"Beyond the Wand" by Tom Felton, Review

Finishing this book genuinely hurt a little bit, it felt like I was leaving a good friend behind!

I spotted this book while we were at Heathrow airport, a few hours before our flight was due to take us back home. Having a lot of free time on our hands, meant we had all the time in the world to explore the airport. The shop that beckoned to me, however, was a tiny little spot, labeled by a huge illuminated sign that read "The Bookshop: by WHSmith". I had already bought a myriad of items throughout our 4 days spent in London, so I really did not enter expecting to add another one to that list. I quickly scanned over the shelves, and instantaneously my eyes fell onto Tom Felton's face! There it was, his memoir, "Beyond the Wand" sitting in front of me. Immediately, I picked it up and fell in love with the conversational and friendly tone of writing. It felt so genuine and down-to-earth, humours and cleverly written too, I quickly burned through the first few chapters. This was my first time reading a celebrity memoir, I had previously never felt any sort of attraction towards this genre, so I never actively searched for it, but oh my - I wish I did sooner! This was such a comfort little delight to read. It's strange but fascinating seeing celebrities as just ordinary people, people you can relate to.

It was no question - I knew I had to buy this book. The Harry Potter books & films played a significantly important role in my childhood, and I was beyond excited to read about what life on set is like. This was my main goal, going into reading this book. However as I progressed further and further through the chapters, I found myself caring more and more about Felton as a human being. Somehow, his own story had become more important to me than his career and the whole Harry Potter franchise. Something about his journey struck a chord within me and I felt myself caring deeply about it. I suppose this opened me to the reality that celebrities are only human. In the past I found it hard to understand that famous people were ordinary human beings too, and also dealt with their fair share of struggles and challenges. Reading about Felton's journey through rehab and depressive episodes enlightened me to a new perspective, also filling me with hope. This book definitely passes out the message that Good People are out there: I very much enjoyed the short period in which we met Greg, who seems to have managed to create an unfathomable bond with the elements around him and somehow understood the true meaning of life. I can only hope to find some version of him in my own life. The "three kings", who appear later on in the story, are angels amongst us and quite literally restore my hope in humanity.

I think this book is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, as well as those who aren't at all; The book strikes a perfect balance, providing a sustainable amount of Potter content to satisfy the curious fans but not so much that it becomes a bore, it is not an oversell that's for sure. To balance out, we are given a generous amount of chapters describing Felton's personal journey, making this book infinitely interesting and captivating, for a diverse range of audiences.

You should definitely check out this book if you're interested in the acting life and what it's like being an actor in L.A. Spoiler: It's not as glamorous as it may come across. I'd say this book is suitable for a wide array of ages, the writing is so down to earth and friendly, it feels like all throughout I'm simply conversing with a friend.

We also get a lovely foreword from Emma Watson at the very start, which is a perfect touch and makes this book just that tad more special to me.

Overall I'd highly recommend this book, to Potter fans and beyond. I feel as though anyone can learn something from this.

Love,

Ann ❤️