B is for Beyond

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

Focusing on an A to Z of my TBR (to be read) list, each letter will have books starting with that letter on my list, a book I’ve read and reviewed (with the review!) and one of my books matching the letter with a link about more info about the book.

If you’d rather check out my folklore post for today, go here.

My TBR

About the Book I’ve Read

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

From the magical moments on set as Draco Malfoy to the challenges of growing up in the spotlight, get a backstage pass into Tom Felton’s life on and off the big screen in this #1 New York Times bestseller.

Tom Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame in beloved films like The Borrowers catapulted him into the limelight, but nothing could prepare him for what was to come after he landed the iconic role of the Draco Malfoy, the bleached blonde villain of the Harry Potter movies. For the next ten years, he was at the center of a huge pop culture phenomenon and yet, in between filming, he would go back to being a normal teenager trying to fit into a normal school.

Speaking with great candor and his signature humor, Tom shares his experience growing up as part of the wizarding world while also trying to navigate the muggle world. He tells stories from his early days in the business like his first acting gig where he was mistaken for fellow blonde child actor Macaulay Culkin and his Harry Potter audition where, in a very Draco-like move, he fudged how well he knew the books the series was based on (not at all). He reflects on his experiences working with cinematic greats such as Alan Rickman, Sir Michael Gambon, Dame Maggie Smith, and Ralph Fiennes (including that awkward Voldemort hug). And, perhaps most poignantly, he discusses the lasting relationships he made over that decade of filming, including with Emma Watson, who started out as a pesky nine-year-old whom he mocked for not knowing what a boom mic was but who soon grew into one of his dearest friends. Then, of course, there are the highs and lows of fame and navigating life after such a momentous and life-changing experience.

Tom Felton’s Beyond the Wand is an entertaining, funny, and poignant must-read for any Harry Potter fan. Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Tom’s journey from precocious little boy in “The Borrowers” to starring in the Harry Potter films and beyond (I really enjoyed “Belle”) is told in an unfiltered manner.

I really liked how he described his interactions with actors like Alan Rickman and Michael Gamdon and Jason Isaacs – and what he learned from them. I also liked his view of the character he played for so long.

He warns at the start that the Felton brothers were no strangers to mental health issues – he has three older brothers who like to call him “runt” and “maggot”. He was also called many unflattering things at school.

From the narrative, it sounds like he had the most fun on the set of “The Borrowers” and then on Harry Potter. It also sounds like the expectations of others as he got older, especially living a specific lifestyle in LA, was detrimental to his mental health.

I recently heard an actor say the reason a play is called that is because it’s about playing, having fun. On the two projects Tom felt like he wasn’t working but having fun was (in his own observation) because so many of the adult actors were having fun and making it a fun environment (while being professional at the same time).

There’s an important lesson here: enjoy what you’re doing or don’t do it. It’s something I need to consider in my own career.

He also stresses that it’s important to acknowledge your feelings and deal with them in therapy instead of with alcohol and other things to fill the void. Self-care is super important, in all its forms.

A memoir that makes you think about your own life choices and what you can do to live a more fulfilled life.

Triggers: cursing, alcohol and drug abuse, mental health issues.

My Book

Black Moon (Faery Tales #8)

I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?

You can now support my time in producing book review posts (buying books, reading, writing reviews and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.

*FYI, my reviews are my honest opinion and if something bothers me, I tell it straight. How else will anything change? My opinions are based on being a voracious reader and book buyer, not an attack on the author.*