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lindsayaunderwood's review against another edition
5.0
I didn’t know I needed a memoir from Tom but this was so good. LOVED the HP references throughout!
carliekw's review against another edition
5.0
Memoirs are not my typical go-to genre but I’m a big Gryffindork and saw Tom’s book on a list somewhere. I really enjoyed the bits of his childhood sprinkled through the on-set tales of Harry Potter and I really didn’t expect to finish the book in tears.
megang519's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
pamnc's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
dorhastings's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
How this book ended up on my TBR: Very much a "I need to spend all the Audible credits" purchase. And yet, HP made a massive impact on me as a young adult, so this book was easily right up my alley.
I was in the mood for a not terribly serious book, and since this one also sounded like it would be a trip down HP memory lane, I went for it. (It also fulfilled one of my reading prompts for The StoryGraph's Onboarding Challenge 2024: the Reading Challenge random number game, so here we are.) And I got a lot of what I expected. While the first part of the title (Beyond the Wand) does make it seem like it will be more than just Felton's participation in HP, the second part (The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard) does justify the heavy coverage of HP. Felton says that he looked over notes and things he'd written during his time in the franchise, and the book is full of little instances that shed light on relationships and how he himself grew up through the films. He seems fairly forthright and honest with his shortcomings and mistakes. There's not a lot there that feels particularly insightful or novel, but I don't think there needs to be. I did appreciate when he talked about Emma Watson and the unique challenges she must have faced by being a young woman in the media in general and on the set in particular. He had not a bad thing to say about anyone involved with the franchise, and he went even further to explain how lucky he was to learn about professionalism in acting from his British colleagues. He compares that with what sound like less positive experiences in American filmmaking (what a surprise).
When someone as young as Felton is writing a memoir, it's not unlikely that they will be criticized for making more of their life than is really there. As essential as his role is in the franchise, it's interesting that he is almost never recognized (and when he is, he's mistaken for some other famous person). And he's still relatively young. He addresses this in a way that Simu Liu did not do in his own memoir. That said, they both articulate, in their own ways, what people can get out of the experiences that they have had. For Felton, that's mostly the very last couple of chapters in the book, when he talks about addiction and mental health. It's a sharp turn I hadn't anticipated, and perhaps that was the driving force behind him writing the whole book. If that one chapter can impact someone who was otherwise just wanting to read a bit about an HP actor, who can complain? Felton has (I hope) plenty more life to live, and he feels lucky to have it.
There was a short part of the book that I found a little unsettling, though. It was near the end of the book, where Felton makes some seemingly general remarks about the importance of being able to share our ideas freely on places such as the internet. I think it's clear that he's referring to a specific event, and I'd bet the farm he's talking about JK Rowling and her tendency to spout hate online. It's not unlikely that Radcliffe and Watson have felt compelled by their celebrity to come out against her hate, but Felton doesn't bear the same burden. All the same, why not just not refer to it at all? My money's on he felt he needed to... say something to try to stay neutral? His language choices and evasiveness do not give me a good feeling. I don't think he's necessarily endorsing what Rowling has said. I think he feels very grateful for her, and it's possible that he truly believes that everyone should be able to share their shitty opinions. My two cents.
Felton himself narrates this book and seems to have great fun while doing so. He was engaging enough as a narrator, and it was a pleasure to listen to him.
I was in the mood for a not terribly serious book, and since this one also sounded like it would be a trip down HP memory lane, I went for it. (It also fulfilled one of my reading prompts for The StoryGraph's Onboarding Challenge 2024: the Reading Challenge random number game, so here we are.) And I got a lot of what I expected. While the first part of the title (Beyond the Wand) does make it seem like it will be more than just Felton's participation in HP, the second part (The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard) does justify the heavy coverage of HP. Felton says that he looked over notes and things he'd written during his time in the franchise, and the book is full of little instances that shed light on relationships and how he himself grew up through the films. He seems fairly forthright and honest with his shortcomings and mistakes. There's not a lot there that feels particularly insightful or novel, but I don't think there needs to be. I did appreciate when he talked about Emma Watson and the unique challenges she must have faced by being a young woman in the media in general and on the set in particular. He had not a bad thing to say about anyone involved with the franchise, and he went even further to explain how lucky he was to learn about professionalism in acting from his British colleagues. He compares that with what sound like less positive experiences in American filmmaking (what a surprise).
When someone as young as Felton is writing a memoir, it's not unlikely that they will be criticized for making more of their life than is really there. As essential as his role is in the franchise, it's interesting that he is almost never recognized (and when he is, he's mistaken for some other famous person). And he's still relatively young. He addresses this in a way that Simu Liu did not do in his own memoir. That said, they both articulate, in their own ways, what people can get out of the experiences that they have had. For Felton, that's mostly the very last couple of chapters in the book, when he talks about addiction and mental health. It's a sharp turn I hadn't anticipated, and perhaps that was the driving force behind him writing the whole book. If that one chapter can impact someone who was otherwise just wanting to read a bit about an HP actor, who can complain? Felton has (I hope) plenty more life to live, and he feels lucky to have it.
There was a short part of the book that I found a little unsettling, though. It was near the end of the book, where Felton makes some seemingly general remarks about the importance of being able to share our ideas freely on places such as the internet. I think it's clear that he's referring to a specific event, and I'd bet the farm he's talking about JK Rowling and her tendency to spout hate online. It's not unlikely that Radcliffe and Watson have felt compelled by their celebrity to come out against her hate, but Felton doesn't bear the same burden. All the same, why not just not refer to it at all? My money's on he felt he needed to... say something to try to stay neutral? His language choices and evasiveness do not give me a good feeling. I don't think he's necessarily endorsing what Rowling has said. I think he feels very grateful for her, and it's possible that he truly believes that everyone should be able to share their shitty opinions. My two cents.
Felton himself narrates this book and seems to have great fun while doing so. He was engaging enough as a narrator, and it was a pleasure to listen to him.