Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

Sirius Black, one of the most notorious criminals in the wizarding world, has unbelievably managed to escape from Azkaban, the equally notorious wizarding prison, and everyone believes he is chasing after Harry. Of course, this doesn't bother Harry. What does bother Harry is the dementors, the guards at Azkaban who specialize in terrible memories, and who have been stationed outside Hogwarts for extra security. Every time the dementors get close to Harry, he hears the final moments before his parents died. Harry turns to Professor Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, to help him ward off the dementors. Lupin becomes a mentor for Harry over the course of the year, adding another link to the chain that connects Harry to the wizarding world and the parents he never knew. However, when Harry learns about Lupin's connection to his parents, Black's connection to his parents, and the connection between Lupin and Black, it radically shifts Harry's understanding of his past, alters his expectations for the future, and entirely changes how he fits into the whole complicated picture.

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling focuses on the question of good vs. evil, undermining the basic dichotomy that always tries to clearly delineate sides. Simpler versions of this question show up in Harry's rule breaking, sneaking around the castle, and deceiving teachers. Small rule-breaking doesn't seem to do much harm, but when considered in the context of how Harry's behavior resembles that of his father, and how his father died to save Harry, it takes on complexity to also become an issue of identity and relationships. The biggest question, though, is that of being good or evil towards other people, whether those tendencies can change over time, and what implications it has for everyone involved. It also draws attention to the importance of having supportive relationships when struggling with these issues. As always, Harry turns to Ron and Hermione, but he keeps finding more people to help him make sense of his lost past with every new revelation.

I usually tell people that the third Harry Potter is my favorite, and so far, that is still a true statement. I love this book because it introduces Lupin and Black, who are some of my favorite characters. You learn more about Harry's past (although I think that's true of every book). I also love it because this is when I started figuring out some of the astronomy connected to Harry Potter (Sirius is the brightest star in the Big Dog constellation). It also sits at the precarious tipping point before the series gets really dark and heavy - a brief preview of things to come. I can't pin down one thing that sets this book above all the other Harry Potter books, but I just love it. Well worth the read.