"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" || Book Review & Discussion

 

I finally moved on to the third book in the series and I can safely say that it was my favorite one so far! But, before you go on and read this review, feel free to check my last one on the "Chamber of Secrets" which you can find here. Now, let's move on with the review...

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I enjoyed it much more than the previous two and I thought it was objectively better than the other two in many aspects. It was generally a much more solid, much more interesting story, and an overall much stronger read. The story was suspenseful and exciting and you just can't help but keep reading, you don't want to stop! It may have taken me a while longer to finish than I initially expected, but that wasn't because I wasn't enjoying it - quite the contrary really - it was only because life has been relentless the past couple of months and I really needed to adult rather than indulge in my favorite activities. That was the main reason why it took me such a long time to finish a book I was otherwise enjoying and I felt sad for it. So, other than reality grabbing me away from this fantasy world, the rest of the time that I spent reading the book, it actually went by easily and I never got bored or tired, not even for a page, and this was a happy surprise since this wasn't the case for me with the two previous books.

Rowling's writing, even though it is already top-notch in the other books as well - and there is no denying she is generally an excellent writer - is evidently improved in this one and this makes for a stronger story and reading experience. There is not one redundant scene, every chapter is important, and every scene is essential to the overall plot and they all work perfectly together. Every chapter and every scene leads perfectly to the next one in an excellent chain of events. Each bit of the story is inseparable from the previous or the next and the story as a whole cannot possibly work without one of these important bits. This is what makes the difference between good writing and exceptional writing. Even though Rowling is already skilled enough and possessed a high writing level, you can really tell that she took the extra step here and stepped her game up. This is one of the main reasons that set this book apart from the other two in my mind and preference.

Another one of the reasons that set this book apart is its different, mysterious feeling and darker atmosphere. The story is undoubtedly darker and this book is heavier than the others before and deals with more serious subjects. This book deals with heavier, darker themes - which I am absolutely sucker for -and when they do they are very well done too. Friendship, faith, betrayal, trust, honesty, deception, justice, death, and many others are some of the themes that this story deals with. This story is also more engaging and rich with emotions.

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD***

Another great thing about this book is the cast and all the new characters we get to see! Sirius was probably my favorite addition and I really loved his character even if his role was relatively small. I felt very sorry and sad for him and everything that happened to him and when he finally got to bond with Harry it was so sweet and wholesome! Lupin was my second favorite and I really enjoyed him throughout the story. He was the sweetest, greatest teacher, always so supportive and understanding, but also a very strong and skilled wizard! Trelawny was just so funny and even though I didn't love some of the scenes of her lessons, I really enjoyed her character! Peter Pettigrew was even more disgusting and horrible than in the movie and made for an excellent villain!

One part I seriously disliked and thought that the movie did much better was the scene in the Shrieking Shack. In the book, the scene dragged on and on, they kept saying that they would explain, reveal the truth and they just mumbled about it and it took so long for them to actually get to the point! When they actually got into the explaining bit it took blocks of dialogue to reach the final conclusion and not only the revelation but also the acceptance of the truth. I mean, we were at this scene, one of the most climactic and important, suspenseful scenes in the story and we had to have pages upon pages of anti-climactic, dragging dialogue/explaining. It wasn't even that necessary, because we already had it figured out by that moment, but even if she wanted to add it in, she could have definitely made it more compact. This scene should have been shorter and more compact like it was in the movie where it was so much more powerful, suspenseful, exciting, and attention-grabbing. In the movie, this scene was fast, shocking, took advantage of the moment, and had good pacing. As a result, the scene in the movie added to the whole made the story better and worked perfectly with the flow. While in the book, it took from the greatness of the rest of the story, the pacing was a bit off and it didn't help the flow of the story or the particular moment. It's also kind of a pattern I've noticed with Rowling; she just loves to dialogue dump/info dump during the most crucial scenes! I mean, it would have been way better if some of this information was conveyed right before or after this particular scene, especially since there are already existing scenes of bonding and talking between Lupin and Harry, or Harry and Serious, leaving only the most important details to be told during that scene. I feel that this would have been more effective and impactful.

The book had many funny moments and I laughed a lot during many scenes. I laughed during the final Quidditch match and I also got very passionate about it, by the end of it I was so excited and happy! I laughed during many of the cat-rat scenes and the whole thing between Ron and Hermione about their pets and it was hilarious how in the end Ron came around to trust the cat and accept it.

The time-turning is not one of my favorite concepts in general and I rarely enjoy it, but it was done well enough here and it didn't bother me. It was probably for the best that it didn't take up a big part of the story as well.

This book also has the worst Snape we've seen so far. He was really horrible at many points and I can see why he's been getting so much more hate from book readers. In the movie, he is more likable and he is portrayed in a much softer tone, all that combined with Rickman's great acting makes it only reasonable that he would be much more accepted and liked by the movie audience.

Now, the nerd in me did notice an important plot hole (Start of giant parenthesis... about how Sirius bought the Firebolt, sent a cat to order it, took money from his own vault in the bank, and neither got caught nor got in any kind of trouble, like getting discovered or traced, whatsoever! I mean Harry had more trouble getting his own money to buy school books than Sirius who was a convicted murderer and nobody even blinked an eye?! It would have made more sense if he had some of his money hidden in a secret, secure place. Maybe wizards decided to remove money from the bank in fear of Voldemort taking over the bank and stealing precious things from their vaults to achieve his evil goals. And then he could have ordered the broom namelessly through owl-mail and have it delivered to Hogwarts. I believe that Rowling created herself a problem that she only saw afterward and tried to patch it up however she could, yet this didn't quite work. Even I came up with a better idea without even giving it much thought and there could probably be an even better solution than that. End of giant parenthesis...) but I decided to try and not pay attention to it, since I really enjoyed the rest of the book. It exists, but I'm not going to take points from the book because of it, I'm just going to pretend I didn't see it.

***END OF SPOILER SECTION***

So, for the time being, I have rated this book 5*, even though it feels more like a 4,5*. I would also like to come back and maybe re-rate the HP books after I've finished with the series because I would also like to consider how much I liked them compared to each other, so there is a slight possibility my rating may change after I've read the other books and gained more perspective. Overall, it was a great read, a very enjoyable book, and interesting story, and easily the best one so far!

Thank you for reading once again!