Synopsis
4.5 out of 5 stars
I am ashamed to say this, but I've finally read Prisoner of Azkaban, after having been a Potter fan for well over a decade. And yes, you read that right, 4.5 stars. I've half a mind to give it five stars, because Prisoner of Azkaban might just be my favorite of all the Harry Potter books I've read thus far (5 out of the 7, I've yet to finish Goblet of Fire, which I'd be reading by the time this review goes up, and Order of the Pheonix) but there were a few things that were said and happened that left me confused because they didn't quite make sense to me. For instance, the whole business with the Time Turner. In the film, the concept of turning back time and using the Time Turner to do so wasn't very ambiguous because all Harry and Hermione had to worry about was not being seen and get back to the Infirmary in time to be caught up with the present. In the books, however, in addition to not being seen, they also had to refrain from siriusly altering the past for fear of bringing about unwanted drastic changes.
I enjoyed the Whomping Willow's backstory and how it was especially planted for Remus's werewolf-turning nights. But at one point, he explains that to render the Whomping Willow immobile, one must press a specific area at the base of the tree. For some reason, that detail didn't really flow well with me. In the film, Remus incanted the Immobulus spell to freeze it's motor functions and I prefer it that way. I was surprised by the significant role Crookshanks had played in the book because in the movie he was remarkably underplayed and I have a newfound appreciation for him. Professor Trelawney is insufferable and the fact that she's a teacher at a respectable wizarding school is beyond me. How is that they came to hire her when her excessively frequent inaccuracies are purely theoretical? I echo Hermione's skepticism and understand why was so uninterested in what Trelawney had to say. She [Trelawney] must have prophesized Harry's death about a dozen times throughout Prisoner of Azkaban alone.
Bonus points for sassy Harry. He is so much more lively and cheeky in the books than he is in the movies. In the films, especially in the last few installments, Harry is a brooding hero who never really gets over the death of his parents and is inextricably connected to the dark wizard that tried to kill him when he was hardly even conscious of the world around him and who will ultimately be the downfall of said dark wizard. But in the books, he's a normal kid who's given to the occasional irrational action or snarky quip. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Certainly one of my favorites!
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