Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

This book has to be one of the most well-written and well-planned books that I have ever read. J. K. Rowling should be a mystery novel writer with how well she set up the twist at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban. It is at once completely unexpected and entirely plausible. As I read the novel this time around, all I could think was how much planning it must have taken to plant all of the little clues that led to the end revelation. It's absolutely brilliant. And Rowling wrote it in just a year, which is ridiculous.

Prisoner of Azkaban also sets up so many events that drive the rest of the series. Without Pettigrew's escape, the next four novels wouldn't have happened. Voldemort wouldn't have had a servant to help him return to full power, and who knows if he would have ever regained power again. As much as I hate the fact that Pettigrew gets away, it was an essential part in Harry's journey toward destroying Voldemort for good.

The Good: Really, what's not to love about this novel? Harry getting his first ever birthday presents; Harry blowing up Aunt Marge; Stan Shunpike and the Knight Bus; everything about Remus Lupin; Defense Against the Dark Arts classes; Fred and George giving Harry the Marauder's Map; Harry getting the Firebolt; Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup; Ron and Hermione standing firm with Harry, even to the point of giving their lives for him; Lupin and Black telling their story in the Shrieking Shack; "You're both mental"; the introduction of the idea that the dead we love are never far away: "In a way, you did see your father last night. . . . You found him inside yourself."

The Bad: Malfoy taunting Buckbeak, getting attacked, then milking his injury for all it was worth; Harry and Ron's anger at Hermione—seriously, that poor girl is always the odd man out; Snape's complete refusal to even hear Sirius out because he's still so consumed by his school-boy grudge.

The Ugly: Ron's leg snapping as Sirius pulls him into the Whomping Willow; Snape's incredible fury when he finds that Sirius has escaped.