Name: Megan Helberg Keiser's review of Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
Item: Beyond the Wand
Rating: 5
Author: Megan Helberg Keiser

Tom Felton

"At lunchtime we would congregate in the canteen, which was always a fun moment. There was no separation of roles. An electrician would be queuing for his lunch next to a witch and a goblin, then a cameraman, a carpenter and Hagrid". 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.

The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard

Beyond the Wand

Hilde 

If you're reading this, Mr Payne, thank you

This just got to me 🥺🥰 what a sweet way to start 

I dedicate this book to the Muggles who got me here.

"If you blow enough smoke up someone's arse, sooner or later they'll start breathing it in."

"There is no individual good or bad. It's about The ensemble performance, about context and interpretation and opinion."

"Really, I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know why I can't get the lines straight." So he smiled and he said, "Dear boy, do you have any idea how much they pay me per day? At this rate, if you keep fucking it up, I'll have a new Ferrari by next week." He was absolutely deadpan no hint of a joke. "You keep doing what you're doing, son."

"I'd grown up thinking that the way to get on in the world was by being a brainbox. I was beginning to learn that a far more important and effective skill is the ability to communicate with people from all walks of life."

🌞Laur🌞

The magic is in the making, and that process is a discreet unit of time, you can be proud of it, but you can’t revisit it. 

Pretty quickly, however, a hard truth presented itself. 

It wouldn’t have matter to her which activity I ended up pursuing, but one things for certain: whatever it was, Mum would have helped me achieve it. 

… but for now let’s remember that such a predisposition exists among us, and some problems are too difficult to outrun. They always catch up with you in the end. 

(Bre)anne✨

“Tom,” he said, “I don’t know you very well, but you seem like a nice guy. All I want to tell you is that this is the seventeenth intervention I’ve been to in my career. Eleven of them are now dead. Don’t be the twelfth.”

I dedicate this book to the Muggles who got me here. 

But all things must pass, as my favourite Beatle would say.

spoiler alert: he has a nose in real life

There were certain actors on the set who go you’d never really recognize out of character, even though they were absolute legends. They just looked—and I mean this in the nicest possible way—like slightly scruffy older men.

My opinion is he knows exactly who it is. So why doesn’t he say so? The reason, it seems to me, is that the boy who had no choice finally gets one.

Draco Malfoy was the boy who had no choice.

“If we can just get one per cent of empathy towards Draco,” he said, “we’ll have succeeded. Remember that you’re planning to do the worst thing that’s ever happened in the wizarding world: kill Dumbledore. When you hold that wand, it’s the power of holding an army in your hand. We need to feel for you. We need to think, he had no choice.”

I would say Harry and Draco are two sides of the same coin, and I see myself and Daniel in a similar way.

“To hell with them, I really am a duck!”

To plenty of people in the school corridors I was the Harry Potter Wanker. I was the Broomstick Prick.

I was starting to learn that fame is a strange drug.

I’d learn, as the years progressed, that some people find it difficult to distinguish between fact, and fiction, between fantasy and reality. Sometimes that could be trying.

I dedicate this book to the Muggles who got me here. (Italicize)

Julia Lotz

Megan Helberg Keiser

Jeffrey Jose

Behind the scenes look on Tom's life, including Harry Potter days - right from audition to beyond the last movie.

80% of the book is happy, funny and exhilarating. It has all the stories you want to hear. What famous actors are like when the camera isn't rolling, what the kids did between takes, and how few scenes came to be.

The last 20% is sad. Sad to see a young man suffer. But looks like he has found a new meaning to life.

Elizabeth Wood

I enjoyed this for the behind the scenes of the Harry Potter films, and I also appreciated the discussion on normalizing therapy.

I was expecting this could be a bit dry, since celebrity books often are, but Tom Felton is a fantastic storyteller with an amazing sense of humor. I laughed while listening to the audiobook of this, which I HIGHLY recommend, so many times. Tom Felton is a good dude and he wrote a good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and appreciated its more somber moments all the more. 

Danielle Raymond 

i ended up loving it! i didn't know much about tom felton before reading this but started it up because i've been a big harry potter fan since i was little. the behind the scenes was SO fun for me but so was learning about tom! i've never read an autobiography and this has really set the standard for me.

i really do mean it - this book was so charming and absolutely stellar to listen to

Reagan

charming! (badumtss)

i ended up loving it! i didn't know much about tom felton before reading this but started it up because i've been a big harry potter fan since i was little. the behind the scenes was SO fun for me but so was learning about tom! i've never read an autobiography and this has really set the standard for me.

i really do mean it - this book was so charming and absolutely stellar to listen to

bonus points for

- the voice acting (loved loved loved it)

- the three kings story & and push for mental health awareness 

John Lopiano Jr.

As far as autobiographies go, it was pretty decent. There were some really great stories from the Harry Potter movie sets and a ton of insights into some of the cast and crew that were really enjoyable if you are a fan. I’m impressed with how simple his writing was and how easily you could turn the pages. I finished it in a day. There are some also really good pieces about his personal relationships and alcohol abuse that I really appreciated.

Loved it. Loved the BTS of Harry Potter and also hearing Toms real story. He is right sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the actor from the character.

Leah Diaz 

this was a very interesting read! it was really cool to read about tom’s experiences as an actor not just in harry pitter but other films as well. it was also very interesting to read about his life experiences. i liked how honest tom seemed to be in this book as well as the way he wrote the book. as i was reading it was almost like he was in the room telling the story instead of me reading words from a page. 

Hannah Williams

Anja Hansen

This had a lot of fun insights into the making of the hp films and was perfect to listen to on audio. Also, tom felton sharing vulnerable parts of his life is truly admirable and leaves a great overall message. The writing however was a bit too repetitive in my opinion

A very nice autobiography - capturing the ups and downs of Tom Felton's life in a hilarious and entertaining way.

sharkie

Anna Ureta

WOW WOW WOW! 

Absolutely loved this book!

Definitely recommend the audiobook too since he reads it himself!

You wrote a book and that’s amazing! You did it. Turns out I just don’t want to listen to a bunch of stories about being on set of Harry Potter, which really is my own fault. The book is perfectly good at being what it is. The audio is great because he reads it. It just wasn’t for me. DNF @ 50% I really wanted to hold out for the end-ish because I think that’s when he talks about his own mental health struggles etc but I don’t think I can make it. 

Megan BV

Dear Tom Felton, 

You wrote a book and that’s amazing! You did it. Turns out I just don’t want to listen to a bunch of stories about being on set of Harry Potter, which really is my own fault. The book is perfectly good at being what it is. The audio is great because he reads it. It just wasn’t for me. DNF @ 50% I really wanted to hold out for the end-ish because I think that’s when he talks about his own mental health struggles etc but I don’t think I can make it. 

Jennifer mitchell

Fun fact: this is the first memoir I’ve ever read. These types of books normally bore me and I much prefer entering a fictional world in my spare time. However, when I saw that Tom Felton had wrote a book, and more importantly, narrated the audiobook himself, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

This was a brilliant, poignant story of Toms life through the years. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. The book read like Tom was simply sharing anecdotes about his life to a friend. 

As a huge Harry Potter fan, the best part of the book for me was the behind the scenes look at the making of the movies. Small snippets about life on set that bring the reader right back into the magic of the HP series. (Along with the most wholesome details about Tom and Emma’s relationship).

But, I also loved reading about the challenges that came along with it. As a fan, it was honestly difficult to hear about some of the stories of scary fan encounters that these actors have had to go through. But more importantly, it was surprising to hear about the struggles Tom faced later in life and how he has worked to overcome them.

I highly recommend this book, even if you think this genre isn’t for you. And, if you do read the book, make sure to read the acknowledgements as well. I’ve never cried at an acknowledgment page until now.

Written with true thought and clear honesty. Absolutely loved it

Alex 

Written with true thought and clear honesty. Absolutely loved it



Loved!! It was great getting to know the relationships Tom had with his family, how he received the role of Draco, and his interactions with other members of the Harry Potter cast. Loved learning more about his life outside of the Harry Potter films, his regular muggle life and his struggles… making him a little bit more relatable and more human. 

Saw someone else do this, thought it was fitting: no ratings on memoirs!

Definitely nice to read more about Tom’s life and learn more about the man behind Draco. Witty! Wish it delved deeper, but you also can’t just ask people to give all their deepest secrets in a book to the whole world.

Saw someone else do this, thought it was fitting: no ratings on memoirs!

TW to be added later

Definitely nice to read more about Tom’s life and learn more about the man behind Draco. Witty! Wish it delved deeper, but you also can’t just ask people to give all their deepest secrets in a book to the whole world.

This was such a fun and fast-paced memoir. As much as I love the Harry Potter books/films, I didn't know much about the stars of it, so I loved hearing all about them. You can tell Tom has fond memories of his time working on the films and how everyone became this tight-knit family (it was adorable how he spoke of Emma Watson.) I also appreciated how open and honest he was about his struggles with addiction and the hardships he faced. If you're a Harry Potter fan or enjoy a good celebrity memoir, I recommend checking this one out.

Heather Harrington

*No rating for memoirs.

This was such a fun and fast-paced memoir. As much as I love the Harry Potter books/films, I didn't know much about the stars of it, so I loved hearing all about them. You can tell Tom has fond memories of his time working on the films and how everyone became this tight-knit family (it was adorable how he spoke of Emma Watson.) I also appreciated how open and honest he was about his struggles with addiction and the hardships he faced. If you're a Harry Potter fan or enjoy a good celebrity memoir, I recommend checking this one out.

Funny and heartwarming, as well as raw and vulnerable. I don’t usually go for memoirs but this was really special. 

Julia Lotz &
Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

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Julia Lotz &Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

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Julia Lotz &
Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton