The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling are some of the most popular books in the world. The book series began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997, known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S. In the two decades since the books series began, more than 500 million copies have been sold worldwide, according to Scholastic.
There are seven books in the series, but which book is best? We ranked the Harry Potter books from worst to best.
Let’s get the ranking of the Harry Potter books started with the worst of the seven, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book of the series. It was published in 1998, one year after the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is not bad, but it is the worst of the Harry Potter books, and I don’t think that’s particularly debatable. It’s more about every other book just being better.
In the book, Harry, Ron, and Hermione try to figure out who opened the Chamber of Secrets and unleashed a monster on the school. After Hermione is petrified, Harry, Ron, and Professor Lockhart venture into the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny Weasley, who has been possessed by the soul of Tom Riddle, unleashed from his diary.
Aside from the diary being destroyed and it helping lead Dumbledore to his ultimate conclusion that Voldemort made horcruxes to preserve pieces of his soul should he be killed, there isn’t much in here that contributes to the future of the series. Ron and Hermione do return to the Chamber of Secrets and use the basilisk fangs to destroy Helga Hufflepuff’s cup much later on.
We also get a good moment at the end of this book when Harry Potter tricks Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock, thus freeing the house elf from servitude.
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book of the Harry Potter series. It continues the story following Voldemort’s return, the murder of Cedric Diggory, and the other events of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The book was published in 2003.
In the fifth book, Harry is attacked by dementors while staying with the Dursleys, which puts him at risk of getting expelled from school. The whole thing is actually part of a plot by the Ministry of Magic to stop Harry from spreading the word that Voldemort has returned for fear it will cause panic among the populace. Throughout the book, Harry deals with the cruel Professor Dolores Umbridge, an absent Dumbledore, nightmares, and just overall unhappiness and unpredictability,
Because Voldemort is able to use a connection with Harry to get inside his head, Harry is forced to take lessons with Snape, which are miserable but enlightening for readers, who learn more about Snape, his history with Harry’s parents, and more. We also get some great moments with Harry and Sirius.
Overall, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix just doesn’t hit as hard as some of the other books. We learn a lot more information about the first war against Voldemort, and readers are dealt quite a blow when Sirius Black is killed in the battle at the Ministry.
My main qualm with the book is mainly how involved the Ministry of Magic becomes in Harry’s life. I understand why it happens, but it leads to a story that feels much less fun than the first four books.
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is the first book of the Harry Potter series. It was published in 1997, and it kickstarted one of the most popular book series of all time.
The first book introduces readers to Harry Potter, the boy who lived, and his journey into the wizarding world, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and a life he doesn’t fully understand after growing up with his aunt and uncle. Harry’s parents died in a car crash, or so he was led to believe. In reality, they were killed by one of the most powerful wizards of all time, Lord Voldemort, while he improbably survived.
Readers follow Harry to Hogwarts where he begins his studies to be the best wizard he can be. There, he meets his first real friends, Ron and Hermione, and gets caught up in a plot to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone, a stone that would give its possessor immortality.
There’s something truly magical about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, an ingenuity that covers up some of its flaws. This may not be the best written book in the series, but it’s full of imagination, and that counts for a lot. The book does a great job introducing fans and Harry to this magical world and laying the base to build an epic book series full of adventure.
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is probably the most polarizing of all the Harry Potter books. It seems fans either love or hate this one, but for me, it’s definitely a tier below the best books of the series and a tier above the lesser ones. That’s why Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince lands right here in the middle of these rankings.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth book of the series. It was released in 2005, two years before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the book, Harry finds a potions textbook that once belonged to the “Half-Blood Prince.” In the margins, there are instructions for how to brew the potions, along with new spells and ideas that intrigue Harry. Readers also get their first extended look into Voldemort’s past as Harry and Dumbledore use the pensieve to review memories of Tom Riddle before he became the most feared wizard since Grindelwald.
On the plus side, that look into Voldemort’s past is very important to the story and to Harry’s eventual defeat of the dark wizard. It’s one of the strong points of the book, but there are some weak points as well. While we get a lot of good scenes with Harry and Dumbledore, it isn’t the most action-packed book of the series. Things don’t really get going until the very end when Harry and Dumbledore venture to a cave, obtain what they think is a horcrux, and then return to Hogwarts. There, Dumbledore is killed by Severus Snape, and Harry’s mission becomes clear: find the horcruxes and defeat Voldemort.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh book of the Harry Potter series, and it was published in July 2007. It’s the final book of the series and easily one of the best of the bunch.
I had a hard time not moving this book up the list because it does an excellent job of making readers feel like it’s all been worth it. There are lots of twists and turns, highs and lows, victories and devastating losses. Overall, it’s an incredible ending for an epic tale.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out on a journey to destroy Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes to give Harry a chance to kill him once and for all. It leads to an epic conclusion in the Battle of Hogwarts, one final conversation with Harry and Dumbledore, and many more iconic moments.
There’s so much going on in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As if the quest to destroy the horcruxes wasn’t enough, Dumbledore seemingly sets Harry, Ron, and Hermione on a mission to also find the Deathly Hallows, magical objects that make the possessor of all three the Master of Death. It’s an interesting direction for the story to take, considering no one had heard about the Deathly Hallows until this point in the story, as far as I know, and it does distract from some of the more important parts. It also adds to the intrigue and creates a layer of mystery that we’d come to expect from this book series.
Overall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is just a little bit lower on the list, but it’s definitely in the top tier of the books. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are the other two books that I think are on that top tier, as well.
I also didn’t love the epilogue. We didn’t need “19 Years Later.”
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book of the Harry Potter series. It was released in 2000, and it marked the first time that a new Harry Potter book was released in the UK and the US at the same time. The book series had grown even more in popularity after the release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 1999.
The book could easily be No. 1 on the list of the best, and some fans might indeed think that this is the best book of the series. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry is mysteriously entered into the Tri-Wizard Tournament even though he’s underage and not eligible.
There are so many good things that happen in Goblet of Fire. In addition to the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the world expands. Readers get to experience the Quidditch World Cup and learn about the wizarding communities in other countries. We also are introduced to Mad-Eye Moody (or so we think!), and there’s another epic twist at the end of the story when it’s revealed that the Mad-Eye Moody teaching at the school is actually Barty Crouch Jr, a fervent follower of Voldemort who never gave up on his master.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire does a lot of the heavy lifting setting the story up for the final three books of the series, but it does it in a way that’s fun, fresh, and incredibly entertaining, which I don’t think can be said about the next book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
There’s definitely a tone shift from the first three books to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Cedric Diggory is murdered by Voldemort after he and Harry grab the Tri-Wizard Cup at the same time. It’s a portkey to a graveyard where Wormtail is ready to bring back Voldemort. It’s the first time that a student dies at Voldemort’s hand in the story, and it’s quickly apparent to everyone where this story is headed. Harry isn’t going to escape with a victory every time.
1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book of the series. It was released in the UK on July 8, 1999. There’s no doubt in my mind that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the best book of the Harry Potter series.
In the book, Harry learns the person responsible for the death of his parents, his father’s former friend Sirius Black, has escaped the wizard prison Azkaban and is likely trying to find him to finish the job. Black is spotted at Hogwarts, and the stakes get a lot higher. In the first two books, we know there was a threat to Harry, but this is the first time in the series that readers truly understood the danger.
There’s also a good mystery that unfurls slowly. Harry, Dumbledore, and those in the loop learn that it wasn’t Sirius Black that betrayed the Potters. It was actually another of his dad’s friends, Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, also known as Ron’s rat, Scabbers. That reveal was incredible! And it’s so important for the overall story arc.
Prisoner of Azkaban is also just so much fun! In addition to the Sirius Black storyline, readers are also introduced to Remus Lupin, werewolves, dementors, the Marauders Map, Buckbeak, the Time Turner, and an important backstory about Harry’s father and his friends.
And that’s our ranking of the Harry Potter books! Drop your own rankings in the comments below.
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