J.K. Rowling is the author of the world renown Harry Potter septet. Rowling’s third book in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, first published in July of 1999, followed the life of the young wizard Harry Potter as he grew in knowledge of the past and traveled from his terribly ordinary summer home, with an abusive aunt, uncle, and cousin, to what would have been his anxiety free magical school had a dangerous prisoner, apparently set on finding Harry, not escaped from the highest security prison in the wizarding world: Azkaban.

As the story progresses, Harry, with the aid of his friends, Hermione, Hagrid, Ron and his family, in addition to a select few professors, learns to be more confident in himself and in his abilities. Most, if not all, of Harry’s progressive actions are brought about by the care of his close friends. As this is this case, one may conclude that a major theme of the story relates to the motivation friends can provide for a person, one would be correct in making this conclusion. Remus Lupin, an instructor at the school, takes Harry under his proverbial wing and teaches Harry how to protect himself. Eventually he becomes a close friend to Harry. Later, Harry is swarmed by a hoard of dementors and he, through use of the techniques Lupin taught him, is able to save himself and say “‘I knew I could do it this time...because I had already done it,’” (Rowling 412). Harry is referring to the casting practice he had with his friend Remus Lupin that helped prepare him for interactions with dementors. That fact that a major feat, saving Harry’s life, is accomplished as a result of a friend’s aid is a major indicator that the theme of friendships being important is very prominent.

Overall, the book was excellently composed with swift changes in the direction of the plot, important life lessons that should be learned by all, fantastic character development, and a realistic, “unseasoned” portrayal of relations between friends. I would most definitely recommend this novel to others. All readers should consider reading this novel as they will enjoy the fantastic tale, but those who have an especially deep interest in the genre of fantasy and those who have an especially deep interest in novels that deal with the “ups and downs” of friendships should consider reading this one as they will be pleasantly amazed with the amount care that went into the writing of this great novel.