Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban Review

What happens in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban?

Harry Potter is spending another dreadful summer with the Dursley’s at Privet Drive. After an incident where he blows up Uncle Vernon’s sister, Aunt Marge, Harry runs away from the Dursleys. He is quickly picked up by the Knight Bus, which is a magical bus that helps witches and wizards, and he then goes to the Leaky Cauldron where he is met by the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

Harry is then warned about Sirius Black, a dark wizard who murdered thirteen people with one curse and is the first person to escape Azkaban prison.  While Harry awaits his new school year, anticipation and dread mounts as everyone seems to be terrified of Black and are worried for Harry though he does not know why.

Who are the characters in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban?

In The Prisoner of Azkaban, the story still follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Besides these characters, two new characters are introduced. For this year at Hogwarts, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is Remus Lupin. Wearing patched robes and having a sickly appearance, Lupin hides a dark secret and is one of the best professors of this class. Besides Lupin, the other prominent character is Sirius Black. After 12 years in Azkaban for the murdering of a wizard and multiple Muggles, Sirius escapes his confines and is on the search for his target to finish the job he started many years ago.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban Review

 Any of you who have read any of our previous Harry Potter reviews know that it is my favourite book series of all time and let me say that this entry in the series is no exception.  What really has always stood out to me for this novel is the darker tone and atmosphere that looms over the whole story. The characters are as good as always with growth for our trio as Harry, Ron, and Hermione all face their fears in more ways than one in this adventure.

For me, this is one of the first books where we see Harry be less reactionary and more of a decision-maker as he takes charge in this story and actively seeks to solve his problems and help his friends. I also like that we see some tension in the trio as it is realistic for friends to butt heads and get angry with one another.

One of my favourite aspects about this book, in particular, is how much time the reader gets to spend in Hogwarts just reading Harry’s experience in his classes and even just hanging about the castle on the weekends. This makes it feel more like a real school and a real place. I love reading about the assignments Harry needs to get done before his quidditch practice and then reading about him just sitting by the lake with Ron and Hermione and this book has a lot of that. 

The introduction of new characters like Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are done so well and they become fan favourites due to their interesting relationship with Harry and the main story as a whole. The Dementors are a good creature for our trio and Hogwarts as a whole to have to deal with. A creature that makes you feel miserable sounds awful and the fact that they become Harry’s biggest fear makes them all the more intriguing.

In terms of story Prisoner of Azkaban has many twists and developments that are really well done and I still remember my first time reading them. This book also does a good job introducing new pieces of magic and branches of magic that I find fascinating like patronuses, animagi, care of magical creatures, and divination. In general, this novel serves as a way to further expand the story, the cast of characters, and the lore and serves as an important chapter in this series.

All in all, this book is another home run in the Harry Potter series with great action and adventure and I like it, even more, every time I read it. If you haven’t read it in a while, it’s time for a re-read, and if it is your first time it’s a great one!