Rating: 
Summary: What a read!
Review: I'm sure many forty-eight year old people would not fancy a 300 odd page book about a thirteen year old wizard and a hidden world of magic and mystery. Their first thoughts would probably be "Another unappreciated kid turned hero novel? The things kids read!" In fact my father and mother both said something around those lines when I proudly displayed the book that exhausted my entire supply of funds, and demanded to know why I couldn't have waited for the book to come out on paperback. I simply gave them one of my looks and found myself almost speechless, "Daaad! You don't understand. It's Harry Potter! I have to get it." The exchanged glances and shrugged. I got it. I can now proudly state that both of my parents have read and loved the Harry Potter books and I don't know which of us likes them the best. I'm fourteen and when someone asks me why a girl who has been known to read difficult 800 page horrors is reading a kids book I merely smile knowingly and reply, "Why because it's Harry Potter of course!"
Rating:
Summary: As the rest in the series are as well, HIGHLY ADDICTIVE
Review: I've always been a book fanatic, but even I was completely broadsided by this series. As a junior in high school, I had also thought them below my level. However, all that changed when I miraculously saw all three at one time in my library, and I thought, "what the heck, I'll try them." 48 hours later, I am very tired, very behind in homework, and EXTREMELY addicted to that curious skinny boy named Harry Potter. In my opinion this one is the best one yet; the focus on exciting, twisting plot and the surprisingly bittersweet ending makes this not just a run-of-the-mill children's book where everybody that's good wins and everybody that's evil loses. Instead, there is an awful lot of grey area. I like that, it shows maturity as a writer. and while the books aren't particularly challenging, they are more addictive than any other book I have ever read. And that says a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: THE LEAST OF THE 1ST 4 BOOKS, BUT STILL GOOD FUN
Review: I've become a fan of the Harry Potter books late in the game, not having purchased the 1st book in the series until all of the hoopla surrounding the fourth book made it impossible to put off any longer. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the series and have enjoyed each of the books a great deal. To say that I was disappointed with the third book, "The Prisoner of Azkaban," would be a major exageration, but I was certainly less thrilled with it than with the others, and I was far less likely to fall into a marathon midnight reading session from need to see what happened next than I had been with the other books. My feelings could be best expressed by saying that this is a "good" book, whereas the others are "great." I am a big fan nonetheless and I encourage every literate person to read "The Prisoner of Azkaban" at some point. I have only three sugestions: 1)Read the series in order, 2)Keep copies of the other books for reference, since each of the books are closely tied together, and 3)If you don't like the third book as well as you liked the first two don't fret, the fourth book, "The Goblet of Fire," will deliver you back into the easy magic of the previous books. Read on, my Harry Potter loving friends. I can't wait for the fifth book either.
Rating:
Summary: As enjoyable as both the other Harry Potter books.
Review: I've been reading the Harry Potter books to my seven year old since we discovered them late last year. He loved THE SORCERER'S STONE. He loved THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. And he loved THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. Rowling is fun to read and fun to read aloud. The characters are distinct and have evolved into easily recognizable people. The sense of humor has remained constant through all the books. My son and I have loved reading these together, and this one is his favorite.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing Gold Can Stay
Review: I've got to admit, when I first read Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, I was pretty impressed. I was in 1st grade. Now I am in 7th grade. I realize that Harry Potter is not the best book ever, it's not even close. It's repetitive and unrealistic. I have recently read other works of literature much better. Artemis Fowl is another fantasy book involving magic, but the story is far more captivating. You may be one of those people who go all ga-ga for Harry Potter, but before any of you other people become adicts, find a better book, please.
Rating:
Summary: I read the book in 5 hours!!!!!
Review: I've heard a lot about the book but only decided to pick up a copy yesterday. I must say.. Rowling is a little like Roald Dahl.. only more creative! I couldn't put the book down after the first couple of pages. Initially I wanted to wait for the book to end up in the library.. but within the 3rd hour of reading, I went online and ordered the other two books~!! Its something different, Rowling has very creative ideas.. from Platform Nine and Three-quarters to "give me an owl".. people who are hesitant to read this book..
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I've heard from many people that this book is supposed to be better than the first two. Upon reading it, I found myself slightly disappointed by the pacing. Although it was still a fun read, Rowling spends about two-thirds of the book focusing almost exclusively on the Quidditch match (which was intriguing, nonetheless), and towards the last 80 pages, suddenly does a series of revelations and zooms the reader right past to the end. Nothing is really resolved by the close of this book, except to set the stage (I'm guessing), for the books to come.
If you've already read her first two books, you're accustomed to the way Rowling writes like a kind of whodunnit mystery, dropping plenty of hints and plenty of distractions for the reader to "guess" at what's really going on. In this story, a prisoner of Azkaban (mentioned briefly has Hagrid's prison in Chamber of Secrets) has escaped and is supposedly after Harry Potter. This prisoner, called Sirius Black, never makes an actual appearance till the end, and barely makes an appearance at Hogwarts. Although Rowling continues to drop hints throughout the book about this storyline, most of it is spent on Quidditch.
Perhaps my greatest disappointment is that Rowling pulled the time travel card, which is often used to solve any unsolveable problem. Why is Hermione so eager to study so many classes? Is she planning on graduating early? If not, then it seems a stretch that they would go out of their way to get a time travel device for her just so that she can take more classes than humanly possible.
With her previous books, I had always been impressed by the way the author managed to tie up loose ends and bring everything together in a satisfied type of way. I thought it was a cop-up to use the time travel idea, for if they're allowed to do that to save a life, why not do that every time a crime is committed? Why didn't they use it to save Harry Potter's family? It opens up a huge can of worms.
Rating:
Summary: Of the 4 books so far, this is the best.
Review: I've just finished book 4 and while excellent, I think book 3 is still the best. It is astonishingly clever and inventive. I still marvel at the ending. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC!
Review: I've just gotten the Harry Potter books as a present and I read them all in one day! I recommended it to my class and now they are having the Harry Potter craze as much as me! :-D
Rating:
Summary: The best of the four books so far!
Review: I've loved all of the Harry Potter books! Each one has been a wonderful story and a wonderful adventure. However, I just finished book 4, and now I'm thinking of going back and re-reading book 3. Prisoner of Azkaban was a wonderful book (especially the ending!) You'll find yourself cheering and crying and laughing all at the same time--now that is a good book! But be sure to read them in order. Each story builds so well on the previous books that they really need to be read in that order. But pick up book one and get started and I guarantee you'll be hooked!
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