
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Table of Contents
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is book number three in a seven part series from author J.K. Rowling. This is a series that I have been reading since it was originally released when I was in college.
If you haven’t read the books, I highly recommend you do. Because there is so much more information than in the movies that make it better.
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Have you read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Come on in and let me tell you about it!

About Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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.

Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
If the first two books in the Harry Potter series were JK Rowling’s warm up laps, The Prisoner of Azkaban is her stomping on the gas pedal and jumping out to a commanding lead.
After storming out of his aunt and uncle’s house after a magical accident, Harry Potter suddenly finds himself alone, friendless, and helpless. And his isolation couldn’t have come at a worse time. The notorious murderer, Sirius Black, a recent escapee from the wizard prison of Azkaban, is on the move, and is evidently coming after Harry.
Harry’s isolation doesn’t last long, but the threat of Sirius Black looms over the entirety of the story, and nearly everyone that Harry encounters for the remainder of the story are understandably rattled by Black’s escape from a seemingly impregnable prison.
From the very beginning of the third entry in this series, it is apparent that JK Rowling has decided to age up the series’ themes as her protagonists also age. Many authors in this genre are reluctant to give their characters more mature obstacles, but Rowling tackles that challenge head-on.
While Harry still has to handle the everyday challenges of schoolwork and growing up in a magical world, here he also has to deal with betrayal, murder, and the often earth-shattering realization that some things aren’t always as they seem. As if that weren’t enough for a thirteen-year-old, he also has to contend with dementors, ethereal demonic creatures who can drain you of your happiness and literally suck the soul out of your body.
The themes of this book aren’t the only things that have matured; JK Rowling has also matured as an author, as I alluded to earlier. The first two Harry Potter books were relatively straightforward stories. Here, she deftly handles four distinct plotlines, often interweaving in organic ways, all coming together in an unexpected way in a climax that is so impressive, you have to experience it twice (literally).

Final Thoughts on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book in the Harry Potter series. Not coincidentally, it is also my favorite movie of the series. I can’t praise it enough. Every time I read it, I’m disappointed when I reach the end, because I want to keep reading more of what I consider to be JK Rowling’s best work.
Be prepared to love Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! I call this one five stars.

Discussion
Have you read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or any other writing from author J.K. Rowling? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels for adults and children, and a bestselling crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been translated into 85 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers.
Alongside the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of her international children’s charity, Lumos. The companion books and original series are all available as audiobooks.
In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London, and is now thrilling audiences on four continents. The script book was published to mark the plays opening in 2016 and instantly topped the bestseller lists.
In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Inspired by the original companion volume, it was the first in a series of new adventures featuring wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018 and the third, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released in 2022.
The screenplays were published to coincide with each film’s release: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – The Original Screenplay (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – The Original Screenplay (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – The Complete Screenplay (2022).
Fans of Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter can find out more at www.wizardingworld.com.
J.K. Rowling’s fairy tale for younger children, The Ickabog, was serialised for free online for children during the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and is now published as a book illustrated by children, with her royalties going to her charitable trust, Volant, to benefit charities helping alleviate social deprivation and assist vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.
Her latest children’s novel The Christmas Pig, published in 2021, is a standalone adventure story about a boy’s love for his most treasured thing and how far he will go to find it.
J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. The first of these, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published to critical acclaim in 2013, at first without its author’s true identity being known. The Silkworm followed in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. The series has also been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO.
J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.
As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling has received many other awards and honors, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Award.
J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children’s charity fighting for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.

Purchasing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
If you are interested in buying the paperback version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, click here.
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.
More From J.K. Rowling
Did you enjoy my review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Need another great book in the series? Here they are!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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