For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to. But not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle, and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig. In this third installment in the projected seven-volume series, Sirius Black, imprisoned for killing 13 people with one curse, escapes from Azkaban. As he heads for Hogwarts, the chilling Dementors who trail him quickly descend upon the school. Taken from Amazon.com
This review might be a little biased because I am a big fan of the Harry Potter series. I have always thought they were entertaining, well written, and a perfect book to read for younger and older audiences alike. I picked the third book to review because the plot was different than the rest of the books (save The Deathly Hallows, kind of). This was the first time that Voldemort was not going after Harry Potter but he believed a murderer was coming after him instead. He ends up finding out that it is his Godfather and finds out the truth of what really happened to his parents. The book has a lot of action but heartfelt moments as well. I believe JK Rowling really captured the mind of a 13 year old even though he never grew up in a normal environment. She is able to create an entire world and make the reader believe that they are right there next Harry Potter trying to survive. The thing that I love so much about these books is that the readers grow up with Harry Potter and the writing improves. I could tell that JK Rowling was a relatively new writer with the first book but gained experience as each book came out. She paid attention to the demographic of her readers and was aware that they were not all 5 years old reading the book. The Deathly Hallows was the most adult of the series and you could tell how close she was to the characters she created. All in all, The Prisoner of Azkaban gives more insight to Harry's past as well as seeing how much he could grow. I also enjoyed the time travel plot with Hermione and it showed how determined Hermione is to be a strong, independent girl in that world. I thoroughly enjoy this book in the series and it is not even my favorite book in the series. I would recommend it to any child, tween or teen who wants a good book to read.
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