Title: Beyond the Wand
Author: Tom Felton
Genre: Memoir, autobiography, non-fiction
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date: October 2022
Format: Audiobook
Length: 7 hours

Read if you like: the Harry Potter film franchise, coming of age stories, a MC who doesn’t take themselves too seriously, heartfelt humour, a look backstage at Hollywood

Rating:

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, then Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy is legendary. The character was simultaneously so entertaining while also being infuriating and I felt like whenever he was on screen, you couldn’t help but find him completely enchanting.

When I learned that Tom Felton had released a memoir that detailed much of his time in the Harry Potter franchise, I signed up for it at my library immediately. What I found the book to be though was so much more than a behind-the-curtain look at Harry Potter; instead, it was this wonderfully heartfelt story with Tom’s signature humour that was simultaneously wildly fun and relatable.

I really, thoroughly enjoyed this book, it’s one of the best memoirs I’ve read in a long time. It was poignant, endearing, and wonderfully nostalgic while still being insightful. The audiobook, with Felton as narrator, is also utterly fantastic. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter or Tom Felton, or even have a mild curiosity about this notorious childhood villain, I’d highly recommend picking this one up.

The Book: Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton is a heartfelt memoir that goes all the way from Felton’s early life and the beginnings of his career as an actor through to the present day. Felton describes his many passions and hobbies, very few of which related to the fame that he’d find eventually as Draco Malfoy, and how his family kept him humble and grounded.

Felton discusses the Harry Potter days in great detail, providing stories and accounts of key moments and other actors that are enough to make any Harry Potter fan lean in and listen closely, but he also talks about the rest of his life and his post-Potter years with a poignancy and keen reflective eye that feels wise and mature beyond his years. It’s a heartfelt memoir full of deep reflection and humour that’s engaging from the very first page.

The Review

My goodness I loved this book from start to finish.

Felton is a natural storyteller. Even accounts of his early childhood, which are in most ways similar to any normal boy’s childhood, are full of humour and reflection that have you simultaneously laughing and relating to his experience.

I loved the depth at which he explored his Harry Potter experience, and equally appreciated his ability to contextualize the events that were occurring within that world with his broader life. As I’m sure many involved in the franchise felt at the time, the magnitude of what he was a part of wasn’t evident until he was nearing the end of his time with the movies, but the look into his experience and the relationships he formed was both fascinating and heartwarming. I loved the way that he focused on the lessons he learned and the craft expertise he was surrounded by. It sounds like it was a real master class in professionalism that had a major impact on who he became both as a person and an actor.

I also felt like Felton was able to reflect on his life with a level of depth and understanding that goes beyond his years. Naturally having such a massive career peak so early on was bound to have a significant impact on his professional and personal life, and I felt like his reflection on the impact and his subsequent spiral was perceptive. It’s evident that he’s done a lot of work to get where he currently is in life, and I loved that he managed to maintain a self-deprecating humour and humble nature that’s so often lost after such early success. This book was thoroughly entertaining, both for nostalgic purposes and also because of the way that Felton is just so warm and relatable. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a good memoir, and definitely to any fans of the Harry Potter film