Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling

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• ISBN13: 9780439136365
• Condition: New
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Book Reviews of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Book Review: Dark prisoner
Summary: 5 Stars

First of all, Prisoner is the last of the "short" Harry Potter books (with the next two books weighing very hefty on the page scale), but its story doesn't seem to suffer at all. Rowling packs a lot of story into so few pages. The pace is fairly relentless. I think it does suffer a little bit, though, from the beginning. As with the first two stories, the Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia scenes seem a little pointless and tacked on. The sequence doesn't seem to have a lot of purpose other than to get the ball rolling. While they aren't bad scenes and I did enjoy them a little bit, I kept waiting for the action to start. I hope that they start getting development beyond the typical "snarky family who hates Harry for what he is and wants to keep him down" portrayal we've seen so far. But this book doesn't do it.

Once things get started, though, the tale becomes much more interesting as Rowling adds to the rich background of the universe she's created. She keeps adding new things and characters to her world, and each one of them is intriguing. The story behind Sirius Black and what happened with Harry's parents is fascinating, and the twists and turns this particular story takes are particularly good. As events come to their conclusion, you're riveted to your seat as you want to find out what really happened (I read the last hundred pages in one night, staying up much too late). There is also a nice moral point for the kids (who are the primary audience for these books, despite them being wonderful books for adults too) where the correction of one injustice is used to correct another one as well. This makes a wonderful point about injustice and how one must fight against it, no matter who is perpetrating it.

I found Hermione's story very predictable, though. I figured out what was going on with her the first time the question came up. Rowling does dovetail it nicely with the main story though, giving it a purpose rather than just showing how eccentric Hermione can be sometimes. I didn't like the antipathy between Hermione and Ron as much, though. I thought it was a bit overdone. I know it is realistic in the sense that kids can hold grudges over the most minor of things sometimes, but I didn't find it that pleasant to read about in this case. I had trouble seeing how Hermione couldn't understand that Ron was upset that her cat kept attacking his rat. At least the antipathy grew from their already established characters, so that was nice. Most of the other things they quarrel about are rules-related, and with Hermione being such a stickler for the rules and with the added pressure of her schedule, it is a bit understandable that there would be friction.

The two new professors, Lupin and Trelawney, are a mixed bag. Lupin is wonderful, with an intriguing secret and an interesting interaction with Harry. He becomes almost like a mentor to him, and one starts to wonder if there are sinister motives behind it all. Lupin was also involved with Harry's parents, and the reader is left to wonder throughout the story whether or not Lupin is on the up and up. Telawney, on the other hand, I found dreadfully boring. The only thing of interest she did was predict Harry's imminent death, but every time she appeared on the page after that, I almost started snoring. She was annoying, too, with all of her "oh, I predicted that" statements. She got on my nerves after awhile, and I don't think Rowling did a good job characterizing her. She could have played an important part in the book, but Rowling drops the ball a little bit.

Finally, the Dementors and the description of Azkaban prison are really well-done. The mystery behind them and their effect on Harry, the fear and awe they inspire in everybody, is just incredibly done. There is a real sense of menace with them, especially when Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school, won't allow them on to school grounds. Harry really grows up when he ultimately has to face them. I don't think I'd want to see much more about them, but their presence in this book was extremely satisfying. These are supposed to be "the good guys," but they're more feared then Sirius Black, I think. That's what makes them interesting.

I was a bit surprised at the tone of the book. It seemed pretty dark for a so-called children's book. I've been surprised by the first two stories as well, but this was even a little bit darker than those. Children are obviously lapping these books up, though, and apparently reading them and loving them, so I guess I'm wrong about that. If I had children though, I'd definitely want to make sure my children were ready for these before I gave them the books. However, on the upside, the "adult" writing makes it a wonderful story for all ages. If you enjoyed the first two, you can't go wrong with this one either.

David Roy

Summary of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

As it turns out, Harry isn't punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black--an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban--is on the loose. Not only that, but he's after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry's very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

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