This is not an easy choice to make. I had to go about it by deciding why each one wasn't my favorite until I had one left that I liked more than the others.
Chamber of Secrets (2) was the first to go. Gilderoy Lockhart is my least favorite of the DADA teachers (he's the one I forget when listing them all). I don't like the flying car in the beginning. When I first read it (actually, until I read Deathly Hallows) I didn't like Dobby very much. Just an all-around "meh" (as compared to the other books, not in general... it's still a great book).
Half-Blood Prince (6) is the next off the list. I can't really identify what I don't love about it, but if I were standing in front of my bookshelf deciding to read a Harry Potter book, this wouldn't be one I picked up.
The next one gone is Sorcerer's Stone (1). It's the one I've read the most, and it's beloved because it started it all, but it doesn't capture the essence of what I love about Harry Potter. It's like defining myself based on who I was in middle school instead of who I am now, if that makes sense.
Order of the Phoenix (5) goes next. I think this stems from having Cho as a love interest. (Don't get me wrong, it was great for the story; it's just not one of the best parts.) I love to hate Umbridge, and the whole Dumbledore's Army thing is great. Plus, the Department of Mysteries at the end is wonderful.
The next one to be eliminated is Deathly Hallows (7). Part of it is probably because I've read this one the least, and part of it has to do with putting Harry in the Jesus role. Sure, I don't think I took half a breath the whole time I was reading it for the first time, but now that I can step back and analyze it all, this is not my favorite. It is my favorite movie (yes, I claim two movies as my favorite), because it's epic and beautiful and sad in just the right way, and Part One has my favorite scene ever (Hermione and Harry dancing in the tent).
And the last one to go is Goblet of Fire (4). I like the World Cup at the beginning, and the introduction to Death Eaters and the Dark Mark. I like Moody (but I like him more after Deathly Hallows). I don't like Dumbledore's absence, or Harry's isolation. But the movie... if you don't get a little choked up every time you hear Mr. Diggory scream, "MY BOY!!!" then your soul is more fractured than Voldemort's.
Which leaves us with... Prisoner of Azkaban (3)! Lupin is my favorite DADA teacher, and I liked the introduction of the dementors, the boggart, Buckbeak, and the Marauder's Map and the tie-in with Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, & Prongs. I'm torn on the Time-Turner (I have great suspension of disbelief, and I like how it was used, but still... why does it never come up again?) and I don't like Hermione being shunned for so long, but that's okay.
Unlike Alex, I know EXACTLY which book is my most favorite HP book. Coincidentally, it's also Prisoner of Azkaban, but for entirely different reasons (in fact, the reason I love it is the reason I hate book 5.)
I love Sirius Black. LOVE him. I think he's such a great character and such a beacon of hope for Harry and he's the first REAL connection that we have to Harry's past. Yes, we hear about Harry's parents from Dumbledore and other peripheral characters, but Black was James's best friend. We learn things through Black that we would have never heard otherwise.
And it's also so heartbreaking! We learn the truth behind Harry's parent's death. We finally figure out what happened and the story and all the things that were just faint whisperings to us until this book.
And of course, I like it for some of the reasons that Alex does. I really like Lupin and he is easily the best dark arts teacher. I like that it's the first year Hagrid teaches. And I like that it's the first book that the trio doesn't get along. They have problems, just like normal friends.
I also have a nearly impossible time deciding which one is my favorite. Order of the Phoenix is definitely my least favorite. Umbridge is the devil incarnate, and so evil I just plain hate her. Not love to hate her. I seriously wanted her to die a thousand horrible deaths. I also didn't care for Luna Lovegood upon first meeting her in this book, although she grew on me by the end of the series. I also agree with Cassy, I was not happy about Sirius.
ReplyDeleteI really think I have to make a three way tie between PoA, GoF, and HBP. I LOVE Cedric, and was so mad that Robert Pattinson blasphemed himself by accepting the role of Edward, but I digress.....I liked that GoF gave us lots of info on Ron's family and showed wizard culture from other countries. It also felt more fun than the others, since it had many lighter aspects. I think it was a perfect mid-way point of the series.
I liked HBP and PoA because of the back stories we get about James, Lilly, Petunia, and Snape. Also, in HBP, Hermione and Ron finally make the obvious steps to be a couple, although they are not entirely solid until Book 7. I also like Harry and Ginny's relationship at that point. However, If I absolutely had to choose I suppose I'd choose PoA as my absolute favorite as well because I LOVE Lupin. I mean LOVE. He is my absolute favorite adult character, with Arthur and Molly coming second/third.
I feel like I'm biased toward PoA because of my Sirius Black love. Also, it's the one that I've read the most. I started reading the book around the time that book four came out (so, in middle school sometime), and I blew through all four of them and the, a little while later, borrowed book three from my friend.
DeleteI also get distracted by other books every time I go to reread the series. So, I've read 1-3 about five times and only the later books once. I think that if I reread HBP, I'd like it a lot.
But I just think that those first three books have a lot that the latter three don't. (also, they FINALLY win the Quidditch cup in book three, which I was LITERALLY on the edge of my seat the first time I read it.)
Heh. Yeah. I feel like the sixth book was pretty strong. You should read it again. It was a lot of backstory and lots of setting up for the 7th book. I also disliked the fifth one because Harry was really emo and whiny.
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