VB10: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Another bad summer leading into an eventful, villainous third year at Hogwarts School. But author J.K. Rowling has maintained the humor and inventiveness so that the repetitive story elements provide a framework instead of leading to boredom. I’m certainly curious to find out how well she’s done in the fourth novel. Rowland also spends, to good effect, some effort on character development, so that we aren’t stuck in an unchanging Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew world.