Out of the three Harry Potter books I have read so far, this one is probably my favorite. This is most likely due to the fact that though the first one was great, I was still getting used to the world and wasn't as emotionally invested in all the characters. The second one was great as well, but for some reason - after some deep reflection - I realized that the ending left me feeling just a tiny bit disappointed, but I can't say the reason without spoiling (it's kind of hard to explain anyway, definitely one of those things that makes sense in your head but not so much when you write it down). However, in The Prisoner of Azkaban, I was completely enthralled and satisfied with the story when I finished the book. 
 I loved how we learned a little more about Harry's past - the early books in this series so far definitely give the reader a "setting-up-the-story-for-bigger-things" vibe, and I have no doubt that by the last book, all hell will break loose, and I'm looking forward to it. As usual, the twists and turns left me breathless, and by the last few chapters, after I had processed all the new things that we learn, I was stuck by the sheer brilliance of the plot. J.K. Rowling has some imagination. I'm beginning to have extremely high expectations for her books. I loved the Quiddich matches, loved learning about hippogriffs and boggarts, loved everything in general. I was, however, miffed at how often Harry and Ron fought with Hermione; she did do quite a few annoying things, but I felt like the boys should have realized sooner that her heart was in the right place, as Hagrid put it. 
 There is definitely a pattern going on here: Harry has some kind of quarrel with the Dursleys (all of whom I would like to turn into mice and leave alone in a room full of hungry cats), he goes to Hogwarts, he discovers something sinister going on, he solves the mystery, the school celebrates, he goes home, and then it all starts over again. It made me think of A Series Of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket - for the first seven books or so, pretty much the exact same thing happens. You'd think that this would get annoying, but J.K. Rowling makes each adventure fun and new, so I don't even care that it's the same. I cannot wait to start The Goblet of Fire and find out what's going to happen next. 
 (view spoiler)[And I think it's hilarious that every time a book ends, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher quits or leaves for some reason. It makes me wonder if Snape will ever actually get that job. (hide spoiler)]