Reviews tagging 'Death'

Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

22 reviews

katie0528's review

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

A brutally honest and funny memoir from Tom Felton, best known as Draco Malfoy, as his life before and experiences filming the Harry Potter movies, and his struggles in adulthood after as he tried to find himself apart from his fame.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization

amandaacat's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.5

If you’re a fan of Tom Felton and Harry Potter, this is a great book to listen to the audio for. Tom does a great job narrating his own stories and does give you a glimpse of life of set - which was fun. I can’t say anything he wrote about was groundbreaking and I liked his recap of his substance abuse struggles towards the end, but overall it seems that growing up on set wasn’t too bad for him. Would only recommend if you’re a fan!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, and Drug use

bethanyrh's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.75

Let’s be real, I was always going to rank this book pretty highly. I loved getting to glimpse behind the scenes of the Harry Potter films and hearing about Tom’s anecdotes about his fellow cast members, but I also enjoyed that it included stories about his non-Potter works (we were, after all, looking beyond the wand) and a deeper look into the effects of fame.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

Minor: Death and Stalking

reading_on_the_moon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Bullying, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying and Death

litliz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Bullying, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Addiction

Minor: Grief and Death

midnightrose_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Tom Felton’s autobiography Beyond the Wand is lighthearted, warm, inspiring, and at times sad. I felt an enormous amount of affection towards Tom as he reflected on his life and career. Definitely would recommend!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Addiction, Mental illness, Medical content, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Drug use

Minor: Death

theintrovertsbooks's review

funny inspiring medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Mental illness, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Blood, Grief, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Forced institutionalization

isabezza's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted

3.75

This memoir filled me with nostalgia for my childhood surrounded by Potter magic. Tom Felton describes, with such respect and joy, the relationships between cast-members and families, and showcases the inner workings of a film set invisible to many viewers imaginations. This book gave me a deeper understanding of what it may mean to work as an actor, and a greater understanding of the Potter films. It was particularly interesting to learn about Tom Felton's family and his mental health struggles, which were explored in a reassuring and hopeful manner. I listened to this as an audiobook (since it was read by the author) so his personality shined through, and the comedy of the book communicated well in a verbal form. Obviously writing is not Tom Felton's trade, and I cannot say this was the best structured book or particularly effective writing, but I thoroughly enjoyed this as a light-hearted read, and it was easy to listen to for hours without getting bored. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

jessspeake's review

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version of this memoir. Tom reads it himself, and it really feels like sitting down with him over a cup of tea and listening while he tells his story. 

It was everything I wanted in terms of Harry Potter content, plus so much more in terms of Tom’s life and experiences outside of Potter. 

He speaks about everyone in his with a reverence that is really special and kindhearted. It was a joy to listen to!

I really respect how openly he speaks about addiction and mental illness in the book. 

This book far surpassed any expectations I had of it, and left me hoping to read more from Tom in the future!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Mental illness, and Addiction

Moderate: Drug use, Death, and Drug abuse

sierrabedwell's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

Wow wow wow. Never have I ever thought that I would enjoy a memoir so much. Not only did Tom share nostalgic memories of his Harry Potter days, but also important memories from before in his childhood and later in adulthood. He stressed the importance of not stigmatizing mental health, therapy, and rehab. I was in awe of how he was able to write his story, making me laugh with subtle Potter puns, think deeply when he is talking about his own mental struggles, and smile when remembering the scenes he talks about in the Potter films. I recommend to EVERYONE who loves HP as much as I do. Wow. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Bullying, Alcohol, Addiction, Death, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts