Best To Last: Revelio-ing Our 2024 Harry Potter Book Rankings
11/21/2024 01:26 PM
"You're a wizard, Harry."
This is a line that has been etched in our memory for whoever has read the Harry Potter books and has seen the movies. With these stories, it was like J.K. Rowling waved her literary wand and accio-ed the most magical stories that one could experience through books. Whether you read the book as a kid or as an adult, we all wanted an owl to bring our Hogwarts acceptance letter, didn't we? We're pretty sure that the owl that was carrying our acceptance letter got lost on its way because there's no way that Hogwarts will not invite us, right? RIGHT?
Reading Harry Potter books is one of the easiest ways to get anyone into a reading habit. The language in the book is very simple and the world is easy to imagine and lose ourselves in. This wizarding world is filled with fascinating characters and creatures that are — for lack of a better word — magical!
What started as a light read with magic and humor later became this dark tale of good vs evil. With every book, as the world expanded, the theme became dark and matured. In this article, we're going to rank our favorite Harry Potter books, starting from the least one we liked to the best one in the series. This, of course, may not match your list, so do not come at us with your wands raised.
These are the books you should read, for they tell the story of the Boy Who Lived,
Let us know what you think, are our thoughts on the books in sync?
How Many Harry Potter Books Are There?
J.K. Rowling has written a total of 18 books based on her wizarding world. This includes 7 Harry Potter books, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Quidditch Through the Ages, 3 Fantastic Beasts screenplays, two short stories, one Hogwarts Guide, and Harry Potter: The Prequel. She wrote a lot of these books under pseudonyms, such as Quidditch Through the Ages as Kennilworthy Whisp and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as Newt Scamander.
All Harry Potter Books Ranked in 2024
From being the boy in the cupboard under the stairs to defeating the dark lord, Harry Potter has had an amazing journey with his best friend alongside him at all times. Now, let's rank them in the order we least liked to the one we go gaga over. Beware that this article contains SPOILERS for the entire series, so if you haven't read the book or watched the movies, you should stick to reading the titles.
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The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of five short fairy tales written by J.K. Rowling, set in the Wizarding World. The stories in this book include The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, Babbitty and her Cackling Stump, and The Tale of the Three Brothers. Each of these stories has new characters and adventures that work pretty well as a standalone story. The version we've chosen here is the illustrated version, which is filled with colorful and vibrant artwork. All the imagery is translated from ancient runes by our very own Hermione Granger, with some detailed commentary from Albus Dumbledore.
One of the stories, "The Tale of the Three Brothers," was mentioned in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows as the backstory for the Deathly Hollows and is also the most popular one in the book. Hermione Granger receives the book as a part of the will left by Albus Dumbledore. This tale is what gives the trio an understanding of what Dealthy Hollows is and how it could help them defeat the dark lord.
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Quidditch Through the Ages, published in 2001, is a book written by Kennilworthy Whisp, a pseudonym used by J.K. Rowling, and the artwork is by Emily Gravett. This is an actual book in the Hogwarts library and hence, Rowling's pseudonym. This book acts as a guide and provides the history of Quidditch, an extremely popular sport in the Wizarding World. There is an extensive knowledge of the evolution of the game and how it all came together. Everything from the history of flying broomsticks to the Golden Snitch, you get to know everything about them.
If you'd like to know more about the history of sport and want to collect anything related to Harry Potter, this is a great book. This illustrated version is great for the kids, giving them a clear understanding and imagination of what is being explained. The artwork is really cute and extremely enjoyable, offering a rich experience and a glimpse into the magical world.
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play written by Jack Thorne, which first premiered in London's West End on July 30, 2016. After its success, it was made into a Broadway show across multiple locations. Remember, this book is a copy of the screenplay, so when you pick it up, do have your expectations in the right place.
It's very interesting that they made the story into a play rather than a novel, but deep down, we still wish that it was a novel with more elaborate plots. The story delves into the concept of multiple realities, where going back in time changes certain aspects that ultimately create new timelines. The story has a lot of its own identity and provides enough substance for the fans who want to know about Harry’s life post defeating Voldemort. Although it reduces those magical moments the world is known for, it still is a great read. We also get to read about our other favorite characters, including Ron, Hermione, and Draco Malfoy. If you'd like to know what Harry and the other characters are doing after the Battle of Hogwarts, give this a try.
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Fantastic Beasts is, first and foremost, a film series set 70 years before the events of Harry Potter, written by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates. The series has three movies, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and this book set is the screenplay for those movies.
The series introduces us to Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who embarks on a journey around the world to discover, study, and document magical creatures. He carries an enchanted suitcase that is the home to the many creatures that he saves from the wild. The first movie focuses mainly on recapturing the beasts that escape from his suitcase when it is accidentally switched with a muggle's suitcase. The later installments involve a bigger plot, which includes the conflict between Albus Dumbledore and his old friend, Gellert Grindelwald. As the movie progresses, this plot becomes more prominent and delves deeper into this conflict.
The relationship between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald was explored in the Harry Potter books, which the movies did not showcase much of. So, as you can imagine, we were excited when these movies started exploring this relationship. But unfortunately, the pacing of the story muddles the experience to some extent. Although we're three movies down, we're yet to see the legendary battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald that is so hyped in the Harry Potter lore. If Warner Bros. greenlights the next two movies, we just might get to see this battle.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second one in the Harry Potter series and also the least we liked. It's not a bad book by any means, it's just that the other ones are just that much better.
The book immediately starts off by building tension about the threat looming over Harry and Hogwarts even before he gets there. After a lot of unfortunate events, Harry manages to return to Hogwarts despite all the warnings he gets from a house elf named Dobby. Things quickly go haywire when muggle-born students start getting attacked by an unknown entity. Harry and his friends are quickly dragged into this downward spiral of events and have to work together to save everyone from this danger.
The book works amazingly well as a sequel as it expands on the first one, all while introducing us to a lot of new characters and elements that play a vital role in future installments. We start discovering that Harry has some similarities with Voldemort, such as his ability to talk to snakes, which is considered a bad omen given the circumstances. This is also our first look at Horcruxes, which, at this point, has no name given to it. Despite all these interesting plots, the story was unevenly paced with sections that felt dragged to an extent. This was a fairly short book, so it would have been great if things had moved quickly.
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone — the book that started it all. Apart from the US, the book is called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone around the world. This was our very first introduction to the wizarding world. They say that this book was purely written for kids, given how it's filled with light and humorous moments but we beg to differ. The book is for adults as much as it is for kids.
For 11 years, Harry, an orphan, grew up with his uncle and aunt, who have neglected him throughout his existence. Everything changes one day when he receives his Hogwarts acceptance letter that was delivered to him by a giant named Hagrid. Soon, he learns the truth about who he is, what the lightning scar on his forehead means, and how his parents actually died. As time passes during his first year at Hogwarts, Harry and his friends — Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger — discover that someone is trying to steal a mysterious object called the Sorcerer’s Stone that grants immortality. They take it upon themselves to keep that from happening.
Even with just a little over 300 pages, the book manages to establish a well-detailed world, its characters, and the motivations behind the dark forces. The story here is quite simple yet entertaining but compared to what we've read later in the series, it lacks the complexity to rank higher on our list.
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth installment in the series and also the longest one. Although the series got dark with the third one, this one is when the story took some hard turns and set the pace for the upcoming books.
After the events of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry witnesses Voldemort coming back to his full power. A lot of people, including the Ministry of Magic, are in denial about his return. This also discredits Dumbledore's reputation since he believes Harry and tries to convince everyone else. To get things in order, the Ministry puts Dolores Umbridge as one of the teachers at Hogwarts, who slowly climbs up to replace Dumbledore as the head of the school. This results in Harry creating a secret group — Dumbledore's Army — where students can learn magic that helps defend themselves. Meanwhile, Harry's connection to Voldemort gets stronger and he starts seeing visions. Everything that follows changes his life more than ever before.
In the beginning, the book takes us through Harry’s mind and how he feels lonelier than ever. Later, Rowling spends a lot of time telling the readers about Umbridge's cruel activities and her intentions of enforcing Ministry rules in the school. She did not pull back in making Umbridge look evil because we all know that we hate her religiously. The last act of the book also reveals the prophecy that binds Harry and Voldemort. If the book were a little shorter with even pacing, it would have easily been in the top three.
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Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is the sixth in line and acts as the penultimate book of the series. The book stays consistent with its pace and has some great and iconic moments that make the read enjoyable.
Finally, the Ministry believes that Voldemort is back which sends the entire wizarding world into a frenzy as the dark lord's influence grows wider and stronger. Meanwhile, Dumbledore is trying hard to piece together a lot of information about how to kill Voldemort. The book also delves into the past, where we learn about Voldemort's early life as Tom Marvolo Riddle. During these flashbacks, Dumbledore and Harry learn about Horcruxes. On the other hand, Harry has suddenly become the top of the potions class as he finds an old potions textbook with notes that belonged to someone called The Half-Blood Prince.
This book is an absolute masterclass in writing, given how many plot points it had to bring together and provide clear weather so that the last book could fly high. It is definitely one of the most emotional books of the series. The ending stomped, burnt, and shattered our hearts into millions of pieces. Sure, the book lacked some duels but the story itself was highly entertaining and gripping from start to end. The identity of the half-blood prince wasn't revealed until the very end, and honestly, it was a bit predictable. By the end, the book makes it very clear about what's left to do and leaves readers waiting for the next one.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows serves as the finale for the Harry Potter saga. The book has a lot of plots to wrap up and it does so gracefully. With this book, our journey with Harry ends.
With Dumbledore gone, no one is left to protect Hogwarts or Harry. Severus Snape, who is also a Death Eater, sits in the head chair. Now Harry, Ron, and Hermione must take it upon themselves the task of finding all the Horcruxes in order to weaken Voldemort. The trio goes on a dangerous journey where they also learn that they need three powerful magical objects, called the Deathly Hallows in order to defeat Voldemort. Slowly, they find and destroy Horcruxes one by one but for the Rowena Ravenclaw’s Lost Diadem, they have to return to Hogwarts. This is where the final showdown takes place and the entire school, along with the Order of the Phoenix, take part in the battle.
Although Harry came out victorious, the aftermath was something we did not enjoy reading as so many characters died while fighting. It was the largest death count of the semi-main characters we've seen till now. The book also gave us the biggest plot twist ever — Severus Snape was actually in love with Harry's mother, Lilly, and he had been protecting him since the day he set foot in Hogwarts. This was the biggest heartbreaking moment in the series and this revelation alone gains house points to make it to the top 3. In the end, all was well.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban feels like a deeply personal book with all the themes that it plays with. The themes, mainly sadness and acceptance, are really well portrayed. We get to meet a lot of important characters that actually stick around later in the series.
Harry is now in the third year of his studies at Hogwarts and just like every year, his life is again in danger. This time, it's from a notorious prisoner, Sirius Black, who has escaped from Azkaban. Nobody knows why, but he is searching for Harry. To prevent Sirius from getting into Hogwarts, the school is surrounded by terrifying creatures called Dementors, who are the guards at Azkaban prison. As the story progresses, a lot of important revelations take place. Now, with all the new information, Harry and his friends have to move faster than ever to save their loved ones from danger.
The way Rowling introduces readers to Dementors is absolutely chilling (pun intended). The description draws an eerie feeling that is hard to shake off. With the introduction of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, Harry finds new family members that he didn't know existed. It was heartwarming to read how much Sirius wanted to be with Harry, who later offered him to stay together like a family. This is definitely one of the books that we've read multiple times to soak in all the emotions.
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, arguably, is the best one in the series. This one is truly a game changer with Voldemort returning to his full form. This is also a massive book with over 700 pages. There are so many good plotlines that the movies completely ignore, which is understandable given the limited time they have. But this is a book that could've easily split into two films.
Right before going back to Hogwarts for his fourth year, Harry joins the Weasley family and Hermione to attend the Quidditch World Cup. After the tournament, there is a mass panic that is caused by a group of dark wizards called the Death Eaters, who are the followers of Voldemort. They are there to create chaos and terror, ending the night with summoning the Dark Lord's symbol in the sky. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts, they learn about the Triwizard Tournament, which hosts three dangerous tasks, and the champions are chosen by the Goblet of Fire. Someone enters Harry's name in the tournament, putting him in danger (again). Harry has to complete these tasks and collect clues about the next ones. The tournament ended on a shocking climax that had our jaws on the floor.
Despite its page count, the book maintains good pacing and has so many things going on. But it was the ending that placed this series at the top of our list. Events that happened that night in the graveyard were absolutely terrifying and sad — an incredible book in an incredible series.
Will There Be More Harry Potter Books?
No, J.K. Rowling has clearly said that she will not be writing any new Harry Potter books. She believes she has wrapped it up perfectly, and honestly, we couldn't agree more. She has, however, written and continues to write for the Fantastic Beasts movie series. We've had three movies until now and you can find the screenplay for all of them on Amazon. These movies are set 70 years before the Harry Potter saga. Dumbledore plays a major role in these movies as it shows his relationship with Grindelwald, who has been hinted at briefly in the Harry Potter series.
How We Ranked the Best Harry Potter Books
These Harry Potter books were ranked by our team of editors who have been fans of the series for a very long time. They have deep knowledge of the Potterverse and its related stories. They also did in-depth research on social forums to understand what other readers like and don't like about the series. These rankings are still mainly our perspectives of the series, based on what we loved and least liked about them.
FAQ
Which Harry Potter book is number 1?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) is the first book in the series.
How old is Harry Potter Book 1?
Harry is 11 years old in the first book.
Which is the longest Harry Potter book?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest book with 766 pages. The book also has a US version with 816 pages. The story remains the same in both except for a few words that are swapped out with what is commonly used in the US.
Are the Harry Potter books different in the US?
Yes, but no changes have been made to the story. The only difference would be the use of certain words that American readers find easy to understand. For example, the US version of the first book is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, whereas the UK version is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
How do you identify the first edition of Harry Potter books?
Identifying the first edition can be quite tricky. Some factors to consider are the mention of Bloomsbury at the bottom of the title page; the print number line should read 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; and on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone page 53, the list of school supplies will mention "1 wand" twice due to a printing error.
Why does the US version of Harry Potter have more pages?
The US versions have words printed in larger sizes and also have more space between the lines.
Why does the first Harry Potter book have a different title in America?
The US publisher believed that using the word "Philosopher" would garner less attention from the readers as they wouldn't relate this word to magic. To make it clearer that the book is set in a magical world, they named it Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
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