4.5 This is definitely my favorite of the first four. Besides all the fat-shaming at the beginning 🙄, there is a lot to love. The complexities of Hermione and SPEW, Harry’s internal struggles/suffering, little hints at romance, lots of mystery, bits of Neville’s history, friendship development, and the beginnings of the larger story of the next three books. Also I’m realizing that Snape is not nearly as lovable in the books, at least at this point. But I found myself finally kind of liking Harry again in this one, flaws and all, and I got chills at the climax of his story.

Phew. If you like twisted, disturbing, gritty YA, this might be for you. It was a slow read for me for a while, but it eventually sped up and definitely did have my heart pounding towards the end. If that’s what you look for in a book, I would recommend picking this up. I will say I was a little put off by the representation of mental illness, but I think that is common in thrillers, which I would personally categorize this as. Ending is unsettling af. Trigger warnings abound.

More like 2.5. I love magical realism but this just did not capture me. I found myself pushing to get through it and was underwhelmed by the conclusion. Not for me, but It was sweet and I can understand its popularity.

Creepy and unsettling and weird in the best middle-grade way. In fact I think the fact that it was middle grade may have made it more creepy somehow. It gave me a strange sense of nostalgia too, I think partly because of the era in which it was written/set, and partly because of how well the author captured what it’s like to be a child of that age.