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Summary: Will never tire of reading Harry Potter.
Review: Another jackpot! J.K. Rowling has done it again! Can this extraordinary book series get any better? Only if it could go on forever because I would never tire of reading these books. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry is being closely watched over by everybody including: Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Professor McGonagall, and Dumbledore himself! It turns out that Harry is being hunted down by Sirius Black, betrayer of Harry's parents. Tight security (dementors) is put up around the school fences, and the dementors are cold and scary, so the sooner they leave, the better. As always, many perks are thrown into the mix. Hagrid becomes a teacher, and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is an interesting one. Of course there are still the same plot twists, and adventurous sensations. What is the big surprise going to be this time? Found out by reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!
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Summary: J.K. Rowling does it again!
Review: Another wonderfully charming story by J.K. Rowling. It never ceases to amaze me; her imagination is boundless. A quick, easy read that keeps you guessing until the end. The characters come to life on the pages. From the robes they wear, to the wands they carry, no detail is forgotten. Harry, Ron and Hermione entertain me with their mischievous adolescence. Their day-to-day life at the Hogwart's School, albeit a wizardry school, is not ordinary in the least. As another summer ends and Harry makes his way back to school to start his third year, he finds himself in the middle of yet another troublesome situation that will test his skills and his faith. These three young wizards display great loyalty, friendship and insight. Harry Potter proves that good wins out over evil every time.
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Summary: I didn't cry until I finished this book
Review: Any adult who doesn't treat themselves to the Harry Potter books is taking life too seriously. I was as sad to finish the series as Harry was to finish the school year! I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment of J.K. Rowling's magic world.
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Summary: This book was the best book I have ever read!
Review: Anybody would like this book! It is the best book Ihave ever read! This book has a lot of fantasy and adventure. It is great for kids!
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Summary: Another great book in the series...
Review: Anyone interested in the Harry Potter series is probably aware of how the story line goes, so I'll skip it. This is no different than all previous books of the series - in it's originality, sense of humor and the fact it makes a good read for both adults and kids. J.K Rowling describes the full world and lives of wizards, their intercations with the non - wizarding world. I think the most amusing parts of all of Harry Potter's books is the interaction between the wizarding and muggle worlds... With usually VERY disasterous results on both sides...
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Summary: Potter Series Back on Track
Review: Anyone who is reading this well knows that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was one of the most fresh and welcome books the world of literature had seen in quite awhile. How wonderful it was for readers to be transported to this magical place called Hogwarts that was hidden from all of us muggles as they like to call us. The formula for success was obvious. An extremely suspenseful and entertaining story and just as important, the establishment of a very likeable character. I myself was one of the millions who were pleasently surprised and well entertained by the original novel.
Then along came the second novel, The Chamber of Secrets. When I finished this one, one word instantly flashed in my brain...disappointment. Some of you reading this may disagree with that statement and you are certainly welcome to but I just felt that it did little to advance the story. It was basically the same exact structure as the first novel. Harry at the Dursleys', arrives at Hogwarts, something causes trouble, Harry and friends investigate, discover evil Voldemort, battle Voldemort and win, happy ending and throw in a quidditch match or two somewhere in between. Despite all this, Chamber of Secrets remained somewhat entertaining, which brings me to the third installment, Prisoner of Azkaban. For me, this was either going to ruin the series or get it back on track and I'm proud to say it was the latter. This novel is by far the best book in the series up to this point. Although it still largely follows the formula I mentioned in the last paragraph, there are some important exceptions that make this book so great. First, we get much more background information on a lot more characters, many of which are newly introduced. Whereas Chamber of Secrets seemed to only give us background info on Lord Voldemort and Hagrid, Prisoner of Azkaban goes much further, delving quite deeply into past events involving Harry's Parents and their group of friends, Harry's godfather, Professor Snape, as well as the villain of the novel. All of their stories are well connected. A showcase for Rowling's skill as a writer. Speaking of the villain, the main nemesis this time around is someone other than Lord Voldemort. Although he is still mentioned countless times, there is no epic confrontation. One could argue that this was a risky move but is a wise one in my opinion. By keeping Voldemort somewhat out of the picture, not only did it add some much needed variety but also prevented the clash between him and Harry from potentially losing its luster as far as readers are concerned. This way, whenever Rowling decides to bring him back in a future installment, the stakes will be much higher and hopefully readers will be more interested in the battle between the two than ever before. Another thing that I will mention is that this novel includes considerably more Quidditch action than the previous two books. The reader actually gets to see an entire season of it unfold before their eyes as they read the novel. Fans (including myself) seem to love the quidditch scenes and those who were hoping for more of it will be extremely satisfied. I'll finish by reinstating that Prisoner of Azkaban is a better novel than the first two. I can't emphasize enough how much better it is than Chamber of Secrets. I still have to read the next two books. Hopefully they will be even better than this one although that will be tough. Any Harry Potter fan should get this book if they haven't done so already. I also encourage anyone who has yet to experience Harry Potter to give it a try as it is quickly becoming one of the truly great literary series in recent times.
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Summary: Stunning! Awesome! The best book I've ever read....
Review: are just some of the things that you will say after reading this book. Although it has 400+ pages I'll bet you'll finish this novel in less than a week. I couldn't put it down. You'll bring it with you everywhere. Definitely Rowling's best work yet!
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Summary: another engrossing tale
Review: As a crossword/Scrabble junkie, I really enjoy the way Rowling uses language. We meet Sirius and Professor Lupin in book 3, see if you can figure out what their names tell the reader about their true natures. I couldn't wait to read the book, and become enveloped in another adventure at Hogwarts. Rowling hasn't disappointed this 37-year-old teenager yet.
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Summary: Book 3 - The reason for Harry Potter¿s success.
Review: As a fantasy story-teller about the world of magic, J.K. Rowling has enjoyed remarkable success. The adventures of Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts, the school where young wizards learn the skills of magic, are highly imaginative and thoroughly enjoyable. It is no wonder that this series has captured the imagination of children and given pleasure even to adults. Many of Rowling's concepts are strongly reminiscent of the brilliant children's fantasy fiction by the British writers Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, and she likely has been influenced by their work. But Rowling clearly has a style of her own, and in this fourth book of the Harry Potter series, has confirmed her reputation as a story-teller for children. This novel has all the ingredients of a good children's novel - suspense, imagination, and excitement. The remarkable popularity of the Harry Potter series has led to its author J.K. Rowling being frequently mentioned in the same breath as the fantasy greats J.J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Yet this is not entirely deserved, because the works of Tolkien and Lewis go far beyond the level of story, imparting great truths about human nature and theology on a deeper level. Rowling's books do not have this deeper level, but are simply imaginative books that entertain. That is not to say that Rowling's novels are not good. They clearly are. The incredible sales record of the Harry Potter series tells its own story of success. The Harry Potter series has been much criticized for the extent to which magic has been incorporated into the story-line, and the increasing interest in the dark side of magic has left people wondering whether Rowling is leaving the door open to the occult. Rowling herself has publicly denied any personal interest in the occult, and explicitly repudiated being an advocate of the occult or intending to attract children to it. Most of the magic she describes is clearly fantastic and bears little relation to the magic of the occult. Yet it must be conceded that there is a growing contemporary revival of the occult, and that occultic themes and ideas are hardly absent from Harry Potter's world, but rather play a key role in it. When accompanied with an increasingly dark and macabre tone, this element did make me seriously question whether the Harry Potter books are suitable for children. But in the end it is not the magic of Harry Potter that has made it so successful. The real reason is that readers can identify with its characters. Although Rowling describes a fantasy world that exists only in her imagination and ours, it is clear that this fantasy world is largely a mirror image of our own 20th/21st century Western world. What makes this series so successful, is that we recognize ourselves in the novel - our system of education (Hogwarts), our ideology of human rights (Hermione), our worship of team sports (quiddich), our love for competition (school contests), our political world (ministry of magic), our media (interviews with the Daily Prophet), our concern with health and beauty, our fascination with love and guy-girl relationships, and our love of feasting and food (The festivities around The Sorting Hat). Unlike Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and Lewis' "Narnia Chronicles" which are more demanding and deep because they bear little resemblance to our world, Rowling's world of "Harry Potter" bears a great deal of resemblance to our contemporary godless world and its idols. Although "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" is outwardly about a fantasy world, beneath the fantastic trimmings it is essentially about our own world. And that is why we love it.
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Summary: A note to J.K. Rowling--THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
Review: As a mother, a former teacher, and a lifetime reader I can only say that it is we who must thank you. Nothing an individual can do in his/her lifetime can be greater than contributing in some positive way to the growth of a child. For you to have contributed so positively to the lives of so many children is a gift so enormous it is beyond my ability to describe. I know that I have enjoyed these books as much as any of the children who have written reviews did. And as I read each one of these books I was struck with the power of the author's artistry and ability to draw any reader into Harry Potter's world. I couldn't wait to read each next volume, and had to send to England for the second and third volumes each time one was published! So many children never experience the magic of reading and the miracle of being transported to another place that exists only in one's own imagination!! Such is the creative power of literature that does not exist for other forms of entertainment. There are those of us gifted with parents, a teacher, a relative or someone who loved us enough to give us a love for reading. But there are so many more of those who are denied not only the pleasures but also the endless benefits, direct and indirect, of the reader's life. So many, many children, lucky enough to be children today, while you are writing, will become readers because of your books--who would not otherwise have done so. For that alone, if not for the intense pleasure of reading your work and having before or behind us the delectable pleasure of reading it to our children, I and everyone who loves children THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
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