It seems I went through all of February without a single post. Oops. Well, I am back now and this week’s post is about the Harry Potter books, a series near and dear to my heart. I will be ranking the books in order of my least favorite to my absolute favorite. Please note that I am in no way a professional critic of literature and that these are just my own personal opinions from having read the entire series at least ten times by now. So without further ado, here is my list. Also warning there are spoilers!
In 7th Place: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Let me begin by saying that I really love this book. However it is being compared to the best of the best so it just can’t win. That being said, there are reasons it is my least favorite, with the main reason being how little the school reacts when the chamber is initially opened. Animals, ghosts, and students alike are all getting petrified by a monster and the only security measure taken is a rule put in place to not wander the corridors alone. No school closures, no search parties to find the monster, nothing. Considering the fact that Myrtle died fifty years ago (and no one thought to go back and ask her about it until Harry and Ron put two and two together) and that the reason nobody died is sheer luck, it is ludicrous to think that any school, even one like Hogwarts, wouldn’t shut down way before Ginny ever went into the chamber (which by the way, I still can’t figure out how the professors figured out she was taken so quickly). Also, I find it odd that there’s no mention of a single parent withdrawing their child from the school when all of this was happening.
In 6th Place: Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone
It’s the book that started it all. However the intensified waves of nostalgia that this book emits is not enough to give it a higher ranking. It’s the shortest book which means it didn’t dive in as deep as the others, and the themes couldn’t be as intense because the trio was still very young and it’s clear that this one is aimed more at children (not necessarily a bad thing, but as I am now an adult…). Like any good book that’s first in the series, there’s a lot of character introduction and background information but it’s mainly surface-level. Also, it really irks me that the name of the book was changed to Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S. because of concern that we wouldn’t understand what J.K. Rowling met by ‘philosopher.’ This point is completely unrelated to the actual plot, but I wanted to mention is anyway because I think it’s annoying.
In 5th Place: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
What I absolutely love about this book is Harry’s growth. He starts out fainting during dementor attacks, to producing a corporeal Patronus at the lake. He also initially wants to kill Sirius when he believes he was the one to betray his parents, but ultimately shows mercy towards Peter Pettigrew after realizing it was really him that did it. But this book is not ranked closer to the top for two reasons; with the first being that nobody realized Sirius was innocent. Yes, I realize Peter faked his death but this still seems like something Dumbledore should have been able to piece together. At the very least, Dumbledore should have pulled some strings and gotten Sirius a hearing before he was sentenced to Azkaban (but that is a rant for a different post). The other problem is the Time Turners. The Ministry of Magic being alright with letting some students use them to attend multiple classes seems extremely out of character for them.
In 4th Place: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The fourth book is in fourth place. I loved Cedric and how his death in this book shapes the tone of the fifth book and beyond. The tasks for the Triwizard Tournament are well-thought out, especially the maze. My only issue with this book was that there didn’t seem to be any real reason Harry couldn’t back out of the tournament. I mean, he didn’t actually enter himself so he didn’t willingly engage in the contract, magically binding or otherwise. And even if he was, because it’s so dangerous, they could have just had him purposely lose every competition to allow the others who actually entered to compete, without Hogwarts having the advantage of having two competitors.
In 3rd Place: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Wow, what an amazing end to the series this was! It wrapped up all loose ends perfectly. Voldemort died as a human, Harry retires the Elder Wand, and of course there is Molly Weasley’s iconic line “Not my daughter, you bitch!” This was a fantastic book. My only issue is how ridiculous Harry’s names for his children are. I mean, Albus Serverus, really? If you’re going to name your children after people, name them after better ones, like Neville.
In 2nd Place: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
This is the book where we get to learn more about Voldemort, or I guess, Tom Riddle’s, background. I loved learning about Merope and her story and then reading about Riddle gradually becoming Lord Voldemort. We also finally learn about the Horcruxes after Harry retrieves a memory from Slughorn while under the influence of liquid luck – which is highly entertaining. It’s also the first time Harry is actually suspicious of the correct person (Malfoy trying to assassinate Dumbledore) which is an interesting change. And of course, Ron and Hermione’s relationship finally gets going. My only issue is that Harry, as unobservant as he is, did not recognize Snape’s handwriting in his potion’s book.
In 1st Place: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This may come as a surprise. I know a lot of people don’t consider this to be their favorite, but I love this book so much. Many people get annoyed with ‘angsty Harry’ but I love it. I love it because it’s real. After everything he went through in the graveyard, he begins to break. He experiences loss, anger, and PTSD. J.K. Rowling makes him so wonderfully human. He’s no longer ‘the boy who lived.’ In many ways, he’s just ‘a boy.’ And of course Umbridge is an incredibly well-written villain. I have never enjoyed despising a character more. We’ve all had to face our own ‘Umbridge’ whether it was in the form of a bad teacher, coach, etc. Most of us haven’t faced the evil of a ‘Voldemort’, but we all have had to face an ‘Umbridge,’ which is why she is the best villain I have ever read or watched. She demonstrates that authority isn’t always right, and that sometimes people in power and even the media can lie to you. Many people may believe them at first, but eventually truth will triumph. And most importantly, this book proves that a group of ordinary students, can actually make a difference.
If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!