The "Harry Potter" series will always be my favorite books to read; I never get tired of reading about Harry, Ron, and Hermione's triumphs and shortfalls. One book has stuck with me over the years as a definite best book of the series—"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Here are some reasons why I think it is the greatest masterpiece J.K. Rowling has whipped up.
1. The introduction of Sirius Black
Sirius Black is my all time favorite character of the series and this is the book where he got his start. The whole book portrays him as a murderer, but in the end we learn that he was Harry's parents' most trusted friend.
2. Hermione punches Malfoy
I've always felt a strong connection to Hermione's personality, but I never in a million years would have thought that she would punch anyone. That was the definitive moment that Hermione changed in my eyes.
3. The Time Turners
These really were the objects that brought the whole story together. Aside from that, they really intrigued me and made me respect the Wizarding World more.
4. We learn Harry's true strength
Harry found enough strength to cast a spell to drive the dementors away from Sirius, even though it was a complex spell that most wizards could not do and he had never done it before. However, he thought it was his dad who cast it for some time. He discovered it was himself that cast the spell toward the end of the novel and my heart swelled with pride
5. The shape of Harry's Patronus was the shape his dad turned into when he transformed
"Prongs rode again last night."
6. We learn more about Harry's dad
Up until this novel, we didn't know a whole lot about Harry's dad besides that we was murdered by Voldemort. In this book we were introduced to who his friends were, how smart he was, what a good friend he was, and that he was a troublemaker at school.
7. We are introduced to the term "Mischief managed"
The Marauder's Map was gifted to Harry from Fred and George after they realized that he had more use for it than them. We got to learn about how witty and clever the makers of the map were all throughout the novel, only to find out that it was James Potter and his friends that made the map.
8. We learn how great Fred and George are
The fact that they figured out how to work the Marauder's Map still astounds me.
9. Harry, Ron, and Hermione grow from kids to teenagers
This one deals a little more with the movie, but the gang really grew up in this movie. They became actual teenagers right before our eyes.
10. We are reminded of how awesome Dumbledore is
When you break it down, Harry and Hermione's story of what they saw and experienced with the Time Turners was ludicrous. If I heard a story about a known murderer being innocent and the actual informant was a rat who could transform into a person, my head would spin. But Dumbledore believed their story and helped them set Sirius free in true Dumbledore fashion.
11. Remus Lupin
Remus Lupin watched after Harry the whole novel and helped him grow and learn about himself. While Lupin and Harry didn't have quite the connection Sirius and Harry did, it was nice knowing that someone was looking after Harry.
12. Harry discovers his strengths in Defense Against the Dark Arts
Lupin was the first and last good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and he taught Harry, as well as his classmates, to deal with a myriad of stuff, like boggarts.
13. When Harry loses his temper with Aunt Marge
Harry's hotheadedness is well-documented throughout the series. However, this was one of those instances where the aftermath was pretty funny.
14. Snape's dislike for Sirius
We get to learn a little bit about how deep Snape's hatred for Sirius and the rest of the makers of The Marauder's Map runs and get even more of a reason to hate Snape.
15. We still don't get a happy ending
J.K. Rowling knows how to pull our heartstrings in every which direction and she does that in this book. Harry doesn't get the happy ending of living with Sirius, but he got a fatherly figure and someone to write letters to him, so we still got small triumphs.
