Rating: 
Summary: historical/political lies
Review: dear joanne, dear readers. with a lot of amusement and laughter i have read the first two harry potter books. i was delighted! i have started the third book today, and reading the first 6.5 pages, i first found it the funniest. then my laughter froze when i read the following: harry potter's homework (in "the prisoner of azkaban", paperback bloomsbury, page 7/8): "witch-burning in the 14th century was completely pointless - please discuss. non-magic people (more commenly known as muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognising it. on the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. the witch or wizard would perform a basic flame-freezing charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying the gentle, tickling sensation. indeed, wendelin the weird enjoyed being burnt so much that she allowed herself to be caught no fewer than fourty-seven times in various disguises." i can't judge right now if you put this incredible historical lie into truth later in your book, i will verify. but it is unbelievable that you write something like this down! after laughing a lot about this in the first place, freezing in the second place, i started thinking about things like possible child books, written about other cruel massacres, repainted for children: jews indeed liked being gassed, they were not really dying, just losing weight, as the gas made them lose their appetite. the gas gave them a true sensation of being high and happy. the concentration camps were so full of jews, because they kept coming back for more. how do you feel about it? i find this dangerous and alarming, thinking about the huge success of your books and the influence they have, publishing things like THAT! there have indeed been extremely high numbers of witch-burnings of incredible cruelty for centuries. i will be very keen on reading from you how you intend to put this right! it is a pitty, because your books are extremely funny and imaginative. but using historical massacres in a joky sense in children books, in my eyes, is a matter of publishing this in the press. somebody like the pope has only recently admitted witch-burning. and you make a joke out of it (unless you later put it right in your book. in the case you do, i will fully apologize). i find this more then alarming and dangerous.
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Summary: Dear, dear Harry gets more enchanting with each book...
Review: Dear, dear sweet Harry. He gets more and more enchanting the more I read about him. This book is even better than the first two esp. since Hogwarts is on high alert and on the lookout for an escaped convict. Allegedly, rumors are flying that he's after Harry, which makes Harry really nervous. Also there is a wonderful scene at the Leaky Cauldron where he stays with the Weasleys. Readers can see that Molly Weasley esp. is forming a deep attachment to Harry and really loves him like another son. I get the feeling she feels protective of Harry. To make Harry's 13th year and 3rd year at Hogwarts even more complicated, dementors are guarding the school and pay a visit to the Hogwarts Express. Poor Harry faints at the sight of these ugly, draining creatures. Later, he has frightening flashbacks of his parents' senseless deaths in the dementors prescence, since dementors cast dark thoughts on their victims. Harry even has an unfortunate encounter with a dementor on the Quidditch field and that causes him to lose his first game. I liked how Oliver Wood and the other Gryffindor players conforted him and stood by him, even though they were disappointed at losing the game. Then that mean, horrid Malfoy is nastier than ever and makes fun of Harry's fear of the dementors very cruelly and mimicks his fainting and his falling off his broom. I was sooo glad when Hermione finally got fed up and slugged Malfoy! Harry's fortunate to have someone as caring as Remus Lupin come onto the staff and try to help Harry overcome his fear. My favorite scene in the book is when Harry's at one session with Lupin and has a particturaly awful flashback of his folks' death and end up in tears. Poor Harry's embarrassed about his weeping and tries to hide them by pretending to tie his shoe; it was a touching, yet funny scene! I think Lupin saw his tears, but was too kind to say anything and embarrass Harry even more. In this book, readers can see how sensitive Harry really is, esp. since he's the one most affected by the dementors. Harry, though, is very embarrassed about his sensitivity and tries to don on a front of bravado, but doesn't always succeed. The scenes with the new divination professor are funny too; Hermione gets fed up with her and ends up dropping her class. I like that Hermione is developed more in this book too; I can see she and McGonagall have a lot in common and have a real rapport. It's also great that more female characters are added, including Sybll Trelawny and Cho Chang. I also love how contemporary the books and most of the characters are; for Harry and his crowd, the ABSCENCE of girls on the Quidditch team is an unusual sight...in past and more stereotypical books, the PRESENCE of girls was considered unusual. It's so refreshing to see a young boy with enlightened, feminist views of girls and women; Harry never thinks of females as "other" or "different." I've just started the book 4 and I get the feeling that will be the best book of this bunch, esp. since Harry is edging into puberty by book 4. Way to go, Harry and the Gryffindors!
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Summary: Not Just 4 Kids...Everyone
Review: Do you like adventurous, exciting, magical, science fiction, mysterious, and suspense filled books? Then you'll love Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. If you don't have much imagination and don't like not being able to put a book down until your done with a part, then I wouldn't recommend this book. One part in the book I like is when Harry finds out who S. Black is really. Another part I like is the Shrieking House and its secrets. I recommend this book to people of all ages. Just read the first couple chapters and you'll fall in love.
Rating:
Summary: This is definitely J.K. Rowling at her best!!
Review: Does Ms. Rowling's imagination have any limits? We didn't think it was possible to keep up the creative pace of the first two boooks, but the Prisoner of Azkaban does not disappoint! Some chapter endings were such cliffhangers, we were up very late reading. Hermione comes into her own at Hogwarts this year rising above the "Brainy" character she has been up until now and proving herself a true heroine. Ron is- well- Ron's a Weasley. What more can we say? Harry will never be the same after this latest adventure! He discovers the truth behind his parent's untimely death and faces the future with a new sense of maturity and purpose. At any age, the reader will enjoy the many layers of this latest novel. But please read the books in order to fully appreciate the growth of each character.
Rating: 
Summary: Leave this book for children under 12. Not adult material
Review: Don't be misled by this book being on the Times Best sellers. It should be on a children's best sellers list only. It is extremely childish and unrealistic. To compare this author with Tolkien, Louis Carroll, or any other author of that caliber is a travesty.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, NOW I'm HOOKED. . .
Review: Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed reading "Sorcerer's Stone" and "Chamber of Secrets," even though it took me awhile to get interested in the latter ["WHEN are these kids gonna finally find that darn Chamber, ALREADY"]. I saw the movie a few weeks ago, though, and liked it because, for obvious reasons, it gets to the point much faster than the book. Then I started reading "Prisoner of Azkaban." If you saw the movies and read the first two books, but are still skeptical about the Potter phenomena, READ THIS BOOK! No giant snakes or three-headed dogs here. This is a much more human story. We learn that Harry has been robbed of even more than he realized, and there was more to his parents' deaths than simply being murdered by "you know who." This is more than a story of good vs. evil. It's a story of innocence vs. guilt, of life vs. execution [of both the innocent and the guilty], of loyalty vs. deception, and of true love vs. deep hatred. We are also reminded that our "highs" can only be as high as our "lows" are low. . .that we have to hit our "rock bottom" before we can realize the pinnacle of happiness or triumph. When the movie comes out [over the summer of 2004, from what I heard], I know what I'm going to be doing that weekend: waiting in line for a ticket!
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Summary: BEST HP BOOK OF THEM ALL.
Review: DON'T LISTEN TO THE ONE STAR REVIEWERS, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!I HAVE READ THIS BOOK 17 TIMES AND IT IS STILL MY FAVORITE OF THEM ALL. IT IS THE BEST STUFF OUT THERE IN LITERATURE AND THE CHARACTERS ARE GREAT. SORRY IF THE CAPS IS BOTHERING YOU I JUST NEEDED TO GET YOUR ATTETION :) There we go. This year, we the readers are brought deeper into the so far (and still) mysterious past of Harry's parents, Lily and James who in my opinion are the most fascinating characters, next to Voldemort a.k.a Tom Riddle and are introduced to Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and the Dementors and my personal favorite, the Marauders Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, four notorious trouble-makers that were once Hogwarts students themselves. I'll sat no more than that, I don't want to ruin it. But the ending will completely catch you by surprise and probably have you crying too. This seires is going to be a representative of our generation in the future, so you might as well get yourself into the hype of Harry Potter. You will fall in love with it, I promise.
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Summary: Harry potter And the prisioner of Azkaban
Review: Dragons,trolls,and flying brooms.This is what you'll encounterin Harry Potter And the prisioner of Azkaban.I personally enjoyedreading this book not just because it was a fantasy,but also becauseof it's constant plot twisting. If you think you know what willhappen next in this book,think again.This book is a cross between"Star Wars" and "Final Fantasy".It is like StarWars because ther are several role reversals,and it is like"Final Fantasy" because of it containing wizards,witches,andspells. I recommond this book to everyone who enjoysadventure/fantasy books in which you can use your wildest imagination.
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Summary: Go Harry!
Review: During the incredibly long wait for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I reread Prisoner of Azkaban to refresh my memory. Even though I already knew what happened, the book was still incredibly good! I simply couldn't put it down! I am still amazed at the intricate subplots that J.K. Rowling manages to work into her stories. I would reccommend this book to any lover of fantasy- but I'm sure most people have already read. If you haven't, you better start reading now!
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Summary: I LOVE HARRY POTTER!
Review: Each book seems to get better and better in this series! The third book was one of the most engaging yet. Even adults can thoroughly enjoy these stories and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the 4th book. I enjoy seeing the characters grow up and the relationships among them - Ron, Hermione and Harry will prove to be some interesting teen-agers as these books progress. This book was a little darker than the first two and I have heard that the next one is darker still. If a child is reading this, I would suggest that the parent read it as well. Not only so that they can enjoy a well written book and share it with the child, but also so that if the child has questions or problems with some of the darker issues that the parent can help explain. Overall a wonderful book and fantastic series.
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