Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K.Rowling (Harry Potter #3)

My Rating: 4 Stars

Here’s why!

This past week has been a blur. From dropping off my sister at college, to trying to settle in to being a “stay-at-home-dog-mom,” and our WiFi decided to stop working, let’s just say it took me WAAAY longer than it should’ve to read/review HP3. Plus, if you would’ve told me I would’ve rated it 4 stars, I wouldn’t have believed you! However, I went with my heart and with how I was feeling this read-through, and 4 stars is where I ended up.

So, without further adieu…

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban begins the summer before Harry’s third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As we know by now, he hates being home for the summer because he has to put up with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley. However, this summer Harry has tried to be on his best behavior because he needs them to sign a form allowing him to be able to visit Hogsmeade, an all-wizarding community outside of Hogwarts, during the school year.

And like many of Harry’s endeavors, sometimes his temper and patience run out, and he accidentally uses magic outside of school…again. This time, the Minister of Magic himself talks to Harry about it – yet Harry is the least of the Minister’s worries.

You see, there is a mass-murderer on the loose. Sirius Black. A wizard who has escaped the most heavily guarded wizarding prison called Azkaban. And not only do the wizards and witches have to be on the lookout, but Black was also on the “Muggle” news, too!

This year at Hogwarts, Harry and his “crew” (Ron and Hermione) still get into some trouble, have some petty drama between them, try to deal with yet another new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor on top of new classes added to their workload, all while trying to stay out of the way of the prison guards from Azkaban, called dementors, who are acting as security/on the lookout for Black at every school entrance.

Let’s just say, this year is full of secrets. Secrets that get revealed and questions that get answered. For example, what does Sirius Black have to do with Harry? And why is everyone taking extra precautions to protect him?

…

Like I said previously, I would’ve been shocked a week ago if you had told me I was going to rate HP3 only 4 stars. This has been my favorite (at least in the top 3) of the Harry Potter books for many years. However, this read-through I picked up on the real reasons why I loved it so much, which only happened towards the end. All of these reasons I would normally rate it 5 stars revolve around one character: Sirius Black. Who he is as a character, the context he brings to Harry’s overall story, and what he reveals all change the course of the entire series. Sirius has a special place in my heart ❤

Putting Sirius aside (and another element which would be a spoiler so I’m not going to share it BUT it is amazing and a really cool part of the storyline that Rowling created!), I am rating HP3 4 stars because majority of the storyline is mostly based on these elements: Quidditch, petty arguments between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and an incident that happens in one of their classes. When you take away the HUGE shadow that Sirius creates in this book, there isn’t much left. It saddens me to say this, but I think I’m seeing HP3 in a new light.

STILL, you have to take Rowling’s amazing craftsmanship, character development, and her overall vision into consideration. She is one of those authors that you can clearly see how she has had this entire series planned since the beginning. She is not one of those authors that you can tell they had no clue where the story was going to go, but kept writing books because they were selling and had to create some form of ending that made sense. She is so strategic in how she reveals information, and the way she does it in HP3 is in a huge BANG at the end, which really kick-starts the rest of the series.

Overall, 4 stars is still a pretty awesome rating. And I hope by this point you’ve decided to pick up your own copy of the Harry Potter series so you will understand my reasoning behind each rating/review! Enjoy and…

HAPPY READING 🙂

P.S. If you’re a HUGE Harry Potter nerd like me and are getting all the “nerdy feels” reading the books/my reviews, let me know! Comment below, send me a picture of your HP gear, or DM me on instagram @brookeandbinding

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Children/Classics

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #2)

My Rating: 5 Stars

Here’s why!

Okay, I said I wasn’t going to give each book 5 stars in my last post, and I PROMISE I honestly didn’t intend to give this one 5 stars as well, but let me explain…

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets picks up from the first novel (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone *see previous post for a good synopsis!*) in the summertime on Harry’s birthday. Life with the Dursley’s has gotten a little better, especially with Harry threatening to use magic on them, even though he’s not allowed to do magic outside of school. However, right before Harry is to leave for Hogwarts, a strange creature named Dobby comes to warn Harry not to return or horrible things will happen.

And horrible things do happen. Yet again, Harry finds himself in the spotlight, but not in a positive way this time. Someone – or something – is turning students to stone, and some of the students think Harry is behind the attacks.

This year, we get a chance to meet some new characters: a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor named Gilderoy Lockhart, a ghost who haunts the girls bathroom named Moaning Myrtle, and Ron’s youngest sister Ginny. Each of these characters bring something unique to this specific school year, which is one of the reasons I am giving this book 5 stars. Usually, this book isn’t one of my favorites, but I think I saw it in a new light this year. Freshly coming off of HP1, I could see such similarities in Rowling’s story-constructing, the subtle hints she leaves for readers, and her overall ability to surprise the reader with where the book ends up. Essentially, the “who dun it?” aspect of her writing is so well done, especially in these first two novels.

Besides the main dramatic aspects of the story, which revolves around the student attacks and something known as the Chamber of Secrets, Rowling also throws in the petty school drama you would expect/saw in HP1. Harry’s feud with Draco Malfoy is still in full swing, the desire to win the House Cup, to win the In-House Quidditch Cup, keep up with his studies, and manage to learn from his new obnoxious, and famous, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor are all factors that twelve-year old Harry is trying to deal with.

There were times where I was like “I can’t give this 5 stars! People are going to think I’m just going to go back on my word and just give them ALL 5 stars!” But as I was reading it, I realized that it checks off all my little boxes for what I look for in a 5 star book. Although, this storyline/school year is one of my least favorites in the overall series, I still need to give it credit where credit it due. The character development, the “who dun it?” aspect, and the way she is beginning to map out/piece together elements that create her over-arching plot, all deserve to be recognized.

Hopefully this review of HP2 has got you more intrigued and excited to pick up your own copy of Harry Potter! Like I said, you can literally find a copy of this series almost anywhere! Enjoy and…

HAPPY READING 🙂

p.s. I would LOVE to hear how your reading journey is going this year, whether it has anything to do with Harry Potter, or not! Comment below! 🙂

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Children/Classics

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter #1)

My Rating: 5 Stars

Here’s why!

Okay, so just a for warning, these next (you guessed it!) seven book reviews are ALL going to be about Harry Potter! This book series means a lot to me, and I thought it would be cool to blog/review each book as I read them for them 5th time. That’s right, I said 5th (which doesn’t seem as much compared to my sister who has read them 7 times or my husband who has listened to the audiobooks more than he can count!)

HOWEVER, although I love the series overall, I would definitely say that I do prefer certain books over others so DON’T think I’m just going to rate each one 5 stars.

I also wanted to review this series because some people don’t know much about it or they have certain stigmas tied to it. I will try my best to summarize each book and be very VAGUE with NO SPOILERS, which will be harder as the series progresses, but I will try my best!

ALSO, this is my first time reviewing a whole series in segments so STICK WITH ME! 🙂

Now, on to the REVIEW…

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is about an eleven-year-old boy named Harry Potter who lives in England, and whose life – some might say – is miserable. His parents died when he was a baby, and now he lives with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley who all despise him, ignore him, and make him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs. Harry doesn’t know why they hate him so much, but he doesn’t like them much either.

Through a series of events leading up to Harry’s eleventh birthday, he discovers something that will change his life forever: he is a wizard. Not just any wizard, though. The most famous wizard is history. But how? Why? Next thing Harry knows, he is whisked away from the misery of his life with the Dursley’s and off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During his first year at Hogwarts, Harry begins to make friends, learn more about his own history, about being a wizard, and breaks a few school rules in the process.

This first book is probably one of my favorites in this series. I LOVE learning about the wizarding world with Harry. That is one thing I have noticed about Rowling that other authors do not do. Some series just throw you in the middle of their fantasy world, making you try and piece together who/what/why/how everything/everyone is. Rowling eases you in, like a little kid wading in the shallow end before it goes and jumps off the deep end. She does an excellent job of answering questions the reader might have about the wizarding world through Harry. Remember: he grew up with “Muggles” (non-Magic people) so, like the reader, he is experiencing it all for the first time.

In HP1 (Harry Potter 1st book), Harry learns so much about the wizarding world and builds friendships that will last him a lifetime. Where there’s adventure, there will be their “trio,” sticking it out, and fighting together. Rowling really sets up SO MUCH in this first book through these relationships, but also revealing what true friendship/community/support looks like.

Another thing I love about HP1 is the amazing craftsmanship and artistry throughout, not only in Rowling’s storytelling, but in the way she writes. I can honestly tell you, Rowling is BY FAR one of THE BEST authors of our time. The way she pieces the entire story from beginning to end (and I mean from HP1 to HP7), is mind-blowing, and the ease at which she writes makes a 20-30 page chapter fly by. Now I know you might be thinking, “well, duh. It’s a youth novel, of course it’s going to be easy to read.” But I will leave you with this: How many youth novels go into the depths of loss, love, friendships, good vs. evil struggles successfully that even grown adults feel touched? Not very many.

If you can’t tell already, I will fight to the death to defend this series, and JK Rowling’s writing/storytelling.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you’ve NEVER read Harry Potter, join the club! Millions worldwide have laughed, loved, cried, and rejoiced over these characters for 20 years!

Pick up your copy today…literally anywhere they sell books. 😉

HAPPY READING 🙂

 

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Children/Classics

 

 

 

The Widow by Fiona Barton

My Rating: 3 Stars

Here’s why!

On July 31, I was hoping to already be done with this book so I could start my annual read of the Harry Potter series; however, I found myself reading this up until 10pm trying to finish it that night. I tried to get into this book and gave myself about a week to read it, but ended up pumping it out at the very end of my self-set “deadline.” I really enjoyed The Child by Fiona Barton, which I read last year, so I had high hopes for The Widow (especially with Stephen King comparing it to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, two of my FAVORITE thillers), but unfortunately found myself a bit disappointed.

The Widow is similarly set up as The Child with two parallel storylines that end up connecting/interweaving as the story progresses. The big question is, how. This was one aspect of the novel that did leave me a bit “in the dark,” wondering how the two cases connected, but the mystery wasn’t left unknown for long.

The present storyline is based in 2010, following the life of Jean Taylor, whose husband just died (hence the title.) Journalists and police alike are very interested in his death, and going after Jean Taylor for one simple question, “What is the truth?”

The past storyline is based in 2007 with the disappearance of 2 year-old Bella Elliot. Kidnapped right out of her own front garden, with no witnesses, and a mother who turned her back for a few minutes, it is the talk of the town. Journalists and police are trying their best to figure out what has happened to this little girl, checking every potential lead to try and find her before it’s too late.

As the past storyline catches up to the present, the only thing everyone is wanting is to know the truth. So what does Jean Taylor have to do with Bella Elliot? That is the mystery that surrounds the story.

When I first started the book, I really had high hopes for it. Like I stated previously, I saw such rave reviews, amazing comparisons to other books I love, and from the beginning of the story I could see the resemblance. However, as the book progressed, I began to realize the theory of what I thought had happened was true, but I wasn’t exactly sure of all the details. Once everything was confirmed, the book really came to a sudden end, which I think Barton was hoping would have a bigger impact than it actually did.

Although some characters were interesting, especially the main journalist, Kate Waters, and copper Bob Sparkes, I found some of their interactions hard to follow. One thing Barton did, which I did not enjoy, was how she would throw in side comments or quotes from other characters from past moments within a conversation. For example, Sparkes would be talking to Waters about something and a random quote/paragraph would show up of something Sparkes’ wife had told him earlier that day. Think of it like this: you’re having a conversation with a friend and something they say reminds you of what your boss had told you earlier that day. But instead of this happening only a few times, I noticed it happened multiple times with different characters, and it got quite confusing.

I am giving this read a 3 out of 5 because the overall concept was good, the plot was interesting/disturbing, but the execution and lack of “twists” left me wanting more. I was really holding out at the end for this huge bomb to drop, something like Psycho or Gone Girl, something psychologically twisted, (and some could argue there was something like this) but to me, I was not satisfied.

If you’ve never read Fiona Barton and would enjoy a crime-based read, I would firstly recommend The Child. HOWEVER, Barton wrote the two as a “series” because of a similar character within both, (The Widow then The Child) but you don’t need to necessarily read them “in order.”

HAPPY READING 🙂

 

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Crime/Fiction