Harry
Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
I think this might be my favorite of the Harry Potter books; the reader (and Rowling) have become more familiar with the characters, and there are several interconnected plotlines and new characters. There's a bit of intro at the beginning to remind you who Harry Potter is (in case you've forgotten), but for the most part the book just tells the story. Remus Lupin is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and he and Snape have a strange relationship. Meanwhile, Sirius Black has escaped from the wizard prison and, it seems, is after Harry. Hagrid has had his name cleared and finally gets to teach Care of Magical Creatures, with interesting consequences. We meet for the first time both creepy dementors and goofy Divination Professor Trelawney, who insists on predicting Harry's doom. Finally, throw in the Marauder's Map and an unexpected twist, and you have a perfectly concocted story.
The one thing about this book is that it really made me start to sympathize with Professor Snape. Despite the fact that Dumbledore insists he's to be trusted, Harry and friends despise Snape and he returns the favor. However, in the end of this book, Snape is right, and still Harry gets away with things. It's like Snape is just there to be a punching bag, so we can see him get really angry and then be unable to do anything about it. With the current debate about "Is Snape good or bad?" speculating about the last book, I'd say it's no surprise if he started off good and Harry himself pushed him over the edge.
Also, this is probably the last of the books that you can zip through easily in a weekend. After this, they start getting really thick.
Fed to jonathan's brain | May 19, 2007
| Comments (0)
