Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)

My absolute, undoubted, incontestable favourite of the entire series, There's very little I can say against this book. I don't remember as much detail of my first reading as I'd wish...

I have a vague, indistinct memory of hearing the Aunt Marge blow-up and subsequent escape in the evening, reading about Harry finishing his homework in a sunny afternoon: how much of the latter image is taken from the book itself is hard to judge, looking back. A memory I know to be accurate is very vivid indeed; one of the book's cassettes got spectacularly stuck in the tape player of my grandmother's car and I subsequently finished the book whilst missing one of the sides. It was chapter 18, or a part thereof, or a part around that area of the book: an exciting one, anyway; and eventually the battered tape was removed with tweezers and I finished it on the downstairs hifi system to the irritation of both grandparents.

I also find it hard, having re-read it, to say precisely what compels me to this book so much. I particularly like the way the mood shifts throughout the book; it's very noticeable toward the end where we have the intense effort of the Patronous, the spectacular jubilation of the Quidditch final, the amazingly depicted conflagration of Snape's Grudge, then the absolutely heartstoping scene at the shack. As if that's not enough, of course, Hermione's secret comes out too, and adds even more to the story.

A few things made me stop and smile: I don't remember Shunpike being referred to as "Stanley", and I liked how the issue of whether or not the guy at the book shop was a manager or an assistant (I remember the net being abuzz with it for ages).

Overall though, despite things not being Voldemort-centric, this book just works so well. Foreshadowing is Rowling's specialty and this book is just packed to the rafters with it, and the dynamic of the main trio is powerful indeed. I treasure this volume most dearly.