Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3 Harry Potter) Review

Hey ForeverBookers, 

How are you all doing? I hope that even at this hard time you’re doing okay!

I’ve just finished “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and I LOVED it again!!! When I was younger this was my favourite Harry Potter book, bearing in mind that I only read the second and third books in their entirety, don’t think me a bad person, I’m getting to the rest now. I read about three quarters of book four when I was 11 years old, so over 10 years ago. I can remember just about where I gave up too, so I’m excited to see what I feel about it now...anyway, back to book 3. 

5 Stars!!!

Harry goes into his third year at Hogwarts in this book. He has to take more classes, including Divination. A weird teacher, Professor Trelawney teaches this class. The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is Professor Lupin. He comes with his own story. Harry also has the opportunity to go to Hogsmeade, which is a Wizarding Village where magic is the norm. Will he be able to go or will something try to stop him? There’s the Knight Bus as well as the obvious prisoner of Azkaban. Does they help or hinder Harry? You’ll need to read to find out!

I read “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” for a few readathons. They were:

Cardcaptor-a-thon - I'm changing this! It originally had it down for The Mirror - Read a book you thought to be one thing but turned out to be something else, but then I thought that Professor Trewlaney is the Divination teacher, and Divination teaches reading the mind - so physic capabilities. I therefore think this is perfect for The Libra instead, so that's what I'm changing it to - Libra! (#23)

Reading Rivalry - #SquadGoals (a group of 4 or more people working together on a common goal/adventure) - I was reading “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” for that prompt but I didn’t finish it in time, so it was used for page points instead. I got 8 points for reading over 200 pages, I think. 

FFS - In March the theme was Unstable Unicorns and I read “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” for the Extremely Fertile Unicorn, so a book from a series that’s more than 3 books long...Harry Potter has 7 books in the series, so it counts!

Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge - A book that passes the Bechdel test - The Bechdel test is where women talk to each other about anything other than men, according to Google. Hermione talks to Professor McGonagall about school work and Aunt Petunia and Aunt Marge talk about things other than men in the beginning of the book!

Spoilers Below for this book and the previous books in the Harry Potter universe...

“Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year. For another he really wanted to do his homework, but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a wizard.”

This is the opening line of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” We’re thrust right back into the story, which I liked. I don’t like it when books take forever to get to the point, unless their romance heavy books, which is my preferred genre. As none of the Harry Potter books are a romance in any way, shape or form I liked how this book got to the point quickly. 

Harry doesn’t like the summer holidays because it’s the one time of year that he’s without his friends or much to focus on besides his family, who hate him. His Uncle Vernon tells Harry, “HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE — PEOPLE LIKE YOU!” when Ron, Harry’s best friend at Hogwarts tries to contact him. Vernon, as a Muggle thinks Harry is different to everyone he knows because of his wizarding abilities. None of the Dursleys consider Harry a member of their family. This is evident when a relative of Harry’s uncle Vernon comes to stay, Aunt Marge. 

“On the threshold stood Aunt Marge. She was very like Uncle Vernon; large, beefy and purple faced, she even had a moustache, though not as bushy as his.”

Aunt Marge is an early antagonist in the book. She’s not present for too long as this is before Harry even gets to Hogwarts but for the time she was in the story, I hated her! She comes across as a big bully. 

“So!” she barked. “Still here, are you?” 

“Yes,” said Harry.

“Don’t you say “yes” in that ungrateful tone,” Aunt Marge growled. “It’s damn good of Vernon and Petunia to keep you. Wouldn’t have done it myself. You’d have gone straight to the orphanage if you’d been dumped on my doorstep.”

Harry was bursting to say that he’d rather live in an orphanage than with the Dursleys, but the thought of the Hogsmeade form stopped him. He forced his face into a painful smile.”

This basically sums up what Aunt Marge thinks of Harry. Harry wants to tell Aunt Marge just what he think of her but the only thing that keeps Harry from saying anything against Aunt Marge is the thought of the Hogsmeade outings, at Hogwarts in the next year for him, which he needs permission to go on. As I said in the introduction, Hogsmeade is a Wizarding Village where magic is used in daily life. It’s accepted as a run of the mill thing, like it is at Hogwarts. It was fun to read about.

“They died in a car crash, you nasty little liar, and left you to be a burden on their decent, hardworking relatives!” screamed aunt Marge, swelling with fury. “You are an insolent, ungrateful little —”

This reflects what Aunt Marge truly thinks of Harry. She thinks he’s “a burden,” when he’s not at all. I was really angry with Aunt Marge after reading this. If I was Harry, I don’t think I’d have been able to keep my cool, even if Hogsmeade was something I wanted to experience. I would have been very angry, a lot like what Harry becomes after Aunt Marge further insults his parents! 

“She deserved it,” Harry said, breathing very fast. “She deserved what she got. You keep away from me.”

This is Harry, after he’s lost his cool and blown Aunt Marge up like a balloon with magic. He doesn’t want Marge, Vernon, Petunia, his Aunt or Dudley, his cousin anywhere near him so he leaves with his magic supplies, his owl, Hedwig’s cage (without Hedwig in it because Vernon didn’t want anything magic to interrupt Marge’s stay), and his trunk or suitcase. 

“After ten minutes alone in the dark street, a new emotion overtook him: panic. Whichever way he looked at it, he had never been in a worse fix. He was stranded, quite alone, in the deep dark muggle world, with absolutely no where to go.” Harry is at a loss for what to do or where to go now. He’s feeling very lost. That is until...“Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go.”

The Knight Bus is a unique form of transport from the world of Harry Potter. We don’t spend very long on the Knight Bus in this book but it’s how Harry gets to Diagon Alley, where he stays until 1st September, when he can travel to Hogwarts. 

In Diagon Alley, Harry meets Cornelius Fudge, the Minster of Magic, himself. “Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has been modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So that’s that, and no harm done.” is what Fudge tells Harry about what’s happened to Aunt Marge after Harry blew her up like a balloon. Harry is being talked to like a grown up and not a child so he’s not in trouble like he thought he was. This is proved in, “I broke the law!” Harry said. “The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry!” 

“Oh, my dear boy, we’re not going to punish you for a little thing like that!” cried Fudge, waving his crumpet impatiently. I thought it was funny how Cornelius Fudge waved his crumpet in the air as well. It made it seem very real and British, which of course the series of Harry Potter is and so am I so it was nice to see some familiarity in the text.   

“Perhaps you’ll be able to visit Hogsmeade next year. In fact, I think it’s best if you don’t ... yes ... well, I’ll be off.

This is after Harry asks Fudge to sign his Hogsmeade form because Vernon and Petunia didn’t. It’s clear that Fudge doesn’t want Harry to go to Hogsmeade, as a protection measure. There’s an escaped convict from Azkaban, who the book is named after (as well as Harry Potter). He knows Harry...how and why? You’ll have to read to find out!

“Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?” said Hermione in a very serious voice. 

“I didn’t mean to,” said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. I just — lost control.” 

“It’s not funny, Ron,” said Hermione sharply. “Honestly, I’m amazed Harry wasn’t expelled.”

This is Hermione’s opinion on what Harry did to Aunt Marge. Of course, Ron just thinks it’s funny! However, Hermione being Hermione takes everything too seriously. She does this throughout! Later in the book when they’re at Hogwarts she takes on A LOT of lessons, too many lessons in fact. Both Harry and Ron ask her how she’s doing it. But you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out. I completely forgot about this part from when I read the book when I was a child.

“Look at this,” said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and opening it. “Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair.” Ron is excited to show off his new wand on the Hogwarts Express, because in the last book, of course he wrecked his previous wand. I love Ron and how funny and down to earth he is. He’s definitely my favourite Gryffindor character. 

“Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin’s hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. It’s face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry’s eyes darted downwards, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, greyish, slimy looking and scabbed, like something that had decayed in water ... 

It was visible only for a split second.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione find Lupin, their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher on the Hogwarts express, asleep. They also discover Dementors, which are what’s described above. They’re there to keep the students safe, at Hogwarts too!

Of course, Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle are back in “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” although they don’t play as big of a role as they did in the previous books. Malfoy is still a little brat, however. We see this in, 

“Look at him blubber!”

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had been standing just inside the castle doors, listening. 

“Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?” said Malfoy. “And he’s meant to be our teacher. 

Harry and Ron both made furious moves towards Malfoy, but Hermione got there first – SMACK!

She had slapped Malfoy around the face with all the strength she could muster. Malfoy staggered. Harry, Ron, Crabbe and Goyle stood flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again. 

“Don’t you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul — you evil —”

Malfoy gets a taste of his own medicine though, as is seen above when Hermione sticks up for Hagrid, who is upset because his pet Hippogriff has been taken to be killed because it “hurt” Malfoy, when it really didn’t. Malfoy put the whole thing on...

Hagrid doesn’t play as big of a role in this third book, either. He’s becomes the Care of Magical Creatures professor. We don’t see him interact much with Harry or Ron at all, and he barely talks to Hermione. He’s there as more of a plot device than anything else. I really enjoyed how some of the other side characters got more of a role in this book, though. Fred and George Weasley got their time to shine here. They give Harry a special, magic map, the “Marauders Map,” which shows people moving within Hogwarts. It also provides a secret passage to Hogsmeade, which Harry uses. Also, Hermione, was perhaps the second or third most used character. I don’t believe that was the case in the previous Harry Potter books.  

“I’m sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don’t remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly Mundane.” 

There was a moment of silence. Then —

“Fine!” said Hermione suddenly, getting up and cramming Unfogging the Future back in her bag. “Fine!” she repeated, swinging the bag over her shoulder and almost knocking Ron off his chair. “I give up! I’m leaving!”

And to the whole class’s amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight.”

This happens at the beginning of a Divination lesson. Professor Trelawney, their professor for that class doesn’t think Hermione has what it takes to do Divination. When the Professor calls her “hopelessly Mundane,” Hermione walks out. She’s too proud to be put down by anyone. I was saying “Go Hermione” in my head, as I’d be inclined to agree with her. Hermione is a very head strong character, as we saw in the previous books too, but certainly in this one she seems to have developed a strong attitude and when she doesn’t think something is right, boy does everyone know about it. I enjoy reading that in Hermione though, as I think I’m like that too. If I didn’t like the way someone was teaching, I’d like to think I’d tell them. I also like the way the text says “kicked the door open,” as if Hermione is angry about being made to look stupid. I’d also be this way too. Hermione and I are very similar, I think. 

Lastly I’ll just briefly sum up my thoughts on the end of the book. I found it was paced really well. It wasn’t rushed like many books are. The author took her time to make sure every point was wrapped up. Lupin plays a bigger role than perhaps we expect and a Hogwarts professor shows what they’re really capable of. I don’t want to write which, because I don’t want to spoil it...

I’m going to stop there but there really is SOOO much that happens in the 462 pages of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” a couple of things that I haven’t touched upon! I really enjoyed my time rereading it. We got to Hogwarts perhaps a little after we did in the previous books but this one is longer so there’s more space for us to see Harry outside of Hogwarts, as well as his time in Hogwarts.

As I said above, I’m really excited to see what my adult thoughts are on “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” so subscribe to get a notification for when I post that review. 

Until next time ForeverBookers...