Book Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(Harry Potter, Book 3)
J.K. Rowling
Hardcover, 435 pages
Arthur A. Levine Books
(An imprint of Scholastic Press) 
First American Edition
Sept. 9, 1999
Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

Book Synopsis: 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. 

     

Not too long ago, I started a literary project -- re-reading the entire Harry Potter series, in order to then get to the newest HP book: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And what an enjoyable project this is!!

I can definitely say that this third volume in the series is my favorite of the seven written by Rowling. For me, it's the most satisfying, in terms of human relationships. For example, we get to know Hagrid much better, and see what a truly gentle, kind soul he is. He's one of my favorite characters! Hagrid has a soft spot for creatures commonly considered monsters by the magical community in the HP universe, but he somehow finds their good side, caring for them all, no matter how dangerous they might seem to be.

In this installment, we also see how the friendship of the three main characters -- Harry, Hermione, and Ron, becomes stronger than ever. They have are now staunch allies, and it's wonderful to experience how they work together as a team, although Harry is the one Rowling focuses on the most, since he's the hero of the entire series.

I also love a new character -- Remus Lupin, the most recent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He's just as wonderful as Hagrid! He's not only a great teacher, but also a compassionate, kind person. Furthermore, he relates to Harry just as a father would. The reason for this becomes very clear later on in the novel. Lupin even defends and protects Harry when Snape catches Harry with a potentially dangerous magical artifact. Anybody who does something like that gets KUDOS, in my book!

Another fascinating -- as well as rather comical --  new character is Professor Sybill Trelawney, the Divination teacher. The portions of the book dealing with her made me laugh. In the movie, the character was masterfully played by Emma Thompson, who got the professor's 'ditzyness' just right! Professor Trelawney came across as melodramatic and very eccentric, and her way of teaching the Divination classes was guaranteed to make anyone think that Divination is an entirely ridiculous subject to attempt studying. I believe that this character and her silly posturings were Rowling's way of poking fun at the whole thing. Trelawney did provide some much-needed comic relief, though, just as Professor Lockhart did in the previous book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I was, therefore, actually scared when Trelawney unexpectedly entered into a trance one day, and gave an actual prophecy!

This is also the book in which Sirius Black, a convicted murderer just escaped from the infamous prison of Azkaban, is introduced. He seems to be after Harry, too, which creates a lot of suspense. We don't actually get the whole scoop on him until much later in the book. Rowling is to be congratulated for making this reader practically chew her nails until the truth came out!

There are also several fascinating, very imaginative magical concepts introduced in this novel: the Time Turner, which enables its user to go back in time to a specified date and hour, pinpointing it down to the last second, the Marauder's Map, which tracks the movements of anyone inside Hogwarts School, and the Dementors, who are the guardians of Azkaban.

These Dementors are very creepy creatures that suck all the hope and positive feelings out of those who are unfortunate enough to come in contact with them. After such an encounter, the one sure-fire remedy is to eat some chocolate -- as soon as possible, too! I LOVE that!!

I also loved the introduction of a new magical creature -- a hippogriff. This is an animal that has the front quarters of an eagle, and the hindquarters of a horse. This wonderfully strange animal actually becomes a very important part of the plot of this novel, engaging the magical talents of Harry, Hermione, and Ron in a very imaginative way! Of course, Hagrid is extremely fond of him; he has named the creature "Buckbeak". The whole situation regarding the hippogriff also added to my enjoyment of the novel!

As usual, everything in this book is just BRILLIANT. Rowling makes sure that every detail she mentions in the novel is important, as it will inevitably relate to something else in the plot.  Not only is Buckbeak important for his own sake, but for Hagrid's, as well. Furthermore, his fate is linked to that of another, innocently accused character.

The plot has all of Rowling's signature twists and turns, all of her masterful, fascinating suspenseful events. I felt as if I were reading this book for the very first time, instead of my second! (Of course, there are future re-readings in store!) This is the literary magic that J.K. Rowling is so famous for! She not only keeps us readers on the edge of our seats, but also immerses us so completely in her imaginary world, we really do think, while we're reading, that the whole thing is real! Thus, I know that all of us Potterheads feel pretty sad when one of the books ends.....or one of the movies, for that matter, because we're addicted to those, as well!

In short, I LOVE the world, the characters, the magical concepts, and....well, EVERYTHING about these books!! I would LOVE to meet all of these people in person!! And I don't mean the actors, but the fictional characters themselves! I would LOVE to be a student at this WONDERFUL school known as Hogwarts! I would LOVE to wear the GORGEOUS Gryffindor uniform (because I would NEVER want to be anything but a Gryffindor!), to play Quidditch with Harry and the gang, to be able to visit Diagon Alley and get my very own Firebolt, as well as my own white owl!! And I want to visit Hogsmeade, and have fun with the Weasley twins, and meet Dumbledore, whom I ADORE, and Hagrid, whom I would LOVE to hug, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron, with whom I'd LOVE to go off on adventures.....

I can't say enough WONDERFUL things about this novel, or this series!! If only I could go to Platform 9 3/4, and get on the Hogwarts Express..... 



MY RATING:

Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling, a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer, and Anne Rowling (née Volant), on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Bristol. Her mother Anne was half-French and half-Scottish. 

Although she writes under the pen name J.K. Rowling (pronounced like rolling), her name when her first Harry Potter book was published was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she use two initials, rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling. She calls herself Jo and has said, "No one ever called me 'Joanne' when I was young, unless they were angry."

The Harry Potter series has won worldwide fame, as well as many awards. The movies based on the novels have also achieved great acclaim. The first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was published in 1997, and the last, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released in 2007.

Here is a list of literary awards won by this novel:  Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers (1999), Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2000), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2000),  Whitbread Award for Children's Book of the Year (1999), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature  (2008), Smarties Prize (1999), Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards for Older Readers (2005), Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award (2004), Maine Student Book Award (2000), Golden Archer Award for Intermediate (2001). Indian Paintbrush Book Award (2004), Soaring Eagle Book Award (2002), Hotze de Roosprijs (2001)

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