Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with Harry Potter. I’ve got 2 copies of each book (one in paperback and one in hardcover), at least one copy of each of the movies, a few posters, buttons, pins, and even a Harry Potter tattoo. But the books are what really got me into the whole thing. I started reading them when I was in the third grade, so that’s about 12 years of this series in my life. It’s been there for lots of ups and downs and has always been a major comfort for me. But, because I’ve been reading these books for so long (I think I’ve read the whole series at least eight times), my books started falling apart which absolutely devastated me. That’s what led to me buying hardcover copies of the books which I haven’t even read because they look so pretty in the fancy little box they came in. The box looks like a Hogwarts trunk and I love it to no end. But seeing as I’ve read these books so many times and have endless amounts of Harry Potter trivia stored away in my brain, I feel like I’m in a pretty good place to rank the books. So, without further ado, here we go.
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a worst Harry Potter book because they’re all amazing, but Chamber of Secrets isn’t my top favorite. I think it’s mostly because of the basilisk honestly, I think it’s terrifying. It’s a great book, but the whole ending gives me so much anxiety.
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
I love Sorcerer’s Stone because it’s the first book in the series, but I can admit that it’s not the strongest of all of the books. Not only is it the shortest of all of the books, there are a lot of moments that are dedicated to just establishing the backstory and world building. Not that those are bad things, but the books after this one are the best because the world has been established and can be built upon.
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This is arguably the most angst filled book. It’s also the longest book (about 800 pages depending on the edition that you have.) While I love the book, Harry’s constant anger at everyone and everything can be a bit much sometimes. Oh my goodness, and the introduction of Professor Umbridge. Honestly, I have stronger feelings about her than I do about Voldemort. Because she’s just a regular person but she inflicts more damage on all of the kids that she’s supposed to be protecting and teaching than anyone else. Plus, this book really solidified the return of Lord Voldemort to the wizarding world, which was very dramatic.
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I will admit, Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite of the movies, I think it’s just perfect. But it’s not my favorite of the books. While I love that Voldemort isn’t in this book and the introductions of Lupin and Sirus are amazing, I almost feel like JK Rowling could have done a little bit more with it. Plus, I hate that Lupin couldn’t stay on as their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for any longer, he’s the only one who actually taught.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Honestly, I would call this the darkest out of all of the books. Between all of the drama and teen angst, the giant battle at the end, the maiming and the murder, there’s a lot going on in this book. But all of that is also what makes it such a fantastic book. Though, I will say that the Inferi scarred me for life. I honestly don’t think there was anything in the books that scared me as much as they did.
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I love this book for a variety of reasons. It’s the first of the longer books (meaning more for me to enjoy) and the plot of this book is fantastic. There’s a lot of world building that happens in this book with the introduction of the foreign wizarding schools, but it all feels very natural. The TriWizard Tournament is exciting and terrifying at the same time and Harry’s fight with Voldemort is fantastic.
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Everything about this book is amazing. In all honesty, when I first started reading it after I got it at the midnight release, I started crying before I had even read a single word of the actual book. The dedication had me crying because I knew it would be the last one. This book just makes me so emotional every time I read it. Really all of these books do, but I can’t stop going back to them. I think the epilogue was an amazing ending for the characters that I had grown up with.
Just like J.K Rowling said at the premiere of the last movie, “Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” And I am a strong believer in that. Whenever I felt like I needed a little escape, I could count on Harry, Ron, and Hermione to pick right back up where I left off last time. And honestly, I will fight anyone who tries to tell me that these books are only meant for children.
