Reading the last Harry Potter book is a vastly different experience from reading the first one, so we’ve attempted the impossible by ranking them with as much objectivity as we can possibly call up.
Maybe the passage of a decade turned Rowling into a different, and dare we say, progressively better author. Maybe the ambition of having to write the most popular book series of the time hadn’t yet bled into the pages of the story of the Boy Who Lived. Whatever the reason, it’s true that whenever I pick up The Half-Blood Prince to read my favorite chapters, what I’m confronted by in tone and theme is a far cry from that sweet, unassuming tale of an 11-year-old who gets invited to a world of magic and wonder, away from the cruel confines of his adoptive parents.
Writing this list presented me with a huge challenge. I might rank one book higher than another, but I find that it didn’t mean I like it any less. Even the worst Harry Potter book is still a very decent novel, and worthy of acclaim, at that. So have that in mind before taking a trip down memory lane and reviewing the wondrous adventure the Wizarding World took us on from 1997’s The Philosopher’s Stone to 2007’s The Deathly Hallows.
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Surprisingly enough, The Chamber of Secrets also finds itself at the bottom (or top, depending on your perspective) of most Harry Potter movie lists. That alone proves the problem lies not with Rowling’s writing or expansion of this fictional world, but the story itself. There’s something deeply stale and uncompelling about The Chamber of Secrets, and no amount of Tom Riddle foreshadowing is going to fix that. Still, as I mentioned earlier, even the worst Harry Potter book is still a very decent read otherwise.
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Potterheads usually praise the way The Goblet of Fire twists the narrative with its ending, and I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment, yet when all is said and done, the idea of spending the majority of the book in the Triwizard Tournament makes for a structure that’s awry and incongruous. Then again, maybe J.K. Rowling intended it to be that way from the beginning. Cedric Diggory’s sudden death marks a discernible change in tone for the series and continues to haunt Harry himself to the end of the series.
5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The Philosopher’s Stone is the book that started it all; the book that asked its readers to come aboard the express train and leave their disbelief behind, for on the other side of that mountain of pragmatism lay a world unlike anything they’d ever imagined. A world that restored the innocence of our youth and made it possible to believe — even if temporarily, even if for the brief while of holding the book in our hands — that magic was real. And yet, it is only a testament to Rowling’s literary and storytelling accomplishments with the rest of the series that I’m compelled to put The Philosopher’s Stone all the way up here.
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Prisoner of Azkaban is now considered a cult classic both in the cinematic medium and the literary domain that gave it birth, and it mostly has to do with the third act of the book, where Harry and Hermione use the latter’s Time Turner to save Sirius Black. That’s not the reason, however, that I think so highly of it. In fact, what I love about The Prisoner of Azkaban is what the second book, The Chamber of Secrets, failed to accomplish. In many ways, The Prisoner of Azkaban feels like a natural continuation of the Harry Potter series, not only building on its mythos, but also giving us more information about Harry’s past and legacy.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Half-Blood Prince is probably the most controversial Harry Potter book, but the movie version has made Potterheads appreciate it for its subtleties. The memories we see of Tom Riddle in this book really build him up as a villain. If Voldemort was a cartoonish monster to be thwarted in The Philosopher’s Stone, and yet again several times after it, this is where readers began to fear his twisted mind truly. He Who Must Not Be Named is here, and fans are going to realize just what that means for the Wizarding World. (And yes, all those Harry/Ginny moments also contribute to The Half-Blood Prince’s amazing pace, unlike the movie, which totally butchered their relationship.)
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I love it when stories get political and show us the undercurrents of a fictional world, and The Order of the Phoenix certainly fits that criteria. Voldemort is back, but nobody is willing to believe Harry or Dumbledore. What’s more, the Ministry is actively trying to undermine Hogwarts and more specifically Dumbledore’s authority in it. This leads to the creation of Dumbledore’s Army by Harry and their eventual fight with the Deatheaters at the end of the book. The Order of the Phoenix marks one of the most emotionally devastating moments for Harry when Bellatrix kills Sirius, and that is followed up by an epic fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort. I mean, if you thought their fight in the movie was climactic, just wait until you read how it goes down in the books.
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Whenever a beloved series is coming to an end, there’s an incredible amount of pressure on its creator to deliver on the high expectations. For J.K. Rowling, that pressure must have been crippling. Yet the author confidently strides in with The Deathly Hallows and brings the story to a satisfying conclusion. Sure, some things would’ve worked better if they had more time to simmer, but with what she decided to work with, J.K. delivered an amazing final chapter to the story of the Boy Who Lived. Even now, I’m left utterly gobsmacked and in tears when I read “The Prince’s Tale” chapter. Yes, even after all these years. Always…