If you want a trip back into the world of Harry Potter, drop everything that you are doing and read Tom Felton’s book right now! With bits and pieces of Felton’s life leading up to his role as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, Felton paints a picture of what it was like to be a part of the magical world of Harry Potter. From the challenges involved in directing a bunch of unruly children with little advancements in the technological sphere to the heartfelt advice given by some of the leading actors and actresses in British television, this book is an absolute goldmine for an ardent Potter fan (ME!)

The book starts off with a rather heartfelt foreword by Emma Watson describing her relationship with Tom (SPOILER : they are just friends). Their friendship is rather touching; she says ‘[Tom] has a heart the size of a planet’. Other description include that he is funny, down to earth and genuine. While all these may seem true, reading Tom’s version of his life, you do get the impression that a mischievous little boy was transformed into an introspective adult thanks to the positive influences he had on the set of Harry Potter.

So what did I like about this book? I loved his writing. It was raw and emotive. While his character is generally aloof, we see from his writing that there’s layers to his persona – each trait formed by a definitive period in his life. The influence of his brothers, his stints as an actor, his experience on the set of Harry Potter have all contributed in some way to bring about this ‘aloofness’ in him. I absolutely loved reading about the making of the movie. I loved the directing techniques used by Chris Columbus in both movies. I loved the energy between the cast and crew and oh my god, I laughed out loud reading about the pranks pulled by all the child actors on set.

At the same time, there were a couple of things that could have been improved in his writing. For instance it was repetitive. I silently whispered ‘enough already’ when for the upteenth time he spoke about how being the youngest of three brothers kept him grounded. While the whole story is divided into definitive chapters, I feel the writing could have been a bit more cohesive. It was disjointed at times with him moving backwards and forwards in the timeline that is his life. Not his fault obviously – I think his editors should have done a better job.

Towards the end of the book he says that Harry Potter did not impact him the way it did Emma and Daniel even though it did rub off on him. Reading his book, it feels as though he is stuck in this in-between state where he is not really HP famous, but at the same time still famous enough to be known as the Malfoy boy making it difficult for him to cut out a clear path in his life. This I feel is why he lost his way in the US and had to get into rehab. 

Final thoughts

This was an eye opener on the difficulties involved in filming a fantasy. My first reaction has always been – the books are way better, the movies kill it – BUT upon completing this book I realize that the challenges involved in capturing everything accurately is humongous. The author has free reign to do whatever – throw in a fire breathing dragon that destroys an entire city only to have it rebuilt again at the flick of a wand can be written in a sentence (like I just did!). But imagine the effort to bring this one sentence to life! I shall now look at books to movies a lot more leniently than I did before! I dove into this book expecting to read more about Felton’s personal life. But upon completing it I realized the whole book read as a giant thank you note to the cast and crew involved in the making of Harry Potter. I am not complaining. I don’t think you will either. Do give it a read.

Overall rating: 4/5

Fact box
Author: Tom Felton
Release date: 13th October, 2022
Genre: Memoir