Introduction
It took me 4 months (which I acknowledge is entirely too long) to read through all 7 of the Harry Potter books. While it took longer than it should have, I truly enjoyed every single moment of it. Believe it or not, this was only my second read-through; my first being when I was in middle school. Because it had been so long since I had read any of these books I had forgotten all of the subtle differences between them and the movies. It was almost as if I was I was reading these books for the first time. I finished the final book back in December and honestly, I have felt like something is missing. So this blog is my feeble attempt to hang on to this magical (yes pun intended) story one final time.
While all of these books have their place in the series, they are not without their faults. Because of this, there are certain books that I believe are better and contribute more to the story than others. Unlike the Chronicles of Narnia however, I believe that overall Harry Potter is better from book to book.
This list is my opinion and only my opinion. As I said, I enjoy all of the books in the Harry Potter series, but there are without a doubt standouts. I will start with my least favorite book and work my way down to my favorite. I apologize in advance if your favorite book is toward the bottom of the list.
* Disclaimer - I will also rank the movies at the end of the list as well.
Ranked
7. the Chamber of Secrets (book #2)
While there is nothing inherently wrong with this book as a whole, I do believe that it is the weakest entry in the series. For starters. this book doesn't really add much to the overall story of Harry Potter. This book, while capturing the same magical feel of the Sorcerer's Stone, tries too hard to be a follow-up. As I said, this book doesn't add much. The most that this book does to add to the story is to add the idea of horcruxes; which isn't even revisited until the sixth book in the series the Half-Blood Prince. This book gives the reader another chance to visit the wonderful world of Harry Potter, but other than that it does not offer much to the reader.
6. the Goblet of Fire (book #4)
Unlike the Chamber of Secrets, the Goblet of Fire is quite enjoyable. There is a pretty big gap between these first two books on my list, but from here on the books are closer to each other. This book adds so much to the story and world of Harry Potter. Not only do we learn that Hogwarts is not the only wizarding school, but we finally see the return of Voldemort; a payoff that has been coming since book one. This book also has great character development with most of the main characters in the series and has one of the best twists in the entire series with Mad-Eye Moody in the end.
5. the Sorcerer's Stone (book #1)
Okay, I know some of you are going to be upset that this book is so low on the list, but I promise that I have my reasons. I love and adore this book. Without it we would not have the rest of the series. But, it does have its faults. This book has somewhat of a slow start. Which for me personally did not hinder my reading, but I know that for many it will be a discouragement to continue reading. This book also has a lot that it has to do. It has to introduce the characters, world, places, and trends that the reader will see throughout the rest of the series; and there is a lot here. This book is amazing and does a great job introducing the reader to its magical world, but that's is really all this book serves to do, introduce us into the much larger story fleshed out in the latter books.
4. the Order of the Phoenix (book #5)
We are starting to get into my favorite books in the series. These final four books are all so good, so don't hate me too much for where they fall. This book is fantastic. It has so much going on within its pages. Even though this book is the longest in the series, it does not read like it. I just checked my Instagram to make sure that I got the number right, but I read this book in 5 days. I literally could not put this book down. We are introduced to several new characters such as Luna Lovegood who quickly became one of my favorites, or Dolores Umbridge who in contrast is in my top three most hated characters in the series. This book also has one of the saddest endings in the series, but I wont spoil it if you havent read it yet. Let's just say that this book is when the series gets dead Sirius......
3. the Prizoner of Azkaban (book #3)
I adore this book. This book is where I truly began to fall in love with this series. This is partly due to the fact that this is where the books start to lose their kid friendly tone in favor of a darker more serious one. This book also introduces sereral of my favorite characters in Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. I don't have much to say about this book other than that I truly love this book.
2. the Deathly Hallows (books #7)
This book had to accomplish so much. There had been so much build up in the series that this book had to be able to pay it off. And honestly, IT DID. This book does such an amazing job closing the story. Not only do we see good triumph over evil, but we see the growth and success of many of the characters that we have come to know and love. This book also serves to redeem my favorite character in the series, Severus Snape. There is also a nice bonus in the epilogue where we get to see the next generation of young wizards boarding the train to Hogwarts. (When Harry called his son Albus Severus Potter I teared up.)
1. the Half-Blood Prince (book #6)
This book is my absolute favorite in the series. There is so much that happens in this book. We finally get the payoff set up in the Chamber of Secrets with horcruxes. (took long enough) But more than that, there is so much character development within the pages of this book. This book has such a great balance of action and developement throughout. However, be prepared, because this book has all of the feels, and perhaps the saddest ending in the entire series.
Conclusion
I cannot believe how much I enjoyed reading through this book series. I am also suprised to admit that I now not only have a LotR obsession, but the beginning of a Harry Potter obsession as well. If you have not read through this series yet. I emplore you to take a chance and dive head-first into this wonderful world.
Bonus - Movie Ranking (best to worst)
1. the Half Blood Prince (#6)
2. the Deathly Hallows pt. 2 (#8)
3. the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3)
4. the Sorcerer's Stone (#1)
5. the Goblet of Fire (#4)
6. the Deathly Hallows pt. 1 (#7)
7. the Order of the Phoenix (#5)
8. the Chamber of Secrets (#2)
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