Review: Beyond the Wand

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing up a Wizard
By Tom Felton

Published By: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Date Read: March 12, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction – Autobiography
Source: Bought
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 288

From Goodreads:
They called for a break, and Gambon magicked up a cigarette from out of his beard. He and I were often to be found outside the stage door, having ‘a breath of fresh air’, as we referred to it. There would be painters and plasterers and chippies and sparks, and among them all would be me and Dumbledore having a crafty cigarette.

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.

This review is a definite first for me, and my blog. I don’t read non-fiction… I particularly don’t review non-fiction. I am the type of reader that reads for escapism… I want to get away from the real world for a while, and reading non-fiction just doesn’t allow that for me. However, as someone who is a huge Harry Potter fan (I remember going to queue at the bookshops at midnight ready for the next release!), I really wanted to read this one and find out all of the behind the scenes stuff we maybe didn’t know. Add that to the fact that I just love Tom Felton… I couldn’t not read this one.

I loved this autobiography. It was everything I wanted and more. I decided to listen to the audiobook, as Tom himself was narrating it. I am so glad that I did as I felt like I got so much more from it by listening to him telling his story himself. I loved all of the behind the scenes stuff, getting all these additional bits about what was really going on was just amazing, especially for a crazy Potter fan like me. But what I wasn’t expecting quite as much was to hear about all of the personal stuff Tom went through outside of that. Especially when he focuses on his mental health battles towards the end. I thought it was so beautiful to hear that, and I am glad he has put this out when there is such a stigma about men discussing their feelings/mental health. I just feel like this is such an important thing and hopefully will be the turning point we all need.

Beyond the Wand was a fantastic read that made me emotional in one minute and laughing out loud the next. It was a great read, and any Harry Potter fan should definitely pick this one up. I’m not going to be diving into tonnes of Non Fiction anytime soon, but I am so glad that I picked this one up.

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