Summary from GoodReads:
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.
Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter’s defeat of You-Know-Who was Black’s downfall as well; and the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, “He’s at Hogwarts . . . he’s at Hogwarts.”
Harry Potter isn’t safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst.
Book & Movie Review:
In my review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets I talked about about how I really didn’t enjoy the book, but enjoyed the movie. Well, it’s the exact opposite for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Azkaban definitely starts to delve into the darker aspects of the Harry Potter stories with the arrival of the Dementors, the escape of a convicted murderer and the emergence of a key player in the murders of Lily and James Potter. But, before the darkness takes its place, this book begins with my absolute favorite of the Dursley scenes: the inflation of Aunt Marge. Seriously, both the book was spot on with this scene and I really was disappointed in how glossed over it was in the movie.
I think my dislike of the movie stems from the over-saturated advertising that was done before the movie was released. I could not see a movie, watch TV, turn on my computer without seeing Sirius Black’s face crying out in agony on the newspaper. I was tired of the movie before I even saw it (and that’s saying something). So while I love the addition of Emma Thompson as Prof. Trelawney, love seeing Hermione deck Malfoy and thoroughly enjoy seeing the book of monsters come to life, anything having to do with Sirius Black was a major turn-off for me.
Before I finish this review, I want to talk a little bit about the imaginative brilliance that is the Maurader’s Map. Just when I’m finally recovering from how amazing the game of Quidditch is, Rowling introduces a piece of paper that any kid would love to get their hands on. I mean.. it’s an interactive treasure map, for all intents and purposes! So brilliant.
I enjoyed re-reading Azkaban and found myself rolling my eyes a bit at re-watching it. I prefer the ending to the book, prefer the timeline of the gifted Firebolt, prefer many things in the book over the movie’s version of the events… but when it comes down to it, they are both still quintessential Harry Potter and it’s impossible to forget them.
