Book Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Intriguing story and fun characters

Cons: A tad slow in spots

The Bottom Line:

With the groundwork laid

Series really picks up speed

In great third entry

Sirius Black has Escaped from Azkaban!

The Harry Potter series has become the publishing phenomenon of the last decade. I am finally getting around to reading them myself, and with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I am beginning to see what all the excitement has been about.

The series follows a young wizard during his seven years of training at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But in addition to his classes, he finds himself drawn into mysteries that threaten his life and tie into an evil that cost him his parents and no one wants to call by name.

Once again, this book starts during the summer. Thirteen-year-old Harry Potter knows he can't use magic during his summer vacation. But try as he might, he accidentally blows up horrid Aunt Marge like a giant balloon. Instead of being expelled from Hogwarts, he is met by the Ministry of Magic himself and allowed to stay at an inn for the rest of the summer holiday.

The reason becomes clear right before the fall term starts. Sirius Black has escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban. He is a dangerous wizard who once killed thirteen innocent people with one spell. Worse, he worked for the evil Lord Voldemort. And everyone thinks he is headed toward Hogwarts to attack Harry.

As if this weren't enough, Harry has his regular school work to do. There's a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, one who actually seems popular this year. Professor Snape is as mean and vindictive as ever. Harry's new class, Divination, starts with the dire prediction that before the year is over, one of the students will leave and never return. Harry's friends Ron and Hermione as feuding because her new cat seems to want to eat Ron's pet rat. And Hermione has a schedule that is impossibly full.

But as the year wears on, it becomes alarmingly clear that Harry isn't safe within the walls of the school. Will Sirius Black be caught or will he get to Harry first?

Each book in the series has only gotten stronger. I have finally accepted that the books are as much about his school life as the mystery, but the mystery is being set up earlier and earlier in the books. And I am finding that I enjoy more of the details about Harry's life with each passing book. I saw the movie version when it came out, but couldn't remember all the details, so I was racing through to find out how everything ended. And it is a satisfying ending.

The characters have been well established by this point, so the jokes between them immediately resonate with the reader. Some of the comments and jokes might be missed by a new reader, but someone could conceivably jump in here and understand the majority of what is happening. While they may act a little older then they really are, the characters do seem like teenagers, just teens with magical abilities.

And that's one of the selling points of the series. They are wonderful fantasies. Harry's world has been carefully constructed as is internally consistent, believable, and creative. One sub-plot in this book revolves around a Hippogriff, and yet enough detail is given that I believed they were real creatures.

Since the book is aimed at kids, I found it an incredibly fast read. I don't think anyone from late elementary school on would have any trouble reading about Harry's adventures.

I can certainly see why these books are so popular. They are entertaining escapist fantasy, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a perfect example. I'm looking forward to sinking into book four.