This is my favorite of all the Harry Potter books. I "got" into the Potter books when this one was published. This is the first more young adult book in the series. It introduces the whole Marauders mythology, creates Snape has a shades of gray figure.It's well plotted, it ups the bad guy quotient of "He who won't be named", the trio chemistry gels. Voilà. The series went from well known to global hit with this book.