Rating: 
Summary: Some things never change...
Review: What can I say? She's done it again. I could NOT put this book down. I read it in 2 days. Now I can't wait for number six. Think we'll have to wait another 3 years?
Rating: 
Summary: A daring shift that doesn't always work...
Review: One of the things that I admire most about Rowling's series is how the characters grow from book to book, as do the complexities of the plot and the challenges faced by Harry. This book was no exception, and in it she gave us a hero going through a personality shift that we would have never accepted if we had been introduced to him this way in Book 1: a teenager who's angry.Rowling does a number of things in this book that are daring, and I applaud her for it, even though they make the book less appealing. Harry is difficult to like: that is to be expected. The world around him is less black and white. The characters who are normally good turn out to be less so: Sirius shows plenty of immaturity; and even Dumbledore actually casts a spell on a student's mind -- a sort of brainwashing -- during an investigation. On the other hand, Aunt Petunia, normally a bad one, deserves credit for having taken him in and saving his life; Snape's resentment of James Potter was apparently justified. All of these twists add more complexity to the Harry Potter world. There were some things I did not like as much, though. Dumbledore keeping Harry in the dark for so long was the main thing, showing not only incredible lack of judgment on his part but also weakening the story. Any plot that could have been resolved by two characters speaking to each other -- especially when they had every reason to speak to each other -- is only a notch above the "I woke up and it was all a dream" plot twist. At least the lack of communication could have been better justified with more emphasis on the idea that as Voldmeort could read Hary's mind, they simply couldn't tell him anything. And although I was very happy to see that Harry now has more allies than simply Hermione and Ron (hooray for Ginny, Neville, and that wonderful space cadette Luna Lovegood) the last big scene, with all its running around, was more exciting than moving for me. But there were many wonderful bits. I liked how there was on instance after another of people refusing to accept what the law decreed -- one of the best morals in the book. After all, if a law is really wrong, and you don't stand up to it, you are letting yourself in for more tyranny. So we have the creation of the Harry-led Defense Against the Dark Arts class; Dumbledore's refusal to go quietly; and Fred's and George's fantastic flight away from Hogwarts and punishment. For such stands there can be a price -- F & G may not receive their diplomas or any NEWTs -- but to remain was unacceptable. I am looking forward to reading the last 2 books!
Rating:
Summary: slightly disapointed
Review: Is it just me or was the big news suppose to be a little more than Oh by the way Harry, in the end it's you or Voldamort? I really was expecting something like oh by the way Harry Voldamort is your grandfather. J K Rowling seemed to have barrowed a little from Cinderella, why not Star Wars "Luke I am your father". But besides that I loved this as much as all the others. So far #3 was the best though.
Rating: 
Summary: Harry Potter and The Order of Boredom
Review: Like most I am a fan of the series and like most I was dissapointed with the book. It was so very boring. Even the death in the book was boring. As a matter of fact my favorite character was killed off and it was a simple accident. Not even the kind of death you could respect and accept. Sure Umbridge is a character you learn to hate but if she was such a nasty character that you could hate so easily there was no sense in having her occupy a good 75% of the book with her stupidity. Also Harry is such a whiney little jerk that I couldn't decide who I disliked more. Harry or Umbridge. I know Harry's character was suppossed to be in that akward stage where he was a jerk but he didn't need to act like it for 100% of the book. One of my other favorite characters is Ron and after all those years of waiting for great things to happen for him they do, but you never get to enjoy them. What a waste of a plot move. Hagrid only had one moment when we found out what was the deal with giant blood and magic, that was a great part. Of course the rest of the book Hagrid was a moot character. Dumbledore is getting worse off then Harry. Theres no point in knowing everything and being invincible. DD was such an absent figure in this book. So much was wrong with this book that I shutter to even think what will come in the next book. Hopefully it will be all that stuff we wanted to know about James and Lilly that never surfaced here. What a snore. I'd like to see those guys as Warner Bros. make a movie out of this flop. Blech....
Rating:
Summary: J.K Rowling has done it again!
Review: J.K Rowling has always written the best of the 4 Harry Potter series but "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" has great mysteries that keeps you guessing. This book is worth spending your money on. This book starts in with mysteries such as the havoc outside of Privet Drive, and keeps you entertained 'till the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Parents please read
Review: Parents need to know what their children are reading. I suggest reading pages 265-271 before your children do. No spoilers are allowed so I am unable to leave an adequate description of the perverse cruelty inflicted on a student by a teacher. It is truly the stuff of nightmares. I was sickened and horrified to find this in a book belonging to my 9 year old niece. If I have anything to say about it, she will not be reading it.
Rating:
Summary: It was okay
Review: I never thought I would say a harry potter book was simply "okay" but to tell you the truth, I was sort of expecting better. I have been, like many, waiting for SO long for the next book, and now that it has come I'm asking myself whether it was really worth all that time. I am reading it for the second time, trying to find the happy, myserious, cant put it down feeling I have felt every time I have read one of the books. I am still looking forward to the next book, hoping it will be more exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Acquainted with Grief
Review: Despite the fact of the wait for this book, I was thouroughly intrigued by it. One of the first rules of writing is, "write only what you know." I must say, that despite the comments that Harry's anger makes his character "unlikable," J.K. Rowling knows what it is to grieve, to be angry at the world because awful things happen to people through no fault of their own, and what it is to be stuck in a bad place with no forseeable way out. If she doesn't, then she does an uncannily good impression of it. In fact, this anger and frustration in Harry made me like him all the more, because I too know what it is to have my world shatched out from under me numerous times. This may be a "children's series," but Rowling goes deeper than I think most people realize.
Rating:
Summary: worth it
Review: In this book, it seemed to take a while for the action to kick in, but by this segment of the saga, the fifth segment, we fans know that waiting for the author's big picture is worth it. I'm enjoying the way Harry is developing and changing. In this book he often seems alone and confused, quite angry and proud. Who doesn't remember these feelings from the teen years. Of course, he's a teen born to fight evil. He has just a BIT more to handle than a common teen. This massive war between good and evil that the author is setting up is depressing, but it definitely keeps you wondering and guessing. Often you can't tell where she's going with a character, like Luna (in this book) who seems to be there to be laughed at - hopefully she'll come into her own like Neville. I really enjoy the way Neville is becoming important in the story. I enjoy Ron, too - I can picture him as a real person, and not because I've seen an actor play him in the movies. I like the way the author slips in someone new and interesting just when a character like that seems to be needed, like the sly Phineas Nigellus in this book. I love her complex adult characters like Snape, who's actually Harry's ally but an extremely unlikeable individual. Her truly unlikeable characters like Umbridge in this book truly make you suffer along with the kids. Rowling so often reminds us that adults can be truly cruel. Harry faces a lot of turmoil and continued loss, and we know that in the upcoming books he'll have to find even more reserves of strength. Life is definitely not easy in the Harry Potter books. I'll definitely be there for every part of Harry's story. I think I speak for many when I say I've really come to care about him. Bravo for another long but ultimately rich, thought-provoking segment of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Quality OVER Quantity
Review: A longer book does not mean a better book. I found the first half of the fifth novel extremely slow moving, and the daily account of Harry's life very tedious. The death scene was confusing and happened too quickly, and therefore did not move me at all. The character just seems too powerful to die in such an odd manner. If Harry had used the mirror the (now-dead) character gave him, he/she would still be alive. Also, I found Dumbledore's confession in the end to be utterly pointless. There were no clues that Dumbledore knew what was going on, only that he avoided Harry's eyes, which could mean *anything*. I thought the headmaster's LONG blurb was just the author's inability to come up with a satisfactory ending. I found her book filled with flaws and loop-holes that could've been solved in a smoother way. Finally, I felt that JK Rowling could've written more about Ron and Hermione's Prefect duties, and less about Harry's anger management. Regardless of her new title, Hermione would've stopped anything she deemed wrong since she is so righteous. Ron did nothing with his badge. Fred and George's character developed well, and so did Ginny's. Umbridge's harsh nature was unnecessary. The first book was the best. ..it was the shortest.
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