Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling -- 341 pages

Harry Potter found out a year ago that he is a wizard and that his parents were not killed in a car crash, but were actually killed by the terrible wizard Voldemort, who turned next to kill Harry, then a baby, but was destroyed himself. Harry survived with only a scar.
Now Harry Potter is returning to Hogwarts, school of wizardry for his second year, but someone shows up to warn him not to go. Terrible things are going to happen this year, he is told. When he goes anyway, awful things begin turning up, and great mysteries are about to be uncovered.

The first, second, and third (almost) Harry Potter books are nice in that you can pick them up, read them, and put them down without having to read the rest of the series (again) because they do not have cliff hanger endings. The second I particularly enjoy because of all the humor. The story is also thrilling.