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In case this article is Watch Vidocq Onlinethe first thing you're seeing on the internet today, it's been 20 years since the first Harry Potter book was released. As the book (and subsequent books) grew in popularity, you'd be hard-pressed to find a negative review for Potter in its two decades on shelves. Many early reviews were in print form and not even archived well on the internet, and the earliest digital hot takes were -- predictably -- that the series was overhyped (see below).

So in the spirit of nostalgia and to 20 (and more) years of Harry Potter, we revisited some of those very first, pre-hype Sorcerer's Stonereviews, below.

SEE ALSO: How J.K. Rowling, the 'Harry Potter' fandom, and technology all grew up together

Cathy Hainer, USA Today:

Harry Potter also has echoes of children's classics Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. With the help of a noble if nitwitted giant, a few inept but big-hearted student magicians, even a concerned if somewhat distant centaur, Harry takes on powers bigger and stronger than him, growing older and wiser in the process. You don't have to be a wizard or a kid to appreciate the spell cast by Harry Potter.

Michael Winerip, The New York Times:

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A few times in the last four chapters, the storytelling begins to sputter, and there are twists I found irritating and contrived. To serve the plot, characters begin behaving out of character. Most noticeably, Hagrid, the gentle giant of a groundskeeper who has selflessly protected Harry over and over, suddenly turns so selfish he is willing to let Harry be punished for something that is Hagrid's fault. That's not the Hagrid I'd come to know.

These are minor criticisms. On the whole, ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' is as funny, moving and impressive as the story behind its writing. J. K. Rowling, a teacher by training, was a 30-year-old single mother living on welfare in a cold one-bedroom flat in Edinburgh when she began writing it in longhand during her baby daughter's nap times. But like Harry Potter, she had wizardry inside, and has soared beyond her modest Muggle surroundings to achieve something quite special.

Anthony Holden, The Guardian:

What I do object to is a pedestrian, ungrammatical prose style which has left me with a headache and a sense of a wasted opportunity. If Rowling is blessed with this magic gift of tapping into young minds, I can only wish she had made better use of it. Her characters, unlike life's, are all black-and-white . Her story-lines are predictable, the suspense minimal, the sentimentality cloying every page. (Did Harry, like so many child-heroes before him, HAVE to be yet another poignant orphan?)

Lindsay Fraser, The Scotsman:

What distinguishes this novel from so many other fantasies is its grip on reality. Harry is a hugely likeable child, kind but not wet, competitive but always compassionate. The scene in which he thwarts a bully’s attempt to unseat him from his broomstick during an exacting game of Quidditch - a cross between lacrosse and hockey, played on land and in the air - will ring bells with the most level-headed of readers.

Denise Yagel, BookPage:

Rowling clearly possesses both an ear and an eye for the unexpected, working her own brand of magic with turns of phrase and flashes of humor that are subtle and sly. In terms of its prose, this book reads like spreading soft butter. Harry is as dear a boy as anyone could hope for, and the characters who support, confound, and downright threaten his life at Hogwarts are lively, engaging, and utterly believable.

Publisher's Weekly:

There is enchantment, suspense and danger galore (as well as enough creepy creatures to satisfy the most bogeymen-loving readers, and even a magical game of soccerlike Quidditch to entertain sports fans) as Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione plumb the secrets of the forbidden third floor at Hogwarts to battle evil and unravel the mystery behind Harry's scar. Rowling leaves the door wide open for a sequel; bedazzled readers will surely clamor for one.

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Topics Books Harry Potter Reviews