Rating: 
Summary: A story without imagination
Review: This is the weakest book in the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling may have lost her wand in writing it. Basically, there are no amazements, no grand scenes, no impressive characters, events, or discoveries like those found in the four previous novels. The Order of the Phoenix is introduced as an ordinary club house, whose members come and go, but we never discover what they do of importance. Nor we know where the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters are, and what they do. We are told they are after a misterious weapon stored somewhere in the Ministry of Magic, but nothing more. The old characters are pale shadows of themselves - Moody, Lupin and the other wizards appear no more than moving puppets. Most part of the book is devoted to a weary Hogwarts life, where everything is a deja-vu: lessons, Quidditch, Hogsmeade trips, night escapades under invisibility cloak. Thestars are nothing compared to the dragons, the basiliscus, the unicorn, the spiders and other powerful magical animals: they are a symbol of the gloom poorness of this book. The only new characters, Umbridge and Grawp have no resemblance at all with great figures like the former Lupin, Aragog or the unicorn; they are mere caricatures. The whole story have no centre, or a very weak one. Umbridge seizure of power is unlikely and in the end boring, like all the Ministry-Dumbledore quarrel. Hagrid's account of his trip among the giants is totally uninteresting, and the role of Grawp unecessary. The final unveiling of the weapon (which isn't a weapon at all) is higly disappointing, like the magical battle beetween the Death Eaters and the Order's 7th cavalry, arriving to rescue at the last minute. Even the spells are the same old 'accio' or 'stupefy'. The problem is nobody is going to be ever stupefied by a shoddy story like this - boredom is more likely the word. In her longest book, Rowling seems to have run out of her strongest resource: imagination.
Rating: 
Summary: Harry is growing up.
Review: What more can I say that hasn't already been covered in over 3,500 reviews?!?Probably nothing. So I won't bother trying. As the owner of a popular Harry Potter fan site, Snitch Seeker, I have been awaiting this book with great anticipation for a long time - as we all have. This is a fanastic book, if not a bit wordy at times. I often found myself thinking, "ok move along already!" The good far outweighs the bad, and though this isn't the best book in the series (both 3 and 4 are better), it is certainly a worthy addition to the series and makes us look greatly forward to Book 6!
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Disappointing
Review: Let me preceed my negative review with the assurances that I am a definite fan of the Harry Potter series. Having read each of the previous books numerous times, I of course was eagerly awaiting the fifth installment. As the subject for this review may hint, I found Order of the Phoenix completely unsatisfying. Harry's character is unlikable for nearly the entire novel. We have to put up with his anger management problems for over 700 pages, and there is no payoff. While some critics (blind Potter followers) claim that this adds more dimension to his character, I believe that if anything it makes him less interesting. In this novel Harry is simply a famous kid who can not control his temper. And this gets old very quickly. Add to this fact, that while Harry's character changes so quickly in the span of one book, the two other primary charcters, Ron and Hermione change very little (save the utterly hapless mentions of relationships with the opposite sex). It's a very disjointed transition. And not a good one. I was at first excited by the length of the book. 870 pages of Harry Potter...that's almost 3 times the length of the original! Sadly, we pay the price for the extreme number of pages. Of the first 250 pages, there are maybe only 20-30 of substance. After the first 500, I looked back and realized that nothing had really happened. One of the most appealing features of the first three books in the series was how fast paced and exciting they were. Every aspect of that excitement has been removed in this very slow-moving novel. When you finally reach the end of this large book, you are doomed to even more disappointment. Unlike the previous installments, this ending is hardly creative. Instead of a unique plot twist (oftentimes the high point of the earlier books), we are simply revealed information that we knew was being deliberately held from us. Well, at least I have the first four to read again!
Rating:
Summary: Is Rowling Being Rushed?
Review: As a teenager reading the Harry Potter series, I found the 5th book leaning more and more towards a darker and more disturbing theme to be a welcome change. One would expect that with the readers of Harry Potter growing up that the book would continue to develop towards a more mature feel. I do however miss the light and irreverant humor of the previous books BUT it is understandable as the progression of the plot is towards what seems to be an all-out war among wizard kind. The initial set-up of the novel emphasizes the adolescent angst that Harry is dealing with in terms of being who he is. He continues throughout the majority of the novel struggling with his internal emotions such as his guilt, his anger, and his confusion (especially in terms of girls). I personally, found his mood swings to be a little less than believable however. Harry gives off the appearance of no longer being a child with a noble streak and an unshaking belief in the loyalty of his friends. Harry has every right to feel shaken in terms of the validity of his relationship with his peers but the way he LASHES out against Hermione and Ron... it just left me wondering if I was ever really this angry at fifteen. Hermione's single-minded affection for house-elves and their plight was still interesting to see but I would have liked some development in terms of Blinky's state. Ron's character development however was left off a little the side. He experienced a very dramatic change mid to late in the novel and while the novel is primarily in Harry's point of view, Ron needed more spotlight for the what he was dealing with. Cho Chang's character and her interaction with Harry seemed to just trail off towards the end of the book and she seemed more than a little shallow in some areas. i did however enjoy seeing Neville Longbottom recieve more spolight and character development much like he recieved at the very beginning of the series in the first book. I enjoyed the introduction of the new characters such as Kingsley Shacklebolt, among others. My new favorite however is Nymphadora Tonks. A bright energetic twenty-something is a welcome change from the older adult characters. The only other character's in this category seemed to have been Bill and Charlie who never get any spotlight. I have heard that JK Rowling is under an insurmountable amount of pressure to write the novels, but I couldn't help but feel the ending was RUSHED with enough little plot holes in it to drive a truck through. Especially in terms of Harry's final conversation with Dumbledore, Dolores Umbridge's departure, and the events between the second to the last and the last chapter. Harry's feelings towards Dumbledore while seemingly misdirected and almost an over-reaction, are very true to life to the extremes one experiences when dealing with grief. But SUDDENLY these feeling change in the next chapter which left me with the hope that thay are addressed in the next book. The book still remains an interesting and arresting chapter in the series and I recommend it to any Harry Potter fan. I do however suggest that if you're a parent and purchasing this for your child you make sure they are at least eleven or twelve and above and ready to deal with the issues present such as death, insanity, et al.
Rating: 
Summary: not at all what i expected
Review: this book was overall disappointing. Its obvious Rowling is trying to just buy time. By book 4 the antagonist had reached his full power and there was still 3 books to go. SO this book, all 870 pages are there to buy time, instead of a battle between the good and the evil we are met with a battle between good and the good. However, as disapointing as this book was, it is still a good idea to read it in order to understand the future books.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the wait....
Review: While controversy may still surround the subject matter of Rowling's books, she nevertheless delivers a literary masterpiece in the latest, greatest edition to her ever-popular series. This book is the biggest, and darkest, of them all, bringing our hero Harry closer to his ultimate encounter with the dark lord "he-who-shall-not-be-named". He must also face a wretched school administrator, an antagonistic house elf, and impotent magical government authorities. Luckily for Harry he has a host of loyal friends to help him through this maze of uncertainty. I have read the book, and have listened to the sound recording featuring Jim Dale and if I had a choice, I would highly recommend that you purchase the CD or audio version. Dale is an extraordinarily talented voice actor. He brings each character to life in a humorous, energetic matter. Absolutely fabulous. Cris Cunningham
Rating:
Summary: Expecting brilliance, but instead was disappointed.
Review: I was reviewing the book for my niece; she has read the others and has been eagerly waiting for the fifth one for some time. I would have given it to her directly, but her mother was concerned about the increase in violence and dark theme. So I was determined to read it to ensure the content wasn't over the top for a young girl and I was also intrigued to experience the writing since I have enjoyed the story line when I watched the movies (I have also discussed the other books with my niece and she really enjoyed them).
What a disappointment! Firstly, the characters are shallow crybabies, I can live with angst, however, I can't stand the fact that everything all the time was something to complain about, give it a rest. Second, I thought these were supposed to be children's or young adult books. It would be irresponsible of me to let my niece read this book at her current age, maybe in a few years.
I would not recommend this book to first time readers of the series because it may turn you away, I am assured the previous ones are better and may consider reading them to right my feelings towards Harry Potter. Overall there was not a bit of fun or joy in the story, it was all doom, gloom and if not hate then pretty close to it. I wouldn't mind reading the next one if a little happiness, adventure and mystery enters the equation.
Rating:
Summary: a 15 year old from NY
Review: WOW....wonderful...i loved this book..although the reading level is 9-12 i dont really recommend it for 9 year olds....the book is very dark and depressing at times-thats's why i loved it....it shows how easily people can be divided and how much trouble it can cause....the ministry of magic's living in denial...professor umbridge...voldemort's return...thingz that in a children's book are expected to end happily...in this book they don't..THANK YOU JK Rowling for not making this story predictable...I am 15 right now and I often find myself moody..feeling cut off from everyone @ times..and questioning everything about a hundred times lol....i dont know HOW JK managed to put all of these feelings into words to add to harry's interesting character..she captures and explains it so well in fact, that one might think she used a time turner to go back to when SHE was 15.
I really really loved this book....all the characters become much more interesting..especially harry...seeing him as a normal moody 15 year old is much more realsitic than seeing him as a happy healthy young man-it makes the read much more enjoyable and makes harry easier to relate to....again THANK U JK ROWLING for making Harry so realistic and not a phony children's book hero.
Rating:
Summary: an emotional rollercoaster
Review: this is the first book ever to put me thru an emotional rollercoaster ride. In the beginning I wanted to throw the book out the window or burn it because of the anger I felt towards some of the characters. Then the suspense was killing me, then three quarters of the way thru I felt satisfaction and the last four or five chapters I cried not once.. but twice and with the last page I had an overwhelming feeling that harry was finally at peace.. for the time being. People may not like what harry is going thru but the author puts him thru LIFE, like it or not.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: Let me start off by saying that I do not think that JK Rowling is a bad writer. I think quite the opposite, actually. She is creative, fun, witty, even brilliant. But this wasn't one of her better works. I loved the first three books, especially the third book since I like a lot of the characters in it. The fourth book was really depressing and too dark for my taste, but hey, Voldemort is a bad guy. I guess it's supposed to be a bit depressing. I found it to be a bit too cruel when the guy had to cut his hand off though. First of all, I think that this book is too dark for children. The recommended reading age of this book is 9-12. I think this book is too much of a downer for that age book and may give children nightmares. I don't know, I am seventeen and thought it was too dark. JK has a lot of subplots that do not add to the main plot, so this is why the book is a whopping 870 pages. I don't think this book was edited at all, because if it was, then it would be at LEAST 400 pages shorter. Also, there is incorrect grammar all over the place, and I'm not talking about in the dialogue. I'm talking about in the regular story, where there aren't supposed to be an grammatical errors. So you can see that lack of editing in this book. The whole thing with Harry being an enraged, mean teenager did not sit with me well. I know the boy has to grow up, but he is MEAN to his friends, family, teachers, and Dumbledoor just because everything does not go his way. There is a sub plot in which since he protects himself from the dementors, he has to go on trial because they want to expel him from Hogwarts. OBVIOUSLY he is not going to be expelled since there are two more books to write, and this little happening has nothing to do with the plot but to present Mrs. Figgs the cat lady as a quibble. And she's not even important in the plot, so why bring it up? The sub plot with Hagrid being missing and finding his little giant half brother in the mountains was actually not needed. It has nothing to do with the rest of the book. There is no Gryfindor quidditch team in this book because of that mean woman that I can't think of her name. There are many sub plots here that are not needed. The ministry of mysteries scene lasts too long and takes forever. It's just not a well edited book. JK is outstanding, but this book should be better edited. I hope the next two books are much shorter.
|
