The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Genre: YA Fantasy

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré: 0038332164718: Amazon.com: Books
Blurb (on back of book): Ever since Harry Potter had come home for the summer, the Dursleys had been so mean and hideous that all Harry wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange impish creature who says that if Harry returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girls’ bathroom. But then the real trouble begins – someone is turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possible be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects… Harry Potter himself!

MY OPINION: ****

This review is long overdue and I apologize for forgetting all about it in the past week. I don't know how it slipped my mind considering it's Harry Potter but we are all human.

This particular novel of the series has always been my least favorite, quite frankly because I remember it taking forever to finish the first time I read it. It's not the most interesting in my opinion, though we do get the delightful additions of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Buckbeak. I love all of those characters but this book as a whole has always been the slowest in terms of pacing for me, which is strange since it's not the longest one by far.

Harry and his friends have really started to mature by this novel. Harry has learned to fight back against his awful family, most especially Aunt Marge, who is one of the most despicable characters in my opinion. She has no right to disparage his parents and himself but she does so anyway because that's just who she is.

I liked how Hermione played more of a role in this novel because she was neglected in the previous one due to her Petrification. She is definitely my favorite character of the Golden Trio. I love seeing the representation of a smart female character because more often than not, the intelligence attribute is given to the male characters. I could completely relate to how sensitive she was throughout the novel, and loved her hate-love relationship with Ron. She is just hit the beginning of adolescence and teenage girls are very complicated sometimes and I loved how she was portrayed realistically. I admire her determination in school.

I love the addition of Sirius Black because of the character development we get to see in both him and Harry. He is at first vilified and made out to be a deranged criminal but as we soon see, he is more of a father figure than Harry has ever had in his life and I love him for that. Sirius is definitely my favorite of the Mauraders and I can't wait to see more of him in the next book.

This book was set up fairly similarly to the previous books, though the real enemy was the Dementors rather than Voldemort. The trio go on various adventures while also balancing friendships and classes and uncover some important secrets that will change Harry's life forever. I love the setup because although it is redundant, it is familiar and just screams Harry Potter.

The time traveling is definitely my least favorite of this book. I think that anyone who tries to deal with time travel will always inevitably end up with confusion and plot holes. I like the way it was done in this book but I would have rather not have had it in the book at all, especially since it is barely mentioned again after this one.

I adore Lupin as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He really cares about his students and teaches them effectively and is everything you want in a professor. On the other hand, Snape is as inherently biased as ever against Gryffindor and especially Harry (though I obviously know why). I can't wait to see his character development over the series.

The Dementors are creepy and instill a sense of fear throughout the book that I really enjoyed. They seemed much more formidable than no-nose Voldy.

Draco Malfoy is the love of my life and there is nothing more to be said about that.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for an iconic fantasy series!

Main Character: Harry
Sidekick(s): Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, etc
Villain(s): Dementors, Peter, etc
Fantasy Elements: This book is based on a fantasy world.

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