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Hermione Does Have a Good Head on Her Shoulders, Doesn't She?

By Intern Rusty | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (12)

Prisoner-of-Azkaban-hermione-granger-3357631-1200-788.jpg

For a boy who’s extremely aware that there are people trying to kill him, Harry Potter really enjoys running away from where he’s supposed to be. And, every so often, running in exactly the direction of the people he’s supposed to be avoiding. The Prisoner of Azkaban is a prime example of this, as Harry runs away from his aunt and uncle’s house, sneaks out of Hogwarts castle multiple times, and follows a mysterious dog down an unfamiliar passageway, the second two after he’s been informed that there may be a lunatic out to kill him. If he were my 13-year-old, I’d probably have a hard time refraining myself from locking his over-confident, danger-seeking ass up in the house all summer, but I appear to have lost some of my sense of whimsy as I’ve grown older.

The Prisoner of Azkaban begins the trend of the books getting steadily darker as they move towards the actual return of Voldemort in Goblet of Fire. Dementors are introduced, the creatures which feed on the sadness of humans, and the conditions at the wizarding prison Azkaban are spelled out. We learn more about the inherent prejudices of wizards and witches through Professor Lupin, a werewolf who takes over the perpetually rotating Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position.

Overall, Prisoner of Azkaban works to set up a lot of the necessary relationships, backstory, and tension that will be needed later in the series. And begins to set up some of the personality flaws that will plague Harry for the rest of the series. Looking back on this whole series, I’m struck by a deep desire to buy Hermione several large fire-whiskeys and letting her vent for about a month. Girl may have had her annoying moments, but she had a good head on her shoulders and was frequently used for her intellect and abilities by boys who never listened to her ENTIRELY LOGICAL suggestions. But again, see above re: loss of whimsy.

This review is part of the Cannonball Read series. For more of Rusty’s reviews, check out her blog. Or check out Pajiba After Dark, daily on Pajiba.









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Comments

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Posted by: Protoguy at July 1, 2010 8:43 AM

I'm happy to see that I wasn't the only one having problems creating a longer review for the books in this series. There's so much that can be given away! Good call on the crazy of him running right into where he shouldn't be, which ends up being where he was supposed to be all along. I suppose that's how one lives their life when they have a very specific destiny. Excellent review, Intern Rusty!!

Posted by: Pinky McLadybits at July 1, 2010 8:55 AM

POA is my favorite of the HP's because it's not about Voldemort, and it has a great time travel storyline that all works out nicely with no paradoxes. Dr. Who fan that I am, I'm a sucker for time travel.

Posted by: BWeaves at July 1, 2010 9:14 AM

If he were my 13-year-old, I’d probably have a hard time refraining myself from locking his over-confident, danger-seeking ass up in the house all summer, but I appear to have lost some of my sense of whimsy as I’ve grown older.

This may color your reading of a lot of children's books in the future then. Most children's literature wouldn't exist if the protagonists stayed home and did as they were told.

And I heartily agree about buying Hermione those firewhiskeys. Girl had to put up with a whole lot of crap from those stupid boys.

Posted by: Anne (in Reno) at July 1, 2010 1:15 PM

As someone who disliked the cloying silliness that saturated the first two books, I found myself liking this one, at least until the last few chapters which grinded the story to a screeching halt at the climax in the Shrieking Shack. (Spoiler, kind of) It was just page after page of a half-dozen characters standing around, spouting all of the exposition that had backlogged from all of the hereto unexplained plot points, and it dragged on for some 50 pages as the narrative tried to catch up.

That aside, I thought it was a pretty decent transition from the "children's" genre to the "young adult" side.

Posted by: Leftylad at July 2, 2010 10:28 PM

Hey BWeaves - it's my favourite too. The only one of my HP books that's falling apart (other than the first one, which my brother destroyed, and I take no responsibility for).

Posted by: dsbs at July 3, 2010 2:58 PM

Two things:

1) This book came out in 1999 and the movie came out in 2004 - afraid of spoilers, really?

2) A big part of Harry's personality and motivation stems from the fact that he isn't anyone's 13-year old. If his parents were alive, he probably wouldn't be doing any of these things, even if Voldemort was still after him, because he would have parents he trusts to protect and guide him.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at July 3, 2010 10:00 PM

If he were my 13-year-old, I’d probably have a hard time refraining myself from locking his over-confident, danger-seeking ass up in the house all summer, but I appear to have lost some of my sense of whimsy as I’ve grown older.

This may color your reading of a lot of children's books in the future then. Most children's literature wouldn't exist if the protagonists stayed home and did as they were told.

And I heartily agree about buying Hermione those firewhiskeys. Girl had to put up with a whole lot of crap from those stupid boys.

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