Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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. As it turns out, Harry isn't punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black--an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban--is on the loose. Not only that, but he's after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry's very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson Product Description
For Twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. |
Customer Reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 For the adult in every kid, May 16, 2023
Okay, so my title is probably a bit far fetched, but it is meant to kind of juxtapose my title for my review of the first Harry Potter ('For the kid in every adult') and at the same time I do have a point: Any kid who can reach the depths of this highly intricate plot must have something of an adult in them. Asked during an interview with Amazon.com about what ingredients all the Harry Potter books need, Rowling comments, "I never really think in terms of ingredients, but I suppose if I had to name some I'd say humor, strong characters, and a watertight plot". In 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban', she accomplishes this with high distinction. If the first two books had amused me, this was the one to make me a loyal fan. There are a few laughs, but more importantly her characters are wonderfully strong and there is much more to them than at first meets the eye (so to speak). Better still, the plot - to which even the best produced and directed movie version could never hope to do true justice - is as complex and watertight as it gets. My hat off to any kid who can grasp its fullest intricacies.
Maybe the most enjoyable thing about Harry Potter (for the adults amongst us) is that he takes us back to the childhood we might have wished for. Through him and his friends, we become children once more, but this time we're special, we're brilliant, and we're crucially important to all about us. Well, at least reading Harry Potter is a lot better than having a therapist say that you should run about in nappies in order to get in touch with your inner child. Thankfully, although I will not review them, the following two books are also very special. I endorse the full series as one, as they are near inseparable, but if for some reason you haven't got past the first two, know that you are missing out until you have read this book. It's a classic.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 Did somebody fart or was that the book?, May 16, 2023
It stunk it up according to my book. I didn't even come close to getting into it. After a few school days i was falling asleep and choking on my drool. It was probably cause I saw the movie before the book and that is the only reason I gave it a 2
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Amazing again!!, May 15, 2023
I've read other serieses and this one rocks!
I just can't stop being surprised by Rowling's imagination!
Bravo Bravo!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The third book in the Harry Potter series, May 9, 2023
Harry Potter is back in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his third year of school. Meanwhile Sirius Black,a convicted mass murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort has excaped from prison and is out to kill him. Harry must now protect himself and his friends from Black and perhaps their is a trator among them, but I won't spoil the surprise. J.K Rowling has done it again in this riviting and well written novel.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Perfection in book form, May 1, 2023
I am a 34 year old woman, normally like classics and don't find most modern books worth glancing at. For that matter, I never read kids books, certainly, except a few years ago I picked up Harry Potter 1 just to see why the big commotion. I was impressed.
I've since read Book 2 and recently I read Book 3, Prisoner of Azkaban. I would say that Azkaban is the best yet, although one can certainly argue how can one be more perfect than perfectipn?
The superiority of the Azkaban lies in:
1. superior imagination - a magical bus that runs wildly but never hits things because the things "jump" away automatically; the boggart that assumes the form of one's worst fear; the map that shows every secret path and the location of everybody at any time.
2. watertight plot. Even Ron's worthless rat that nobody would ever give a thought of carries unexpected weight in this story; every odd incident is explained naturally smoothly, and every explanation makes perfect sense.
3. well-arranged mysteries gradually introduced and explained at the proper time.
4. amazing character development. Professor Lupin is such a lovable teacher, whereas the dementors can chill even the reader's bones, not only Harry's!
As always, the book is so well-written (albeit simple) that the language alone makes it a joy to read. I find it inconceivable that any one human being can write as perfect a book as this, but Rowling has written quite a few. In comparison to the C.S. Lewis's Narnia series, for example, I think Harry Potter is better in that the stories are more complex (yet perfectly lucid for even children). The more complex a story is, the harder it is to make the storyline watertight, but Azkaban not only fit into itself perfectly, it fits the previous books seamlessly as well.
Rowling is a genius compared to geniuses.
|
Cart | 
