alisoninbookland
Written on May 8, 2020
For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter’s defeat of You-Know-Who was Black’s downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, “He’s at Hogwarts… he’s at Hogwarts.”
Harry Potter isn’t safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may be a traitor in their midst.
--back cover
- ISBN10 0545582938
- ISBN13 9780545582933
- Publish Date 27 August 2013 (first published 28 June 1999)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 24 October 2023
- Imprint Scholastic Inc.
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 464
- Language English
Reviews
kiracanread
Written on Jan 28, 2020
moraa
Written on Dec 17, 2019
Don't let the muggles get you down.
4.5 stars
12/18/2019: I loved every bit of this. Harry was on edge most of the time, Ron was happy for once and Hermoine finally admitted she took on more than she could handle.
Also, Sirius.
bookperson
Written on Feb 24, 2019
Even though many people love this book and say that it's their favorite one for me it fell flat. In my opinion it's the best book for Harry as a character - he meets Sirius and finally gets to learn DADA from a good person and teacher, wins quidditch cup. But from the readers point of view I feel like nothing happens. Maybe there is no tension because I already know the plot, but honestly it was so boring that I couldn't finish it in months.
Also even though Hermione is forever and always in my heart, in this one she was so annoying.
I think my past self would be pretty disappointed if she saw this review but what can I say? Hype is real.
sokodomo
Written on Jan 19, 2019
I was gonna actually read the entire series, but after experimenting the audiobook narrated by Stephen Fry for the first time, I really wanna stick with audiobook format for now! He's so energetic and really makes the characters come to life. Definitely the best audiobook I've come across yet.
God, I'm excited for Goblet of Fire. It's my 2nd fav book.
sa090
Written on Nov 19, 2018
Had to shift my reading TBR a bit to include this one since I’m participating in the One to Rule Them All Readathon, which is also my first ever attempt at one. I went to see Crime of Grindelwald in the weekend and immediately started reading this as soon as I came back home, and as always it doesn’t take way too long for me to finish one of these books from how much I absolutely adore them.
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I believe that out of the three rereads so far, this book is the one where I sensed a difference to my mood in a way. Not that it was difficult to get into, it’s quite easy for this magical world to suck me in, but instead of how much there were things that I wish were adapted into the films alongside what was already adapted. While the previous two books were more on the lighter side with Harry’s exploration of this new world alongside the readers, this one is easily the one where it’s more noticeable to see the darker turn the series is going to be taking.
Because I already know the plot and how this book will eventually end, I subconsciously focused more on the characters and their interactions with each other. For example, Malfoy’s continued pettiness, Snape’s excessive bullying and McGonagall’s absolutely wonderful sassiness to name a few. I also noticed some foreshadowing for upcoming books that I don’t believe I got at all when I was younger, which once again makes me interested to see the difference through my now adult eyes.
The thing I enjoyed the most here though is to see how the friendship between the trio gets tested through their different point of views. Maybe that’s the wrong way to put it as the ones who really got on each other’s nerves were Hermione and Ron while Harry just moved along the flow around them. I really enjoyed this bit, on one hand it gives me a more of an inside look into their insecurities if you will and on the other hand I feel like some of my earlier opinions about both of them.
The classes side was fun to watch as always and although the film doesn’t always give us the biggest focus on classes given the time restrictions, it’s always interesting to see it from the side of the book. I liked seeing the different takes on Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, I did wish for more creatures to be seen in the end, but overall I’m not really complaining all that much.
Enjoyed it a lot and hopefully I’ll have all the series reread by the first few months of 2019 :)
Final rating: 4.5/5
bestmessever
Written on Jun 3, 2018
Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews
Written on Mar 26, 2018
Harry Potter returns for his third year at Hogwarts and with concentrating on new classes and winning the Quiddich cup must also be put on his guard with Sirius Black an escaped murderer for the wizard prison Azkaban and is supposedly after Harry. Although one must keep in mind that things do not always appear what they seem.
Thoughts:
Part of this may have to do with Alan Rickman's delivery of the line but my favorite quote of all the Harry Potter books/movies is spoken by Professor Snape while substituting for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Lupin, "Turn to page 394." on page 394 is the chapter on werewolves and by setting this chapter hopes a student will recognize Remus Lupin for his true nature. I love this because it is portrayed so dry but at the same time with great authority.
Another thing I didn't realize before now is that however slightly has the underlining of prejudice in the plot. I believe this is shown through Professor Lupin, who's true nature is of a werewolf which is why he's been missing classes. Remus is described as having shabby dress with dark circles under his eyes. Somewhere in the book he is commented as saying that it is difficult for him to hold a job and after transforming, and putting students at risk, resigns from the post because "parents wouldn't want their children being taught by someone like me." Maybe I'm reading too much into this but I thought this was an interesting analogy towards racism or discrimination.
ross91
Written on Dec 14, 2017
Reading HP is always like coming back home to me.
KitsuneBae
Written on Aug 6, 2017
my review for this book. You can also read the full review at Thoughts and Pens
Plot
OMG! I SOOOO LUURVE THIS BOOK that I actually thought, I’d die with suspense, drama and all the revelations that came with it. For the third time, Rowling brings us once again into the world of Harry where everything gets better and better. I was fascinated with the new creatures, the Dementors, the new things that made it a perfect paradise for our thoughts.
I was hanging on the edge of my seat and finally falling after the amazing turn of events. Forgive me but during the last chapters of the book, I’ve been crying like mad that I temporarily stopped reading. The events were unbearably painful and yet, it was so heartwarming to finally know that despite the difficulty of picking up the pieces, everything seemed to connect perfectly.
Having read the first three books, there is not a doubt that Rowling is a ruthless story teller. With a brush of her quill, she can make us happy or cry or angry or mad or make us explode from feeling all of these emotions at once.
Characters
I HEART SIRIUS BLACK! There, I’ve finally announced it. He had been an enigma in the book teasing our minds but in the end, he finally emerged as one of the underdogs between the battle of good and evil. I ache for him, for his losses, of the wasted life that he had lived, of his absence in Harry’s life, for his unwavering bravery and his boundless loyalty. And yes, it wouldn’t hurt that he was intelligent, cool, and very good looking. I salute JK for giving us this man who was a perfect example that no one should stop hoping to see the light. Sirius Black is like the Dark Knight who rose from the prisons of hell with dignity and resolute focus.
It was unfair that he wasn’t acquitted at the end of the book. But at least, he was able to clean his name infront of Harry and the gang. That was good enough for me.
Apart from Sirius, I also liked the newly introduced characters, Trelawney and Lupin. Well, Trelawney is someone really funny with her utterly unbelievable predictions. And Lupin strikes me as someone who is a down-to-earth person but certainly cool.
In this book too, we also saw how the trio was slowly ascending the point of maturity, of course, with Ron being the slowest in getting there. But it was fun and lovely seeing them growing up and tackling personal issues like any normal person would do.
Interactions and Dialogues
What’s good with JK is that she had always been consistent with the elements of her writing style. Dialogues and interactions in Harry Potter had always been a mixture of fun, wit, grit, thrill and suspense that it was impossible to get bored. How good is that?
Another thing would be, interactions and dialogues were straightforward and never lingered. You will never get an idea that Book 3 is just a filler to compensate the waiting for Book 7.
Lessons Learned
• True friendships always endures- The friendship shared by the Marauder’s except for that scumbag Pettigrew and the trio is an outstanding example of this. True friendship is not just about having fun but it’s also about standing up against the lures of evil even if the price is one’s own life.
• Never eat more than you can chew- As perfectly demonstrated by Hermione Granger.
• Learn to trust someone with your crucial decisions- As what have happened when the Potters and Sirius decided not to inform Dumbledore of the secret-keeper swap. Thirteen years of punishing the wrong man would have been avoided if this had been the case.