the role he plays, but as for personality and similar qualities, he's pretty bland. I wasn't always wondering how'd he get out of some mess he was in...I was wondering what twists and turns would come next in the story. I didn't want Harry to die, but there were characters who I'd have probably fought for more vigorously. Ultimately, he was a decent protagonist throughout these seven books, but I feel he could have been more.
In the United States, these audio books are read by Jim Dale, who does an amazing job. While some of the many different voices he does do indicate that he's behind all of them, so many more don't. Like J. K. Rowling, Jim Dale is able to take us into this world and make us truly believe. Things come alive and magic is real when Mr. Dale begins narrating. A job well done!
I will depart from my normal methodology for reviews on Amazon and comment on the price for the whole series of audio books. It's high, no doubt about that. But, when you break it down, it comes out to about $40, which is the average price for the individual audio books on Amazon. The question remaining is simply whether to buy this set all at once or buy the individual books over time? Either way, it's worth it.
J. K. Rowling gave us an amazing series of books. Jim Dale brought that series to life on these audio books. Pick them up and follow Harry across this seven-year saga. While my opinion about the epilogue from Deathly Hallows remains as I've described in my review for that book, I will definitely listen to these great books over and over again. These are so much more than just kids' books. Enjoy.
P.S.: So, which Hogwarts House would you be sorted into?
My Order of Preference:
1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Please keep your hate mail to a minimum. Thanks.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2024At 44 I never got to read these as a teen when they came out though I am a fan of the movies and the more recent Hogwarts Legacy game. They showed up fast, were a reasonable price and were brand new. The only issues is putting them back in the display box after you have read them. The box is fine if the books have never been opened and the bindings are still tight but it takes some "Cram-fu" to get them back into the box once all the books have expanded. I had to take the box apart, put them back in then assemble the box again. That isn't on the seller and is just an issue with these type of display boxes.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025It was an excellent gift for lovers of this saga
- Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2016I've been a fan of Harry Potter since about the grade school, back when the only books that had been published yet were the first three, when Potter's popularity was still on the rise, when Christian fundamentalists were still catching on to the horrifying idea that a "witchcraft" story was gaining popularity with children, and grade-school teachers were similarly catching on to Harry Potter being a pretty effective tool for getting kids to develop a liking for books. Indeed, that was how I discovered them: my English teacher somewhere in the 6th-to-8th-grade portion of schooling (where my Catholic school shifted to a high-school-like classroom and teacher shuffle to prepare students for the routines public school would involve) introduced me and several other students who were showing less interest and enthusiasm in the class to the Harry Potter novels, actually lending us her own copies of the first three books to get us reading. By the time the much thicker fourth volume, Goblet of Fire, came out, I was so in love in the series that its intimidating size was far more appealing to me than intimidating, like a larger bowl of rocky road ice cream might look appealing.
In the decade-and-a-half since, I've never let go of my love of Harry Potter, even if I have gone long stretches of time without keeping an active eye on the franchise. The recent revival of widespread Potter interest of the appealing-but-flawed sequel stage play ("Harry Potter and the Cursed Child") and an arguably-more-interesting-and consistently-engrossing prequel-sidestory-movie ("Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them") has prompted me to revisit the book series yet again, as well as replace my old worn-down hardcover copies with both the paperback box set and the eBook downloads from Pottermore's e-shop — which are cross-compatible with Kindle accounts and can be transferred over as identical files to the Kindle versions, by the way, even though Amazon doesn't count those files as purchases of the Kindle eBooks, but rather as separate account-exclusive items. Having checked on Audible, this series does not seem to be compatible with Whispersync for Voice no matter where you buy the eBooks as of yet, so audiobook fans who like to read the text while listening may wish to take note of that when deciding whether to buy a physical or eBook versions (this is possibly due to revisions having been made to the text for series consistency in the time since the audiobooks were recorded).
In-depth reviews of the individual books are perhaps best saved for each book's individual page on Amazon, so I will give only a broad-stroke review of the stories here — if you are considering buying the series as a complete box set, it's likely you've already read and enjoyed at least the one of the books. But for the uninitiated, Harry Potter is a series that follows a boy, Harry himself, across a seven-year series of adventures culminating in the return and subsequent war against Lord Voldemort, a terrible Dark wizard who wreaked horrors upon the magical and non-magical communities alike until his unexpected and inexplicable destruction when he killed Harry's parents and then attempted to kill Harry while he was still an infant. Harry, growing up with his non-magical ("Muggle") aunt and uncle, who cruelly neglect and emotionally abuse him, receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when he turns eleven, whereupon he discovers that not only is there a burgeoning community of witches and wizards living and hiding in plain sight in a seemingly-ordinary 1990s British society, but that he is famous among the magical community. They call him the "Boy Who Lived," the cause of Voldemort's disappearance and the end of his reign of terror. But as Harry enters the magical world and begins to learn about this new side of his life and the wonders of magic, he gets drawn into a series of perilous events that lead him closer and closer to his eventual destiny with each passing book, gradually revealing more of the truth behind what happened on the night Harry's parents were murdered and what led to it, among other things.
Harry Potter is a fantastic series. One might be tempted to think it's overblown or over-rated by its enthusiasts. One would, in fact, be forgiven for taking that impression almost exclusively from the movies; they're enjoyable enough in their own right, but suffer problems of less-than-amazing adaptation and fluctuations in creative vision that make the film series feel somewhat disjointed and less-thoughtful than the books they're based on, and have the added problem of the younger actors and actresses often taking a few films to develop the skills to portray their characters naturally (an occupational hazard of a fantasy epic that relies on child actors, really). The Harry Potter novels, meanwhile, provide an arguably smoother introduction and, subsequently, a more fleshed-out experience in Harry's world, with the earlier, shorter books providing a comfortable and more "episodic" early portion that's great for allowing readers to get their feet wet, becoming gradually more involved and complex until the build-up culminates with the fourth and fifth novels, where the story goes all-in on characterization and worldbuilding detail, presuming the writer to be fully invested by that point, and keeping that level of maturity and intensity right up to the ending of the final volume.
It would be remiss of me to call this series perfect, don't mistake the five-star rating for that. J.K. Rowling certainly has her weaknesses as a writer, and it could be accurately said that the novels suffer from a bit of a bloating problem that surfaced around Book Five, where Rowling clearly had more power to say "no" to her editors (incidentally, this is also the point at which the American text just gives up at hiding away a lot of the Britishisms in narration and dialogue, and I will say the books are at least better for that much). This is a clear Your Mileage May Vary kind of point. I personally enjoy the tangential worldbuilding that comes out of it, and consider it worth whatever "bloat" occurs as a result. But then, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is my favorite of the seven novels, and even for some avowed fans of Harry Potter, that book was too long and spent a little too much time on certain things. There's really no way to tell whether that will be a problem for you until you get there and either like it or don't like it. But what problems the Potter novels have are, in the grand scheme, just niggles. It all comes together in a really great way and in spite of the flaws, it's a really great series of books worthy of the classification of "epic."
But one thing that might surprise people unfamiliar with Potter is that this is not a fantasy action-adventure series. It's more of a mystery series coated in a gooey chocolate fantasy syrup. Harry Potter himself tends to fill the role of a combination Frodo Baggins figure and up-and-coming detective character, and the most important plot points are, regardless of who figures out or explains a given part of things, presented as mysteries. Action sequences occur and can be quite intense, particularly in later volumes, but this is not the story of a big, super-cool hero slaying dragons; it's a story of circumstance, figuring out the circumstance, and then reacting to the circumstance. Some readers seem annoyed by the fact that eleven-year-old Harry never matures in this series to a point where by the end of magical high school he's capable of going head-to-head in a duel with a Dark Lord with decades of extensive magical knowledge under his belt, but that is simply not the angle that this series goes for. My comparison of Harry to Frodo Baggins was not an idle-name-drop. Harry's role in this story is very deliberately that of the hero who stands strong against adversity but ultimately triumphs through low-key action behind the scenes of a conflict in which number other, more powerful or more experienced combatants command the bulk of the Dark Lord's attention. And, like Frodo (and his progenitor, Bilbo), sometimes Harry is helped by sheer circumstance, the timely and skillful intervention of one of his friends, or a combination of his own efforts plus those things. The series does give us a fairly clear picture of what an action-centric lead character in this universe might look like, and I think that's where a fair portion of reader disappointment with Harry's more subdued take on heroics comes from, but he is an eleven-year-old who eventually becomes a seventeen-year-old over the course of the story, contending with a villain who has fifty-plus-year lead on experience over him. I think I would have raised an eyebrow had Harry ever bested Voldemort in a straight-up magical fight.
As with everything, this series is something you should read for yourself if you're unsure. There's probably a copy available at your local library if you don't live in a particularly strict area with a stick up its rear about fantasy novels with magic in them. I recommend giving them a shot, and if Book One doesn't jive with you at first, sticking with it at least until the end of Book Two. This is a series that improves as it moves forward, each book adding new layers to the existing world by pacing its narrative in the same way a child might learn more and more about the real world as he or she grows into an adult, which is a large part of Harry Potter's effectiveness as a coming-of-age story. The reader, in a figurative sense, grows with Harry, as many of the original readers grew with Harry alongside the release of each subsequent book. This is as much a narrative tool as a consequence of readers aging as they read the books, because with very rare exceptions scattered through the series, the narrative is locked firmly into whatever it is that Harry Potter himself is seeing, hearing, saying, feeling, or thinking, and the reader's understanding of events and the world around him is often limited to what he knows or notices at any given time.
As for the separate editions of these books. I can't voice for the "Complete Collection" eBook specifically, since I bought the eBooks individually on Pottermore, but assuming the formatting for the Complete Collection is identical, then the digital set relevant to this review is well-put-together and smoothly formatted, just about the best way you'll ever experience Harry Potter digitally without buying the iBooks-and-iOS-exclusive Enhanced Edition eBooks available on Pottermore, which feature animated illustrations and the like. If you have an iPad or iPhone, that is the edition I recommend for digital consumption, but for standard Kindle and Android users, or people who like reading eBooks on PC, this collection and its individual-eBook versions aren't inferior to physical books in any sense other than not having a special font for chapter headings; the U.S. editions of the eBooks even contain the iconic chapter title illustrations, although not the original American cover art (the minimalist cover art of the eBooks makes for a smoother transition between colored screens and black-and-white e-readers, though).
The hardcover collection is one that I can't vouch for as a set, but having owned and read through the series in hardcover in the past, what I can vouch for is that the American hardcover editions are very nice to own. The box set for Hardcover may lack the text revision of the eBooks and more recent paperback printings, however, and while the chapter artwork and font for titles is something I prefer over the U.K. editions, it should be acknowledged that the American hardcovers are of a slightly cheaper construction than the U.K. editions, although also, paradoxically, they have a higher page count due to Scholastic's formatting choices (there are fewer words per page compared to the U.K. versions, and Order of the Phoenix has the formatting oddity of being the only book in the series with narrower margins and line-spacing, due to its much higher word count). Having researched this set, it should be acknowledged that the "trunk" is made of cardboard, so don't expect, you know, an extremely durable box or anything. It's just a stylized container for a box set.
As for the paperback box set, the purchase that prompted this review? It's fantastic. The American version with the characters riding a dragon, specifically: I'm seeing a lot of user pictures in this review second for completely different sets, and it seems there's a motley assortment of mixed sets in the marketplace listings, too. The box itself is quite sturdy and adorned with beautiful artwork by the cover illustrator, Mary GrandPré, depicting a scene from later in the series that puts me in the mind of the old R.A. Salvatore "Cleric Quintet" omnibus cover art (which features a similar scene by what I assume is coincidence). The paperback volumes themselves are of a nice quality that makes them both more durable and less stiff-feeling than some smaller, cheaper mass-market paperbacks, and they even feature raised lettering for the front cover titling, although the paper and print quality are noticeably lesser than the hardcover editions, feeling at a casual touch like the pages would be easier to damage both by bending and by splashing a few drops of a drink in the book's general direction, not up to the quality of some of the better-made paperback novels that I own. Even so, these are paperbacks that should be taken care of and kept for posterity rather than tossed about like a cheapy grocery store throwaway novel that you picked up on a whim during a food-shopping trip, though the thickness of books four through seven may make it difficult to avoid bending the spines.
Having checked certain passages in the books, I can also confirm that the paperback boxed set, bought new, should contained the revised editions of the text, as well, for as minor as those changes are to the overall experience (again, they're really just consistency tweaks).
5.0 out of 5 starsI've been a fan of Harry Potter since about the grade school, back when the only books that had been published yet were the first three, when Potter's popularity was still on the rise, when Christian fundamentalists were still catching on to the horrifying idea that a "witchcraft" story was gaining popularity with children, and grade-school teachers were similarly catching on to Harry Potter being a pretty effective tool for getting kids to develop a liking for books. Indeed, that was how I discovered them: my English teacher somewhere in the 6th-to-8th-grade portion of schooling (where my Catholic school shifted to a high-school-like classroom and teacher shuffle to prepare students for the routines public school would involve) introduced me and several other students who were showing less interest and enthusiasm in the class to the Harry Potter novels, actually lending us her own copies of the first three books to get us reading. By the time the much thicker fourth volume, Goblet of Fire, came out, I was so in love in the series that its intimidating size was far more appealing to me than intimidating, like a larger bowl of rocky road ice cream might look appealing.An Important Part of My Childhood, Which I Still Love Over 15 Years Later
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2016
In the decade-and-a-half since, I've never let go of my love of Harry Potter, even if I have gone long stretches of time without keeping an active eye on the franchise. The recent revival of widespread Potter interest of the appealing-but-flawed sequel stage play ("Harry Potter and the Cursed Child") and an arguably-more-interesting-and consistently-engrossing prequel-sidestory-movie ("Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them") has prompted me to revisit the book series yet again, as well as replace my old worn-down hardcover copies with both the paperback box set and the eBook downloads from Pottermore's e-shop — which are cross-compatible with Kindle accounts and can be transferred over as identical files to the Kindle versions, by the way, even though Amazon doesn't count those files as purchases of the Kindle eBooks, but rather as separate account-exclusive items. Having checked on Audible, this series does not seem to be compatible with Whispersync for Voice no matter where you buy the eBooks as of yet, so audiobook fans who like to read the text while listening may wish to take note of that when deciding whether to buy a physical or eBook versions (this is possibly due to revisions having been made to the text for series consistency in the time since the audiobooks were recorded).
In-depth reviews of the individual books are perhaps best saved for each book's individual page on Amazon, so I will give only a broad-stroke review of the stories here — if you are considering buying the series as a complete box set, it's likely you've already read and enjoyed at least the one of the books. But for the uninitiated, Harry Potter is a series that follows a boy, Harry himself, across a seven-year series of adventures culminating in the return and subsequent war against Lord Voldemort, a terrible Dark wizard who wreaked horrors upon the magical and non-magical communities alike until his unexpected and inexplicable destruction when he killed Harry's parents and then attempted to kill Harry while he was still an infant. Harry, growing up with his non-magical ("Muggle") aunt and uncle, who cruelly neglect and emotionally abuse him, receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when he turns eleven, whereupon he discovers that not only is there a burgeoning community of witches and wizards living and hiding in plain sight in a seemingly-ordinary 1990s British society, but that he is famous among the magical community. They call him the "Boy Who Lived," the cause of Voldemort's disappearance and the end of his reign of terror. But as Harry enters the magical world and begins to learn about this new side of his life and the wonders of magic, he gets drawn into a series of perilous events that lead him closer and closer to his eventual destiny with each passing book, gradually revealing more of the truth behind what happened on the night Harry's parents were murdered and what led to it, among other things.
Harry Potter is a fantastic series. One might be tempted to think it's overblown or over-rated by its enthusiasts. One would, in fact, be forgiven for taking that impression almost exclusively from the movies; they're enjoyable enough in their own right, but suffer problems of less-than-amazing adaptation and fluctuations in creative vision that make the film series feel somewhat disjointed and less-thoughtful than the books they're based on, and have the added problem of the younger actors and actresses often taking a few films to develop the skills to portray their characters naturally (an occupational hazard of a fantasy epic that relies on child actors, really). The Harry Potter novels, meanwhile, provide an arguably smoother introduction and, subsequently, a more fleshed-out experience in Harry's world, with the earlier, shorter books providing a comfortable and more "episodic" early portion that's great for allowing readers to get their feet wet, becoming gradually more involved and complex until the build-up culminates with the fourth and fifth novels, where the story goes all-in on characterization and worldbuilding detail, presuming the writer to be fully invested by that point, and keeping that level of maturity and intensity right up to the ending of the final volume.
It would be remiss of me to call this series perfect, don't mistake the five-star rating for that. J.K. Rowling certainly has her weaknesses as a writer, and it could be accurately said that the novels suffer from a bit of a bloating problem that surfaced around Book Five, where Rowling clearly had more power to say "no" to her editors (incidentally, this is also the point at which the American text just gives up at hiding away a lot of the Britishisms in narration and dialogue, and I will say the books are at least better for that much). This is a clear Your Mileage May Vary kind of point. I personally enjoy the tangential worldbuilding that comes out of it, and consider it worth whatever "bloat" occurs as a result. But then, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is my favorite of the seven novels, and even for some avowed fans of Harry Potter, that book was too long and spent a little too much time on certain things. There's really no way to tell whether that will be a problem for you until you get there and either like it or don't like it. But what problems the Potter novels have are, in the grand scheme, just niggles. It all comes together in a really great way and in spite of the flaws, it's a really great series of books worthy of the classification of "epic."
But one thing that might surprise people unfamiliar with Potter is that this is not a fantasy action-adventure series. It's more of a mystery series coated in a gooey chocolate fantasy syrup. Harry Potter himself tends to fill the role of a combination Frodo Baggins figure and up-and-coming detective character, and the most important plot points are, regardless of who figures out or explains a given part of things, presented as mysteries. Action sequences occur and can be quite intense, particularly in later volumes, but this is not the story of a big, super-cool hero slaying dragons; it's a story of circumstance, figuring out the circumstance, and then reacting to the circumstance. Some readers seem annoyed by the fact that eleven-year-old Harry never matures in this series to a point where by the end of magical high school he's capable of going head-to-head in a duel with a Dark Lord with decades of extensive magical knowledge under his belt, but that is simply not the angle that this series goes for. My comparison of Harry to Frodo Baggins was not an idle-name-drop. Harry's role in this story is very deliberately that of the hero who stands strong against adversity but ultimately triumphs through low-key action behind the scenes of a conflict in which number other, more powerful or more experienced combatants command the bulk of the Dark Lord's attention. And, like Frodo (and his progenitor, Bilbo), sometimes Harry is helped by sheer circumstance, the timely and skillful intervention of one of his friends, or a combination of his own efforts plus those things. The series does give us a fairly clear picture of what an action-centric lead character in this universe might look like, and I think that's where a fair portion of reader disappointment with Harry's more subdued take on heroics comes from, but he is an eleven-year-old who eventually becomes a seventeen-year-old over the course of the story, contending with a villain who has fifty-plus-year lead on experience over him. I think I would have raised an eyebrow had Harry ever bested Voldemort in a straight-up magical fight.
As with everything, this series is something you should read for yourself if you're unsure. There's probably a copy available at your local library if you don't live in a particularly strict area with a stick up its rear about fantasy novels with magic in them. I recommend giving them a shot, and if Book One doesn't jive with you at first, sticking with it at least until the end of Book Two. This is a series that improves as it moves forward, each book adding new layers to the existing world by pacing its narrative in the same way a child might learn more and more about the real world as he or she grows into an adult, which is a large part of Harry Potter's effectiveness as a coming-of-age story. The reader, in a figurative sense, grows with Harry, as many of the original readers grew with Harry alongside the release of each subsequent book. This is as much a narrative tool as a consequence of readers aging as they read the books, because with very rare exceptions scattered through the series, the narrative is locked firmly into whatever it is that Harry Potter himself is seeing, hearing, saying, feeling, or thinking, and the reader's understanding of events and the world around him is often limited to what he knows or notices at any given time.
As for the separate editions of these books. I can't voice for the "Complete Collection" eBook specifically, since I bought the eBooks individually on Pottermore, but assuming the formatting for the Complete Collection is identical, then the digital set relevant to this review is well-put-together and smoothly formatted, just about the best way you'll ever experience Harry Potter digitally without buying the iBooks-and-iOS-exclusive Enhanced Edition eBooks available on Pottermore, which feature animated illustrations and the like. If you have an iPad or iPhone, that is the edition I recommend for digital consumption, but for standard Kindle and Android users, or people who like reading eBooks on PC, this collection and its individual-eBook versions aren't inferior to physical books in any sense other than not having a special font for chapter headings; the U.S. editions of the eBooks even contain the iconic chapter title illustrations, although not the original American cover art (the minimalist cover art of the eBooks makes for a smoother transition between colored screens and black-and-white e-readers, though).
The hardcover collection is one that I can't vouch for as a set, but having owned and read through the series in hardcover in the past, what I can vouch for is that the American hardcover editions are very nice to own. The box set for Hardcover may lack the text revision of the eBooks and more recent paperback printings, however, and while the chapter artwork and font for titles is something I prefer over the U.K. editions, it should be acknowledged that the American hardcovers are of a slightly cheaper construction than the U.K. editions, although also, paradoxically, they have a higher page count due to Scholastic's formatting choices (there are fewer words per page compared to the U.K. versions, and Order of the Phoenix has the formatting oddity of being the only book in the series with narrower margins and line-spacing, due to its much higher word count). Having researched this set, it should be acknowledged that the "trunk" is made of cardboard, so don't expect, you know, an extremely durable box or anything. It's just a stylized container for a box set.
As for the paperback box set, the purchase that prompted this review? It's fantastic. The American version with the characters riding a dragon, specifically: I'm seeing a lot of user pictures in this review second for completely different sets, and it seems there's a motley assortment of mixed sets in the marketplace listings, too. The box itself is quite sturdy and adorned with beautiful artwork by the cover illustrator, Mary GrandPré, depicting a scene from later in the series that puts me in the mind of the old R.A. Salvatore "Cleric Quintet" omnibus cover art (which features a similar scene by what I assume is coincidence). The paperback volumes themselves are of a nice quality that makes them both more durable and less stiff-feeling than some smaller, cheaper mass-market paperbacks, and they even feature raised lettering for the front cover titling, although the paper and print quality are noticeably lesser than the hardcover editions, feeling at a casual touch like the pages would be easier to damage both by bending and by splashing a few drops of a drink in the book's general direction, not up to the quality of some of the better-made paperback novels that I own. Even so, these are paperbacks that should be taken care of and kept for posterity rather than tossed about like a cheapy grocery store throwaway novel that you picked up on a whim during a food-shopping trip, though the thickness of books four through seven may make it difficult to avoid bending the spines.
Having checked certain passages in the books, I can also confirm that the paperback boxed set, bought new, should contained the revised editions of the text, as well, for as minor as those changes are to the overall experience (again, they're really just consistency tweaks).
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2024This book set is one of my favorites. While it doesn’t have a special cover, or special art, the box and the durability of the books are definitely worth the purchase.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2025The books looked amazing. I love the texture of the jacket and the books looks beautiful. However it seems that the order I got maybe was a return or something. For book 4 and 5 the jackets has a small tear on the book spine. I asked for a replacement so hopefully the new order doesn’t have that issue. Will write and update on the condition of the replacement when I receive the new order.
The books looked amazing. I love the texture of the jacket and the books looks beautiful. However it seems that the order I got maybe was a return or something. For book 4 and 5 the jackets has a small tear on the book spine. I asked for a replacement so hopefully the new order doesn’t have that issue. Will write and update on the condition of the replacement when I receive the new order.
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2025Found this set at a used books store. Like the cover art but they were missing a book. Found this for not much more than the used book store prize
Top reviews from other countries
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Manuel BañuelosReviewed in Mexico on January 22, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Gran colección
Muy buena calidad de los libros.
- vishnusagarReviewed in Canada on October 4, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Set of Magical Adventures Ever!
Harry Potter: The Complete Series, and I can confidently say it’s a masterpiece that captivated me from start to finish! J.K. Rowling has created an enchanting world filled with richly developed characters, intricate plots, and themes that resonate with readers of all ages.
Each book takes you on a unique adventure, and I love how the series matures along with Harry and his friends. The magical elements are imaginative and immersive, making it easy to get lost in the Wizarding World. I was particularly impressed by the depth of character development; each character, whether hero or villain, has their own backstory and growth that adds layers to the narrative.
The themes of friendship, bravery, and the battle between good and evil are beautifully woven throughout the series. It’s not just a story about magic; it’s a tale about love, sacrifice, and the choices we make.
Reading the complete series was a nostalgic experience that brought back cherished memories from my childhood while also revealing new layers I hadn’t appreciated before. I wholeheartedly recommend the Harry Potter series to anyone who hasn’t read it yet or to those who want to revisit this beloved classic. It’s a timeless collection that truly deserves its place in literary history!
Feel free to adjust any part of it!
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Caio ProencaReviewed in Brazil on September 25, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Qualidade supreendente
Vi essa coleção alguns anos atrás pessoalmente e decidi comprar para reler os livros do Potter. Não vi ainda uma edição em inglês com esta qualidade, exceto a coleção ilustrada com dobraduras que está sendo lançada aos poucos (mas considero ela de outro nível). Todos os livros possuem uma capa de pó com relevo laminado. A capa dura possui lombada de tecido com letras laminadas na lateral com o título do livro. O que me fez comprar esta coleção foi justamente a qualidade do material, em perceber que vai durar a vida toda, e possivelmente meus filhos vão ler depois de mim. É aquele tipo de coleção feita com esmero. Para quem quer aprender inglês, esta coleção é ótima para praticar. Foi uma das melhores aquisições que fiz nos últimos anos. Todas as páginas são grossas e amareladas, tornando a leitura prazeirosa e confortável para a vista. Recomendo muito! Apesar de não vir com o box da outra versão, ela vem protegida por um outro box bastante grosso, que protege os livros. Eles são livros relativamente grandes, sendo um pouco complicado para ler na rua ou viajando, mas perfeitos para uma leitura calma em casa.
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NejlaReviewed in Turkey on January 6, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Süper
Şimdiden okumaya başladım bile 😇 sorunsuz ve hızlı bir şekilde elime ulaştı. Filmine hayran olsam da kitabındaki farklı ayrıntılar da hoşuma gitti Harry Potter sevenlerin okuması gereken bir kitap :) arkadaşıma hediye olarak da aldım umarım beğenir 🙏🏻
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AbrahamReviewed in Spain on December 10, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Digno de colección.
Una colección muy bonita