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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter) by J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré
(Illustrator)

Genre:
Fantasy, Middle School, Witches and Wizards, Adventure, Kindle Unlimited, Young Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Book Series, Magic, Wolves, Werewolves, British Literature, Contemporary, Dark, Harry Potter Universe

Publication Date:
May 1, 2004 by Scholastic Inc.

Page Numbers:
435

Read/Finished Date:
March 26th, 2025

Rating:
5/5

Premise:

Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn't if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school...

Review:

This is the third novel in the Harry Potter series and is considered to be the beginning of the novel's dark themes. Harry Potter is spending his summer once more in the presence of his aunt and uncle and what is worse is Aunt Marge has begun to make snide remarks about his family. That is until one night when Harry has gotten tired of Marge's relentless abuse and unfortunately blows her up (not in the BOOM sort, but much like a balloon without strings). Harry flees into the night believing that the Ministry of Magic will revoke his wizarding privilege and send him right back to his already furious aunt and uncle.

Fortunately, that is not the case and Harry learns that an escapee from Azkaban named Sirius Black is gunning for him. Because of this, the Ministry of Magic has increased security and used Dementors, "wraithlike creatures that drain happiness and hope from people, inducing despair and fear, and can even consume souls with "The Dementor's Kiss."*

Now, Harry and his friends must stay out of reach of the Dementors and Sirius Black all the while navigating his third year of Hogwarts.

Before I dare to begin, have I mentioned how I love how Hermione handled Draco Malfoy? He deserved that hit more than anything and I am glad she dished it to him.

We can see Harry's growth in both character and abilities to be stronger and more determined as he navigates his third year, dodging Dementors and Sirius Black.

And we cannot leave out his two friends - Ron and Hermione. While the former sticks closely to his friend, the latter seems to be more focused on her new classes as well as knowing Sirius Black is after her friend. Her feelings of worry are genuine, and I understand why she fears Sirius could harm Harry, but I think she does tend to go too far when it comes to protecting Harry.

Overall, I think this book was one of my favorites in the series.