Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (1999)

I loved the movies, but never got into the books. Thay are great..I plan on keeping them & getting the entire set for my daughter

The item I purchased was shipped very fast. Also, the seller must know that books that are in good condition may not be that way once it arrives at the buyers house, this was what I appreciated most; packaged beyond my expectations. I've ordered books through the mail numerous times and this was probably the best condition (excellent) I have received one.

Finally decided to give in and read the HP books - have loved them all. I thought they would be more for children but they are foe everyone. Fun and easy to read - and fast reading too!

the book has alot of imaganary detailand is just a great book especially all the detail I bought the book because I had all the books and needed this book

I would have to say that this book was a pivotal book not only in Harry Potter's life, but in JK Rowling's writing career as well.

For Harry, his past begins to reveal itself and danger comes ever closer to his reluctant sanctuary (ie-the Dursley's residence). For Rowling, her stories are no longer stand alone mysteries that share a common location, but are part of a larger story.

These changes are perfectly timed, as the 8th grade is a pivotal time. It is at this age that children are in between true childhood but not quite yet a young adult. We see changes in Harry, Hermione and Ron that indicate the change.

For one, Draco becomes less of an enemy and more like a pest-problems that they used to have no longer seem to matter, or at least not as much. The spells that Harry and his friends learn are likewise indicative of their maturity. Harry is learns to cast a protective patronus years ahead of his peers, which shows that he has matured beyond his peers. Harry takes his last, irrevocable step into adulthood when he choses to spare the life of his parent's betrayer so he can stand trial.

On the surface, Rowling does not "sanitize" the book as much as she did with the other two, a trend that continues with the rest of the series. Some people say that Prisoner was the last "children's" book and that Goblet of Fire begins her "young adult" books. While I agree with that assessment, I also think that JK was having her books grow up as her children did. We not only see character development in our heros, but in the writing style as well.

But her level of writing maturity does not end there. Each of the first two books had a beginning, middle and end. Each book was self contained. You could read Chamber of Secrets before Sorcerer's Stone and not miss much. Not so anymore. If you read any of the other books out of order, you could follow the plot but all the richness of her literary devices will not make sense to you.

I think what truely sets JK Rowling as a master story teller is that this book does not suffer from the "middle book funk". Too many book writers and movie produces use this excuse to cover their own laziness (sadly, too many people accept this excuse and keep wasting hard earned money on trash).

JK is able to produce a good book by following the same success formula that Marvel and DC comics did-have complete endings for the sub-plots so the readers feel satisfied. Rowling gives us plenty of satisfaction: the innocent escape death, the betrayer's cover is blown, Harry earns the respect of the people needs to rely on in later books and preparations are being made, at least by some, for the storm that they now know will come.

The greatest weakness I found was her assigning value and meaning to items from the first two books. When they were first written, these items were only described so much as to provide ambience. By retro-actively assigning significance to them, she created a feeling of artificialality that comes with forcing a plot device. This was corrected in later books and a much smoother flow will take place.

In short, Prisoner of Azkaban is a wonderfully writen transition book that takes Harry from being a child into adulthood and takes JK Rowling from being a great entertainer into a master storyteller.

John Holland-author of Necklace of Terrersylvanous

The book was purchased for my son as part of his Harry Potter series. I chose this particular book because it is a first American edition as are the others in his collection so far. A first edition is a special thing in our house.The purchase can't be compared with one from a bookstore currently, as all copies of the the earlier books in bookstores, have a post- first edition copyright date.

ANOTHER HARRY POTTER WINNER. VERY SUSPENSEFUL AND FUN. HARRY IS TRULY A 21ST CENTURY HERO. COULDN'T PUT THIS ONE DOWN.

We named our dog Sirius Black Dixon, if that's any indication of how much we love his character. The introduction of Sirius gave Harry something he didn't have before. A family, yes, but hope for the future, in a way he never had before. This is an excellent book, and I can't wait (and yet I can) for the last one.

i gave it as a christmas gift, all was well and it was a great buy!! pleasure to deal with and very speedy delivery.

I decided to buy this book for my grandson as a Christmas gift. He has all the other Harry Potter books in hardback, but has this one only in paperback. Also, I knew he wanted to complete his collection. What I liked about it was the great price for a new, hardcover copy of this book. What I very much dislike is the fact that I never received it, although my VISA was charged for it, and paid. I am working with Customer Service to try to get this matter resolved, and I have confidence that it wil be resolved by them.

Someone once told me that when reading "Junk in is junk out" and referred to the multi-award winning Harry Potter series as junk. So I decided to see what this junk was all about. For a series of books written for children they grabbed hold of me and kept me glued to the pages. This book, the third in the series, continues with new adventures at Hogwarts's School for Harry, Ron and Hermione in addition to the creation of new characters. Dislikes none. I'm looking forward to sharing these books with my grandchildren for many years to come.

In this book the year begins with Harry being attacked by these magical prison guards known as Dementors. Dementors live by sucking the joy from others. Harry and his Cousin are attacked by Dementors. Of course the Dersleys think it is all Harry's doing. Harry discovers that a man by the name of Sirius Black has escaped from Azkabahn Prison. He is told that Sirius was responsible for the death of his parents. Sirius was one of his father's best friends at Hogwarts. He prepares himself to avenge his parents' death until he discovers that not everything is as it seems. Sirius has come to watch over Harry who is his godson and the real person who betrayed his parents is revealed. Of course Voldemort is up to his wicked ways and is attempting once again to regain himself. The Dementors come to Hogwarts to find Sirius but end up making life there miserable especially for Harry. Harry and his friends struggle to discover the truth and become closer friend during the ordeal. The end of the book leaves you longing for Harry because just as he finds his Godfather Sirius he has to help rescue him from the Dementors and send him into hiding.

This is a wonderful books with lots of twists and turns. The adventure begins with the first page and keeps your on your toes until the end.

I love all of the Harry Potter books. I did had this book already, but somehow I had lost the Hardback copy of this book. I have all of the others in Hardback, so Of course, I had to replace this one. I do a lot of my shopping on ebay, when looking for harder to find items. This was an excellent buy, and I'll enjoy it for years to come and so will my children.

Great movie and an even better book. I love all of the movies and a friend recommended I read the books, so I am! I love everything about this book; it has the feel that it's meant to be read.

I bought this book after getting hooked on the Harry Potter series after the Sorcerer and the Stone were required reading for a college English Lit. class.
I thought it was a great adventure/fantasy and like the rest of the fans am anxiously awaiting the final book.

From the first three books, this book turn out to be the very best. In this book Harry improves his critical thinking. One sign you see in the begining of the book was when Mrs. Marge stated talking about his mom and Harry snapped and made her blow up. And what's next is the best, he gets his stuff and heads out the door and when Vernom tried to stop him Harry threaten him with magic, so he left from the house. And later on the book we found out that the prisoner that escaped from Azkaban is Harry's own godfather. And later on we also find out that Scabbers, Ron's rat, is realy Peter Petigrew. He was the one who turn the Potter in to Lord Voldemort. And that Lupin was a were-wolf? Man this book is very ambiguous because of all of those twist. But at the end you finally understand it. I say this because that's what happened to me.

i love Harry Potter!!! The first time i watched the 1st movie i was hooked on harry...i went out and bought all the books and they are soooo much better than the movies...it made me not like the movie as much for leaving so much out!! i used to make fun of people who liked harry potter...but now im a die hard fan and im changing peoples minds as mine was...if you never read this book---DO IT!!! its awesome!!!!

Perfect condition. My collection is now complete. I'm so excited to be able to finally read all the books together.

Another great book. This book takes you on a journey that you could never imagine but the author helps you see it in your mind. Wonderful book and hard to put down, you just want to read many pages per sitting.