ENGLISH (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) / ITALIANO

«Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways.For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a wizard»

Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban prison is on every wizard's lips. Not even the dreaded guards of the prison, the Dementors, managed to keep in a cage the wicked wizard, who probably want to meet again his master, Voldemort. But to do that, firstly he must kill Harry Potter, the only one capable to stand up to Voldemort... Meanwhile, the new school year is about to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Harry, Ron and hermione will become acquainted with two new professors...

Compared to the previous, the third volume of the series is the one that is richer in twists and turns. I'm reading the saga of Harry Potter to my daughter, when in the evening she goes to bed, and in this "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" a little tragedy happened. When we got to "The kiss of the dementor" chapter, just hearing the title my daughter (6 years old) was so upset by what it might happen that she required that I read that chapter alone, and just then telling her what was going on by omitting the scary details. Apart from this hiccup, the reading was neat and clean. It is evident that the playful and carefree tones of the first two adventures give way to dark colors. After all harry is growing up, and its way of seeing things is supposed to change as well. Rowling takes us in the maturation process of the most famous little wizard of the world using the same plot device of the previous volumes: the teachings of Headmaster Dumbledore, the clashes with Malfoy, the bickering with Hermione, the conflicts with Professor Snape. I do not know if in the near future I will continue to read to my daughter the Harry Potter saga, or if I will wait she grows enough to read it alone to avoid upsetting her again. Never mind. I will go on because now it is not possible for me to stop reading, with the pleasant awareness that there is no healthier addiction of this one. "Get high" yourself too.

Vote: 10

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«Harry Potter era un ragazzo insolito sotto molti punti di vista. Prima di tutto, odiava le vacanze estive più di qualunque altro periodo dell'anno. Poi voleva davvero fare i compiti, ma era costretto a studiare di nascosto, nel cuore della notte. E per giunta era un mago»

La fuga di Sirius Black dalla prigione di Azkaban è sulla bocca di tutti i maghi. Nemmeno i temuti guardiani del carcere, i Dissennatori, sono riusciti a tenere in gabbia il malvagio stregone, che si dice voglia riunirsi al suo padrone, Voldemort. Per farlo però dovrà prima eliminare Harry Potter, l'unico che fino ad ora è stato in grado di tenere testa a Voldemort... Nel frattempo, alla scuola di magia e stregoneria di Hogwarts sta per cominciare il nuovo anno scolastico, ed Harry, Ron ed Hermione faranno la conoscenza di due nuovi professori...

Rispetto ai due precedenti, il terzo volume della serie è quello più ricco di colpi di scena, e di conseguenza quello con il ritmo più serrato. Sto leggendo la saga di Harry Potter a mia figlia quando la sera va a letto, ed in questo "Harry Potter e il Prigioniero di Azkaban" è successa una piccola tragedia. Arrivati al capitolo "il bacio del dissennatore", al solo sentire il titolo mia figlia (6 anni) è rimasta così turbata da quello che sarebbe potuto accadere che ha preteso che lo leggessi io da solo, e che le raccontassi quello che succedeva omettendo i particolari spaventosi. A parte questo intoppo, la lettura è continuata liscia. E' evidente che i toni giocosi e spensierati delle prime due avventure lasciano il posto a sfumature a tratti cupe e goticheggianti. D'altronde Harry sta crescendo, e si suppone che cambi anche il suo modo di vedere le cose. La Rowling ci accompagna nel processo di maturazione del maghetto più famoso del mondo utilizzando gli stessi espedienti narrativi usati negli altri volumi: gli insegnamenti di Silente, gli scontri con Malfoy, i battibecchi con Hermione, i conflitti con Piton. Non so se nell'immediato futuro continuerò a leggere a mia figlia la saga di Harry Potter, o se aspetterò che cresca abbastanza da essere in grado di leggerseli da sola per evitare adesso di turbarla. Non importa. Io andrò avanti perchè per me non è più possibile fermarmi, con la piacevole consapevolezza che non esiste dipendenza più salutare di questa. "Drogatevi" anche voi.

Voto: 10

1.) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ★★★★★
2.) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ★★★★★
3.) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ★★★★★
4.) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ★★★★★
5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ★★★★★
6.) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ★★★★★
7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ★★★★★
8.) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child★★

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Legit almost cried at the end

The excellent series takes a step up and into a darker world as Harry must wonder if the escaped prisoner is coming for him, while coping with new, soul-sucking opponents. Rowling continues to impress as both she and Harry mature.

My Experience: I started reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on 5/21/18 and finished it on 6/8/18. Definitely a fantastic read second time around. I love the Knight Bus and Stan’s accent even though it’s not so easy to read. The Dursley are hideous and well written. I enjoy the Boggart chapter a lot and the Marauder’s map is awesome. I compare the read to the movie a lot in this book and I must say, the actors acted very well to how the book is written, especially Snape and Malfoy’s sneers! I absolutely love Fred and George. The twins and their speech are always makes me smile.

This book is told in the third person point of view, following Harry Potter as he gets ready for his third year back at Hogwarts. His summer at home with his aunt Petunia’s family is as horrible as ever. There is a new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts. This year Harry learns about the notorious jail breaker, Sirius Black. This book also introduces the soul sucking Dementors, who are guards for the Azkaban prison. The Dementors comes to Hogwarts to protect Harry and hope to catch Sirius Black. The concern is that Sirius Black is hunting for Harry Potter, but what surprises Harry most was when he learns who Sirius Black truly was!

A well written book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a go-to pick me up kind of read. I first read this series in 2008-2009. I remember loving it. I have seen all the movies. I started re-reading the series last year, 2017. This year, 2018, I continue on re-reading the series. I think I love it more now than reading it during my first time because I have the movies to help me imagine how the story goes. The actors, both heroes and villains played their parts in the movies very well. I love the magic, 4 houses, Quidditch game, class lessons, actions and adventures with Harry and friends, and the writing. I love the illustration at each chapter headings. The writing just pull me in and I could never put it down. I love this series and I highly recommend everyone to read it soon!

Pro: actions & adventures, friendships, mystery, suspense, humor, magical world, couldn’t put down, fast paced, page turner, easy to read, illustrations

Con: none

I rate it 5 stars!

***Disclaimer: I’m reading books I own for a change..

xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details

This - is my review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.... It’s a great book - but not without its…problems….

D’you get it? It’s because every goddamn sentence of this book contains either a dash or an ellipsis. (That’s one of the...problems….)



https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...

I’m debating whether to unleash the anti-Snape rant that’s been building up inside me for a decade now. I think I’ll wait until his supposedly redeeming backstory is revealed. What book is that in? Anyway, just his extensive presence in this book made the whole thing less fun for me.



I feel about Snape the way Michael Scott feels about Toby. But I digress. My main thing with this book is that Rowling can be kind of...bad at fitting the parameters of the universe she created. That’s understandable, since it’s immense and so impressive, but there’s also little common sense things that get under my skin. (This would be under “general stupidity” if I hated this book - which I absolutely don’t.) I wanted to be having a great time, but instead I was caught up in the little mistakes.



Some examples: There’s just no way McGonagall would have given Hermione the Time Turner. No way. I get the significance of the thing to the plot, and it’s a really creative and entertaining concept, but my girl Minerva would NEVER have handed that over. This is the woman who will shut any student down, take Harry Potter’s broom, deduct points from her own team, throw shade at Trelawney...what I’m saying is she’s a one hundred percent badass. And she’s a badass who exudes said badassery with the well-being of all Hogwarts students in mind. But I’m supposed to believe she put herself out there, petitioned the government, and presumably put in effort to convince her fellow faculty just so Hermione could take a purely overwhelming number of classes? Nah. She would have recognized it as unnecessary (Hermione never even gives a reason beyond "wanting to" for her overloaded schedule) and a huge pressure (workload's making a thirteen year old cry all the time and lose the ability to sleep). In other words, Minerva would have shut that shit down in a hot Texas minute.



But wait - I have more examples! Lupin tells us that when he was at Hogwarts, they went through an INSANE amount of work to get him off the grounds when he ~underwent his transformation~. Keep in mind this whole thing is for one. Effing. Student. They put in a magic, violent tree (the infamous Whomping Willow), dig a tunnel that is presumably at least a mile or two long, and mess with (build?) a shack-like shelter. This is way, way, way too much to ensure that a single student can attend the school. But even suspending your disbelief there - why would you put a werewolf inside a WEAK, SHUT UP BUILDING to protect people? One, don’t put a rabid monstrous creature in a house, because two, he can break out of it and now the inhabitants of Hogsmeade are at risk. Also, putting in the Whomping Willow? Are you kidding me? It’s a danger to the students! And so is building a passageway in/out. There are so, so, so many more problems than solutions here.



And here’s the most wild, laughable one for me. At the end, Sirius Black reveals that it was him - HIM! - who bought Harry Potter the Firebolt, hundreds-of-Galleons price tag and all. This is INSANE. Since Ron had earlier mentioned that it would have been impossible for Black to buy a broomstick, J.K. is so kind as to reveal how he did it in his letter to Harry. He says he sent Crookshanks (a f*cking cat) to the Owl Post, had him order the broomstick under Harry’s name, and had it charged to his own bank account at Gringotts. HAHAHAHA, WHAT?! You’re telling me a goddamn cat walked into a post office, conveyed the information that Harry Potter was ordering the most expensive broom on the market, and charged it to the most wanted man in Britain’s account without consequence? Like everyone was just like, yeah, okay, we didn’t really want to find him anyway? We won’t bring this up to the Ministry or Potter or anything? Jeeessssuuuuussss. Also, how did my guy have that much money in his account anyway? How is his account even open?



Also, I know this is well-discussed, but there is just so much conflicting information about how many people attend Hogwarts. It drives me insane. I’ll never be satisfied with one answer, because there are always a million other pieces of evidence that conflict.



The sheer confusion of the story relayed in the Shrieking Shack was also so confusing. Like, I get why there had to be a dozen f*cking pages of Black/Lupin begging the story to be told and Hermione/Ron/Harry essentially covering their ears and singing “Walking on Sunshine,” but they couldn’t at least have told the story with some semblance of organization once they finally got there? I mean, Jesus.



On the other hand, characters. Hermione is still killin’ it - Time Turner, baby! And slaying those exams! But she did have less time with the squad (fighting) and a lot of scenes where it was just like, “Oh. Yeah. Hermione. Uh, she’s...doing homework over there.” Plus Neville was not really included, like, at all. But Lupin was introduced, and he’s one of my favorites! But Snape was here as hell and I hate him so much. But no Colin Creevey or Lockhart or Dobby! But Trelawney and Malfoy and Pansy. But Sirius! But mainly he was villain-ing it up. Oh well. It’s a real 50/50 in this one.



Still, it was definitely enjoyable. Like, I read it in pretty much one sitting, and I haven’t done that in a whileeee. I missed doing it. And this was so, so much better than the second book. So this is so hard to rate! I am having a really hard time here, you guys.



And my absolute favorite aspect of these books - which was missing in the second volume - was one hundred percent present and accounted for. I’m talking a look into the world, baby! We get Hogsmeade, we get an entire fortnight of Diagon Alley, we get a bunch of discussion of the school and the classes. Even the bad parts, like Azkaban. Ugh! I could read a series’ worth of books just on the world, I swear.



So, bottom line: In some ways I liked this as much as the first, but it definitely had more problems. I am looking forward to continuing my reread, and hopin’ I find just as much of the world and even more of the good characters. Goblet of Fire, I expect to see you soon!

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.
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You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly in times of great trouble?

At this point, you’ve either read the Harry Potter series, or you’ve deliberately chosen not to read them. Either way, there’s not much to say here.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is where the Harry Potter series really starts to deepen. The introduction of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black gives Harry new ways to learn the story of his parents. But what I love most about this book is that it’s the first one (but not the last) that does not resolve everything at the end. Sirius is innocent but still a fugitive, and Harry realizes that Dumbledore can’t fix everything.

The author may have let people down later in her life; people sometimes suck more than you realize at first. But the Harry Potter series is an achievement that will outlast her and all of us. If somehow you’ve stubbornly refused to read it, you are really missing out.

June 2024: My thirteen year old suggested that I reread Harry with her this summer. This is my favorite book of the series. I noticed more nuances this time around, and choked back tears and laughter in the appropriate parts. Rowling has said that she wrote this series not as a fun magical series, but as a means of helping the living to cope with loved ones’ deaths. Lupin and Sirius are my favorite characters not named Harry and Hermoine in the series. When they are present, Harry feels like he finally has a family. I do not need a reason to have to reread this book every year. What Dumbledore tells Harry in the book’s closing pages says it all, but in the minuscule event that a person or persons haven’t read this before, I will not repeat it. On to book 4, mischief managed.


August 2023. Rereading series to commemorate the twenty five years that Harry has been part of our collective history. Nothing like an all time favorite book to comfort me in the wake of an end of summer cold.

Time. The things we could accomplish if we had extra time on our hands. Just this week I mentioned to people that I have been running on fumes with all the things I had to get done. If only I had a few extra hours in my week to take a nap or rest with a book. Thankfully, we have a leap year, providing our busy lives with a full extra day to get those things done that may have been pushed to the back burner. Whether it’s catching up on sleep, reading, or chores, a leap year creates the impression that there is indeed an extra day to accomplish those things that may have been pushed to the wayside. Despite this, adults rarely have the time to go back and savor favorite books, but, in 2020 a group of us in Retro Chapter Chicks have decided to take the time to reread Harry Potter in all its glory. I find it appropriate that on a day where we can enjoy extra time, that I curled up with my favorite book in the series, one that indeed tests the limit of place and time.

A mass murderer has escaped from prison. The news is so important that it even made the Muggle news. Even Muggles who detest magic like the Dursleys are on high alert. For Harry Potter, a wizard about to enter his third year at Hogwarts, it is just another summer vacation. Although famous and living up to his name during his first two years at school, at the Dursleys he is treated like less than human. His living conditions have advanced from a cupboard under the stairs to a room with bars on the window and a flap on the door for which to receive stone cold meals. Even though Aunt Petunia is Harry’s blood relative, she also treats him like vermin. Things couldn’t get any worse until Uncle Vernon’s sister Marge arrives for a weeklong visit, and she believes that Harry is worthless and ungrateful to his family. What Marge fails to realize is that this so called family wishes that Harry did not exist. Harry’s true family is thicker than blood and bound by magic: his Hogwarts family. Each summer, life at Dursleys grows unbearable and Marge’s treatment of Harry puts things over the top. In a fit of teenage emotions, Harry causes Marge to blow up, and then he leaves the Dursleys home, for what he thinks is hopefully for good this time.

Normally use of magic outside of school is grounds for expulsion from school, but, with a murderer named Sirius Black on the loose, the Minister of Magic himself has bent the rules in Harry’s favor. Minister Cornelius Fudge believes that Black is a dark wizard and servant of Lord Voldemort, and, in his eyes, the safest place for Harry is at Hogwarts under the watchful eyes of Albus Dumbledore. Harry gets a reprieve and is allowed to spend three weeks of his summer vacation away from the Dursleys and will indeed get to return to Hogwarts to continue his magical education. With the addition of Black to the storyline, the stories only get darker. Readers find out that he is the first ever prisoner to escape from Azkaban prison located in the middle of the sea and guarded by dementors, creatures so foul that they suck the happy memories from all those around them. Fudge is convinced that Black is after Harry and has stationed dementors outside of Hogwarts, much to Dumbledore’s chagrin. As long as Dumbledore is headmaster, dementors will not be allowed inside the castle because he foresees that these horrid creatures are allied with Voldemort. Black was able to outsmart them, and all of England is on high alert. It is against this backdrop and protection that Harry returns to Hogwarts.

Third year students have more responsibilities and more freedoms. They are allowed to visit the village of Hogsmeade provided a parent or guardian signed a form; the Dursleys did not. Yet, they also have enough magical training to sign up for extra classes. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine enroll in Divination and Care of Magical Creatures, taught by none other than Hagrid. Hermoine also begins the study of Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies. Harry and Ron do not understand how anyone, even one as smart as Hermoine, could take that many classes. Some are at the same time as others, which makes it humanly impossible for her to attend two classes at once. The dialogue between Ron and Hermoine involving her class schedule speaks to growing relationship between the two, a relationship which neither is mature enough to recognize. Meanwhile, class work has gotten harder. Professor Snape loathes Harry more than ever, and the new Defense of the Dark Arts professor Lupin is an old friend of Harry’s father. Hagrid, while the nicest person around and Harry’s protector, is threatened by the Malfoys yet again, this time after Draco is scratched by a hippogriff named Buckbeak because he refused to pay attention in class. Buckbeak is threatened with execution, adding to the animosity between Harry and Draco, and only Hermoine, on top of her grueling class schedule, finds the time to assist Hagrid in his defense. All these storylines would make for an exciting tale, but inserting Lupin and Black and Harry’s anti-dementor training make this book the turning point in the entire series.

The story progresses, and animals play a key role in plot development: Ron’s rat, Hermoine’s cat, and a large black dog. The three are infinitely linked to one another. Rowling reveals that Black was the Potters’ secret keeper and only him revealing their whereabouts would expose their location to Voldemort. He was supposedly in jail for murdering twelve innocent people plus a tag along named Peter Pettigrew. He is also Harry’s godfather. This information has Harry’s growing teenaged emotions on high. He is more determined than ever to defeat Voldemort and his legion of dark creatures and takes necessary precautions to guard himself against the darkness. Although teenaged pranks occur in this book, my favorite scenes are between Harry and Lupin and Black. Being able to interact with one of his parents’ closest friends, one really feels for Harry as an orphan and sees that he truly belongs in the wizarding world and not at the Dursleys. As Rowling will reveal much, much later, Dumbledore has his reasons for placing Harry there, but with each book it gets harder and harder for him to return, even if the presence of these Muggles is key to the plot line.

Time, of course, plays a key role in the plot as well. Hermoine reveals that she has been using a time turner to get to her classes all year but promised not to tell anyone. Sirius turns out to be none other than the dog who has made an appearance throughout the book. He is innocent, yet the only people who believe him are Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and Professor Dumbledore. Lupin is indeed his closest friend and also a werewolf, and it is Pettigrew who is the servant of Lord Voldemort. This, Dumbledore explains to Harry, is magic at its deepest, most impenetrable moments and, in my opinion, the essence of the entire series. As Dumbledore points out time and again, it is one’s choices that determine one’s fate, not their abilities. For a few glorious moments Harry believes that he can live with Sirius and escape the Dursleys once and for all; it is the most touching moment, and the scene in the movie where the two of them are staring at Hogwarts castle has brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. Yet, this moment is indeed fleeting. The Ministry of Magic still believes that Sirius is a dark wizard and he is forced to flee on Buckbeak the innocent Hippogriff. Readers know that this moment is indeed fleeting because Harry and Sirius will eventually be reunited but for only a short amount of time. It makes for a necessary storyline later on but one that gets harder and harder to stomach with each passing reading. Pretending that I do not know what comes next; however, knowing that Sirius and Lupin reappear in future books is what has always had me excited at the end of this book, a crossroads between the end of Harry’s adolescence and the darker times that lurk on the horizon.

Time. J.K. Rowling has shown us what can happen if well meaning witches and wizards are given just a few hours extra in their days. Most adults with busy lives wish they were afforded the opportunity to relive hours and minutes in order to accomplish even the most mundane tasks. The climax of this book has revealed how precious time is and to take advantage of what time we do have in order to live life to the fullest. This year’s leap day provided me with the opportunity to reread favorite books and get some much needed rest that I needed after a busy week. Even in this busy life that I lead, I have found the time to visit Harry Potter’s magical world yet again. As the plot moves deeper into Harry’s teenaged years, and, he and his friends are about to embark on fighting the forces of evil, it is obvious that they have left their childhood behind. It is the moments that mark the end of this book combined with the extra time afforded to us this year that show us just how precious the time we have is to us all.

5+ stars
All time favorite book

ما هذا الذي حدث؟
عندما بدأت أحداث الرواية تشتد في أولها كان هذا حالي



وعندما انتهيت كان هذا حالي



رولينج أنتي حقا ساحرة بإمكانيات مرعبة
لا أريد أن أتحدث كثيرا عن أحداث الرواية فهي لا يجب التحدث عنها ولتبقي سر حتي يتفاجئ كل من يقرر أن يدخل هذا العالم السحري من جديد .. بفيلم جديد تماما من إخراجه وخياله الشخصي بعيدا عما رأيناه في الفيلم سابقا

لا أنكر أن الفيلم كان رائع وخيال المخرج كان مزهل ليخرج بنسخه مبهرة هكذا وإختلاف كبير جداااااااااا في الأحداث عن الأحداث الأصلية من الرواية
في البداية توقعت أن تكون الأحداث مشابه للفيلم تماما مثلما حدث معي في الجزئين الأول والثاني وهذه لم تكن مشكلة بالنسبة لي أبدا

ولكن كانت صدمه جديده مع كل صفحه .. أب��ث عن الأحداث التي اعرفها واحفظها عن ظهر قلب من الفيلم لكن لم أجد اي شئ
خيال جديد وخيال نقي بدون تدخل من مخرج خارجي .. ظللت أتخيل بنفسي كل ما يحدث في الرواية وكأني أري فيلم جديد لهاري بوتر لم يره احد من قبل ولن يراه احد بالطبع فكل خيال مختلف عن الآخر

سيريوس بلاك دائما كنت أعتبره من أكثر الشخصيات التي أحببتها من الأفلام .. وكنت انتظر كل حوار له وأنتظر أول ظهور له حتي أراه في خيالي وأعيش تلك اللحظات مرة أخري



بروفيسور لوبين الذي نشعر معه كإنه صديق لنا قريب منا يسهل فهمه والتعامل معه .. طيبته وإمكانياته الواضحه



اما بالنسبه لسنايب لم أكن اتخيله بهذا البرود ابدا .. في الفيلم كانت هناك لمحات من العاطفه هنا وهناك نراها في بعض الأحيان



لكن ما هذا الشر والبرود الذي يغطي علي قلبه في الرواية .. شخصية مرعبه اتمني ان يظل من شخصياتي المفضله بعد قراءة الروايات مثلما حدث مع الأفلام

معلومات جديده جدا أوضحت أشياء كثيره تغاضوا عنها في الفيلم علي الرغم من أهميتها الشديده التي من الممكن أن تغير الأوضاع تماما وتجدد من أفكارنا تجاه الكثير من الشخصيات

كانت من ضمن المفاجآت أيضا ظهور سيدريك ديجوري وتشو تشانغ في الروايه علي الرغم من ان ظهورهم في الفيلم لا يحدث الا في الجزء الرابع وليس الثالث
في هذا الجزء الثالث تنتقل القصه بتفاصيلها وشخصياتها لعالم أكثر نضجا يناسب عقول أكبر وخيال أوسع

عندما أخبرني أصدقائي هنا علي الموقع أن الإختلاف يبدأ من هذا الجزء بدأت وكلي حماس ولم أتخيل ابدا ان تصل الإختلافات لهذا الحد لتجعل من ذلك الجزء تحفة فنيه مقارنة بالأجزاء السابقه .. ومن كلام نفس الأصدقاء سيظل هذا الإختلاف موجود في الأجزاء التاليه أيضا وانا انتظر قرائتهم بشدة

رواية تستحق عشر نجوم
بالطبع رولينج من أفضل الكتاب الذين قرأت لهم ومن الأكثر خيالا أيضا .. أنتظر أن تأخذني معاها إلي عالمها في المرات القادمه لأعيش بعيدا عن الواقع في عالم هاري بوتر الرائع

Last week when I posted my bookfessional on special edition books, I’d just started thumbing through this year’s illustrated edition of Harry Potter. Now that I’ve finished . . . WHUH.

Last year, when I saw the the beautiful depictions of the Herbology greenhouse on the inside covers of HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, I’d thought it would hard for future editions to compete, and when I saw the dementors that graced the covers of HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, I (prematurely) wrote it off as inferior.

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Not that that isn't an excellent dementer . . . *shudders*

BUT.

Then there was Harry furiously completing his homework under blankets, and THE MONSTER BOOK OF MONSTERS, and the first of many illustrations of Crookshanks (my favorite literary cat ever), and a scraggly Fawkes on Dumbledore’s head:

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And we were just getting started. *waves at Aunt Marge as she floats away*

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I still think last year’s book is beautiful, but Herbology greenhouses, gorgeous as they were, cannot compete with the majestic hippogriff.

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They just can’t. *shrugs*

BUT. I’ve learned my lesson about (prematurely) deciding that any of these new versions is the “best.” I mean, come on . . . We haven’t even gotten to HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE yet. *begins the looooooong wait for next year’s book*

Verdict: an absolute must for any Harry Potter fan. Even if you're a staunch adherent to the no-multiple-editions school of thought. Gift your lesser versions to the child of a family friend and get these for yourself.

5 Expecto Patronum stars!



I grew up with Harry Potter. Yes, I am that generation. I was a little bit younger than 11 when the books were released, and when the final book was published I had just graduated high school. I'm also the same age as Daniel Radcliffe and he's only older than me by less than a month. I also have a deathly hallows bumper sticker on my car. So, I think it's safe to say that this series has had a profound effect on me, to the point where I am still a little bit bitter that I never got my Hogwarts acceptance letter.



A couple years ago I reread the first two books in the series and loved them just as much as when I was a kid. So when I got into a horrible reading slump, I saw my dad watching Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family (as he does for every fucking Harry Potter weekend mind you), I said to myself, what the hell. Time for a reread. So hence, Harry Potter 3 reread.



All of us may know the story but I am going to reiterate. In his third year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter learns that a dangerous man named Sirius Black has escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban. Harry then overhears the fact that Black is the reason his parents are dead, as Black sold them out to Voldemort and then killed 13 people in broad daylight.

So in a unique part of the review from me, here are all the amazing parts of this book that I forgot because I've been watching the movies instead:

-Peeves the Poltergeist: Holy crap how did I forget about this hilarious menacing spirit? He's not as present in this book but he has always had a part in the series and I completely forgot he existed! I know they can't include everything in the movies but I wish Peeves had been included.

-Charlie Weasley: Ron had yet ANOTHER sibling that is only mentioned in the films! This one is the cool brother in Egypt.

-Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory: there are soooooo many mentions of Cho and Cedric in this book! I never really noticed Cedric until the 4th book where he becomes prominent. And this is the book where Harry's crush on Cho began. Stomach flutters!

-More details on Whomping Willow/Shrieking Shack: This may be a spoiler for those of you who haven't read it, but the Whomping Willow was actually planted to hide Lupin's werewolfism as well as the shrieking shack to hide him. I thought this little tidbit was super interesting, along with the details of how Black escaped Azkaban.



And just in general, I love JK Rowling's ability to tie things together. There's so much in this book that becomes important later and tiny little details and sharp wit that make me giggle.



So in a small factoid, this book is probably my least favorite of the entire series. It's good, obviously, but for some reason I like all the other ones better. The movie, well it's my second to last favorite (just ahead of that godawful Goblet of Fire film which ruined everything but I digress). The movie director added so many unnecessary things that weren't in the book, and I wish he hadn't so he could of kept the good stuff! (And I've heard a rumor that he didn't even read the fucking book until JK kept vetoing all of his weird ideas. Look it up!)

If you haven't read these books, do not tell me!!!!! I will smack you!

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS that amaze me about this book as I read it again as an adult for the first time in years. I've read it many times before but this is the first time I'm like WOW, did J.K. Rowling really plan everything from the beginning?

THINGS THAT ARE AMAZING ABOUT THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

The Characters POA introduces some of the most wonderful characters in the entire Harry Potter series - Lupin, Sirius, Crookshanks, Professor Trelawny, Buckbeak - the Dementors! All amazing additions to the wizarding world, as well as the fact that we got to experience more of Cornelius Fudge. I was even surprised that Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory were mentioned. I think it's so great that we already got to see Harry interact with two seemingly minor characters who become focal points in the next novel - though I do absolutely loathe Cho with all my heart, ughh.

Harry and Hermione! One of my favourite things about this series is Harry and Hermione's friendship. I was never a shipper of these two because I simply loved their platonic relationship. It's so lovely and makes me squeal - and POA gives us tons of H/H time because Ron and Herm aren't on speaking terms most of the time (aw, cute lil love spats) and Ron is too injured in the last couple of chapters to join them on their incredible mission to save Sirius.

The Plot I think, in retrospect, The Chamber of Secrets was such a dud because POA is chock full of exciting plot, surprising discoveries, and great build up for the rest of the books. This is where the ball really gets rolling towards the return of Voldemort and such. This is also the only book in which Voldemort doesn't actually make an appearance and I think that adds to the depth of the plot. It stops being a Scoopy Doo mystery where the bad guy turns up at the end of the episode and is defeated by the gang. Also the whole time turning thing was something I actually couldn't wrap my head around as a kid until I saw the movie where they added a bunch of little moments that helped explain it more. It's so imaginative and complex, and I loved how the Buckbeak/Hermione/Sirius plot points all intertwined.

Quidditch & Hogsmeade I love that we got to see more Quidditch in this book. It's never repetitive, always exciting, and so satisfying that we finally got to experience Gryfinndor's win. Hogsmeade, of course, is a fantastic way to broaden the world building. And J.K. manages to do this so naturally, as if it were always there. Which, of course, it was, because Hagrid won a dragon egg at the Hog's Head in the first book. I AM SO IN AWE OF ALL THE SEEDS J.K. QUIETLY PLANTS IN OUR HEADS.

I also had the pleasure of reading this during my trip to London which made everything so much better. Overall, I am blown away by how much excitement has been reawakened in me after so many years.

Finally, back to my favourite characters of all time! I started this series almost an year ago. After reading two and half books, I left it. Because at that time I was new to reading books and I used to get afraid of long novels. But now I am good with them. So I again started this series a month ago. I am so happy now that I can't tell! Harry, Ron, Hagrid, n   DUMBLEDOREn!!!! I love each of them very much. Oh sorry, I forgot to mention Voldemort. But I love him as the villian.

This series gets improve with every next installment. From Sorcerer's Stone to Prisoner of Azkaban I don't remember a page which I didn't enjoy.

As far as this book is concern, I adored it. Excitement was limitless. Stakes were higher than the previous ones. Even though I was missing Voldemort, I still enjoyed it.

n  OVERVIEWn
Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, a prison for criminal wizards, which no one has broken but him. He is after Harry apparently . He is believed to be the one who helped Voldemort in killing Harry's parents.

n   RANDOM THOUGHTSn
=>I liked what Harry did to Aunt Marge. Hehehe...

=>This book started slowly towards the main plot. There were many Quidditch matches which actually didn't have to do anything with the plot. BUT it's my favourite sport. I love reading it. Privately, I really wish that I could play it. Last year my friend on GR recommended a book entirely based on this sport. In this year, I will read it after finishing this series.

=>You know what? During reading, I was thinking 'why Sirius isn't showing up'. There were just talks about him. But in the end, I came to know that, I was reading him all the time but I was ignoring him.

=>Dementors were great. I liked the concept of them. And Dementor's Kiss. I literally shivered on the effects of it.

=>There was a very shocking revelation. Ron's rat!! What it turned out in the ending was mouth-dropping.

Overall, an amazing installment in the HP series.