Why is PoA most people's favorite book out of the series?

Ive been looking around at a lot of profiles lately and there seems to be a pattern of people picking Prisoner of Azkaban as their favorite book in the series. Why is this? Is it because Harry meets Sirius? Or, is it because we find out more about how Harry's parents got murdered? Perhaps because the storyline is more exciting? Please let me know why people!

I don't know, but I personally didn't like it that much.....I am trying to remember why, it was read many years ago, but I think I found it boring, sorry! I feel horrible saying that....

yeah, I didnt like it that much either. My favorite is OotP. I will have to admit that it is the best book out of the first 3 in the series, though.

Well, until Half-Blood Prince came out, PoA was my favorite. I think I liked it because I really loved the new characters that we met, Lupin and Sirius. I also liked it because finally Harry got to have some sort of link to his parents. Actually, when I first read the book, I sort of thought the time-travel and animagi stuff was a bit of a cop out, in terms of plot! Now, though, it's still one of my favorites.

PoA is my favorite because in no other book I was so stunned in the end how it turned out. I think a lot of people found out that Sirius wasn't a baddie before they reached the point. I didn't which doesn't speak for me. But, even if you were suspicious about it, there is plenty of unforseen information about Lupin, Pettigrew and Harry's parents. Then, I like the fact that it has a double showdown. After they sit in the hospital wing and Dumbledore appears, you think all is over, just to start all over again. I liked that.

All in all, it provides a lot of information, a lot of tension and a surprising ending. It is also the first time we don't have an all happy ending, but it is still more of a happy ending then in the subsequential books. It felt so good to know that Harry finally had someone out there that was something of a parental friend to him. And Lupin is still my favorite caracter.

I really liked HBP, too. Because it has this rich amount of information, but there are still a lot of things going on and it has a double showdown as well.

PoA is one of my favourites together with HBP. I think it is because of the first time you get more depht to the serie:
PS: Introducing the characters and the general world.
CoS: Introducing the racism problem and Voldemorts motivation
PoA: Harrys past, parents, death of parents, betrayel, Harrys motivation of fight and justice, surprising plot, interesting new characters.
GoF: Voldemorts return
OotP: Prophecy
HBP: Voldemorts past, his motivation, clues to destroy him

At one point POA was my favorite book, but although it isn't #1 anymore, It's still near the top.

If you were to compare the Harry Potter books to our Solar System, PS and COS would be the inner planets, while GoF, OotP, and HBP are the outer planets. So what would POA be? The asteroid belt ofcourse.

POA had the right mixture of darkness and happiness, and although I felt sad at the end, it didn't leave me weeping with despair.

I also like the introductrion of dementors in this book.

Perhaps I should read it again. This sounds silly, but I had only read it once, way before the movie came out, and I really think the movie turned me off from reading it again. :sigh:

it's not mine! thought, i haven't read it since I saw the movie. I like the Order of Phoenix best.

I like PoA out of all the series mostly because of sirius and lupin. Lupin is like the coolest teacher at hogwarts!!...and sirius is just way too cool for words..hehe... Anyway, I like this book since Harry discovers so much about his father and he acquires a very important tool that will be frequently used in the next books...the patronus (and maybe the marauder's map). Also, this is the only time that what they thought was the bad guy was actually just a misunderstood innocent man, so no Voldermort attempts in this book. I can still remember myself getting excited during the time turner part...and also the part when snape lost his order of merlin, first class...yeah, that was the best part in the book.

This is not my favourite book but I do like it. Why Ilike it is because it has the introduction of Sirius and I rather like him... Also I think it was JKR's first really wonderfully written book... The first two were good but the third was great.

PoA was my favorite until HBP. I read the first four books all at once, and enjoyed PoA for many of the same reasons that other posts have mentioned. I loved Sirius , Lupin and Trelawney. I also felt that Harry finally had a connection to his parents. I thought that the time turner was a good twist. This book also showed that Hermione is fallible when she bit off more than she could chew by taking an impossible number of classes. I also loved the ending when Harry tells the Dursleys that his godfather is a murderer and will be keeping an eye out for Harry!:lol:

I never really thought of PoA as my favourite book. It's never been up there like GoF and HBP, I just found it not as....exciting as the others.

Yeah I think that PoA really provides an emotional side of Harry with his family and Lupin and Sirius... or maybe it's the fact that he doesn't face Voldemort this time... :shrug:

I think it's probably my favorite because it was the first one I read. I don't really know what about it I like so much.

It's my favorite because IMO it's the most tightly plotted. Even now when i re-read it I'm amazed at how well-crafted it is.

It's the brightest. There is a greater expression of hope and Harry is finally allowed to be happy for 5 minutes. It doesn't last long. But in this book Harry discovers his godfather, he doesn't fight with Ron or Hermione (they just fight with each other), Hagrid becomes a teacher, Gryffindor win the Quidditch world cup, they have a Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher who is likable... Need I go on?

I hadn't actually pegged PoA as my favorite, but now that I think about it, it might be the best of the lot. Here's a few things I think it has going for it:

It introduces us to some very vivid magical settings (Hogsmeade), and objects (the Maurader's Map, the sweets at Honeydukes).

The descriptios of Harry's inner turmoil seem very vivid and real to me in this one, more so than in any other book. I can feel his loneliness when he is left behind during Hogsmeade weekends, his fear of the dementors, the tension between him and his friends, the comfort he draws from Lupin.

It has a very unified theme in that it is very tightly centered around Harry and his need for a father.

It is the first time in the series we really start to understand how deeply and meticulously JKR has plotted out the whole thing. I was feeling like I was keeping up with her clues as I read it--I got that Sirius wasn't really a muderer, and that Pettigrew faked his own death. But I was gobsmacked when it turned out that RON"S RAT was the traitor who condemned Harry's parent's to death. Whoa. Suddenly I started reading the books with a whole new level of attention.

For me PoA is my favorite because it's the first one I read. I saw the two movies first and somebody from *** cinema said somethinf about that rat and just you waith for the third film but I could't wait so I just went and bought the book and I was... well mesmerize by it jus like everyone else.

i would say that it is a much more darker book than the first 2 books PS and COS

For me I liked this book especially as it has some brilliantly scary scenes. I love all the HP books, but PoA stands out as my favorite due to the whole 'on edge' feeling it gives off (more so then the first two I feel). It's like a good X-Files episode. :D

I also think it has the ingredients to really get you hooked on Harry Potter. It has no proper ending, you just want to know how the story goes on, you want to know more about Harrys parents and what happens to Sirius and Lupin. You first get evidence that Voldemort is actually coming back (Sybils Prophecy).
The first one could stand alone (in the unlikely event that it wouldn't have had success, it would have been the only ever published Harry Potter book :lol:), and CoS could have standed alone as well.

I would say a lot of people like it because it is a dramatic shift from the first two books. We see a lot of character growth from the Trio as well as some backstory. PoA is not my favorite, but I do think it is a good book. Ms. Rowling has a good way of having us expect one thing and turn it around in an entirely different direction.

Also, in this book we're introduced to some new magical places like Hogsmeade. We also know more about Harry's parents. So, I think for the reason it introduces Sirius as well as being a turn-around for the series. As others have said, it has a much darker feeling.

P.S. My favorite book is HBP

I think the PoA is a lot of people's favorite book because of the introduction to Sirius, the darker feeling to the books, and it's like a prologue to the next book, just as the sixth to the seventh.
I think it is a dramatic and exciting story that also has friendship problems, and is a very well written book.

For me, I think POA was a turning point for the series. The first two books were Harry's entry into the wizarding world, but POA showed Harry becoming more serious about himself and his abilites. It also set the stage for the important role that Sirius plays in Harry's life over the next two books. I believe that Sirius is a big part of why I love POA. He is the symbol of what Harry could never have, a father, but he also because a confidant and a friend.

For me is PoA the best book right behind OotP because of the new characters, the Marauders especially Remus. And that Harry found persons outside of Hogwarts which care about him. Except of the Weasleys ;)
And I like the story. You can't compare it to PS and CoS. It's much interesting.

Because of the marauders and Harry actually got a cool godfather in this book.

I've been wondering that too. I mean, I loved the book, but GoF will always be my favorite. <3

I'd say it's because of Sirius. I have to say, Sirius's entrance and his offer of taking Harry in, only to find out what happens later, is definitely a tear jerker...or it is for me at least.:lol: Sirius is such a lovable character that it's no surprise that people find the book in which he surfaces to be their favorite.:)

Well, PoA isn’t my favorite of the series (HBP is), but it was at one time. I think it might be partly because that’s when we are first introduced to Sirius, who is a very popular character, and of course the plot was very surprising. But I think that maybe part of the explanation for PoA’s popularity is that that’s when the tone of the series is really starting to change. The first two books are more children’s books, IMO, than the rest of the series. But in PoA Harry is older, and since the books are written from Harry’s point of view, it affects a lot how the books are written. PoA is in many ways more complex than the first two books, and I think that could be why many readers consider it and the rest of the series more interesting than PS and CoS.

I'm not exactly sure why this is, but I can give three explanations on why I love it so much (as it is, indeed, my favorite book):

1.Animals - Of all the Harry Potter books, none features more animals than Prisoner of Azkaban. One reason why I love this particular book so much is because it contains (and focuses on) a vast variety of magical creatures (ie., Buckbeak, Scabbers, Crookshanks, the Marauders, etc....); many of the other novels mostly keep a center eye on the main characters (Harry, Hermione, Ron). I love creatures of all shapes and sizes, and therefore....I adore this book. :)
2.The Animagus "Theory" - I love the idea of changing from a human into an animal, something that I would love to do....if I had the chance to do it. This addition opened up a whole new range of possibilities to all us readers -- What benefits do students (and teachers) acquire (being) in an animal form? How many other Marauders are there and what animals can they change into? Could one of Voldemort's followers, perhaps, be a Marauder (and indeed one was: Wormtail)? And the list of questions continues...
3.Sirius - Yes, I believe Sirius was a wonderful creation of J.K. Rowling's, and an excellent addition to the plot line. Sirius was a character whom I not only enjoying reading about, but relating to as well, even though our similarities are few. For one thing, he was considered a type of outcast before being "cured" of convicted murders; though I hate to admit it, I've always felt like an underdog in life, though all my peers, friends, and family say otherwise. ;) Also, Sirius chose to transform into a canine when becoming an Animagus, and I love dogs of all types.

These aren't the only reasons why I love "Prisoner of Azkaban" so much; the storyline of 'PoA' is one I prefer above all the other books, Professor Lupin is one of my favorite characters, and Harry's difficult time as a growing teenager is something that I (and many other teens) can easily relate to.

sniffers~

I think it just flowed much better as a whole book, and besides it introducing a gazillion new characters, it was also good because it didn't have Voldemort as the main antagonist. I liked that since Sirius was thought to have been "you-know-who's" supporter. It was a huge twist at the end, unlike the first two books where it's just one big mystery and eventually you fit together the pieces of the puzzle. This one wasn't really a huge mystery, more of like a huge revelation. Additionally, the tone of the book was lighter than the following books, which I think some people might have liked. And personally, I loved it the most because ALL the quidditch matches were interesting and Gryffindor finally won the House Cup!!

The Voldemort not being the antagonist is why I like it second most. The others were good extras, that weren't necessary to like it more, but did make it enjoyable.
Furthermore, the other books follow the same pattern: Find out about something, escape Voldemort, talk with Dumbledore. This book was quite different, although I wouldn't care to track it.

Book 3 is my favorite because of the multiple twists and two different climaxes (that happen at the same time!). The first time I read it I was waiting for the twist, because there had been one in each of the first two books, and when I came to the fact that Sirius was an Animagus I thought that was the twist and got up to get a drink. While I was going to the fridge I tried to predict what was going to happen, and I predicted that Harry would somehow beat up Sirius and he would go back to Azkaban. I got back to the book and got to the second twist: Lupin is a werewolf! I leaned back and changed my prediction to include Harry beating up Lupin and Sirius and them both going to Azkaban. Well that continued through several more twists and I did multiple double takes at Scabbers being Peter and Hermione having a time machine and Harry saving himself from the dementors. None of the other books caught me quite that off guard as book 3 did, which is why it is my favorite.

I think it really puts forward the "things are not always as they appear" line of thought. And really, the rest of the series continues from this theme. We got a little of this with Snape saving Harry rather than jinxing him in the first book, but it isn't until PoA that we find out so much about deception:

the animagi; werewolf "in the closet" so to speak; peter not dead, etc

Sirius was one of the most popular characters in the books, and he gets intoduced in this one. This book puts more weight on Harry's family, and his past, instead of Voldemort and his future. This book was a nice change from the rest, so I can see why people like it, but I perfer the other ones, so its not my personal fav.

For me POA is my least favorite book. It seemed like a filler to me.

For me POA is my least favorite book. It seemed like a filler to me.

They're all just filler, leading to the confrontation between good and evil.

This book was a turning point in the series. The first two were entertaining and in CoS you start to realize how there is more depth and complexity than it first seems. But with PoA came a whole new dimension, beyond Hogwarts, classes and Harry and the other students, that we hadn't seen yet. Lupin and Sirius, fantastic characters by themselves, allowed us to understand so much more about Harry and his and his parents' past. When I started reading the book, I never predicted we'd learn this much.

The way things unfolded was quite unexpected (to me) which made it even better. And even if they do all link to the overall theme, individually there were also so many great elements in this book. The time-turner, the Marauder's map, the Animagi, Hogsmeade, the Dementors (and their effects on Harry), finally decent DADA classes, profecies, the Quidditch Cup at last...

I'm not sure if it's my top favorite book, but it will always remain very special.

It is also when you realize that seemingly unimportant details like one Sirius Black who had a flying motorbike actually is really important for Harry. In PoA you start to realize the full potential of those books.

we know from interviews that it was easiest book for JK to write of all of them.

personally, my favorites are Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince. this is my order.

Half Blood Prince, Goblet of Fire, Prisoner of Azkaban, Sorcerer's Stone, [then tied] Order of the Phoenix, Chamber of Secrets.

PoA is my favorite book of the series too, which is slightly odd as its not really any better than GoF and even the last two.
My theory:
The first two books have a sweet quality to them. I know JKR has repeatedly denied that they are different from the others claiming they are just as dark and scary as the rest, but I know most fans dissagree and I do too.

In the first book the plot and mistaken identity reveal Snape as somewhat an interesting slightly suspicious person. But as we have only just learned of his existence we have not yet build up a fondness for the character. We have also just learned about wizards and Hogwarts and all of their exiting world so all is taken in with a bit of sceptisism.

The 2nd book is quite humourous as Lockhart,Moaning Myrtle, Dobby and Colin Creevey feature heavily.
We start to know our heroes better and care about them. Then the vilain turns out to be Tom Riddle, who again we have never met before so the revelation that he is Voldemort is not a shock but merely an interesting piece of information.
The vicim (Ginny) is also quite new to the reader so although she is Rons sister we are not shocked over her involvement.

Then PoA gets released. We already know the world, our heroes and the bad guy (Voldemort) so we can get into the story straight away. The book starts of much more dark than the previous two did it and we are introduced to Lupin. A character that we all find interesting and have immense respect for.
The story is build up around a mistaken identity which is always a popular plot. We have gotten to know Rons old rat over the past three books and we are fond of him like we would be of a pet of our own. This means that when Scabbers real identity is revealed we are truly shocked. Furthermore JK throws in the fact that Lupin is a werewolf, Sirius is Harrys Godfather and innocent and the Dementors help make this book much more dark and scary than the rest.

When the fourth book is released our expectations are really high and we are ready for more mysteries and revelations and dark magic Etc. What do we get? -A tournament!
The book is much longer than the previous and we get ever so slightly bored reading through some of the chapters like fx the first bits about the Quidditch world cup and desriptions of the foreign students etc.
GoF is a book that gets much better on 2nd reading as we have been introduced to all the new stuff and characters and we can enjoy how it/they are written.

Our expectation are equally high on release of the next two books. We are now proper hardened Potter Fans.
But we all remember when we first became really engrossed in Harry's adventures. - When we read PoA for the first time. That, I think, is why people are really fond of that book although it is probably no better than the next 3.

I also think that is why a lot of the fans who have PoA as their favourite book were dissapointed in the film. Not because the film was bad, cause it was not, but because their expectations were higher than everybody elses. And when watching the film they did not get the feeling they had when reading the book for the first time.

I think POA is a turning point in the series. Harry learns so much about his past and meets new people who become very important to him. My favorite, however is OOTP. I really hope they don't screw up the movie.

it has many twists. the film was great too though it was not so dedicated with the book. my favorite among the series are half-blood and goblet.

my favourite of the series is GoF, i didnt enjoy PoA as much as the others to be honest

Some people might have been influenced by the movies so they think the Prisoner of Azkaban was the best book. I asked my friend why he says Prisoner of Azkaban was the best book and he replies that Prisoner of Azkaban is the only book that dark secrets are revealed.

this is quite off topic but it's related to PoA...

my favorite movie among the four is PoA. i just love it even if it didn't follow the book that much.

I think at some point in the series, it was alot of peoples favourite. Epsecially when the third movie came out. but now that shift is to Gobet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix. I think people have had time to let the fith book marinate and have really come to see what an amzing piece of litriture it is. It is si complex and the way JK ties everything together is almost genious! As will GOf. HBP i think will get the recognition well after book seevn comes out as many will see how it ties in with everything in the series.

I'm not sure why, my favourite is HBP... Maybe it is because we get to know Sirius, I'm not sure though...

Well, PoA isn't my favorite book, but I think a lot of people like it so much for a couple of reasons. The first reason is all of the plot twists. The plot in PoA is probably the best one in the series so far. It was unpredictable. The second reason would be all of the characters we met. We met a lot of good characters in PoA -- Sirius, Lupin, the insane Trelawney, the creepy dementors.... And I guess the third reason people like PoA so much is because we started learning a lot about the Wizarding World. We learned about Azkaban, a bit about Voldemort, the time-turner, Animaguses, and the Marauder's Map... good stuff.

Personally, I think PoA is subpar to GoF. PoA ranks about 4th in my favorite list (after GoF, OoTP, and HBP). The 4th book had a much better combination and exposition of action, drama, suspense, and yes, even romance (though that's not one of my favorite aspects of the book). Like Spirit says though, the plot twist in PoA is what surprised and appealed to so many people, not to mention the introduction of many people's two favorite characters: Sirius and Lupin. Sirius and Lupin are nowhere near my favorite characters, so I guess that's why I'm also less partial to the book. That and the fact that I already knew the plot twist before reading the book. I'm assuming it had a better effect to those who were reading the HP series and PoA for the first time.

I think it is alot of peoples favorite book becasue it is not about voldemort. It has a completly diffrent story line. PoA is probally my least favorite book, i'm not sure why.

Maybe it's just easier to read than the others. I don't know just my opinion! I liked it though!

Ana Banana

i think it may be because the lack of Voldemort and of course the wonderful plot twists.

PoA is my favorite book out of the series. Why? For numerous of reasons.

Here's my top 10 list:

10. Dementors are wicked
9. Another magical item introduced - Marauders Map (though the invisibility cloak and Felix Felicis are awesome as well)
8. Expecto Protronum
7. Dumbledore's reaction to the aftermath of time-turner sequence
6. Remus Lupin is the coolest DATDA teacher thus far
5. Gryffindor wins the Quidditch House Cup
4. Serius (totally fooled me he did)
3. The plot itself
2. Time-turner sequence
1. Harry and Hermione's biggest adventure together thus far

GOF is the best

I've never really liked PoA. It seemed a tad boring at times and I wasn't all that interested in dementors. I only kept reading to find out more about Remus and the Marauders.
Although, I must admit, it had the best ending out of any of the books.

At first POA was my favorite book because that was the book that introduced me to the series. But now OotP is my favorite simply because in my eyes it's the best of the series.

It's not my favorite so don't ask me. LOL. maybe cuz harry finds out a lot of things he never knew.

PoA is my favourite book for several reasons. I find the dementors really interesting, love getting backstory to the characters, seeing Hogsmede, getting the Marauders Map and Gryffindor winning the quidditch cup. There are also really interesting themes throughout the book of friendship and betrayal. However, what is really great about it is the ending. You have this huge climax where you find out about Lupin being a werewolf, Sirius actually being innocent and Pettigrew the real betrayer(which shows how well she plans her books - Scabbers being introduced early in the first book), and a whole lot of backstory. Then Pettigrew's escape and Harry and Sirius being attacked by the dementors, which are mysteriously dispelled. Then you get the emotional, there is no hope bit, and suddenly, another HUGE climax with the time-turner. I'm also a big sci-fi fan, so I loved the time-travel bit and though she wrote it really well, especially with Harry realising that he'd in fact saved himself from the dementors. I also love the bit at the end where Snape is yelling "THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH POTTER!" He is spot on and there is nothing he can do about it. Another thing is that Harry doesn't save the wizarding world in this book - he doesn't fight Voldemort. It's more of a personal journey for him.

Ah, my favourites run in reverse order to the series-
HBP, OOP, GoF, POA, CS tied PS/SS.
I hate CS and SS with equal venom. I don't know why-I loved them the first couple of times. Just gets repetitive, I guess. I love the SS movie though.

OMG I LUV POA BOOK AND MOVIE LOLZ!:D well I havent read HBP yet..if I did, probably that book was gonna be my favorite!?:shrug: I luv Sirius!Lol he's a wonderful Godfather!:Love: I know people mostly like the HP books that have Voldemort in it because its exciting or watever but I HATE HIM SO MUCH!!! I like all HP books but thats my favorite!!!;):p

Some people believe that it was the most realistic. Personally I loved CoS, I thought that was great and OotP was great, it was the longest, had a great battle, and was funny and showed the characters in a personal light. As far as action goes GoF was the best and as far as giving much needed info the best was HBP.

Personally, PoA is my favourite book because it's so different. It's not your usual Voldemort some how comes to Hogwarts, there chaos, he tries to kill Harry, Harry survives. I thought it was a nice break from that. It's a different story.

The Quidditch emphasis

I liked this book the most until HBP came out! I think that i liked it because it was more about the past! Harry found out more about his parents life at Hogwarts. No so much Lillys but more james! Also it was the first one that seemed "dark" to me! it was much more suspensful! My favoirte book is HBP! HBP also seems to be really popular and alot of peoples whos favoirte was PoA they changed to HBP, i think mainly because of they are the darkest! Sure OoTP was but, it was only to the people who believed that Voldemort was back! GoF was also dark but, there wasn't really a "bad Guy" i mean sure there was a DE at Hogwarts but, know one knew who it was unlike in HBP and PoA where you knew who the bad guy was and knowing i think makes it much more suspensful! Books that are suspensful seem to keep people intrested! But this is just my opniion!

It used to be my favourite (before HBP) because we were introduced to Lupin and he is one of my favourite characters. Also the twist when we realise who Sirius really is came as such a surprise! And the ending is so tense and exciting!

Hmm, not really sure why. I guess because it was a bit of break from the pattern. That and we meet Lupin and Sirius! :love: Right now, PoA and HBP are my two favorites of the series.

... we meet Lupin and Sirius! :love:I'll second that! :drool:

I don't know exactly what it is, a few thoughts I had were:
xx you have to admit, it does make a nice change to have a nice DADA teacher for once!!
xx the plot is very different because Voldemort isn't directly involved and it's the only book apart from HBP where Harry doesn't actually come face-to-face with him
xx we see Harry start to grow up more so for me that means I can relate to him more.
xx the plot twists, eg Sirius turning out to be good, Pettigrew being alive and the one who betrayed Lily and James
xx the great new characters we meet, such as Lupin, Trelawney, Sirius

I'm in total Agreement with Mia305 completley!

It's not my favorite (sorry, I just don't really like Sirius), but I thought it was very good because there was such a huge twist at the end. I was totally blindsided.

And we meet Lupin. :blush:

It's not my favorite (sorry, I just don't really like Sirius), but I thought it was very good because there was such a huge twist at the end. I was totally blindsided.

And we meet Lupin. :blush:

haha. yes i agree. PoA isn't my favourite either, but we met Lupin.

PoA ties in with HBP as my favorite book in the series. I remember waiting for it to come out (the good old days when we had to wait only a year for the books) and it was worth it. It's got the most delicious twist at the end and it's the first book that has an "incomplete" ending, not to mention that it wasn't all that happy either becuase Moony left, leaving Harry depressed and sad. It was really worth the wait and it's always been my favorite.

It may have already been mentioned but one appeal to PoA is that it was the beginning of the turn to a darker Harry Potter. It was the book that clearly marked the mature tone that escalated further with each book proceeding it. Goblet of Fire is my favorite however. The introductions of new characters, the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Yule Ball, and Voldemort's return make it the best book all around IMO.

i was under the impression that, for the majority of Potter fans, GoF was the fave...


i thought the only point-of-discussion regarding PoA was whether or not the MOVIE is good.


For me, GoF was the best book thus far, but PoA is the best MOVIE.

when i was deciding whether or not to read GoF and I finally bought the book and
then the audiobooks, i got more people telling me GoF was their fave more than
when I picked up the PoA book (a couple years later, mind you)

OoP is too ... convoluted, imo... it seemed like Rowling might have realized that she
paced the information too slowly in the first 3 or 4 stories, and, in order to get to the
end by the 7th book and tell all the tales that needed to be told, she had to make the
fifth book bigger and carry Harry off to more places than before. Because of that,
OoP seemed a bit rushed to me. And the action in OoP wasn't the best written, unlike
GoF... Rowling's action sequences have always left me feeling "blah"... but GoF was
the first different... it seemed like she took her time because of all the action the
story needed...

But the coolest part of the PoA was that you got to understand a bit more about
Harry's parents and familial ties... and the concept of three friends becoming
animagi so that they can hang with their friend when he's a werewolf is amazing...
i would never have thought of that...

I like the 3rd, 5th, and 6th books the same, but for a while it was just book 3. I think I liked book 3 because of how Harry met Sirius, and how it seemed like the story was in motion, where as some of the other books have slow points in them where I just want to skip ahead.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! (and Happy Hanukkah!)

Nearly everyone I know thinks PoA is the best of the books! It's a bit odd, because I am not all that fond of it. My favorite of the books is OotP. But I can understand why people like PoA:

-first, it is happy. Perhaps the happiest of the books, because there is no dangerous encounter with Voldemort, no outright fight with his servants, no nerve-racking mission to complete.

-the happiness is enhanced when Harry learns who Sirius is. Harry has always wished for relatives, and we share his joy in finally finding one.

-the plot was intricate, interesting...and brilliant! It is one of the best, if not the best, of all the books. There is something about a good mystery with a good conclusion that is very satisfying.

-the aforesaid intricate plot is quite different from the usual general sequence of events in the books.

-the HP world in general is expanded alot. We meet alot of new characters, learn alot of new stuff. Not that that doesn't happen in every book, but I think alot of it happened in this one.

I think that, in general, PoA is very much in line with Harry's age. It is a time where he has perhaps not begun to feel the pangs of adolescence too much, he still reveres his Father in a childish way and delights in learning about his days at Hogwarts, he enjoys solving this mystery and is, for the most part, out of harms way. Contrast this with OotP, where all the symptoms of the teen years are boldly apparent (he learns his parents were not perfect, is frustrated with his "government," comes face to face with tyranny (Umbridge), is tormented with Voldemort related dreams and feelings, there is a characteristic "encounter" in the end...).

Thinking about all this, I am not suprised lots of people like PoA more. Three words I would use to describe PoA are: happy, interesting, satisfying. Three for OotP would be: frustration, suprise, sadness. And yet I cannot help but like OotP more. the main reason is that I relate to OotP, and I feel that it is very relistic in terms of human emotion. Very realistic. I loved it!...but PoA was great too :D

I think it is because of the introduction to wonderful characters like Lupin and Sirius. Also maybe because it is the only book where Voldemort is not trying to kill Harry?

As for myself I didn't like the series much until I reached POA. Lupin was love at first sight! Now we have excuses to eat chocolate all the time since you never know when a Dementor might show up to suck all the happiness out of us. The story is very engaging, in my opinion.

POA is still my favorite. Although OOTP comes in at a very close second.

Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite for several reasons.

First of all, you learn a lot of background about Harry's father and his friends, and the traitors and the loyalties of some of them. YOu also learn what incredible wizards James and Sirius were to become such large animals all under the nose of dumbledore, and to learn all the secrets of the school!

I also liked this one, as it's the only one where all the teachers think that Harry is under threat (from Sirius), but it's really the only book where he's not!

And last, but not least, I loved the quidditch matches in this game. I know they lose the first one, but Lee Jordan's commentary is so fantastic and halarious! And they win the cup!

I loved POA. It's deffinitly my favorite. I think it's because there's so much suspense throughout the book. I'm not exactly sure why I like it so much...I just do.

Honestly I think it's because of the introduction of the marauder's. Meeting Lupin :love: , learning about Harry's parent's and their past, Harry having a great teacher and mentor, Dementors, werewolves, time-turners, shrieking shack, Scabbers, the darker mood....

I still remember the first time I read POA, and I remember the feeling I had when reading it and thinking of how great of a book it was. The shrieking shack scene, and the revelation that Scabbers was Peter and that Sirius was framed and actually a good guy....it was so crazy, and still one of my favorite chapters from all of the books....then to top it off Lupin turns into a werewolf, everything goes wrong, and then we learn what's been going on with Hermione all year and then we have the time-turner scenes....It was just amazing!!

The biggest thing for me is the back story, learning about Harry's parents and their past and the marauder's. I think that's why POA and OOTP are tied as my favorite Potter books, because they both have a lot of history, back story and marauder's.

It has the most emotional resonance. Lupin was such a wonderful caring character and engaging teacher. There is such poignance when Harry thinks he will be able to live with Sirius, and then soon finds out that can't happen. Harry also found out that some of his father always resides within him because of his Patronus.

Even OotP, where we lose Sirius, didn't have the emotional impact PoA had. Most of the other books are adventures. This one also touched the heart.

POA the book, and the movie, are the only ones in the HP series so far to truly get me engrossed in the world that JK has created, and I think it is because it is the only book in the series so far for me that gets 'the mix' right from beginning to end. There is enough action to get the story moving, Quidditch is given it's resolution as such with Gryffindor finally winning the Cup, the introduction of the Marauders and their connection to Harry and his past, and Lupin who, so far, was the best DADA teacher we have had. It is also the first one to truly grasp at the darker nature of the series and Voldemort is slowly but surely coming to the forefront in this one, as too is the MOM and their shady dealings with the whole Sirius issue and so on. Also, unlike GOF, OOTP and HBP, there is A LOT LESS PADDING and a straight forward plot that is easy to understand on one level, yet has many intricacies that can be debated over even when the new books have been released.

I reckon it might have something to do with all the new stuff, people and info we get in this book.

personally, my fave is GoF

At one point POA was my favorite book, but although it isn't #1 anymore, It's still near the top.

If you were to compare the Harry Potter books to our Solar System, PS and COS would be the inner planets, while GoF, OotP, and HBP are the outer planets. So what would POA be? The asteroid belt ofcourse.

POA had the right mixture of darkness and happiness, and although I felt sad at the end, it didn't leave me weeping with despair.

I also like the introductrion of dementors in this book.

Yeah, you touched on something here that I hadn't thought of... It is a mixture of the happiness of the first books, and the darkness and dispair of the last books.



I think that POA is a favorite of many because of the above reasons, the info about James and his friends, and the begginings of conflict with the ministrry.

Probably because of the insight into the past of Harry's father and the Marauders. The book had a great plot, though I still prefer Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire.

POA has always been my favorite. Really big plot twists, great new characters (who also care for Harry), winning the Quidditch Cup, and all the humor (especially Gred and Forge at The Leaky Cauldron, I still laugh everytime I think about their "greeting" everyone).

But my favorite part of the book, Harry's help from his supporters against the "unfairness" of Snape. I was glad to see, finally, some "payback" for all the nastiness and have some support doing it. As you can see, I do not like the former(?) Death Eater, and that is putting it mildly!

It's not my favorite ... I prefer OotP. However it introduces some interesting characters as Lupin, Sirius and Wormtail, has a good plot with the Marauders and Snape, lots of "scary" moments so I can see why people like it so much.

It's not mine! thought, i haven't read it since I saw the movie. I like the Gof best.:tu:

It is mine, mainly because of everything we find out :

- Sirius
- Scabbers
- How the Potter's died
- The Marauders

etc...

GoF is my favourite. I liked the introduction of non-Hogwarts magicians, the Triwizard tournament, the Quidditch championship, the Ron-Harry fight (Harry isn't 100% goody-two shoes for the first time), Voldemort coming back to life, first real death in the books. It feels more epic than first three books, isn't overlong like OOTP and doesn't feel like a preview of the next book like HBP.

I will say that now, after HBP and OOTP, PoA makes more sense in the overall plot.

Actually poa is my second favorite book, right after gof. I think poa is so great because it introduces a lot of darkness (emotionally that is with the dementors), but at the same time a lot of hope, especially with Sirius and finding the truth about his parent's death.

POA was my favorite until HBP, and now it would be a hard choice between the two, although I think I'd pick HBP and put POA second.

POA was my favorite because it gave Harry real connections to his parents. I know he had Dumbledore and Hagrid before, who obviously knew James & Lily well, but with Sirius and Remus, he had his dad's two best friends plus the extra bond of Sirius being his Godfather. And it showed us more of what sort of man Harry was growing to be, sparing "the rat" who'd betrayed his parents to Voldemort, and in so doing, kept his father's best mates from becoming murderers.

I love all the Harry Potter books and each is my favourite in their own little way. However, when asked to give a difinite answer when asked which book is my favourite, I usually reply with the Prisoner of Azkaban. I really don't no what it is about this adventure that makes it any different from the others but I have simply have a certain fondness for the third book in the series. I have yet to find any flaws with the Time Turner sequence and the plot twists are riveting. New charcters add a new layer to the Potter-universe that bring a wealth of information to give Harry new motivation. Also it is the first time Harry displays a significant amount of magical power, proving himself to be a very skilled wizard.

It's not mine, but there was a lot of back story, and that's always good.

I think because even though it is quite short, it never has a dull moment and I never get the feeling that a part has been stretched or anything.

I like the addition of Sirius and Lupin. I cannot really say why I like POA so much, but it has been my favorite. I do really like HBP as well so it is a close call between the two.

Well, it introduces the Marauders, which Harry's father was in. Remus knew Harry's parents and knew Harry when he was a baby, (I think) the story is more emotional then the first 2. I have to say PoA is one of my favorites! I love it so much. The story also introduces Sirius, and the story behind the betrayal of Harry's parents, and they find out who really betrayed Harry's parents.

Favorite book has to be Goblet of Fire!!! So much charictor development!!! Such a turn in the HP universe! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

I think that the PoA was sort of refreshing for all of us HP fans, largely because it was really the first book that didn't mainly seem to consist of backstory. The first two books were fantastic, but as with any other series, a LOT has to be read about the protagonist's history, and their family, etc. In the third book, not only did the series finally seem to get going-we found that there were still people in the world who cared about Harry. And though both had to leave at the end of the book, there was still a knowledge that things weren't necessarily so dire for Harry. I may not be explaining this well, but I promise it made more sense in my head! lol.

I really loved POA, because for me, the story wasn't as dark as the other ones. It didn't have Voldemort as the main threat of the story, but a "prisoner of azkaban" instead. We had three fairly descriptive quidditch matches and finally and the inter-house quidditch cup. There was a lot of new characters and the plot had just the right mix of adventure, mystery and twist in it. It's not ridiculously long, nor as short as the first two. Everything flowed together, and overall, it was just a really well written book.

I think POA is when you really start feeling like you're personally involved with the books. It was after POA that I got really into HP. I loved the first two books, but after reading the third I was completely hooked to the point of some weird obsession. (Maybe I should get that checked out... lol. Nah, too much fun :) ) I loved all of the emotions and character development of POA, it's a darker and more complex book, but still has the lighthearted HP feel of the first two. POA used to be my favorite book, hands down (I <3 the mauraders! Why does everyone <3 them so much to begin with?), then it changed to OotP, and now I just don't know. Maybe HBP? But yes, I agree with most of what has been said before me about why so many people love POA.

MOST people don't think it's their favourite, but yes alot of people do love it. It is alot of people's favs as it introduces amazing characters, but it's not everyone's favourite.

One of the reasons I love it is because it gives so much explanation, I love books that do this because I feel so smart getting in on it, does that make any sense?

PoA isn't my favorite. I thought it was too involved with the Sirius, Lupin, and Peter, and not enough Harry. My favorite has always been the first, just because Harry is taken away from the Dursleys and brought into the Wizarding World for the very first time, and you first meet the main characters. Its also my favorite movie out of the series. I love when they show Diagon Alley. Its just as I imagined when reading it.

Honestly, I dont know because it's not my favorite book...no wait, I take that back, I truthfully can see how any of the books can be someones's favorite, it depends on what your taste is. It's not in my top three, but it could easily be because only GOF has a true distance from the other books as far as being my favorite-but even that distance is a small one. So I dont know, maybe it's the back story of the Marauders, how we finally get a real sense of Harry's past(or his parents past).

That little extra bit of thickness and the great backstory and insight into the majic world, it was the first book when i thought wow this rowling really has got a series coming out of this. I loved the first two but they look ameteur compared to poa

Honestly, I think it is because POA is a diversion from the Harry/Voldemort saga. In the end there was no real danger to Harry from Sirius, only the demontors were the problem. And we get to see more about Harry's past and people who love him. And we meet Sirius who is so many people's favorite character.

I think PoA was the ideal book, not in the sense of HP content-wise, but rather as a book. It had the right amount of characters, with interesting personality traits, and ofocurse, the handsome prisoner that turns good is always a turn on. I just dont think every other book had an element of a book - it was always trying to pile in more HP content rather find a beauty of a book, and that's what PoA accomplished, and I believe I have read somewhere that even Jo thinks so, because she worked on it more as a book rather as an information guide.

i think a lot of people like this book because of the introduction of some of their favorite characters (Lupin and Sirius) and how this was the beginning of showing more darkness in the books... personally, this is one of my least favorite harry potter books ( i still love it though, but compared to the other ones)

my clear favorite is goblet of fire and half-blood prince, chamber of secrets, and order of phoenix quickly follow (i don't know if in that order though)... i thought prisoner of azkaban kind of diverged from the original plot, but i thought the backstory was interesting...i see why people who say it was their favorite, but i guess i have a different taste of books

PoA is my favourite, I love it. I'm not entirely sure why. I love Remus and Sirius, and this is the first book where we really meet them (seeing as we did actually 'meet' or hear of Sirius in book 1), and we get a lot of backstory which I think is really interesting. We see a lot more of the magical world, what with Hogsmeade and Dementors and Patronuses, and it does seem to have more darkness in it, though as Jo says, PS/SS is plenty dark enough. It's got a lot of really great parts in it, like Malfoy getting smacked, and the happenings in Hogsmeade, and the blowing up of Aunt Marge; and you start to see bits of Ron/Hermione pairing in it. But I just love the fact that it's the first book where we don't see Harry preparing for a face-off with Voldemort throughout the book; in fact, it's the only book where we don't see him at all. And I adore the Time-Turner element at the end. It's easily one of Jo's best plots and plot twists in the series.
Did that answer your question? :lol:

i liked it because it had alot of new characters and new places. And it gave us more backround information. also it was just different from the other books.i.e.no voldermort

I think it's so well liked because of the link it provides to Harry parents and it is the first book that has very little to do with Voldemort, contact wise. We don't see Voldemort in any form in book three. The only real link to him is through Wormtail. That and time travel is so cool and mysterious because we have almost absolutly no idea how it works!

Honestly, I think it is because POA is a diversion from the Harry/Voldemort saga. In the end there was no real danger to Harry from Sirius, only the demontors were the problem. And we get to see more about Harry's past and people who love him. And we meet Sirius who is so many people's favorite character.

i agree. i also admit that PoA was my favorite book before HBP and the same for three of my HP crazed friends.

If I am remembering correctly, I think that it is JKR's personal favorite and maybe people think that it is the best because she thinks its the ebst. In fact, she said it was the only one she thought was good, without flaws.

Other than that, I think it is because of the Marauders and their mystery. James and Lupin and James, Pettigrew the traitor. It just makes people want to learn more! Plus the twist at the end is good, all of them. It is very suspenseful.

Other than that, I think it is because of the Marauders and their mystery. James and Lupin and James, Pettigrew the traitor.

So are you talking about the actual Marauders here, or the names of the actors who are set to play them in OotP movie as there are two James'? :lol:

Well, OotP is my favorite, but PoA is right up there too. As others have mentioned, I like that there's a perceived bad guy other than Voldemort (even though we all know Sirius never intended to hurt Harry). It was kind of a 'calm before the storm' of Voldemort's return. I loved the backstory of the Marauders, and the moment that Harry realizes he conjured the patronus and why his patronus is a stag is one of my favorite moments in the series. I also hold a particular soft spot for PoA because I was so enthralled by the film that it inspired me to finally start reading the books. ;D

GOF is my favourite. I liked POA alot after I finished reading it for the first time because i thought it was so well written (the fact that Sirius was good after all). But after reading it multiple times, i'm kind of tired of it, because you know that Sirius is good in the end, and I hate how Harry still doesn't know that. I really liked OOTP too, but sometimes when i read it it gets boring (especially on the Hagrid's tail chapter) but i REALLY love the whole Umbridge part. When I was reading it for the first time, I just wanted to kick her, because I hated her so much. Especially when harry and the twins got banned from Quittich, I hated it soooo much , but at the same time i thoguht it was brilliant that Jk can make you feel those strong emotions as hate.

Yes I have noticed that many people say that it is their favorite book. It does introduces some new characters. I think taht for me I was ready for a more mature Harry to come. There are still some major limits to what he can do. By the fufth book though he is really starting ot test the waters and see what he can do. He is becoming a leader ex. the DA.

Honestly, I think it is because POA is a diversion from the Harry/Voldemort saga. In the end there was no real danger to Harry from Sirius, only the demontors were the problem. And we get to see more about Harry's past and people who love him. And we meet Sirius who is so many people's favorite character.

i agree as well. POA is my favorite book. I think it is that we met many new people in it, and we met Sirius, which a lot of people absloulty love.

I noticed that most people like PoA the best, too. My best friend and sister are among them. Personally, I found it kind of boring. The end was absolutely unexpected, but I still found other books more exciting. I love all the HP books, but PoA wasn't my favorite.

My favorite HP book is Chamber of Secrets - which I think is one of the books picked least as the favorite. Go figure:lol:.

i have no idea why everyone likes this the most. I mean its good but not even close to my favorite. This is the only book that Voldemort doesnt make an appearance in and he is what makes the action in these books so interesting. Plus i hate when anyone messes with time travel, it always seems so dumb of a thing to do (to me at least).

I think that I enjoy it so much is that there is soooo much introduced. We learn of time travel, divination, dementors, you get the 1st inklings that the ministry cares more about image than truth. Harry gets the Marauder's map and starts to learn serious DADA magic. You get to meet Harry's parent's 2 closest friends and their biggest betrayer and then :wow: plot twist! the betrayer isn't who you thought it was and it all ends with Harry knowing the truth about Sirius but Sirius still has to go on the run, because nobody in authority will believe the truth

Lots of people like it because that was the book Sirius showed up in.

I like it because it's the book that Lupin showed up in. But it's not my favorite.

The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book in the series because it really makes the most clear to me the ties that bind Harry to Hermione and Ron--love, loyalty, trust, and friendship. JKR then takes these ties and parallels them to Harry's father and his friends. She then throws a twist into the mix--the betrayal of the Potters by one of their friends. The symbolism is nice too. Harry's Patronus takes the shape of a stag--thus giving Harry his first real tie to his father. Harry is able to save himself, Sirius, and Hermione at the end, and I think the fact that Harry can produce a Patronus is the first view of Harry as a powerful wizard. Again, the ties that bind Harry to his friends and Harry to his father via his friends revealed in PoA make the novel my favorite. And let's not forget Dumbledore's words to Harry at the end when Harry informs Dumbledore that he thought he saw his father conjuring the Patronus that saved him, Hermione, and Sirius:

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him."

Since I think Dumbledore may be dead but not gone, I think these words are going to be extremely important in Book 7. Incidentally, PoA is my least favorite movie in the series because it neglects the very ideas I mention above. The ties of friendship between Harry's father and his friends are virtually ignored, and the symbolism of Harry being able to produce the stag is nonexistent.

New characters (Marauders), more angst, more darker, history revealed more and it was just the most enjoyable for me. Shorter than Harry Potter 4,5,and 6 and still as juicy.

I don't know why I like it so much to be honest. I just think that it's a really good plotline. And the thing with the timeturner and all of that. And yes, I'm sure that Sirius' first appearance has something to do with it. I like it, but it isn't my favorite by any means. Order of the Phoenix owns that spot.

I liked it because it didn't follow the same plot line of Voldemort scheming to get Harry, the trio figures the diabolic plot and outsmarts Voldemort once again. It was a nice change of pace with cool characters. :slyth: pride!

The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book in the series because it really makes the most clear to me the ties that bind Harry to Hermione and Ron--love, loyalty, trust, and friendship. JKR then takes these ties and parallels them to Harry's father and his friends. She then throws a twist into the mix--the betrayal of the Potters by one of their friends. The symbolism is nice too. Harry's Patronus takes the shape of a stag--thus giving Harry his first real tie to his father. Harry is able to save himself, Sirius, and Hermione at the end, and I think the fact that Harry can produce a Patronus is the first view of Harry as a powerful wizard. Again, the ties that bind Harry to his friends and Harry to his father via his friends revealed in PoA make the novel my favorite. And let's not forget Dumbledore's words to Harry at the end when Harry informs Dumbledore that he thought he saw his father conjuring the Patronus that saved him, Hermione, and Sirius:

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him."

Since I think Dumbledore may be dead but not gone, I think these words are going to be extremely important in Book 7. Incidentally, PoA is my least favorite movie in the series because it neglects the very ideas I mention above. The ties of friendship between Harry's father and his friends are virtually ignored, and the symbolism of Harry being able to produce the stag is nonexistent.

This is a really excellent response :clap:. I think I actually like PoA better now that I've read this:lol:. I mean it - this is one of the best things I've read on this whole board.

dito. to everything said above. It's the best. And if you think about it, no matter how depressing the book is with harry's past and everything. It has the most happy moments in it too. It's almost as if you have to have a lot of bad to appretiate the good.

- Aunt marge blowing up
-summer in diagon alley
-hagrid professor
-lupin professor
- harry's first crush
- hermione standing up to malfoy

- harry's new firebolt
- marauders map insulting snape
- fred and george(in my opinion) are the funniest in this book
- hogsmead
- getting back at malfoy IN hogsmead
- winning the quidditch cup
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
- in the end having a godfather is a good thing!

PoA is my second favorite, under an HBP-GoF tie. I love PoA.

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him."

*coughTHELIONKING!cough*

I think what I love about PoA is the atmosphere. We're introduced to Trelawney and her cooking sherry smells, and to Sirius, and to HOGSMEADE.

I can understand why everyone likes it, but prefferably my favorite is the Goblet of Fire.

I liked PoA very much, I liked the time travel plot. But OotP is my favorite out of the series so far.

... POA is actually my least favourite of the series... (OOTP is my favourite)
But, all my friends seem to like POA best..

I recently Re-Read PoA and then re-read OotP right after it (I know out of order). Anyway when I re-read PoA it became my favorite book, but then after reading OotP that one is now my favorite. I like PoA because they introduce so many new characters that are really crucial to the storyline in the books following PoA. I liked this book because he learned so much about his parents and what had truly happened and how they were killed. It was a very entertaining book. I especially liked the Time-Turners and the Dementors.

PoA has been my favorite until the release of HBP; now, I can't decide. I love PoA, though, because it's the most emotional to me. Harry finds out so much about his parents, the way they were killed, the way his father was in school. He connects with his dad's friends and his patronus is his dad! That gets me every time.

It's interesting to me in reading this thread--it seems like those who don't care for PoA have OotP as a favorite. I feel exactly the opposite; I love PoA but don't care too much for OotP. I wonder what it is about these two books that puts them either at the top or bottom of people's lists.

PoA has always been, and I think will continue to be, my favorite of the series. Good as GoF and HBP were, they'll just never top how I feel about PoA.

I agree with what's already been mentioned about the diversion from Voldemort - it was a nice change of plot after PS and CoS (the second which - at the time - seemed rather like a hiccup trying to drag out the Voldemort plot from PS).

I also love the pacing - esp in regards to what is revealed about Sirius: first we find out he wants to kill Harry, then we get hints from Mr Weasley and Draco that Harry would have reason to persue Black, then we find out 'omigosh, Black was James's best friend, and he betrayed the Potters!' And the later scene when Black breaks into the dorm room - love it.

Then there's the crazy suspense in the Shrieking Shack scenes - I seriously had to keep putting the book down because it was just too exciting and plot-twisting: it was suspense overload. Sirius is the dog! He's gonna kill Harry. No, Harry's gonna kill him. Lupin's here - hurray! Oh no - Lupin is bad...or maybe not - is Sirius good? Gaah, Snape just showed up! Snape's gone: but is Black good or bad? Holy smokes, Peter was the SK, and he's really Scabbers?!...etc etc. It just drove me nuts - I loved it.

I also like that it involves more, well, 'normal people' - as opposed to Voldemort. It was easier to relate the characters of Sirius, Lupin, Peter and Snape - their motives, their past relationships, etc. When Harry learned of the Sirius's supposed betrayal, when Sirius and Lupin prepared to kill Peter for his treachery, when Snape gleefully spoke of handing Lupin and Sirius over to the dementors (and later went postal when Sirius escaped) - I could really feel for the characters and their struggles. And I could also feel for both 'sides' (ie Snape vs the Mauraders, Peter pleading and cowering in fear, the idea that someone could betray a close friend) - it had meaning for me. Voldemort is still too much of a cipher for me - I can't peg him - he's just 'the paragon of evil' - I can't relate to him.

Plus, gotta love the Maurader's Map, the Snape/Marauder angst - but in the right doses.

I think PoA is the most hopeful book among the series. It took off on a lighter note, with Harry being glad for the first time that it was his birthday, and receiving all those wonderful gifts. Then we discover Hogsmeade, which is fascinating enough as it is, as it gave us another full-blown glimpse on the magical world of wizards. The desire to win the Quidditch finals (poor Oliver!) was built up even more, and the game was such a thrill to read. We imagined Percy dancing like a maniac (suits him well, I tell you) and Prof. McGonagall wiping her tears with a Gryffindor flag out of sheer joy. We discover the Marauder's Map and find these troublemakers, who solemnly swear they're up to no good, just the coolest. Then there was the mind-blowing slap, which had us mentally cheering for Hermione and laughing at Draco. All the inconceivable twists followed, and we found ourselves with new characters to love and hate.

These things pretty much made it for me. OotP will remain my favorite among the series, but it's closely tied with PoA.

I am one among those who love PoA, and I do so because I love the plotline--it provided great backstory, excellent humor, and the action was fast-paced. I also love the themes of friendship and loyalty it emphasizes.

It is because its our first real trip into the past and the past lives of the characters we love and hate. We also meet Remus and Sirius, two of my favorite characters and for once the defense against the dark arts professor is not a supporter of Voldemort or a just plain pain in the neck.

I think what was particularly good about it was how it was a good mystery and how they're were so many subtle clues and pieces to the puzzle that just fell together perfectely at the end to create an amazing twisted ending! I loved it very much, especially how everything went wrong. Problem with Half-BLood Prince, at least in my opinion, was that the pieces of the puzzle were a bit TOO minor and insignificant that they make you just go "huh?" rather than become enlightened

I think it is many people's favorite because it doesn't lead to a showdown with Voldemort. And, at the end, the bad guy turns out to be one of the "goodest" guys on the good side. That's one of the things that's really made me like the book (although my faves are GoF and OotP). Also, there's nothing wrong with the DADA teacher. In the other five books, the DADA teacher has something very wrong with them, and that contributes greatly to the plot.
1. Quirrell: Has Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head
2.Lockhart: Vain and foolish with a tendency to wipe people's minds and take credit for their work.
4. Crouch as Moody: Good teacher, but ends up being a Death Eater
5. Umbridge: Does everything in her power to get rid of Dumbledore and supporters, makes Harry's life miserable
6. Snape: is... um... Snape, and even those who think he isn't evil have to agree that he is a pretty miserable teacher to have, and I think we all know his part in the plot twist...

But Lupin is one of Harry's favorite teachers... probably his most favorite (pardon my grammar... rather, the lack of it), he teaches very well, turns out to be one of the best mates of James, and is a good person (granted, he's a werewolf, but a good one. Actually, I find it interesting that our first introduction to a house-elf is one who wants to be free, while most don't, and the first werewolf we meet has every desire to be part of wizard society, while most don't. But I digress.)

PoA is a great book because the story begins to get darker and the characters more complex. Of course, it's also great because of the introduction of the Marauders :love: and had a marvelous plot twist with Scabbers.

I loved it mainly because the story did not follow Voldemort being the main bag guy. Of course it started to get darker and the introduction of the Mauraders.

Well, it's my favorite book because it's the one that Sirius is introduced in. That and because there was actually a good DADA teacher for once!

the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite book for many reasons, its the book just before real major voldemort drama begins, Sirius is revealed, there are loads of maurader era referances, Snape is extermely put out at the end and we actually learn ablut defence of the dark arts.

It is my personal favourite and the one I've read the most for many reasons. I love the twists in the plot and I found it less predictable than the first two. This was the first one to really suprise me with the plot, something I regard highly in my choice of book.

Also because we learn a lot of back history which explains things learnt but never explained in PS and CoS. But while explaining these things it is still fast paced, something lacking in later books I feel.

And most importantly - at the end there is a large feeling of happiness. Gryffindor have won the Quiddich Cup and House Trophy, Harry now has a nice family member (all be it one on the run) and all is just about good, minus Wormtail escaping. But there is a general wellbeing after reading it.

1.poa :love:
2.gof
3.ootp
4.cos
5.ss
6.hbp

1. I love the plot and it was well written. :love: :tu: :clap:
2. There isn't a dull moment in the book. I enjoyed everypage of it.
3. I didn't feel like there was any part that was stretched.
4. I just loved reading about quidditch in this book. I enjoyed it so much and it made me lol alot. :lol:
5. I love good mystery, special one where the bad guy is watching and hunting the main character. You get that with sirius (rep. the bad guy until the end) watching and following harry and sending the firebolt.

I start reading the books after I saw the 4th movie, so I new what the book was about and the twist but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of it.

It was just a great book.

I agree that part of it's popularity, was the introduction of Sirius, and lupin. We get to learn about the Mauraders. But I think that it's also popular because this is the book where Harry begins to show his magical potential. Not only does he learn about patronus charm, he peforms it better than most adult wizards. Repelling 100 Dementors was pretty inpressive. Prior to this book, the only thing he was really good at, was quidditch.

All of us meet Sirius and Lupin, no one dies, he learns about Patronuses and actually performs one, and he gets the map and Firebolt.

All of us meet Sirius and Lupin, no one dies, he learns about Patronuses and actually performs one, and he gets the map and Firebolt.



:clap: Yes! That is so true. I would also add that we learn a lot about what happened the night Harry's parents were killed. The scene where they are all in the shrieking shack, to me, is the best scene in the series (or one of the best). All the history we get in that scene makes it my favorite book in the series (along with all of the things mentioned by rupertfan27.

I wouldn't use the excuse of individual events, but rather the book as a whole rubbed off on us in a totally differernt way then SS or CoS. The overall theme of the book was just on that the majority of HP readers enjoyed more then the themes of the first two books.

POA has always been my favorite book, though OOTP is up there to. I think the reason why POA is so many people's favorite because it's gives Harry a break from Voldemort really that year, and meeting Remus and Sirius as well makes it enjoyable because you see that Harry is finally able to connect more with his parents.

I think it might be because it's so different. The whole atmosphere of the book is not the same as in the others. First of all, we meet all the marauders, and most of them are lots of people's favourite characters. Then there's no showdown between Harry and Voldemort at the end. Instead you just learn lots about the past, and the reversal of time is really cool. And the dementors are a great new bunch of creatures that are introduced to us. But it's not my favourite book, I just know why it is for some, I think.

The story is interesting, the action is great from the very begining. And Lupin and Sirius appear :)

It's my favorite cuz
-The new characeters, w/ Sirius being my favorite!
-All the stuff you find out about Harry's parents lives. I thought it was so cool.
-The plot was just sooo well done, I started the book thinking one thing, and by the end it was just completely turned around. It really made me start looking at the books differently.

The story is the beginning of the darker side of the books. And it introduces many peoples favourite characters: Lupin and Sirius.
Goblet of Fire is my favourite book, personally.
But I'm starting to shift towards Half Blood Prince only because Voldemort is one of my favourite characters, not because I like him, because I am so interested and intrigued by him and that book gave us so much information about his life.

when i first started reading the harry potter series i thought the first two books were good, but poa got me hooked on the series. The plot is the best out of all the books. I also loved how harry finally felt like he had some family and people cared about him. Lupin was also a good teacher probably the best so far. Although poa is not my favorite book, Hbp is. Half blood prince is the best because it gives us so much information about lord voldemort, that is why it is so interesting, and my favorite. Poa is the second best tied with OOtp

PoA was my favourite before HBP came out. I used to re-read PoA a lot because Voldemort was not there in any form (vapour, memory, body, etc), we learn so much about James and his best friends. We get a glimpse of what happened that night at Godric's Hollow. There is Lupin who is such a good teacher. Snape and his vulture hat was so funny. Then you have Malfoy getting slapped, Buckbeak and Sirius's escape..all these things add up to PoA being a "good" book. But HBP is my favourite now. Instead of re-reading PoA, I re-read HBP.

Where can I even start? We meet Sirius and Lupin and learn more about Harry's parents. Harry learns how to make a Patronus and Draco gets hit by one. That was awesome. I really loved the whole time turner sequence and how they were able to save Sirius and Buckbeak. With Pettigrew fleeing back to his precious Voldemort, PoA leads the way to the rest of the series. This was unlike the first two which ended happily for everyone.

I liked it I think because it wasn't so focused on Voldemort, and had more of Harry's and his parents history because we meet Lupin and Black and Pettigrew. Though that was when there was four books since then I've preferred OotP, even though I've read PoA 20 or more times! :D

I like that she tells the end of the story twice, you think you know what`s going on when we hear Buckbeak was beheaded and you learn in the second end, that you can only trust your eyes. It has a surprising end, people are not, what first meet the eyes. It has great charakters (Sirius and Lupin) and I find the dementors and the grim wonderfull scary. It also have magical settings (for instance Hogsmeade) and the idea of the Marauders map is great, especially when you know, who wrote it.
In these book it`s the first time in the series we really start to understand how deeply JKR has plotted out the whole series. In PoA you start to realize the full potential of those books.
The theme of the book is, that you had to see under the surface to know whats true. But in my opinion this is also the reason, why many people doesn`t love these book.

POA and HBP are currently tied for first place for me

POA seems to be the most magical for some reason, and i LOVE the dementors and the time turner sequence is the best sequence in any of the books IMO

although, i really wish Jo wouldve dont the dementors the same as the movie
i know the movies came after, but i really like the dementors in the movie a lot better

I thought that most people seemed to like GoF the best. PoA is definetly my least favorite of the series. I was in the fourth grade when I first read PoA and either I didn't understand it too well or I just didnt' like it. I reread it this year and it was a whole lot better the second time around, although I've read G0F at least 20 times, no lie. I think it's just the most exciting of the series.

POA and HBP are tied for my favourite books. For some reason, POA is the most magically written book in the series. It's the last innocent book of the series because as of yet, no body has died. The best part was Harry and Hermione were able to go back in time and save Buckbeak. As a result, they save Hagrid from a heart-breaking loss. We also see Sirius and Remus and how they interact with Snape. The Shrieking Shack is my favourite scene in all the movies and films. The interraction between Snape and Sirius is absolutely hilarious. Okay, now that we know why Snape reacts like he does, it's not as funny. But at the same time it is. Here are two people who are supposed to be responsible ADULTS. One of whom is a TEACHER. They see each other and they become two five year hurling insults like "You've got coodies", "You're a Poopy head" "My Dog could jump higher than your dog" "Oh Yeah, my Mom can STILL do a walk-over and a back handspring and your Mommy can't" "Oh YEAH, well My DADDY is the CEO of Canter Fitsgerald". They then grab sticks and start throwing them at each other until as sensible adult--Remus Lupin comes in and say "BOYS, stop it now. Severus get in the house now. Sirius, go home. I shall talk to your Father. Now shake hands boys and say "I'm sorry"." They do shake hands but turn around and stick their tongues out at each other.
We also see more of Snape in this movie. The Shrieking Shack scene is priceless--one for the two five-year-olds stuck in the bodies of 30 something MEN. We also see Snape snap when he sees Sirius, and realizes for once HE is the one in control.

Also, Harry hears his Parents' voices and gets more insight to them. Especially Lily. First he hears people can tell he is James Potter's Son--he is a spitting image of him. He also has his Mother's green eyes. In POA, however, Remus tells Harry what a beautiful spirit his Mother had. She saw the good in all people and stood by him when he was at his worse.

All-in-all, the book is a magical read. The movie is amazing and thus far, my favourite. It is also the last book before anyone dies. Plus we see the kids grow from little kids into teenagers. Plus I thought Dan's best acting was in this film.


HBP ties as my Favourite book. Though it takes a slght lead. We meet the Half-Blood-Prince. In Harry's eyes, this "Half-Blood-Prince" kid, is the coolest kid ever. He helps Harry soar from failing Potions to being at the top of his class. Plus the Half-Blood-Prince has some pretty cool ticks up his sleeve--hence the "Levicorpus" spell. If this HBP kid was still a kid and Harry didn't recognize him as being Severus Snape, I get the impression Harry MIGHT have befriended him. But then we learn that this cool Half-Blood-Prince kid is none other than Severus Snape. He in a sense went from being the COOLEST of the Cool to Harry's Worst Enemy with the snap of a finger.
I have re-read this book more than the others. It's such a wonderfully written book. Yes, the innocence is gone and it's the darkest book yet. But, at the same time, there is something magical about it. The book leaves us hanging. It also leaves me wanting more. I WANT to read more about Severus Snape's past and his upbringing. I WANT to learn more about James and Lily Potter and even though I HATE them and would whack them on the head with an Umbrella, I want to learn more about that Prissy-Snob Petunia Dursley. She's got a secret and I want to know what it is.
I trust Albus Dumbledore--as stated in other posts, therefore I trust Severus Snape. Having said that, What happened or was said that makes Albus repeatedly say "I trust Severus Snape". We all know it was more than a teary-eyed "I'm so sorry..." Something happened that we don't know about. Something Albus opted NOT to tell Harry. Plus this question. Out of all the times Hagrid has had that "Oops I did it again" "I should NOT have said that" "Pretend I didn't say that" "You did NOT hear that from me". Why didn't he say what he heard? I for one believe Hagrid heard a LOT more than he told Harry. Why, oh why Hagrid did you NOT say "Well Severus said....--oh **** I should NOT have said that"?
HBP has me salivating like a Pavlov dog after hearing a can opener to read the last book. Out of all the books, this one has me anticipating the Seventh book like a high strung Child who has eaten way too many Candy Canes.
Okay, I will stop now.

POA is my fave. i remeber thinking before this book that if harry just (!) has to face voldemort once again i would probably give up on the whole series. i was so happy that voldy didn't make an appearnce.

i love the new characters that were introduced. an the plot twist at the end is writing at it's best (in my opion!)

i really liked hbp but then, again in my opion, anything would have been better ootp

PoA is my favorite book because it takes such a twist at the end. It's a huge surprise and everything turns out opposite from what is expected. It's also nice that nobody dies. :) Parts of it are just so fun, specially the Marauders Map, and the new classes (I love Trelawney's), and the time-turner sequence at the end was great.

PoA is my second favourite book in the series after GoF. I like it because we get to meet Lupin and Sirius; we also get to find out more about Harry's parents from then than we did in the first two books. I also like that instead of the usual Harry and Voldemort show down, there is the Timeturner sequence of events-the coolest ending in my opinion.

I think I posted this before somewhere, but HBP's ranking improved upon my re-reading of this book:

1. GoF (quidditch championship, tournament, non-British wizards, Voldemort coming to life, the Harry-Ron rivarly)
2. CoS (humour - Dobby and the legendary Hogwarts entrance and professor for DADA, Harry learns he has additional powers handed over from Voldemort, Polyjuice potion)
3. HBP (possibly most humour since CoS - the quidditch match, Loona comments, Ron affected by the Love potion, great plot about Snape, we learn more about LV's past and how he can be defeated, and talk about a memorable ending of the book)
4. OOTP (dementors, Umbridge, Voldemort comes to the MoM and fights Dumbledore, more Sirius - if only a tad long)
5. PS (more humorous, like CoS, love the "erised" mirror story, we get to know the wizard world)
6. PoA (yes we see the Marauders and dementors, Harry starts to be aware he is a good wizard - patronus - I just think there is something missing when Harry isn't facing Voldemort at the end. HBP compensates that with its shocking ending)

maybe that everything in PoA was in favour of Harry e.g patronuses and above all his DADA teacher

up until poa, the books have a sort of innocence. poa is far darker and depressinig, which i personally prefer. i didn't realize how complex and well-developed the series was until i read the end of POA. no matter how many times i re-read it, POA amazes me everytime.

PoA isn't my favorite book, but I think people like it, because you get to know Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. There is also no Voldemort and there is a lot of James/Lily time history. You basically learn a bit about the darker side of magic.

Ive been looking around at a lot of profiles lately and there seems to be a pattern of people picking Prisoner of Azkaban as their favorite book in the series. Why is this? Is it because Harry meets Sirius? Or, is it because we find out more about how Harry's parents got murdered? Perhaps because the storyline is more exciting? Please let me know why people!
Well, PoA isn't my most favorite book of the series, but it is (so far) my most favorite movie (though I like them all). And I believe that's due to Alfonso Cuaron's talent.

My favorite book to this point is Goblet of Fire, there is something very pivotal about it, Harry has a collision with his destiny and Voldemort returns. The return and battle in the graveyard was a remarkable bit of writing.

Even though POA isn't my favorite book out of the series (mine is OOTP), I liked it very much. I thought that this book was second best out of the series, but the reason that people like it is because it has nothing really to do with Voldemort. Yes, he is mentioned, but he isn't a main character as in the other books. It isn't as... sinister... as the others either.

-Simon

I like POA the best because we are introduced to a lot of backstory, and because of all of the quidditch.

I like it because it is not only the introduction Sirius Black but its a pivot in the plot its when things start to get darker and more dangerous for Harry and he realises it. Also because the DADA is the best its been yet, well because everyone loves lupin!

Hmmm ... ot sure really. I just found it a very exciting and intimanaiting! We learn a lot of The Marauders past and such and we meet three new characters, and I even thought Sirius was this bad guy the first time, but after, he was my favourite character and still is! Theres just something to it though ...

Hmmm ... ot sure really. I just found it a very exciting and intimanaiting! We learn a lot of The Marauders past and such and we meet three new characters, and I even thought Sirius was this bad guy the first time, but after, he was my favourite character and still is! Theres just something to it though ...

It was the best in terms of writing. It was solid, well paced, well written and basically just oozed class. JKR was at the top of her game with PoA.

Its personnel my favorite because we meet Sirius and Lupin, their my two favorite characters in the whole series. We also get some more back story on Harry's parents how they died, we learn about the Marauders. Go back in time and we meet Buck Beak too:clap:

It's one of my favourite books, because the whole story began to become very complex there. We of course know now that it already was in PS/SS, but in PoA we get different backgrounds I really love (especially about the marauders - it's amazing to read about the friends of Lily and James). I also still know nobody who had guessed that Sirius isn't the bad guy - well done, JK!


It's also very well written (short - also OotP is my favourite now ;)) and includes a lot of good ideas. I love to read about Harry living alone in Diagon Alley. Hagrif becoming the new Care for Magical Creatures teacher is cute. Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup - just yah! Hogsmeade weekends. It's just a book full of good ideas, a fantastic main story and very well written. :love:

well. you are right abt POA being most people's favourte book.... i am so... one of them. well I love POA because Sirius is my favourite character and he enters in this book... secondly you come to know more in detail about hogwarts, harry-ron-hermione friendship, and it has such a happy ending....

It isn't my favourite, but I think it's because of Sirius and Lupin, generally loved characters, and because it's the first book with more complicated plot.

I like POA but I think it was because we get to meet Sirius and Lupin. But in my perspective my favorite is COS.....

POA is also my personal favourite. I liked it the best because we meet James' and Lily's school friends. Harry has met people who knew his mon and dad, but this is the first time we meet their friends and get a much more intimate look at them. I love Sirius and Lupin too, but more importantly I love what they bring to the story. They can share stories of what James and Lily were like before they died, I think thats important.

Well, first of all, its a huge twist. Probably even bigger than HBP twist (Snape is a half blood and he may be on the dark side) because we all, secretly or not, believed Snape to be and evil wizard. And also, something good actually happended to Harry. Yes, he escaped death, but getting into the danger of dieing is what most people would consider bad. Harry finally discovers that he has a relative that doesn't hate him. And the crush Harry develops on Cho, and the fact that they win the Quidditch cup. Personally, I think the OotP is the best. A lot of good things happen to Harry, and again its the biggest twist yet.
The more in depth introduction to Animagus (not the right form, i know) is also a mind boogler. It stirred up this frenzy of "would you become an animagus" and "what animal would you be" or "what do you think i would look like an eagle". Somewhat related to that is the Patronus Charm. Readers (even though Hogwarts students may not be) are always wanting to learn about new magic. The challenge of learning the Partronus Charm is something we can all relate to because we all go through school, right? I said that Animagus and the Patronus Charm are alike because of that similar frenzy. Instead of "which animal are you" its "which animal would you like to 'protect' you" or the obivious "which would be you patronus?" All this building up to the surprise of them all. Readers are confused and exilerated at the same time because there are so many things happening at one time. I think you get my point.

and what is with those stars that people have under their number of posts?

Though I love POA, my favourite novel would have to be OOTHP, because of the unveiling of Dumbledore. To witness him shed a tear was heartbreaking.:upset: go :gryff:

I loved PoA because that's when my favourite character (Lupin) enters Hogwarts. I also love Sirius, and I love the fact that Hagrid finally got to teach !

I think the reason is because we are introduced to many new great characters, such as Sirius and Lupin. We learn much more about them, and it also has a lot to do with Harry's fathers past as well. It also has a great twist. I love it so much. It has to be one of my favourites. Main reason, beloved Lupin is in it! LOL!

PoA is definitely my favorite. I'd say i liked it because the story was quite simple yet intense. Many characters were introduced. There's even a touchy moment for harry and his godfather. No encounters with Voldemort or any sort of harm for harry (cept for the dementors of course!) The story was way different from the others. and yeah, its the best for me.

Personally, I find it very confusing. My favouristist by far is HBP. PoA doesn't have a showdown with Voldy. Although I do loves se Lupin, he would have to be my favourite part of the book(although a comical image of a fat lady blowing up like a balloon and floating to the ceiling is quite good also).

I enjoyed the Time-Turner and getting the Marauders Map. Meeting Sirius and Lupin was great too. But where's the encounter with Voldemort? To be honest, I found most of the book relatively boring. (Of course, I haven't ever encountered really boring in a HP book, but this one was the most so.)

I liked it the most untill OotP came out mainly because I was 13 when I read it first, I could related better. and I felt like the whole Ron and Hermione thing was great, you could see how they were going thru what I was seeing my friends do. And I liked Remus and Sirius and Harry had gotten a little cheekier and it was funny. But now OotP is my fav. because starting an illegal defense group just because the ministy didn't want us to is something I'd do.

It's really the perfect Harry Potter book, embodying all the strengths of all the other Harry Potter books. It has the whimsy of the first 2 books, the intricate mystery of GoF, the character development of OOTP, and the backstory of HBP. It's a happy medium between the terse prose of the first 2 books and the copious detail of later books. It works really well as a standalone just as much as part of the greater story. Everything comes together so elegantly in the end: the cat/rat fight, the grim, Buckbeak, the time-turner, Crookshanks' behavior, werewolves: so many things that at first, you wouldn't think have any relation whatsoever to each other.

It was also a really great idea not to include Voldemort in this book (as well as HBP). It ruins Voldemort's mystique if he appears at the end of every book to be foiled like some typical Scooby Doo villain. It's much more scary when his appearances are random and unexpected.

Actually, I don't know why people like it so much.I read it years ago and I remember I found it boring(sorry for that).My favourite is GOF

I enjoyed the Time-Turner and getting the Marauders Map. Meeting Sirius and Lupin was great too. But where's the encounter with Voldemort? To be honest, I found most of the book relatively boring. (Of course, I haven't ever encountered really boring in a HP book, but this one was the most so.)


yeah, the time turner is really cool too.

I really liked the book, but it's not my favorite. I love the books where the plot thickens a bit, and PoA was one of them. It was my fave out of the first three, though. I loved the new characters and I loved how different the story was. I loved how youy find out more about Harry's parents' death and about the way they died. I also loved how Harry finally discovered Sirius and gained a valuable relationship for his troubled life.

I liked it most because (at least when GOF was the latest book out) it was the most different in the series, mostly because Voldemort wasn't in it. Its my favourite because the Marauder's Map seems like such a cool thing to have, especially with the Invisibility cloak. Plus we learn we learn more about James's and Snape's past, which I find really interesting and, at last, it looks as if Harry can actually have a "parent" or someone to look up to. It made me feel kind of happy that Harry could have someone like that at last, which just made it even worse when Sirius died...

yeah, I didnt like it that much either. My favorite is OotP. I will have to admit that it is the best book out of the first 3 in the series, though.

Order of the Phoenix was my favorite too. It just seemed so much more COMPLETE than the other books. Don't get me wrong PoA was good.. but I think it might honestly be my LEAST favorite..