From Goodreads: Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts is full of new dangers. A convicted murderer, Sirius Black, has broken out of Azkaban prison, and it seems he’s after Harry. Now Hogwarts is being patrolled by the dementors, the Azkaban guards who are hunting Sirius. But Harry can’t imagine that Sirius or, for that matter, the evil Lord Voldemort could be more frightening than the dementors themselves, who have the terrible power to fill anyone they come across with aching loneliness and despair. Meanwhile, life continues as usual at Hogwarts. A top-of-the-line broom takes Harry’s success at Quidditch, the sport of the Wizarding world, to new heights. A cute fourth-year student catches his eye. And he becomes close with the new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, who was a childhood friend of his father. Yet despite the relative safety of life at Hogwarts and the best efforts of the dementors, the threat of Sirius Black grows ever closer. But if Harry has learned anything from his education in wizardry, it is that things are often not what they seem. Tragic revelations, heartwarming surprises, and high-stakes magical adventures await the boy wizard in this funny and poignant third installment of the beloved series.
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Rowling has, once again, written a gem that keeps adults just as entertained as it does the MG and YA age group for which it was written. The series transports me to another world that I am highly invested in, and Rowling sheet amount of detail and her ability to interlace the plot and twists throughout her ongoing series just amazes me. This is a series that I will continually come back to time and time again because it’s a classic. A must read.
This third installment in the amazing Harry Potter Series doesn’t deal so much with Voldemort and the threat of his return as much as it does with a more tangible threat–one of his followers escape from Azkaban, hunting down Harry to finish the dark lord’s work. Or so everyone thinks. I’m not going to talk much about this here, because you’ve either already read the book/watched the movie and know what happens, or you know nothing about it and need to read the series right now… I do not want to spoil anything for you. I just remember how absolutely floored I was the first time I read this novel and found out the truth, and how shocking and suspenseful it all was, which just adds to the fun of it all. And the of course, re-reading with foresight allows me to pick up on the plethora of clues Rowling dropped throughout, and oh my! All I’ll say is, damn Ron. If he’d only just given up his rat the first time he was asked…
Prisoner of Azkaban always has me questioning why the director chose to portray Snape and the factor of time in the manner that he does. The movie version doesn’t do either of these aspects true justice, and that just solidifies the view that most have when it comes to movies versus books—the books always do it better. Snape is definitely a lot nastier in this novel than he’s made out to be in the movie. It’s like the escape of Sirius Black has made Snape into a crazed monster, which I guess it has, in a way, knowing what I know about Snape’s teenage years, but this novel is the first time his true colors really seem to be coming out. While he was definitely a “meanie” in the first two books, Rowling takes his character to a whole new level in this novel, and I was appalled by his behavior!
I originally thought Snape’s antics on the big screen to be slightly humorous, and he’s one of my favorites in the movies, truth be told, but in the novels he’s completely awful and full of hate—no redeeming qualities can be seen in this book, and he really made me angry! I understand his prejudices against Harry, and I know his back-story from the text, but I didn’t ever see him as being such an awful person before now. And he is. I mean, I knew he was the resident sourpuss and that he was mean to students, but rereading his actions in this novel always reminds me that Snape is quite evil. The way he treats the students, all of them, really, is inexcusable. Perhaps I’m seeing him in a new light as I’m now seasoned teacher myself, but regardless, Snape’s actions within this book made me livid. The way he talks to Hermoine, Ron, and Harry made me cringe; he’s just an unacceptable person—no matter how much you dislike a person, you just don’t treat them the way Snape treats Harry and his friends. You just don’t.
Rowling definitely presents Snape in a different light than the directors in the movie, possibly because the directors didn’t want viewers to hate him to the extreme, but even so, I’m always floored by just how different the portrayal really is.
But, despite Snape’s actions, I adored this novel, especially the explanation and replaying of events through the unique time changes that are presented. Just in case you haven’t read the novels or seen the movies, I won’t go into too much detail here, but I personally felt that this novel does a much better job handling the time change than the movie does because I never felt like events were being repeated, whereas in the movie I thought this portion dragged on a little too long. Rowling keeps it short and sweet, though, in her novel, explaining it perfectly, and I highly enjoyed this aspect. And, if you’ve only seen the movie and haven’t read the book, then you’re seriously missing out. In this instance, it isn’t even a close second, the novel completely beats out the movie. No contest. Go read it. Five stars.
I own this beloved novel and entire series in both hardcover and audible.
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Kindle | Audible | Paperback | Hardcover
Have you read the short prequel to the Harry Potter series, yet?
And if you missed them, read my review of:
For me, the magic of Harry Potter is a Christmastime story. The first time I ever read the series, the first time I ever watched the movies, I just felt like they were definitely Christmas stories, ones of magic and beauty, and I’ve held onto that feeling for years, possibly because the earlier movies tended to come out around the holidays, or perhaps because J.K. Rowling always included Christmas in some way in each novel, but regardless, Christmas means it’s time for Harry Potter once again. Or at least, it did. It used to be that every Christmas season, I’d rewatch all the movies (usually in one sitting), and if I had the time, I’d re-read the entire series as well leading up to the holiday. But it’s been years since I’ve done this due to life and some other personal things. This year, however, the pull of nostalgia for my teenage years and the feelings of happiness Harry Potter always brought to me came flooding back, and I decided that I’d once again re-read the entire series, re-watch every movie (including the extended versions of some that I’d never seen before), and oh my, the magic of Christmas lives once again. And with that, I decided that since I’m back into blogging after so many years away, and since I haven’t posted about Harry Potter since 2013, that this Christmas season, I’d go in order and re-review each book from the prequel to the final novel as we lead up to Christmas day, partially for myself, and partially to spread the joy and cheer of Harry Potter as I know it this Christmas. Enjoy!
Books: The Cheapest Vacation You Can Buy 