Review: Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban

'Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go.'
When the Knight Bus crashes through the darkness and screeches to a halt in front of him, it's the start of another far from ordinary year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Sirius Black, escaped mass-murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort, is on the run - and they say he is coming after Harry. In his first ever Divination class, Professor Trelawney sees an omen of death in Harry's tea leaves... But perhaps most terrifying of all are the Dementors patrolling the school grounds, with their soul-sucking kiss...

I Solemnly swear I am up to no good.

Sirius Black is officially my favourite in the series.  Anyone that can exist in Azkaban without having his soul dwindle into an empty pit deserves his happily ever after.  Harry Potter is embroiled deeper and deeper into the dark workings of Voldemort.  Each year his connection to him is a tangled web of mystery and suffering.  Deceit and lies threaten to tear him down- loss of potential, loss of love and a deep ache that just festers.  The only two anchors he has is Hogwarts and his best friends, Ron and Hermione. 

The summer at the Dursleys has been as terrible as all the rest.  The scene with Aunt Marge was particularly satisfying.  I’m sure we all wish we could inflate and magic our annoying relatives away at a mere thought.  I really wish there had been somewhere else for Harry to go for the summer break…they are beyond abusive and quite frankly I’d love to give one straight into Vernon’s fat mouth.

Harry is back for his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly and boy is this year taking a dark turn.  Relationships weaken with the pressures of every day schooling with Hermione taking on too much, losing control and distancing herself from Harry and Ron.  It was a great relatable and realistic event…plus, plus, she smacked Malfoy in the gob. 

Harry is pretty much on lockdown around the school.  A convicted murderer who is known to want to get to Harry due to his servitude to Lord Voldemort is on the run.  Sirius Black.  He betrayed Harry’s parents and led Voldemort right to his parents.  He also killed Peter Pettigrew and killed twelve other people.  He has been in Azkaban ever since.  Oh, and those Dementors would scare the crap out of anyone.  Soul sucking guards…No Thank You!  

The Marauders map was my favourite storyline and the connection to his father was just a sigh out loud moment.  This was most definitely my favourite book in the series so far.  I can’t wait to make memories with my young children and reading these books with them for many years to come.