Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter) by J K Rowling (ISBN:0439136350)

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		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter)
	
				(7061 reviews)			
(561305 Readers)

			J K Rowling		
	
For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to.  But  not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an...more
 For most children, summer vacation is something to look forward to.  But  not for our 13-year-old hero, who's forced to spend his summers with an aunt, uncle,  and cousin who detest him. The third book in J.K. Rowling's Harry  Potter series catapults into action when the young wizard "accidentally" causes the Dursleys' dreadful visitor Aunt Marge to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift up to the ceiling. Fearing punishment from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon (and from officials at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who strictly forbid students to cast spells in the nonmagic world of Muggles), Harry lunges out into the darkness with his heavy trunk and his owl Hedwig.   As it turns out, Harry isn't punished at all for his errant wizardry. Instead he is mysteriously rescued from his Muggle neighborhood and whisked off in a triple-decker, violently purple bus to spend the remaining weeks of summer in a friendly inn called the Leaky Cauldron. What Harry has to face  as he begins his third year at Hogwarts explains why the officials let him off easily. It seems that Sirius Black--an escaped convict from the prison of Azkaban--is on the loose. Not only that, but he's after Harry Potter. But why? And why do the Dementors, the guards hired to protect him, chill Harry's very heart when others are unaffected? Once again, Rowling has created a mystery that will have children and adults cheering, not to mention standing in line for her next book. Fortunately, there are four more in the works. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson   less

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'. * Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book. * Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best...more
 Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'. * Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book. * Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children. * The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom. * Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape   hide

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							Jessica
						
							few weeks ago						
I love this series.

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							Chloe
						
							few weeks ago						
great book one of my favorites in the series

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							Kaitlen
						
							few weeks ago						
This is one of my favorite Harry Potter books. I don't know why it just eeme that everyone was more involved and included in this one. I rather think that this book must have taken a great deal of time or no time at all because it seems like great ideas are either hard to get down on paper or really easy.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Por la cicatriz que lleva en la frente, sabemos que Harry Potter no es un niÃ±o como los demÃ¡s, sino el hÃ©roe que venciÃ³ a Lord Voldemort, el mago mÃ¡s temible y maligno de todos los tiempos y culpable de la muerte de los padres de Harry. Desde entonces, Harry no tiene mÃ¡s remedio que vivir con sus pesados...more
 Por la cicatriz que lleva en la frente, sabemos que Harry Potter no es un niÃ±o como los demÃ¡s, sino el hÃ©roe que venciÃ³ a Lord Voldemort, el mago mÃ¡s temible y maligno de todos los tiempos y culpable de la muerte de los padres de Harry. Desde entonces, Harry no tiene mÃ¡s remedio que vivir con sus pesados tÃ­os y su insoportable primo Dudley, todos ellos muggles, o sea, personas no magas, que desprecian a su sobrino debido a sus poderes. Al igual que en las dos primeras partes de la serie â€“La Piedra Filosofal y la CÃ¡mara Secretaâ€“ Harry aguarda con impaciencia el inicio del tercer curso en el Colegio Hogwarts de Magia y HechicerÃ­a. Tras haber cumplido los trece aÃ±os, solo y lejos de sus amigos de Hogwarts, Harry se pelea con su bigotuda tÃ­a Marge, a la que convierte en globo, y debe huir en un autobÃºs mÃ¡gico. Mientras tanto, de la prisiÃ³n de Azkaban se ha escapado un terrible villano, Sirius Black, un asesino en serie con poderes mÃ¡gicos que fue cÃ³mplice de Lord Voldemort y que parece dispuesto a eliminar a Harry del mapa. Y por si esto fuera poco, Harry deberÃ¡ enfrentarse tambiÃ©n a unos terribles monstruos, los Dementores, seres abominables capaces de robarles la felicidad a los magos y de borrar todo recuerdo hermoso de aquellos que osan mirarlos. Lo que ninguno de estos malvados personajes sabe es que Harry, con la ayuda de sus fieles amigos Ron y Hermione, es capaz de todo y mucho mÃ¡s.   hide

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							A reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Well, not to be too much of a broken record, but this book was also my favorite in the Harry Potter series thusfar.  The marauders are a very nice addition in the series, and have naturally made for some very interesting fanfiction.  Half of me hopes that when Rowling is finished with Harry, she goes and does some of the marauders backstory, because I really cannot get enough of the trickstery...more
 Well, not to be too much of a broken record, but this book was also my favorite in the Harry Potter series thusfar.  The marauders are a very nice addition in the series, and have naturally made for some very interesting fanfiction.  Half of me hopes that when Rowling is finished with Harry, she goes and does some of the marauders backstory, because I really cannot get enough of the trickstery Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail, and Prongs.  Of course, that would probably be deemed too much like Star Wars....  This book is one of two in the series where Harry does not actually battle Voldemort to his face, which is a nice touch and changes things up a bit.  I personally prefer that.  The dementors are interesting characters, and Draco really goes out of his way trying to make trouble for Harry in parts, which just makes me laugh.  I have read this probably fifty times realistically, and every time I discover something new.  Probably Rowling's strongest work, in a general sense.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Generally this book is okay, though labeled as worst of all seven, bcause there was no He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and it seemed all too incredible that "out popped a godfather labeled as serial killer of the Magical World of Harry". But Sirius Black played an important role in Potter's life in later books, so I guess there's still some use for him. Except that how he turned from a serial...more
 Generally this book is okay, though labeled as worst of all seven, bcause there was no He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and it seemed all too incredible that "out popped a godfather labeled as serial killer of the Magical World of Harry". But Sirius Black played an important role in Potter's life in later books, so I guess there's still some use for him. Except that how he turned from a serial killer to an understanding godfather in Harry's eyes, I had no idea. It was a short abrupt turn which is logical. Anyway, I got to like Sirius in the progress, so I guess he's okay, but I still don't like the sound of the plot without a single Voldemort's footsteps, though he was rumoured to have escaped to Albania, I still think he should have appeared. Somewhere. And I hated when Lupin retired from his post. He shouldn't, though it was wonderfully responsible of him he did. Ouch. I sound so cynical and skeptical.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Thirteen year-old Harry Potter has reluctantly spent yet another summer with the Dursleys, his dismal relatives, "behaving himself" and not practicing any magic. That is, until Uncle Vernon's bullying sister, Aunt Marge, comes to visit. Aunt Marge has always been particularly horrible to Harry and this time pushes him so far that he "accidentally" causes her to inflate like a monstrous balloon...more
 Thirteen year-old Harry Potter has reluctantly spent yet another summer with the Dursleys, his dismal relatives, "behaving himself" and not practicing any magic. That is, until Uncle Vernon's bullying sister, Aunt Marge, comes to visit. Aunt Marge has always been particularly horrible to Harry and this time pushes him so far that he "accidentally" causes her to inflate like a monstrous balloon and drift away! Fearing punishment from his Aunt and Uncle--and repercussions from Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic, which strictly forbids students from using magic in the non-magic world--Harry escapes into the night. Along the way, Harry will try to make sense of Hermioneâ??s puzzling appearances and disappearances, with the help of Ron and the giant Hagrid, who has taken on a new position at Hogwarts as the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. A confrontation between Harry and the menacing Sirius Black seems inevitable, but what exactly is Professor Lupinâ??s relationship with Black? What is the dark secret that Professor Snape is so eager to reveal? And just why is Ronâ??s pet rat Scabbers so frantic to escape his grasp? Harry will need all of the courage, magic and support he can muster to answer these questions and uncover the truth behind Sirius Black and his ties to the gifted young wizardâ??s mysterious past.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
There is something about the character of Sirius Black that has always been interesting to me.  And here we finally get to see him in flesh and blood and hear his story of the night Voldemort fell 12 years ago.  A lot of people will say that Goblet of Fire is when the books get darker but to me this is where the story really starts to grow up and where Jo throws some mystery in that will haunt us...more
 There is something about the character of Sirius Black that has always been interesting to me.  And here we finally get to see him in flesh and blood and hear his story of the night Voldemort fell 12 years ago.  A lot of people will say that Goblet of Fire is when the books get darker but to me this is where the story really starts to grow up and where Jo throws some mystery in that will haunt us until book 7.  In fact, looking back on the series as a whole some of it may have even been happening in book 2. To me it is sort of like how I think about the Beatles.  A lot of people say that they started changing/evolving their sound with Rubber Soul.  But I tend to think that it was happening, or at least transitioning earlier, with Help! Anyway, its a good read.  Check it out (with the others of course)...   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
These are the books that started my reading journey. J.R. Rowling is by far one of the best authors in the world. Thank you for giving me inspiration to read and write.

These books are written to grow with children as they grow up in years. They start off innocent enough, but become darker as you farther in the series. Even Adults can get into this book, creating a world that doesn't exist,...more
 These are the books that started my reading journey. J.R. Rowling is by far one of the best authors in the world. Thank you for giving me inspiration to read and write.

These books are written to grow with children as they grow up in years. They start off innocent enough, but become darker as you farther in the series. Even Adults can get into this book, creating a world that doesn't exist, and sparking an imagination beyond reason. I would recommend these books to anyone who loves a visit away from reality every once in a while, and if you dont' know what these books are about, what rock have you been living under.   hide

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