Historically my favourite book of this series, I’m very excited to be reading this book again!

Read: Jun. 30 – Jul. 1, 2025

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Audience: Children, Middle-grade
Book contains: discussed mass murder, escaped convict, lycanthropy, bullying, implied death, attempted murder, hurt, betrayal

Purchase a copy from Indigo.ca

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Things Get Personal! A Different Sense of Evil

Harry Potter, thirteen-year-old wizard, is eager to escape his relatives yet again to attend his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, only to find himself limited in his movements because of the news of an escaped convict vying for his head.

I’ve always loved this book, primarily because it introduces the characters of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, but also because it’s when Harry really starts coming into his own against Voldemort. Sure, he’s felt the ideals of good vs evil, but never before on such a personal level as in this book.

This book is again told in third person past tense, and once again follows Harry as the main character. It does not stray from him and displays Harry sharing with his friends but also keeping his growing emotions to himself rather than relying on them for support. Though told in chronological order, the mystery aspect of the storytelling reveals vital information only when necessary for the plot, and in such ways that may be misinterpreted. The narrative does well in distracting the reader from the truth.

I listened along to an audiobook reading of this story—the British version, as coincides with the book I own—on YouTube. Since I was already familiar with the book, I listened on 2x speed both at home and while on my afternoon walks.

Harry becomes a lot more relatable in this book for me. He has outbursts of anger and rage, which we didn’t see much in the past few books, which grounds him as a human being rather than simply words on a page. He’s gaining confidence for sure, and it really shows how he, even as a hero with good morals, can make mistakes, which makes him much more likable to the reader. Ron and Hermione mainly serve the purpose of making Harry choose between them, as they are constantly at ends with each other. It shows the fickleness of youth.

Harry sticks with Ron and most fights between him and Hermione in this book, which makes sense as they were friends first and Hermione is acting somewhat thoughtless in this book due to the stress she’s under. In this book, Harry also has his very first crush, subtle, but present enough to lead the readers further into Harry’s development as a teenager as the books progress through the years.

I still find Rowling’s writing average. Good for children, but I’m continuously affronted by the lack of consistency in the technical aspects of the worldbuilding. I suppose the world is whimsical enough to make up for this, and the themes and messages are strong enough to counter this complaint.

So much happens in each of the chapters in Harry Potter overall. In this book, there is much more range of chapter length, with some being incredibly short and others being incredibly long. Nonetheless, the pacing is excellent, leading the reader through each nugget of the mystery and giving equal weight to each of the different plotlines as needed.

Obviously, being my favourite book, I recommend it to readers. Definitely keep reading this series if you’re a fan of magic and mysteries and strong messages.

Related Reviews:

Harry Potter Book 1: The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter Book 2: The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter Book 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter Book 4: The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter Book 5: The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter Book 6: The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter Book 7: The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Fantastic Beasts Book 1: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
*The Shadow Atlas Book 1: Initiate by Jenny Sandiford