Rating: 
Summary: High Inquisition
Review: Hogwarts fans are treated to the best of this series to date with an epic 870 page update on Harry Potter's adolescence. Answers to many burning questions are given freely by J.K.Rowling, yet she manages to create an altogether different twist in the world of wizardry. This latest chapter caters to the market of children who have grown up with their hero, going from pre-teen drama to mid-teen angst and issues.The Order of the Phoenix brings with it the full cast of characters only hinted at before, leading the reader to speculate how they might fit into future books. As in the past, Harry is a little more battered by the end each time he faces the dark lord, the stock standard formula of the story beginning and ending at the Dursleys house. Yet Rowling has turned the corner, with her fame and fortune assured, penning a novel that will appease some critics and bringing an even wider market of readers to purchase the book. I give it five stars, for this work will give the genre a credibility that no writers since Tolkien and C.S.Lewis could.
Rating:
Summary: Rowling Strikes Gold Again
Review: I was lucky enough to be in Britain at midnight, June 21/22, when every child and half the adults of Harry's native land appeared to be at bookstores grabbing HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX off the shelves. Having a long series of train journeys that weekend, I finished its hefty 870 pages in under 36 hours. As I did so, I imagined millions of readers just like me, unable to put the book down, delighted that Rowling's creative imagination continues to astonish, and that Harry's story yet again takes us into country we could hardly imagine. Harry's different almost from the first pages of this book - all those adolescent traumas we recall, the sense of rage and frustration at being treated like a child when the young adult demands attention, the worries about Voldemort and what appears to be a conspiracy to undermine Dumbledore and others fighting against him, his own insecurities, the stupidity of the Ministry of Magic which, ostrich-like, keeps its head in the sand and refuses to accept that the Wizarding World is once again in terrible danger. Throughout, he must focus on "what to do with the rest of his life," with the upcoming O.W.L. examinations which lead inevitably to a grown-up career. The 'good guys' (including Sirius, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin, and several new characters) who belong to the "Order of the Phoenix" turn out to be both more and less than Harry had once believed. Good and bad are now seen in shades of grey, not black and white. Most importantly, Harry discovers something about his father that upsets him terribly, and although we know that the truth is not yet fully revealed, his sense of insecurity is palpable. Hogwarts itself is taken over by those who will stifle the truth at any cost and Dumbledore seems powerless to stop it. The split between fighting Voldemort and those denying he exists even strikes the Weasley family, and the book ends with a bitter and terrifying battle in which a major character is betrayed to Voldemort's never-ending efforts to destroy. Yet with all the dangers, the book finds its own positive ending in which much has been lost, but the best remains. Amidst these serious challenges, Rowling's light-hearted imagination triumphs, full of wonderful images of bad-hearted house-elves, getting pesky doxies out of the curtains thanks to Gilderoy's Lockhart's "Guide to Household Pests," the final comeuppance of the infuriating Inquisitor, Dolores Jane Umbridge (one of the best villain-esses ever penned), career-announcements such as "HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO TRAIN SECURUITY TROLLS?" and infinitely more. Meanwhile, Harry learns that he can find sympathy even for Professor Snape and the Dursleys, while his true friendships are what will help him survive as we travel deeper into the perils of Voldemort. The Disillusionment Charm works both ways. While the humor and imagination is still triumphantly in evidence, HP5 continues Harry's journey into adulthood with sensitivity, understanding, humor, fright, change and loss. The boy who comes out of the book is still the Harry we love, but strengthened, older, and learning all the time. Meanwhile, Voldemort is even more frightening and the challenges our heroes face are no longer those of childhood. As in all her books, Rowling shows an amazing sensitivity to the concerns of our young heroes in each stage of their Hogwarts life. I can't believe Rowling pulled it off AGAIN (after all the doubts and the long wait) but she's as surely on the right track as ever, and now we must all wait with unbelievable impatience to see what Harry Does Next.
Rating: 
Summary: All the hype and pfffff
Review: I had pre-ordered this book once it was released over the internet. Being a fan of the Potter books, I was left jaw hanging with the Goblet of fire. For loyal readers, you may have noticed that from books 1-4, there was an steady build up of the overall story line that coincided with each and every book(maybe except for book 2) but after all the harrowing events that transpired in Book 4, people, were waiting for their daily intake of magic, adventure, suspense and potterism. I only have to say that this book fell flat off its mark.
The storyline though creative, filled with a lot of changes and new innovative ideas, fell short in coalescing a unified story. Yes, you may be drawn by the changes, but when you carefully read the whole story, it just doesn't add up, it seems that all facts and details were made to forcefully fit one puzzle.
What can I say to those who haven't read this book? Every person is entitled to their own opinion. I cannot give anything away lest the story may be spoilt to the reader, but this review is still useful enough that it suggests you to read the book in order for you to understand the essence of what I mean.
I suggest that you look out for the changes in Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black and of course "He-who-must-not-be-named" and see if the substance of this story are bonding or not.
oh, it's almost 900 pages, please don't read it too fast so that you can just join in the discussion with your friends, read it slowly, reading will do you good.
Rating:
Summary: Bit of a letdown..
Review: I completed this monolith at 2 in the morning yesterday.. so, wasn't a bore by any standards, but going strictly by the yardstick Rowling has set in the previous 4 books, this was, I felt a bit of a letdown. Nothing wrong with the direction Rowling's nudging the tale towards but the 900-pager does induce a feeling of dragging in parts, especially the first couple of hundred pages(which is how long it takes for the reader to realise what the 'order' is all about). Even the denouement for the climax where Harry and friends rush from Hogwarts to Sirius' rescue was not upto Rowling's usual imaginative standards, I felt. Having said all this, I'm sure the work is still sufficiently gripping to hold the attention of the Potter fan for the whole of the not-so-short duration it would take to finish it!
Rating:
Summary: The wait was worth it!
Review: This is such a great story. I am a, hmmm... 40 yr old fan who is so obsessed with the Magical World of Harry Potter.(Bought the 1st book for my 2 boys and decided to read it to check content and was hooked! My 8 year old does read the books by himself no help on the hard words and has done so for the best part of his 3rd year in elementary school. We have long discussions about all sorts of Potter related things. J.K. Rowling is such a dynamic storyteller. She makes you feel her characters and makes their life experiances so realistic you truly want to cringe when Malfoy comes in the room or get dreamy eyed for Cho. A lot of the same characters returned, new ones introduced I found the group as a whole was closer more like a family even though turmoil was brewing. I highly recommend this book I beg you to get out there and order the complete set This has brought color and depth to my world I actually look forward to crawling into bed as early as possible so I can sneak an extra chapter or two. This one will make you laugh out loud, get the creeps and be very sad. I say Bravo Jo Rowling keep them coming...We Love Harry Potter
Rating:
Summary: Good, But not the Best...
Review: This is the fifth book of the Harry Potter series. I have read all other four books in the series, and by far I would have to say that the third and fourth ones were the best. This book was good, but not full of the usual things that brought magic to the Harry Potter books. Some examples of these were the loss of humor that is found throughout the books, the loss of many wonderful adventures, and the characters were a bit different. Now I have to admit, J. K. Rowling did a great job on this book on many parts. For example, she introduced some characters, like Luna Lovegood. She also did a great job on creating Professor Umbridge, the total nightmare of a Professor, including her evil, interupting, and most of all annoying fake cough ("hem hem"). She even banned Harry from playing Quidditch, the sport Harry loved! How evil! I was so happy at the part when they got that toad-like witch out of Hogwarts! I also liked the parts where Harry was curious and daring and he did stuff like looking into Snape's memory! Hagrid took a while to return to Hogwarts because he was on a "secret mission", but he still managed to introduce some interesting creatures to Harry and his friends in this book.
I know that in this book, Harry Potter and his friends are fifteen years old, and they are at that (ugh!) teenager age.
Even though I knew that, it bothered me when Harry (instead of being his nice self) was yelling at everybody, including his friends, when he thought that "no one understood him". Although (thankfully) Ron and Hermione were still their old selves. I felt bad for Harry when he had that crush on Cho Chang, and for some reason she liked him too. I personally think that she went crazy because her boyfriend was gone (he died in the fourth book, unfotunately), and she took it out on Harry by constantly crying and forgetting that she should move on with her life, and she was upset when she mistakenly thought that Harry liked Hermione. Another time I felt bad for Harry was when the Daily Prophet newspaper always made fun of him and didn't believe him that Voldemort was back. I also wish J.K. Rowling did not make Harry see someone die again, especially since it was someone close to him (I'm not telling who it is, but it's no one that is a main character of the series)There's enough bad news in this book, we certainly do not need another death of a good character in the Harry Potter series. I know many would not agree with me on this, but like I said, this book has it's good points and bad points, and it is not as excellent as the other four.
All I can do now is hope that books six and seven turn out as good (or hopefully even better) as books 1-4...
Rating:
Summary: "Order of the Phoneix" Continuesthe Wonder
Review: I felt that this book continued the delight of the Harry Potter series, in addition to introducing several new plot twists. The beginning of Harry's troublesome teenage years, dealing with girls and dating, as well as new feelings of rebellion, was handled with class. I thoroughly enjoyed this new book of J. K. Rowling, and recommend it to all Harry Potter fans.
Rating:
Summary: Order of the Phoenix - The best one yet!
Review: This by far is the best Harry Potter book ever. I couldn't put it down. I thought the character developments were the best yet. Harry's emotions are so intense. This book keeps your emotions flowing. With every turn of the page your expecting something amazing to happen and yet you are surprised evey time with what is going on. This book also fills in a lot a blank spots, answers old questions, and reveals new secrets. There are almost no words to describe how totally awesome this book is. I am left with an overwhelming feeling of wanting more. Lets hope the next book is released very soon!!
Rating:
Summary: Angst Rules!
Review: This isn't a review about an over inflated Nirvana album, but of something that actually makes you think about and remember why being a kid for the most part sucked. Okay sure, so none of us literally had the weight of the world on our shoudlers, but that's beyond the point. We meet tall, skinny Harry were we meet him every year: at the Dursley's house, miserable and feeling rather bitter about... something. And of course, his cousin Dudley isn't much of a help to Harry right at the wrong moment. In a truely devious way, Rowling brings about an old friend... or something like that. Back to the bulk of the story. When Harry returns to Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, the have a very, very, very, very, um very fantastic villian waiting for them there: Professor Dolores Umbridge. The smiling, toad like villian is about as good of a evil woman as you could get, well except Angela Lansbury in "The Manchurian Canidate." I love the way Rowling uses Umbridge as a metaphor for teenage like and repitition of everything we hate. Although the end is more akin to a Sergio Leone movie, it's very satisfying to see the developments unfold like a neatly wrapped baby wipe that's soon smeared with refuse of the unnameable kind. Even if you hate reading, read this book, you won't be dissapointed (wink wink). Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the famous death: Here it is ............
Rating:
Summary: Another winner!
Review: J.K. Rowling has done it again, and the Harry Potter series has evolved brilliantly. Anyone who has raised a teenager will recognize the moodiness Harry displays throughout. He is growing up, and finding that it is not so easy. The book may have started a bit slow, but it picked up steam nicely and answered many questions. I look forward to the next book and hope to learn more about Harry's parents.
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