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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the story of Harry's third year in Hogwart's school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once more Harry feels suffocating during summer holidays, trapped in the Dursley's residence, and once more he is looking forward to the time school year starts. Unless all other boys of his age, Harry hates summer and he loves school...

This year, Harry Potter is up to face a peril much greater than anything he had come up against before. The whole wizards' world has been upset by the terrible news of infamous Sirius Black escaping Askaban, and they are afraid he will search for little Harry to finish the work of his old master. Extra care has been taken, and professor Lupin has been called to take up the Defense Against Dark Arts teaching position, since he is on of Dumbledore's trustees. Unfortunately the ministry also intereferes, and the terrible keepers of Azkaban are called to guard Hogwarts.

The story marches prodictably in this (much longer) book 3 of the series. More Quidditch games (and Harry's first loss as a seeker) and more spells (but some really great ones, indeed). And this on until you reach the last 100 pages of the book. Then Rowling simply brings eveything upside down, and in 100 pages, she fully compensates us with a most breathtaking finishing.

In the Chamber of Secrets, we had accused her that she did not investigate Harry's background enough, and that she lacked of innovation, giving a simple sequel. Now, with the prisoner of Azkaban, she seems to be doing exactly this: We have the chance of learning details about Harry's parents, we get to know his godfather and the man who betrayed his parents, we learn more details about their death. Now the plot is becoming more tight, and the background on which it will be unfolded, more clearly set out. This, combined with the shock of revelations in the end of the book, makes the Prisoner of Azkaban a formidable reading, which can be directly compared in matters of quality to the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone!