Author: J. K. Rowling
Published: July 1999
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Series: Harry Potter #3
320 pages (hardcover)
I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series as a part of Shannon’s Harry Potter read-along. August is the month for The Prisoner of Azkaban (hurray for being caught up)!
In this third book, the wizarding world is thrown into a bit of a panic as news of Sirius Black’s escape from Azkaban (a wizard prison) spreads. Even the Muggles are warned about the criminal. Sirius was Voldemort’s right hand man, and everyone is sure that he has escaped to hunt down Harry and avenge the death of his old master.
As you can imagine, this is not a particularly delightful thing to hear about for Harry Potter. Not only does he have that hanging over his head, but friends, teachers and even the Ministry of Magic are determined to do what they can to keep Harry as safe as possible — which ends up feeling a bit stifling for the poor boy. Even worse are the Dementors — frightening creatures that can suck the happiness right out of a person — who are stationed all around the school. Still, Harry tries to carry on his school year as normally as possible, but it is clear that he is in a very dangerous situation as Sirius Black continuously attempts to get close to Harry.
As a kid, The Prisoner of Azkaban was actually my least favourite book. All my friends found it to be their favourite, except me (who favored The Chamber of Secrets). However, ever since the movie and having re-read it a few more times as a teen and as a young adult now, I’ve definitely warmed up to the book much, much more. In fact, I think it’s one of my favourites of the series now. I’m not a hundred percent sure why, but I’ve come to appreciate the complexity of this particular installment much more now.
What’s different about book three compared to the first two is that the story becomes more detailed and complicated. Firstly, we have Harry, Ron and Hermione’s relationship grow. Instead of being happy-go-lucky friends, they’re experiencing many fights with one another, which is all a part of the growing-up process. The characters are developing to become more complicated, as are their relationships with one another.
Secondly, there is a lot more background story introduced in Azkaban, a lot of it having to do with Harry’s father’s life as a Hogwarts student himself, and of the night Harry’s parents died. The first two Harry Potter books were quite simple in plot and characterization, but I think starting with Azkaban, the story takes on a more serious tone. Because of all the information regarding certain events that happened before Harry was even born, this makes Azkaban one of the most important installments in the series, in my opinion.
So, like I said, I didn’t really like it as a kid (and I know I am the oddball in that regard), but re-reading it this time around, I was completely engrossed by the story. This book has been out for over 10 years now, surely it’s not a spoiler to say I loved the time-travel aspect of it? Well … I do! Time traveling is something I love to read about in all books, and I really like the way J. K. Rowling tackled it in this book. This book was great, amazingly written, and if you haven’t read the Harry Potter series yet, well, I’m sure you’ll find this particular installment very addicting to read.
My Rating: 5/5
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