Book Review

Okay, so the only review I ever wrote of the Harry Potter books was a review for the entire set. I've never reviewed them one by one and since I'm re-reading the series for the first time in a few years, I thought I'd give a go at reviewing them one by one. If you're one of the few people in the world who haven't read it, beware of some spoilers.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
This is my favorite book of the series most likely because it's the first one that I read.  But it's also the book in which the primary story line starts to gain traction. In the first two, the hero saves the day and saves the girl and it's mostly fun and games. It was established that Harry belongs in this world and in this role as the potential savior of the world, but the how and why of this role has been mostly glossed over to make way for building the foundation of the world. It was also determined that defeating Voldemort is the end that must be worked toward, but Voldemort hasn't been much of a threat to the wizarding world thus far.  Azkaban begins to set the table in earnest for the final show down and it is done without any contact with Voldemort at all. The rest of the pivotal players for the good guys' side are introduced in this book, and the past and present are more visibly tied together. Harry's father's school friends, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and my favorite character of the series, Remus Lupin, are brought in to begin defining why Harrry's parents were targeted by Voldemort as well as Snape's grudge against Harry.  It's only the first string of unraveling the immensely complex fabric of the story, but it causes the conflict to become more personal to Harry and the readers because Harry's finally getting some real answers and the answers are complicated for a change. The simplicity of the first two books is now over. And it's the first book to be left open-ended even though there's still a definite ending to the events therein. There are no public accolades for the hero doing something heroic, just an awareness that things will "back to normal" next year after the general upheaval of the day to day routines in this book.  Black, who is the focus of the book, is proven to be innocent however nobody but a few characters are aware of it. Also, the guilty party escapes in order to lay the groundwork for the return of Voldemort, but again, only a few characters are aware of this as well.
There's also more firsts to be experienced in this book. It's a mark of a good series that all the locations and things aren't given away too soon.  In the last book we saw the house of a fully wizarding family.  In this one we see the entirely wizarding village of Hogsmeade featuring the Shrieking Shack and adding to the variety of wizarding businesses to examine. The wizarding prison of Azkaban is never seen first hand by the main characters, so it's descriptions aren't as detailed, but we do meet the terrifying prison guards in this outing - the Dementors. This adds a layer of complexity to the world displaying that dark creatures are utilized even on the good guys' side of things, adding color to the black and white standard of good vs. evil. It also sets up a touching moment where Harry discovers that his guardian spirit animal is the same kind of animal that his father could transfigure into.
Supporting characters that would figure into the plots of the next couple of books were also introduced in an offhand way so that the reader isn't bombarded with too many strangers in the next installments.  That kind of slow build in the writing is something that means a lot to me. And the best example I have to bring up, even though I'm trying not to get too specific in these reviews (because I could go on for days,) is the school's Quidditch Cup final.  You notice it was teased for a while.  Harry got to be special as the youngest seeker in a generation in the first book, but the Cup was strategically denied his team for two books to give the victory more meaning for the reader and for the characters. All of the characters, not just the main characters, with the person it means the most to being the team captain (who would only ever be seen again in one scene at the beginning of the fourth book) as it's his last chance to win the cup before he leaves school. This demonstrates that all of the characters are important even if they don't hold the focus of the book or have a direct hand in the main story. Things like that are how these books create a bond with the readers. I love this book so much.
This is also one of the last couple of opportunities you'll have to begin reading in the middle of the series without falling too far behind; just something to keep in mind.