by J.K. Rowling
The long-awaited fifth installment in the chronicles of boy-wonder wizard Harry
Potter and friends.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Santiago
As with the previous Harry Potter books, I purchased this one under the guise of
giving it to my 12-year-old stepdaughter. Luckily, however, my pre-ordered copy
arrived from Amazon on Saturday and my stepdaughter's next visit wouldn't be
until the following Friday, so I had time to surreptitiously devour it
cover-to-cover before being obligated to hand it over to its rightful owner.
I promise in advance not to reveal any plot twists that might spoil it for those
readers who haven't yet been able to lay hands on a copy. Not since Cabbage
Patch Kids have parents fought so valiantly for so coveted an item in such short
supply!
The fifth installment in the Harry Potter series once again finds Harry dragging
through a miserable summer, mistreated by Muggle relatives the Dursleys. This
summer, however, holds a special degree of apprehension for Harry-- cut off from
the wizarding world, he is forced to sneak around the Dursley home eavesdropping
on the evening news, seeking some snippet of a story that might indicate the
return of Lord Voldemort and the commencement of his reign of terror. Harry's
worst fears are confirmed when he and Dudley are attacked in an alley by two
dementors, the sinister, soul-sucking guards of Azkaban prison, inexplicably far
from prison grounds. To save Dudley's life, and his own, Harry has no choice
but to produce a Patronus to fend off the dementors, earning him an immediate
owl from the Ministry of Magic informing him of his expulsion from Hogwarts for
once again violating nearly all the rules governing use of magic outside of
school. Of course the Weasleys and Dumbledore soon intervene on Harry's behalf,
but cannot rescue him from a full trial before the entire Ministry of Magic.
Suffice it to say that after much drama, Harry of course returns to Hogwarts for
the school year. (The book could hardly have been 870 pages long if he had been
expelled from school in the third chapter, now could it?) But all is not well.
For starters, Hagrid is missing. Then to make matters worse, the Ministry of
Magic installs a hateful old witch to oversee all the goings-on at the school,
and she steadily begins to strip Dumbledore of his authority and revoke all the
privileges that have made Harry's life worth living, including Quidditch. Of
course, there's still the menacing Draco Malfoy and his cronies to deal with.
They've returned to school well-armed with ammunition provided by the Daily
Prophet, which unbeknownst to Harry, spent the entire summer running articles
that portrayed him as an attention-seeking liar at best and an hysteric and
murderer at worst. Lastly, there's Sirius Black, Harry's beloved godfather, who
is miserably hiding out in London, unable to communicate freely, to do anything
to stop the inevitable rise of Voldemort, and forbidden by Dumbledore even to
leave the house lest he be apprehended by the Ministry of Magic.
Just when Harry thinks life can't possibly get worse, he begins having
nightmares, or visions, in which he sees through the very eyes of Lord
Voldemort. In a horrifying vision, he sees Arthur Weasley attacked by an
enormous snake, and wakes terrified, knowing it wasn't merely a dream but that
he was witnessing the attack as it happened. How can this be? How can
Voldemort be penetrating Harry's mind? Why is Harry seeing through the eyes of
the Dark Lord?
While this book is as unputdownable as the four preceding tomes, it's slightly
less action-packed and threatens to become formulaic. The plot follows the
expected outline- Harry is misunderstood at school, Harry breaks school rules,
Harry is in grave peril, Harry does something heroic, Harry is redeemed in the
eyes of all. What's more, Harry, at the age of 15, is no longer the sympathetic
orphan but has become an angry young man, fed up with the crosses he has to bear
and blaming the world for it. Nonetheless, the lovable cast of characters
including the Weasleys, Hagrid, and Dumbledore continue to enrich the saga.
Although this book, the longest of the series so far, is arguably the weakest,
Rowling introduces characters and plot information that are sure to figure
prominently in future installments. The series hasn't lost any steam, and
readers will be left wanting more, though hopefully the wait won't be as long
for book number 6. Whether Rowling finishes the next book in a year or in three
years, Harry fans will be loyally waiting, credit cards poised for action like
magic wands.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: BOOKNAME
Copyright © by Jennifer Santiago, 2003
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