Carole´s Monday: Beyond the wand

 

Author: Tom Felton

Narrator: Tom Felton

Title: Beyond the Wand

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Format: Audiobook

Pages: 288

Published:  October 18, 2022

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton's adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.

Speaking with candour and his own trademark humour, Tom shares his experience of growing up on screen and as part of the wizarding world for the very first time. He tells all about his big break, what filming was really like and the lasting friendships he made during ten years as part of the franchise, as well as the highs and lows of fame and the reality of navigating adult life after filming finished.

Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.

Review:

I have been a HP girl since the first movie came out. Once I seen that first movie I HAD to dive into the books too. And I'll be frank......one of my first crushes was Draco. After the films were done, I actually grew to admire the actor himself. He's talented and he has always seemed like a guy I would love to be friends with. So of course I had to check out his book. I am SOOOOO glad I found this at my library because this had a lot of heart and now I want my own copy. 

This is written by and narrated by the famous Tom Felton who did not have a completely normal adolescence thanks to some early on commercials and then movies. His fame certainly heightened when he took the role as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. Here we follow him as young Tom to famous Tom to troubled Tom to the still-growing Tom. He speaks with candor and humor and heart. 

I feel like this book has three parts....one, seeing Tom as a child and his family. Second part, his HP life. Third, the aftermath and where he is present day (as of when he wrote the book). I loved all three parts for different reasons. 

Part 1) I love a good origin story. How we are raised is so instrumental to us being adults so it fascinates me to see him growing up. 

Part 2) LOVED HP as a kid and I still love it as an adult. Naturally, I ate up this section. I loved getting to see the behind-the-scenes and learning more about not only Tom's role, but other folks onset. Can't get enough. 

Part 3) So many people can struggle with life after a huge role like that especially young actors and I'm sure he is not alone. I loved how honest he was with his mental health issues. As someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, I can so relate to him on this base level. I am not famous or wealthy or whatever, but I am human and so is he. I wouldn't wish mental health issues on anyone, but it is nice being able to know you are not alone. He was so honest and I loved it. 

This was such a good book. He gives us the good stuff like behind-the-scenes of HP but then he gives us the truth about himself all at the same time. I can for sure see myself relistening or re-reading this. 

Now, I had no choice but to do the audio version. He narrates it himself!!!!! Duh! And boy o' boy he did a fantastic job. He was able to be serious when needed and then silly when needed (his little Tom kid voice had me chuckling). I'll have to look it up and see if he has done other narrations. If not....he needs to do some! I could listen to him read all day. He has a nice voice and really does an excellent job painting the world. 

Overall, this was a fantastic read. I loved the origin story, I loved the HP time, and I loved the brutal honesty of his life after HP. You can tell he really wrote this and narrated this from his heart. Honestly, I want him to narrate more! He did such a good job. If you at all like HP or even the actor or heck, if you enjoy a good story about a guy making his way through life....I highly suggest this one then. 5 stars. 

Challenge(s):
- #17 for Audiobook challenge