Sarah McPotter, Hufflepuff, sa376
Of the wonderful books in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series so far, it is hard to choose a favorite. But thus far, I think I've enjoyed "The Prisoner of Azkaban" the most because many positive things happen in Harry's life. Most importantly, he finds a family member he never knew he had, his godfather, Sirius Black.
The book begins as Harry is studying magic by night as he tries to hide it from the Dursleys, his only living relatives. While he is studying, Harry receives mail from his friend Ron, whose family has won many galleons in the Daily Prophet drawing and took a trip to Egypt to visit his oldest brother. Ron, as well as Hermione and Hagrid, sends Harry his first real birthday presents ever and this is a very uplifting moment for Harry.
The next day, Uncle Vernon announces to Harry that Aunt Marge is coming for a visit. Harry hates her nasty insults and her attitude towards him and his parents. But Harry makes a promise to Uncle Vernon that he'll "behave" for Aunt Marge if he signs Harry's permission slip for a trip to Hogsmeade during the school year. Uncle Vernon agrees, but only out of fear that Harry will do something "weird" to Aunt Marge. But Harry lets his anger get the best of him and accidentally inflates his aunt and sends her floating into the air. Infuriated, Harry packs up his belongings and leaves the Dursley House where he catches a lift on the Knight Bus.
The Knight Bus takes Harry to the Leaky Cauldron where he finds the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Fudge is relieved that Harry is safe and promises him no punishment. Harry stays a pleasant few days in Diagon Alley where he buys school supplies and gets ready for the new term.
When the Hogwarts students are on the Hogwarts Express, a disturbing event takes place. Harry meets his first real dementor and passes out, remembering the horrible things that happened to him as a child. Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet Professor Lupin for the first time on the train, who turns out to be an excellent DADA teacher.
Classes continue as always. When the students have their first Divination lesson with Professor Trelawney, Harry's death is predicted. Professor McGonagall says this is Trelawney's way of greeting a new class. During Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class, Draco Malfoy smarts off to a hippogriff and is "attacked," which means bad news for Hagrid. In Lupin's class, they meet a boggart, which is a shape-shifter that becomes the onlooker's worst fear. Lupin lets all of the students tackle the boggart except for Harry, because he is afraid it would take the shape of Voldemort.
One night, a "murderous" Sirius Black sneaks into the Gryffindor Common Room, which sends all of Hogwarts into terror. It's a mystery to all how he got into the castle, and how he left so quickly.
Gyffindor's first Quidditch match is a "Grim Defeat," as dementors come to the Quidditch Pitch and cause Harry to fall to the ground while the other Seeker caught the Snitch and won the match. Harry's broom, the Nimbus 2000, is destroyed on accident by the Whomping Willow. He needs a new broom before he can play Quidditch again and he receives a Firebolt for Christmas. Harry is ecstatic about his new broom, but Hermione is suspicious of it and has it confiscated by Professor McGonagall.
Meanwhile, Harry has other fears. He fears that come the next Quidditch game, he will pass out again if the dementors are there. Professor Lupin decides to help him to produce a Patronus, which is a shield from the dementors. Harry discovers that his father was friend with Sirius Black at school and confides to Lupin that Black deserves to have his soul sucked by a dementor.
The next Quidditch game, against Ravenclaw, Harry has his beloved Firebolt back. "Dementors" show up at the pitch and Harry produces a small Patronus, catches the Snitch and wins the game for Gryffindor. Lupin tells him that they weren't dementors, but Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint trying to sabatoge the Gryffindor team. Their efforts fail, as Gryffindor wins the Quidditch cup. This is a very important moment for Harry in the book, but not as important as the upcoming events.
During Harry's divination exam, Professor Trelawney makes a real prediction about Lord Voldemort's return. Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn the truth about Sirius Black, that he was not the real traitor. The real traitor was Peter Pettigrew, an Animagus with the form of Ron's rat Scabbers. They discover Lupin is actually a werewolf. The trio travel back in time with Hermione's time-turner and fix events so that Buckbeak, Hagrid's hippogriff, flies away safely, Sirius Black is safe, and Harry saves their lives by produces a real Patronus to block the dementors away. Sirius Black becomes the father Harry never had, even though the public still thinks him to be a murderer. For the first time in Harry's life, Harry has a father figure to look up to.
"Prisoner of Azkaban," or POA by the Harry Potter fans, is probably the book that sets up the plot for the rest of the books. As each book in the series grows darker and more mysterious, the books also have a humourous and light-hearted way about them. POA is one of my favorite books, and probably will always be.
Good review... summery of the book is excellent, it shows you have some knowledge of the book... I think your conclusion is great too
45 points...
