Favorite Book?

[Asha Grace Collins]

The question that won't let you sleep.  What is your favorite book out of the series?  Personally I can't decide between number three and number five, but that is mostly because I love Sirius and Lupin.

[Nupur (Calypso) Maheshwari]

Ooooh.. Book 5 was definitely my favorite. Angsty Harry was (in my opinion) hilarious, there was splendid Ron/Hermione development, Umbridge is someone you just LOVE to hate, and Jo finally proved that Harry's friends weren't just props. Of course, I was bawling over Sirius' death for days, but even then, we DID get to see loads of him before he died. Did I mention that Angsty Harry was hilarious? :D

[Christina]

I TOTALLY agree! Sirius is on of my favorite people in the book! I don't think the puffiness of my eyes went down for about a week!

[Ashley Mullinax]

I really like the whole Peter Pettigrew plot twist in book 3, but then I also love Severus' story in book 7... I can't decide. But, I would have to say.... Book 6 would have to be my favourite. It's (for the most part) ALL about Snape! How could you not love that?

[Nadya]

Book five, for sure. It's the one I've read the most times out of the series. I absolutely love all the Fred and George parts, and all the backstory about Sirius, the Marauders, etc. It's such a funny book, but so depressing at the same time. I can never decide how exactly I feel about it.

[Nupur (Calypso) Maheshwari]

*virtual high-five* I gotta admit, it IS depressing, but never quite as much as the sixth or seventh... and that's part of the attraction of the book. If you consider books one and two combined to be essentially one book (they're so short!!!), the 5th book falls almost perfectly down the center of the subject-matter spectrum, with the lightest at the beginning. It has just enough sad things to keep it from being too light, but it also doesn't weigh the reader down.
I mean come on, the others never stood a chance!!!

P.S. - I would just like to point out that, whether she did it by accident or on purpose, the fact that the books followed that sort of pattern is proof that Jo is a genius. Just sayin'.

[Nadya]

That's very true! Good point. *virtual high-five back*
Yeah, it just keeps going back and forth, putting happy/funny scenes right next to intense or sad ones, and never really gives you time to recover. Juxtaposition, ftw! I think that's what makes the book go by so fast for me, even though it's really long.
I agree, the end of the 6th and the whole 7th book were extremely sad, but I thought it was a different kind of sadness than the 5th book. Maybe because the last couple of chapters in the 5th book were so focused on the emotions, thoughts, and all that, and there wasn't really much action to distract the reader from them. Or it could just be that I got quite attached to Sirius, and his death was the one that hit me the hardest.

But I'd be willing to bet that Jo had all those patterns planned out. She is undoubtedly a genius.

[Nupur (Calypso) Maheshwari]

Hmm... I never thought about it that way. You're right. It was different in the sixth and seventh, because there was relief mixed in with the sadness, while it was angry sadness in the fifth. You know, because Harry was being stupid and caused Sirius' death. But still, I can't help but think that maybe that had to happen. Harry didn't really trust others one hundred percent until after his own foolishness had lost him the closest thing he had (left) to family. So it really did have an important influence on him. Well, other than depressing him enough that he stopped accusing his friends of siding against him. :P

[Nadya]

Yeah, yeah, I suppose it had to happen...
That's true, it definitely changed him a lot. I don't necessarily blame Harry for what happened, but the way it happened was really frustrating. It was something that could have been prevented SO easily, and the first time I read it, it seemed to just come out of nowhere, and was a huge shock (of course, reading the book now, I am amazed by how it is filled with foreshadowing of his death).
Haha.. yes, finally, one of his traumatic experiences convinced him that his friends aren't liars. I knew there was a silver lining in there somewhere!

[SingularityStar]

I hated the fifth one so much the first time I read it. Angsty Harry got on my nerves, but after multiple readings, I think it's my favorite. Umbridge is such a fabulously evil character and I love Lockhart's little cameo. Plus, the whole Dumbledore's Army rebellion is just so awesome.

[Nupur (Calypso) Maheshwari]

DA = win.

[Leah]

Definitely Order of the Phoenix. I love Sirius, and I love how there was more focus on the twins, and I loved hating Umbridge, and reading about everyone hating Umbridge, and seeing how it brought together the DA. Oh, we get to meet Neville's parents :) (and a loopy Lockhart, which was hilarious) I just about died when I read Neville pocketing that gum wrapper he'd received for Christmas. I love Neville.
Plus, they're just starting to act all grow'd up, and romance is a' stirrin'.
Oh, and, Grawp, duh (lol).

A close second would have to be Deathly Hallows. It was a fantastic conclusion, and many tears were shed.

[Nupur (Calypso) Maheshwari]

Fo sho. Except for the epilogue, but only because Jo only BARELY implied a future Scorpius/Rose pairing, which just about killed me. I was so hoping that there would be some kind of romantic interest between the Malfoys and the Weasleys in NewGen, but she didn't actually point it out. D: