 " Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets " was met with near universal acclaim . In The Times , Deborah Loudon described Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as a children 's book that would be " re @-@ read into adulthood " and highlighted its " strong plots , engaging characters , excellent jokes and a moral message which flows naturally from the story " . Fantasy author Charles de Lint agreed , and considered the second Harry Potter book as good as Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone , a rare achievement among series of books . Thomas Wagner regarded the plot as very similar to that of the first book , based on searching for a secret hidden under the school . However , he enjoyed the parody of celebrities and their fans that centres round Gilderoy Lockhart , and approved of the book 's handling of racism . Tammy Nezol found the book more disturbing than its predecessor , particularly in the rash behaviour of Harry and his friends after Harry withholds information from Dumbledore , and in the human @-@ like behaviour of the mandrakes used to make a potion that cures petrification . Nevertheless , she considered the second story as enjoyable as the first . 
