Harry is always relieved to escape his family and return to school. But his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry starts off horribly when he suffers a severe reaction to the ghastly floating prison guards known as Dementors surrounding the train to school and Hogwarts itself. He and his best friends Ron and Hermione soon learn that Dementors are there looking for the infamous Sirius Black, a prisoner escaped from Azkaban, reportedly Voldemort’s right hand man who is out to kill Harry as an act of loyalty to his master. He remains more or less under lockdown at Hogwarts where strange occurrences are afoot – such as a dire prediction during normally sleepy divination class, inexplicable activity on a useful tracking device known as the Marauder’s map, and one revealing discovery after another regarding Harry’s past overheard from under the invisibility cloak. Layers to this epic story begin peeling away, laying the groundwork for the rest of the series, as Harry learns that Sirius Black was not only Voldemort’s henchman but also his father’s friend, and that many others around him are not necessarily what they appear to be.
Critical Analysis
Prisoner of Azkaban, the third Harry Potter book, takes an important step forward in the series with its revelation of an increasingly complex past. Harry discovers more and more about his family and about the cast of characters surrounding him. Important players are introduced in this book, including Remus Lupin as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Scabbers morphing into his human form to provide important assistance to Voldemort during his ongoing transformation, and of course Sirius Black, who is revealed to be Harry’s ally and godfather. Rowling is truly laying the groundwork here for a mature, well-rounded story rather than simply a children’s series. Increasingly Harry is forced to come to grips with his painful past and understand what happened to him the day his parents died. He is forced to deal with the ever burgeoning reality of Voldemort and the fact that he is both a helpless target and a potential hero. Ron and Hermione are with him all the way, although just as scared and confused as Harry. The network of witches and wizards surrounding and protecting him – later known as The Order of the Phoenix – is increasingly important and fleshed out in this novel, setting up the reader for the inevitable war against Voldemort. The reader becomes truly invested in Harry’s world and its dangers and uncertainties with this novel, more so than the ones preceding it. The setting of Hogsmeade is also introduced, a rich and fully seen town augmenting Hogwarts, and the setting of many important revelations for Harry as he skulks around under his invisibility cloak. As with all of her books, the ending mounts to a wonderful tension involving time travel, injury and danger to major characters, and the constant unraveling of one mystery after another. The final scenes leave the reader in high anticipation for the next in the series.
Reader’s Annotation
The escaped prisoner Sirius Black, a henchman of Voldemort’s bent on revenge-killing Harry Potter, is loose and Harry finds himself smothered by the protectiveness of those at Hogwarts and the presence of evil prison guards known as Dementors. As he delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Sirius, Harry begins to discover things about the day his parents died and his past that will change the way he views everyone and everything around him.
About the Author
J.K. Rowling grew up in the English countryside with her mother, father, and sister. Practically from birth, she was cast as the brainy one while her sister was cast as the pretty one, so they fought against these roles and against each other for most of their childhoods. When they weren’t fighting, Rowling was making up stories and casting herself and her sister in roles which they would act out extravagantly. Already she was creating worlds both through acting out and writing, although no one took this talent seriously. In school she studied everything but writing, against her better judgment, and worked as a teacher before she finally found a muse arresting enough to hold her attention: Harry Potter. The rest is history.
Harry Potter is a worldwide sensation that gained increasing popularity as each successive book came out. All of the books have been made into major motion pictures and have been translated into countless languages all over the world.
Genre
Fantasy - magic/wizards
Challenge Issues
Possible challenge issues in this book include witchcraft and magic. In the event of a challenge, I would consult the challenge defense file prepared for this book. The challenge defense file would include: positive reviews from credible sources for the purpose of proving merit to the challenger; negative reviews in order to inform me on what might be challenged; a written explanation of my own rationale for including the book in the collection as well as a summary of the plot; the American Library Association Bill of Rights; a review of my branch’s selection policy; and, as a last resort, an explanation of the reconsideration policy for my library and an official reconsideration form.
Curriculum Ties
English and Writing: story arc, character development, and the fantasy genre.
Booktalk
Harry must come to terms with a family and a past that he never knew, including Siruis Black, an escaped lunatic who, it is rumored, is out to kill him. But he discovers as the story progresses that there is more to Sirius than meets the eye. Along with the ongoing threat of Voldemort, Harry and his friends delve deeper into the mystery of Sirius and his connection to Harry and discover that very little around them is as it seems to be. This book is a very absorbing and hard to put down, thanks to a twisting and turning plot and the use of a number of particularly fascinating magic tools, such as time travel, the invisibility cloak, and the Maurader's map.
Reading Level and Interest Age
Grades 7-12, although interest level goes to adult age.
Why I Included This Book
I love this book because Sirius Black, one of the most complex and interesting characters in the series, comes into play and introduces a new layer to Harry's past and the fight of the entire witch and wizard community against Voldemort. The introduction of Hogsmeade is a fun addition as well. The characters begin coming of age in this book, more fully than the ones that precede it, and as a reader you make important advances into the story of Harry's fight against Voldemort. No young adult collection would be complete without the Harry Potter books.
References
Rowling, J.K. (n.d.). Bio. Retrieved from http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/biography.cfm
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