Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, Book 3) Paperback – May 2, 2023

Now thirteen, Harry Potter heads into his third year at Hogwarts. Third year is a big step for Harry and friends; they get to choose electives, learn harder magic, and best of all, get to go to Hogsmeade on field trip weekends. As usual though, Harry's horrible Muggle aunt and uncle won't sign his permission form or even acknowledge his wizarding background; they tell people he's been sent to a reform school for dangerous criminal boys. Ha--if they only knew Harry's real school will be more dangerous and exciting than ever this year!J.K. Rowling has, what can I say, outdone herself. Prisoner of Azkaban gets off to a bang of a start, with Harry learning a convicted killer named Sirius Black is after him, having escaped from the notorious Azkaban. To his credit though, Harry isn't about to let a little thing like a serial killer ruin his big third year. He's got plans, such as winning the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor for the first time in years. But J.K. goes beyond the simple "avoid the crazed killer" plot. She adds well-timed and delicious details and subplots, such as Hagrid finally getting to teach Care of Magical Creatures, a secret that could land Hermione in the hospital wing all year (at minimum), and Harry's discovery of the Marauder's Map. Most authors would drop their Quaffles somewhere, but J.K. manages to keep all her plot threads tight and making sense.Harry Potter and friends, as well as some new characters, get some superb development here. As another reviewer noted, the Hogwarts kids are growing up, and it's obvious in the problems they face and how they respond to each other, as well as the people in their lives. Harry faces some traumatic truths about what happened to his mom and dad; Ron continues growing into his place at Hogwarts; and Hermione pulls off one of the most breath-stopping climaxes in the series so far. (I tend to agree with a fan who says every book should be called Harry Potter and the Time Hermione Did Absolutely Everything). Even the bad guys get a little more sympathetic. For example, I still hate Snape, but I had to admit he had a point when he complained about Harry getting special treatment and doing as he pleased. Maybe it's the adult/former teacher/Muggle in me, but I couldn't help feeling Snape got a bad deal--until the end, that is, when he turned right back into a first-class jerk.If I hate Snape, I have to say I love Lupin. He made Defense Against the Dark Arts fascinating for me and his students; I wanted to go to one of his classes. He's the kind of teacher I always wanted to be. I also identified with him based on his secrets and standing as an outcast. There are rumors floating around that J.K. wrote Lupin's affliction to stand in for HIV/AIDS. If she did, that's brilliant--it points us to the stigma faced by people with illnesses and disabilities, and encourages us to treat them with respect in a non-preachy way. Speaking of Lupin, I absolutely loved the subplot with him, his friends, and the Marauder's Map. The scene where the Map insults Snape is downright hilarious.Other favorite parts of note: As a cat-lover, I cheered for Hermione adopting a cat. The subplot with Hagrid and Buckbeak is heartwarming, heartbreaking, and triumphant--not an easy mix to pull off. I'm not into sports, but that Quidditch final had me loathe to put the book away. GO, GRYFFINDORS! And I do wonder what's going to happen between Harry and Cho Chang...kudos for picking a Ravenclaw girl, Harry. We're the best of the lot. :)Read it--you'll love it!

I haven’t read this since I was a kid. So many details that I’d forgotten. I really enjoyed getting to revisit this!

Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in the original group of Harry Potter novels, thus it is set in the student's third year at Hogwarts. The book introduces several new characters, including the new defense against the dark arts professor, Professor Lupin, the titular prisoner of Azkaban (which is the wizard prison), Sirius Black, who is out to find Harry, and the Dementors, the guards at Azkaban who are trying to track down Black but also have a huge effect on Harry any time they come near him.This book is significantly longer than the first two, and as such, it has more content cut out for the movie adaptation than the first two books did. For example, the book has two additional Qiddich matches that were not shown in the movie, and there was more to the Buckbeak storyline than was shown in the movie. Also, some events played out differently in the book than they did in the movie, such as when Hermione decks Draco, Harry facing the Boggart for the first time, the circumstances of Harry getting his new broom, and the climax of the book when all is revealed has a lot more detail than was shown in the movie. And, some characters that were introduced in this book did not show up on film until the Goblet of Fire movie.Overall, the book is very well written, and done in a similar (yet a bit darker) tone than the first two. As most know, Rowling anticipated that kids reading the books would age as they were released so she made them darker and more "adult-like" as each book was released. So, there is a lot more talk of death in this one and we learn more details of the night that Harry's parents died than in the first two books. While it is technically a book for kids, in the 10-13-year-old range, adults can easily enjoy it. Even people like me who were older than the target reader group when the books were originally published. I had seen almost all the movies before I ever read the books for the first time and I think I enjoy the books more having already seen the movies. Even though the book is longer than the first two (435 pages), it is still a fairly quick read, depending, of course, how fast you read and how much time you have to read. If you are a fan of the movies or the first two books, it is definitely a must-read.

I am so late to the "Harry Potter party," but I am reading these books with my teenage nephew - and loving them! This is the third book, and I do believe it was the best one so far...riveting, with good character development. It was easy to "buy in" to the story and truly feel the suspense and every other emotion of the characters. Great read!

Great read!!! I really enjoyed the book than the movie. The book gives way more details. The answered questions that left us wondering in the movie. Great book and author!!!

Quicker read than the rest and a bit simpler on the plot as a result but good leisure reading. It is the Oz of its generation.

There are so many things the movies did differently. I am so very glad to be reading these treasures again!

Excellent audio book, especially since the narrator changes his voice to the characters' voices! Very entertaining!