Rating: 
Summary: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot And Prongs...
Review: It's Harry's third year at his magical school Hogwarts. Who's got the jinxed place of the Defence Of the Dark Arts teacher? Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and the other students are about to find out... Professor Lupin is! Hagrid is the newest Care Of Magical creatures teacher. Everything's getting better... but Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban and he's looking for Harry! Harry gets a map from the Weasleys' (Fred and George) to the cellar of Honeydukes. A revelation: Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew? Lupin is a werewolf? Black is Harry's godfather? Pettigrew betrayed James, not Sirius? Is Hagrid's Hippogriff and Black going to escape? Hermione has never missed a class? Hermione was going back in time? Moony was Lupin? Wormtail was Pettigrew? Padfoot was Black? Prongs was ... JAMES POTTER? bUY THIS BOOK AND GET THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS! NOW!
Rating: 
Summary: Magical, Mysterious and Suspenseful
Review: It's Harry's third year at Hogwarts and the school year can't come soon enough for him to leave behind the grueling summer with the Dursley's. But little does he know what awaits him at Hogwarts. A famous prisoner from the wizarding world, Sirius Black, who was convicted of killing thirteen people with one curse, has managed to do the impossible task of escaping from the prison of Azkaban. And the word is out, he may be after Harry. Now almost everyone is out to protect Harry, worried that he will be Black's next victim. Even Dumbledore has reluctantly agreed to have Dementors, the guards of Azkaban, who are known to "infest the darkest, filthiest places, who glory in despair and decay and drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them," guard all the entrances to Hogwarts in case Black tries to get in. And Harry is defenseless to the despair the Demetors inflict on him. Every time he is near them, his strength fails and he relives the screams of his dying mother. Harry turns to professor Lupin, who teaches Defenses Against the Dark Arts, to teach him a few tricks on scaring the Dementors away. But not only does Harry have to defeat the Dementor's effect on him, he must also find out who is watching him with "wide gleaming eyes" at night. J.K Rowling has done it once more. She has skillfully woven a magical, mysterious and suspenseful narrative that keeps readers captivated. Her characters are well developed and centered around an evolving plot. Her descriptions of setting and character interactions successfully help readers imagine this wonderful world of fantasy she has created.
Rating:
Summary: So far, the best in the series. . .
Review: It's now been some years since the "Harry Potter" books first came out. Book 5 has now been published. In addition, two major motion pictures have now been produced, and a third is due out soon.During this time, I have been repeatedly asked, as a parent, as a clergyman, and as a student of fantasy literature, what my "opinion" of the series is. After having read all five books, and having seen both movies, I am now prepared to comment. Some people, especially those in the conservative Christian camp, decry the books as inherently Satanic, dealing, as they do, with "witchcraft", etc. As a conservative Christian father and clergyman, I must admit that I do NOT agree with this assessment -- an assessment made, all to often, by persons who have not actually read the books in question. Do I understand "why" some would suggest this? Of course I do. The difference, however, lies in the nature of fantasy literature. As can be seen in other fantasy series, (Katherine Kurtz' "Saint Camber" stories come to mind) the characters in the "Harry Potter" stories are endowed at birth with certain gifts, powers, etc., not typically applicable to ordinary persons. Much like "The Force" in the "Star Wars" stories, this power can be used for good or for evil and is, in and of itself, neither. It is this point which firmly seperates "Harry Potter" from those who actually believe in and seek to practice the Dark Arts -- activities which conservative Christians -- rightly -- condemn as anti-Scriptural. Thus, it is within this deliberate "suspension of belief" that these stories must be judged. Are they good fairy tales??? "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban " is, in the opinion of this reviewer, the best of all five books so far. I'll grade it as follows: Plot: B+ -- a serious perceived threat against Harry is maintained throughout the entire book. New characters are added, and old friends reunited. New professors and classes are introduced. The wider world of the magical community is explored. The climax is well handled and ends with a surprisingly human twist. Character Development: B+ -- In the first story, Harry develops quite a relationship with Professor Dumbledore. In the second story, this relationship is poorly handled. In this third volume, the relationship is back to where it was in book one -- making sense! The (once again) new Defense against the Dark Arts professor is developed quite well. Setting: B+ -- several cute additions: The Knight Bus and the village of Hogsmead give some additional venues for action and excitment -- and move the setting beyond merely Hogwarts. Overall, an honest four stars.
Rating:
Summary: Just keeps getting better
Review: It's plain and simple, if you liked the first two - then you will love this one as well. Rowling gets more creative and imaginative as she goes and indeed, she knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat as you read. This is part of the most universally appealing set of books that I have read. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: exciting, funny and you learn something...
Review: It's terrific! It is fantastic. The book is exciting, funny and you learn something. The first 2 books were enormous too, but my favorite is episode 3. I am going to buy the following Harry Potter books too. My sister Julia wrote this review in german and I translated it to english, Fabian Marquardt
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting to borrow from a friend or library..............
Review: It's the best of the first 4 HP books published so far, but JK Rowling's imagination is frankly, not very good. She relies on magic wands and the kids' classes too much to bring here book 'to life'. Characters are awfully shallow. Only the final few pages are worth reading. If you expect adventure, mystery and intrigue, look elsewhere (many other authors are writing fantasy series worthy of being read by a wider audience). If you're expecting broomsticks and magic wands, buy this book... and consider yourself deprived of the magical fantasy worlds created by more able authors. I'm not talking Tolkien here - his descriptions tax the nerves of the hardest readers. There are too many, find out for yourself in the fantasy section of amazon.com. I can't bother to list them here.
Rating:
Summary: kids guidance
Review: it's the only book, in holland at least that keeps my oldest of ten years of age away pokemin and computing machines. The english writer seems lovely naive and correctly motivated top not like the before even reading: the kid makes you lisyten as if fgullivers travels were rewritten and tears in the dreams about all this Tolkien we find half a century later this book is a must: not so much for reading as more for giving as a nonprsent on jsu a sunny warm tuesday mornig to the first you see. Do it . Harry needs it. So do you
Rating: 
Summary: The 'Dumbing' Down of a Beautiful Genre
Review: Its really depressing to see what acclaim books like these seem to get these days. Don't get me wrong, I've read to of them (I am the book reviewer for my school newspaper), but I find the characters to be shallow, and without redeeming qualities. There never is a driving need, or quest, the main character merely deals with events as they come. The villians are fake and utterly unbelieveable, and now that publishers are seeing how successful Harry Potter has become, they are demanding that more books are written in its image and thus depriving the world of well written fantasy books. The 'dumbing' down of a genre, from the 'dumbing' down of a society. And I'm not even going to remark upon the rampant commercialism associated with this book. Harry Potter toothbrushes and shower curtains? Oh please.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the first 4 books in the Harry Potter series.
Review: J. K. Rowling has created a masterpiece with this work. It is a classic story, with twists, turns and unexpected surprises. Of the first four books in the Harry Potter series, this one is my favorite. This book will be enjoyed by anyone who likes mysteries or fantasy, but most of all, by anyone who likes a good, well written, highly entertaining story, including 42 year old computer programmers, like me..
Rating:
Summary: She did it again!
Review: J. K. Rowling has done it again. One of my friends at school hadn't heard of Harry Potter, since he was new to the school, and once he started reading them, he couldn't put it down. This book was not as good as the first one, but better that the second one. I just loved the plot. I found it amazing that James Potter and Sirius Black were best friends in Hogwarts, and Peter Petigrew had given Voldemort the information to find the Potters. I always liked books that explained about my favorite charaters. I hope J. K. Rowling keeps writing great books!
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