Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 1999
The Prisoner of Azkaban is, by far, my favourite book and film.
A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)
Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has already survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It's assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney's ghoulish predictions seriously?
I don't think I could put into words the praise I wish to convey to Rowling about her character development skills. (And they get even better in the fourth book!!)
This book introduces two of my favourite characters in the series; Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Though the latter is only really met within the last 30 or so pages of the book, they are very, very entertaining and well worth the long and much anticipated wait for his appearance.
Throughout the whole book, there are hints and mentions of Sirius, with no clear definition of the guy- not even Ron's description of him after the alleged bed slashing is reliable, because, of course, Ron embellished his tale so that he could heighten his new found fame.
And- hold on. This name is familiar. Where have we heard the name 'Sirius Black'? Ah- yes. In the Philosopher's Stone, Sirius Black lends his flying motorcycle to Hagrid. Huh.
So of course- who the hell is he?! And why does he have a flying motorcycle?
But then. Then. THEN. We find out. We find out what he did. Why he was imprisoned.
Way to go, Rowling. She essentially flipped every thing Harry (and the reader) knew on its head, kind of like some atomic bomb.
Oh, wow. I'm still recovering.
To demonstrate my inner turmoil during those last few chapters, I will show you my Goodreads updates: (read from bottom to top)
As you can see, Sirius is someone I care very, very deeply about.
I am full of nothing but praise for the Harry Potter series, and I realise that my reviews of them are more than likely biased, due to the heavy influence they have in my life (just the other day I found an action figure of Harry and his Nimbus, stored in my nan's garage).
Of course, I do have one slight problem- Hermione. I love her, I really do, but she needs to grow up, and she does, quite substantially, throughout the whole book. She faces far more troublesome times that either Harry or Ron, and if it wasn't for her they wouldn't have been able to save Sirius.
Hermione just needs to grow up, like all kids do. She's a great character, really, and I love her to pieces. To be honest, they all need to grow up.
Star Rating: 5/5
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