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

BATB score: 7/10 🧙‍♂️

*reader discretion advised: must be a true Harry Potter the movie series fan*

Best for: you would love love love this book only if you can answer this question, who did Alan Rickman play in Harry Potter? otherwise, you would have to be googling while reading this book to understand who Tom Felton is talking about (which is fine but not immersive)

Best to: I believe Tom Felton still tried to be politically correct throughout the book until the very last few pages; only then was when I felt like I really hear him. But okay, good start.

Best as: I appreciate that Tom Felton is using his fame and influence to normalize rehab and mental space for feeling overwhelmed, lonely, and sad #mooddisorder

BATB linger thought: wow the Harry Potter IP is game strong - just reading a book about an actor in it makes you want to rewatch the whole movie series

Best quotes: “‘I’ve always known I was a duck,’ she said, ‘but I’ve spent my whole life being told I was a chicken. Every time I try to say “quack” the world tells me that I have to say “cluck”. I even started believing that I was a chicken and not a duck. Then we [Emma Watson and Tom Felton] started hanging out and I found somebody else who quacked. And that’s when I thought: To hell with them, I really am a duck!” - Emma Watson in Tom Felton book 💕

“If rehab is nothing more than time devoted to looking after yourself, how can that not be time well spent?”