What did I tell you?
If I'm being honest, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the weakest link in the series for me (This is not to say in any way that it is bad. It is just not the best book. By far). We're over the introductions, but the sinister-ness hasn't started to build yet (see: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), and we're still trying to establish a solid villain. Literally.
However, in retrospect, there are a number of things that make Chamber of Secrets an essential volume. While Prisoner of Azkaban brings things away from the new rise of Voldemort and focuses on the events leading to the night of his demise, Chamber of Secrets goes back to the beginning, and shows the origins of the boy who became unnameable.
Tom Riddle, inhabitant of the diary that possesses Ginny Weasley, is of course the teenage incarnation of the Dark Lord. In his interaction with Harry in the Chamber, Tom reveals his roots: he was born of the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin and a Muggle who didn't know what he was getting into until after he had married and impregnated the witch living on his estate (full disclosure: we don't know the nature of their relationship until later books.)
Once again we see the pieces of detail being planted for later, and we see the extent to which certain people have been involved in past events: Dumbledore's role at Hogwarts before becoming Headmaster, confirmation of the Malfoys' full allegiance to Voldemort, etc.
We also get to know Fawkes and the hidden power of the Sorting Hat, as well as becoming familiar with the Basilisk and all of its terrible powers.
I just started reading Prisoner of Azkaban and it is twelve kinds of awesome. While being an excellent book to begin with (so much mis-direction! so many layers!) it is also as though you can feel the momentum gathering for the coming storm. And what a storm it is.
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