Rating: 
Summary: A more serious turn for Potter
Review: This Harry Potter book in particular had 4.4 stars instead of the usual five Rowling's Harry Potter books get. Some reasons were the seriousness of the book. I will admit it dragged on a bit in the beginning but in the end you have to think 'Wow thats amazing she could think and write up a plot so complex'. In my opinion this was probably the most difficult book for Rowling to write in this series. It seems like it would be at least twice as difficult to write as the first one (though the same quality). In this book Harry's character developes as a teenager. It's fun to compare the polite with a sense of timidness attitude Harry carried in the first and second books to his tempremental one expressed in this one. Life of course is less happy in this one and bits of the book that were always good turned evil (such as the ministry of magic). Also the fact that Lord Voldemort was back in power added a state of misery to the plot. Besides Harry, other characters develop in this book as well, including Ginny, Ron's once shy younger sibling now has a refreshing raise in self confidence, and can talk to Harry without the least bit of akwardness from her crush in book two. In this book the plot was mysterious and graduly unfolded. Most importantly, like all the other Harry Potter books, this one left we wanting nothing else except to read book six and go back to Hogwarts.
Rating:
Summary: WOW doesn't express it!!
Review: Come on . . . only 5 stars!?!? Just had to add my WOW to pretty much the rest of the world. I read Book 5 in TWO days!! My 13-year-old daughter has read them all right through and my 9-year-old is impatient to start Book 1 this summer! I can't say enough good stuff about this whole series and we're ALL waiting impatiently for the next SOMETHING ~ book, movie, whatever!
Rating: 
Summary: Harry Potter: will book five be the best?
Review: In my opinion this was an excellent book, but not the best Harry Potter book. It picked up where the others left off, it was very mysterious the entire time and at the end and only the end it made sense, but all the books are like that. So I will say, that one of your favorite characters die. Just to save one of the other characters. This is the "sad" part. I almost cried when I read it. It also has action the whole time, with duels and words. There is also everyone's favorite sport. This book was, Sad, romantic, thrilling, adventurous, and much more! So, if you want something to keep you glued to your seat, I say read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Rating:
Summary: "Phoenix" Casts a Magic Spell
Review: As he enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 15-year-old Harry Potter is growing up. In addition to experiencing the typical woes of a young man his age and embarking on his first romantic relationship with a fellow student, Harry also faces his greatest opposition yet in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth installment of J.K. Rowling's series.This book is the darkest novel in the series thus far, and it opens with Harry increasingly angry and frustrated with his life. He resents that he has been sent back to live with his abysmal Muggle relatives, who have come to resent Harry more than they ever have before. Harry is also anxiously awaiting news from his friends from the magical world about the status of Lord Voldemort, the evil dark wizard restored to life at the end of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Harry soon finds himself at the center of a vicious defamation campaign headed by the Ministry of Magic, which is determined to prove that rumors about the Dark Lord returning are false. The Order of the Phoenix, a group of witches and wizards who are trying to show the Ministry that Voldemort has indeed returned, helps Harry in his time of need and also vows to bring Voldemort's power to an end. The challenges of being a fifth-year student at Hogwarts also complicate Harry's life in book five. He finally has a chance to explore his romantic feelings for Cho Chang, but given the tragic events that occurred at the end of "Goblet of Fire," Harry's first real relationship with a girl hits some major bumps along the way. All of the fifth-year students are busy preparing to take their Ordinary Wizarding Levels at the end of the year, and the stress of studying, topped off with the hormonal and emotional changes that Harry is experiencing, result in his toughest year yet. In addition to many familiar characters, Rowling introduces many new characters in book five. Harry finally gets to know the real Mad-Eye Moody, who has recovered from Voldemort's stunning spell and is now one of the key members of the Order. In addition, Harry meets Nymphadora Tonks, a klutzy and outgoing Metamorphusmagus/Auror. Another new face is Kreacher, a merciless old house elf who does not appreciate what the Order is trying to do, and Dolores Umbridge, the most belligerent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that Hogwarts has ever had. Earlier characters whom readers will likely be surprised to see again also make appearances. As becomes obvious in book five, many of the characters in Harry's life are connected in ways he never imagined. "Phoenix" is different from the other books in the series in several ways. Harry is definitely growing up, and he's beginning to resent the fact that his life has been soured in so many ways. For most of the book, Harry feels as if the people he has come to rely on the most aren't being completely honest with him. That infuriates Harry to no end. After all, it was Harry who managed to escape from Voldemort's grasp at the end of book four, so why won't anyone tell him what the Dark Lord is up to now? In book five, Harry is quick to anger and doesn't hesitate before lashing out at anyone who has wronged him in some way. His anger is definitely justified, however, (who can blame the kid for being upset about the murder of his parents, the unkindness of his only living relatives, and the fact that Lord Voldemort seems as if he will stop at nothing until Harry is dead?) and he is still just as likeable and sympathetic a character as ever. The end of the novel fits the same formula of Rowling's other novels: there is a lengthy battle from which Harry manages to escape, but a beloved character meets an untimely end. The scene is terribly sad, and as a result of what happens, one of Harry's elders decides to reveal the truth about Harry's destiny. Although this new information is something that has always been implied, it is finally declared outright and paves the way for the challenges that Harry will undoubtedly face in the final two novels of the series. Since this is the longest book in the series so far, it also drags a bit in spots, especially toward the middle when the story revolves around Harry's time at school. The major action in the story takes place in the last fifty pages or so. A formula typical of all Rowling's books and therefore something of a letdown, since fans know the sequence of events by heart. However, book five is the most emotional book in the series so far, as Rowling paves the way for the final two books. Harry's relationships with other people are becoming increasingly complicated, and this book rises above its predecessors in terms of maturation and character development. While the Harry Potter series is still appropriate for kids, it's difficult to classify "Phoenix" as a children's book, since it explores themes that are much darker than any depicted in the first four books. Harry and his friends are getting older, and their interests are evolving. Also, since Voldemort is continuing to gain power, his confrontations with people have become increasingly violent, which means that small children might find some things in the book frightening. However, older readers are likely to declare this as Rowling's best work to date. At the end of the book, a second war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters appears imminent. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered, and an inevitable battle looms on the horizon, but it's unlikely that it will take place before book seven. The only thing we can be sure of at this point is that as soon as readers finish this book, they'll start clamoring for book six.
Rating:
Summary: Alas, she has lost it...
Review: While the other Harry Potter books would be rated 6 stars out of five by me, the latest, most hyped Harry Potter book would deserve 4 only.
As much as die-hard POtter fans claim this is the best book, c'mon, this one was so very expected and boring. Compared to the 2nd and 3rd books which were masterpieces, the fifth book of Harry Potter is like a normal book unlike its extraordinary predessesors.
It is worth the money you pay for it but definately not worth the hype it got.
Best in the series so far is still the third book.
You can also assume from the mood of the entire book that J.K.Rowling wrote this one just for the sake of writing and she also tries too hard, you can see, to bring in as much humour as possible.
I hope her sixth book will be better.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: My favorite Harry POtter book yet. I loved Harry's new anger and attitude, it surprisingly showed a new character evolving from him [not to mention, I can relate quite well to him]. I bought this the last day of school and boy was it fun to read last summer, I enjoyed it greatly. JK has a way of escaping people into her stories. OOTP was awesome again, very long which I like because I didn't want to stop reading. I also love the new characters [Tonks, Luna] and I love to see the old characters come back as well. There are also plenty of new clues that will probably come up in the later books. I am very excited and anticapating for the sixth book. I am an obsessed fan!
Rating:
Summary: Well done, J.K. Rowling!
Review: This was an outstanding read. I gave it 4 stars because, as a children's book it was a little complicated, but as an adult I thought it was fantastic! For those of you who have not yet read this book, you are in for a dramatic, emotional roller coaster, and a chilling end. Mrs. Rowling has a brilliant mind, and it will be ever so sad to see the series end. This book bridges Harry for what can only be his true beginning as a "manly" wizard taking control of the world around him in the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: So disapointed
Review: I was so disappointed with J.K. The last books were so amazing. This book was decent, but nothing compared to the her first 4 books. After having to wait as long as we did for this book i was expecting it to be amazing. Nope, i have read better books. A good book all the same but dont get your hopes to high.
Rating:
Summary: Just not as good as the rest
Review: This book was for me slightly disappointing after the long wait for it. Although the book is still well-written, I think it lacks the "spark" that makes Rowling's books so entertaining. The tension between Harry and his relatives at the beginning of the book was overly exaggerated, and I did not like the new "tougher" Dudley Dursley. Dudley seems to have discovered a few brains now, and his thickness was after all what we all enjoyed. Harry's frequent rages seem to be a little OTT. Yes he has been left on his own all summer, and does not know the extent to which Voldemort's powers have grown throughout the holiday, but then neither do Ron and Hermione either, and they don't erupt into rages all the time. Ok Harry is a teenager, but then I am 19 and I didn't have temper tantrums at his age. Harry's stay at Grimmauld Place is way too long. Do we really need to know how filthy Sirius Black's place had got, and how diligently Harry & co cleaned it? Do we need to know what Mrs Weasley fears the most? Or that Ron was nearly strangled by some robes in a cupboard? No. So we finally get to Harry's trial re: underage use of magic (finally, an interesting piece), but then we're back to Grimmauld Place again... Finally we get to Hogwarts. But poor Harry...nobody understands him, he struggles to complete all his work, the new DADA teacher is a real b*#%h towards him and others (except the Slytherins)...and then Dumbledore continues to ignore him. We eventually meet Hagrid, who we find has brought back his brother Grawp from the mountains...Grawp has no place in the advancement of the story, he is only there to later punish Prof Umbridge... The slow tightening of the Ministry's control over Hogwarts is very well done, and Prof Umbridge is a very well developed character, as I hated her as soon as I was introduced to her! The rebellious Dumbledore's Army is a good idea too, but I did not like Ron being given more and more attention, and ending up better than Harry in several important ways. After all, this is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix not Ron Weasley and the Order of the Phoenix! We have the inevitable clash with Voldemort at the end of the book...the death of a character(the death scene was not well written. I didn't realize for a while that there was a death. Yes this is meant to be written for children, but other authors eg Philip Pullman and Philip Reeves write more gruesome deaths for their child audiences.)...the unveiling of an unsurprising prophecy, and the usual chat with Dumbledore after the fight. The end of the fight scene is somewhat unsatisfying, as too many loose ends are suddenly tied together in the Dept of Mysteries with no clear information given. After the fight, we see a weak Dumbledore, that is as shocking to the audience as it is to Harry himself. Who wants to see a fallible Dumbledore? Harry's rage towards his headmaster is rather unlikely. I am sure that if I were act that way to one of my headteachers, I would be expelled on the spot or forcibly removed from the room. There was no real reason for Harry to be so angry at Dumbledore. Ok he has been ignored by him for the past year or so...but come on, Dumbledore is the headteacher of a large and prestigious school, and Harry is just one 15-yr old pupil that his staff are teaching. Yes Harry did see Voldemort resurrected...but that is no reason why headmaster and pupil should suddenly have a cozy chat every day. Harry's expectations are somewhat unrealistic...as are the readers' expectations of this book. It delivers a good, satisfying read...but it is just not as good as the previous Harry Potter books.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a shocker.
Review: Although this book thoroughly depressed me (and did the inevitable- made me cry), I found it quite interesting and a good follow-up to year four. Harry finds himself facing new challenges unlike any other, and plenty of explaining is done, which is quite helpful to the whole series. Rowling left many strings untied, which half agitates and half exicites me. I am eagerly anticipating the sixth book and I would definately suggest reading this book (and the whole series for that matter).
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