Time After Time

Blog Post 13

Every time I reread this series, my favorite book within it changes. The first few reads when I was between the ages of 8-10, my favorite was always Chamber of Secrets. Once I got a little bit older from the ages of 11-15, it switched to Prisoner of Azkaban. From 15-18 it was Order of the Phoenix, and after this reread it’s officially changed to Deathly Hallows. It’s quite evident that as I got older, my preferences for the books changed as well. My favorite book always has a correlation between my age at the time of reading to the age of the characters within.

When I was younger, I think my favorite was Chamber because it was only the second book of the series. The magic was still so fresh and being only 8 years old, it was much easier for me to grasp the content in Chamber than it was in the later, darker books that followed. Harry is only 12, so it was a close enough gap that I still felt I could relate to him, unlike I could with the later books. I remember I used to be so scared of the Basilisk which made me love this book even more because seeing Harry conquer it made me feel like I didn’t have to be as afraid.

Once I got a little bit older, it switched to Prisoner of Azkaban. When I first read Prisoner, it was my least favorite because Voldemort wasn’t even really in it. I wanted real action with the real villain. Once I matured a little bit though, I realized I loved Prisoner due to the character development. I was only a 13 year old girl so I mostly was obsessed with Hermione and had so much respect for her. I wanted to be just like her: the smartest in the grade, the best friends she could ask for, and still a badass. I also loved the new characters of Sirius and Lupin and hearing about the Marauder’s, so it was easy for me to reassign this as my favorite.

Due to the inevitable passing of time, my favorite changed yet again. Moving on to Order of the Phoenix, it’s not surprising angsty Harry was my favorite at the same time I was an angsty teen myself. Other than that reasoning, it was my favorite at the time because it was when the series finally switched from being more than just a children’s book. I felt I was no longer a child, so reading it when Harry was in exactly the same situation made me relate to it more. The series was no longer just a light hearted children’s read, but it finally took on an aura of so much more.

Now, finally on my most recent reread, my favorite has officially switched to Deathly Hallows. This was my favorite on this read because it’s finally where everything falls together. Every little hint and foreshadowing Rowling left us in the previous books finally come to light and it’s so great to see it all make sense. It also deviates from the pattern and they’re no longer at Hogwarts just like I’m no longer in high school. Major changes are happening for me right now just like they were for Harry. Nothing is the same, but you just have to accept it.

While my favorite book continues to change, my overall love for the series never falters. I’m curious to see how my view on all the books will continue to change as I get older and I can’t wait to see how my point of view on everything continues to evolve.