A review by rhiannon814r
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

The Half-Blood Prince's dressing room door, Warwick Davis's Segway, hot takes from two entire Dumbledores, quacking with Emma Watson, and Alan Rickman's Fucking Cloak have healed my inner child.

Felton weaves together a story of hilarity, humility, and community - and of finding personal identity outside of (and despite) it all. While it's not the finest literature I've ever read, Beyond the Wand was so much better than I anticipated. I used to wish I could reread Harry Potter again for the first time. This was better. Beyond the Wand was filled with nostalgia, and just like Felton in his memoir, I was simultaneously able to relive the excitement and escapism I felt as a child, while still acknowledging, experiencing, and respecting the pain of the present. Thank you for sharing your story, Tom. Keep quacking.

"For months, you've been a travelling circus act. You've been a tight-knit community. You've travelled to a dozen different cities. You've broken bread together. You've acted together. You've messed up together and got it right together. You've left your home and your families, you've bundled up together in a hotel miles away, and while it's not always jokes and laughter, you develop a certain bond and intimacy. And then, suddenly, it's over, and this community that has been your surrogate family disappears to the four corners of the earth. It doesn't exist anymore. We almost always say the same thing: that we'll be in touch, that we'll hook up next week, that we'll relive the old times, and no doubt we mean it sincerely. Occasionally it does even happen. We all know, though, deep down, that we've reached the checkpoint. Whatever your experience on the film, good or bad, a moment in time that was special and unique has passed and we can never get it back."
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