Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling is the third book of the Harry Potter series.

Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts is full of new dangers. A convicted murderer, Sirius Black, has broken out of Azkaban prison, and it seems he's after Harry. Now Hogwarts is being patrolled by the dementors, the Azkaban guards who are hunting Sirius. But Harry can't imagine that Sirius—or, for that matter, the evil Lord Voldemort—could be more frightening than the dementors themselves, who have the terrible power to fill anyone they come across with aching loneliness and despair.

Meanwhile, life continues as usual at Hogwarts. A top-of-the-line broom takes Harry's success at Quidditch, the sport of the Wizarding world, to new heights. A cute fourth-year student catches his eye. And he becomes close with the new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, who was a childhood friend of his father.

Yet despite the relative safety of life at Hogwarts and the best efforts of the dementors, the threat of Sirius Black grows ever closer. But if Harry has learned anything from his education in wizardry, it is that things are often not what they seem.

Tragic revelations, heartwarming surprises, and high-stakes magical adventures await the boy wizard in this funny and poignant third installment of the beloved series.

The Breakdown:
This is my favorite book of the Harry Potter series.   I feel like characters are really starting to mature in this book, but it is before Harry goes through the angry shouty stage.  Plus, I really enjoy learning more about Harry's father in this book.  In giving background on Harry's father and his closest friends, Rowling really shows where Harry got some of his personality traits from.   She also shows reasons why Snape dislikes Harry so much.

I think that Rowling introduces the scariest of the magical creatures in this book with the Dementors.  I find them more terrifying that the Basilisk.  A creature that suck away all your happiness just by their very presence, and their kiss leaves you a soulless husk of person.  It is possibly the scariest idea ever.

Can we take a moment to talk about how Lupin is the best DADA teacher in the whole series?  He actually teaches them useful things and does not abuse his students.  Despite being a werewolf, he is a genuinely nice guy. 

This is definitely I book that I sometimes wish I could read again without knowing what the ending  is since the reveals in this book are so awesome.

To Read or Not to Read:
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