Rating: 
Summary: Why has everyone started to stutter?
Review: All of a s-s-sudden many of the P-p-potter characters have d-d-developed a stuttering problem. Especially the women. Is this the result of some sinister curse we weren't told about?
Harry's NUMEROUS CAPITAL-LETTER TANTRUMS!! quickly become tiresome. Supposedly he throws these constant fits because he's now an adolescent. Well, so are Ron and Hermione, and they don't spend all their time shrieking in upper case.
Yes, Harry has a tough life and he's persecuted and misunderstood. But the extreme personality change is bizarre. Harry has become not likable .
It seems this adolescent illness has affected only Harry and Cho Chang. Cho now whines a lot and has fallen under the dreaded stuttering curse.
We had been warned that an important character was going to be killed off in this book, and I was as curious as anyone else. By the time it happened, I didn't care. The ending felt rushed and anticlimactic.
Professor Grinning Toad Umbridge was too utterly awful to be entertaining. Snape is cruel and evil too, but he's complicated, mysterious and therefore interesting.
Hagrid's reason for being absent was unbelievably hokey and didn't fit with the plot. Maybe it will be revelant at some point.
One of the most cringe-producing parts of the story involves a character being injured, which causes a speech impediment that drags on for several pages. The first couple of "Stubefies!" were mildly amusing. After that it god weally stubid.
Despite all my complaints, I read the whole 800-plus pages. Parts of it are captivating. But overall, "Order of the Phoenix" was disappointing. I hope the next one is better.
Rating:
Summary: Some good moments, but dissapointingly anti-climatic
Review: So much hype, and several years of prolonging the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series, for nothing. This was supposed to be such a pivitol book. And yet, with Dumbledore finally reavealing Harry's "prophecy", I feel nothing more has been revealed than what was cleary explained in the previous volumes. We know Harry and Voldemort are connected; we know that Harry and he are equals in power. This is the only reason why Voldemort wants to kill Harry though?? I expected there to be something more telling and complex. I feel as if J.K. Rowling left the writing of the explanation to a 4th grade reader who has no concept of plot formation. The saving moments of the book, are the depictions of Harry becoming a full fledged moody, arrogant teenager, leaving behind some of the tween-Indiana Jones-esque hero perfection he had displayed before. Some people were annoyed with Harry's behavior, but I think this is a brilliant display of the depth of character development Rowling invests in Harry. It is really too bad though, that this is the sole outlet Rowling gave any effort to. And several little grand narrative scenes between Harry and some of the other students at the beginning, similar to those of the previous books, make plodding through the drawn out beginning somewhat enjoyable. Dumbledore's less than stellar revelations of Harry's life are as empty as a hollow chocolate frog.
Rating: 
Summary: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Review: It took me off & on about a week & a half to read. It proceeded as a page turner all the way to the end. Sorry Harry was so grumpy during the whole journey, but that is typical of a teenager! Glad none of the 3 main characters died. Last chapter tried to tie up loose ends, probably could have been a 2 chapter ending. Looking forward to the next book. Enjoy watching the movies with my teens.
Rating:
Summary: Can't Wait for the Sixth Year!!!
Review: I LOVED this book, as much as the previous books . . . despite 800+ pages, I can't wait for more. It's a fast read and full of much needed information -- for Harry and the readers!! Ms. Rowling, keep them coming! I know it must be difficult, but please don't make us wait another three years.
Rating:
Summary: 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT H.P.A.T.O.O.T.P.
Review: 1 - It's a GREAT book (albeit long at an astounding 869 pages)!2 - The mythology of the Harry Potter universe continues to expand nicely. Don't bother reading this if you haven't already read Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. There's plenty of backstory and characters that are not needlessly reintroduced. 3 - Harry Potter as a character is given much more depth. Is he prone to be a hero? YES. Does he start to develop a teenagers attitude? YES. Does he start to learn what his place in the grand scheme of things is? YES. There is more to Harry in this book than many "adult" novels characterize for their protagonists. 4 - It reminds you about what it was like to be a teenager feeling those first confusing pains of romance. Should I kiss her? Should I hold her hand? Why is she crying? What did I say wrong? Harry and Cho is a fun relationship to see begin...and possibly end. However, the best one is the budding romance between Ron and Hermione...and it's doubtful that either one sees it happening. 5 - Good villains abound in this story. The new D.A.T.D.A. professor is a royal pain in the broomstrick. Never have I read through a novel where I prayed to see a character get what they deserve until I met Dolores Umbridge. Aside from her there's also the mystery and vileness of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters (Come on, how can you even say "Death Eaters" without expecting someone to die?). 6 - Someone dies! And it shows that not every death need be heroic. The death also serves the point of helping other characters develop. 7 - The complex relationship between Harry and Professor Snape. Snape has gone from a wood-be suspect in the first few books to a rich character. I find myself most looking forward to the chapters where these two characters interact. The best chapter of Order of the Phoenix by far is the one entitled "Snape's Worst Memory". To think that an antagonist to Harry like Snape might actually make the readers feel sorry for him...and then hate him again all in the span of a few pages. That's just good writing! 8 - Action! For 800+ pages the book certainly moves quickly. And even though we can enjoy some familiar staples (Quidditch, walks in the Forbidden Forest), there's also plenty of new things. 9 - Dialogue. J.K. Rowling does a phenomenal job with her dialogue. As a teacher of 13 year olds, I find that when I read the Harry Potter books the kids talk and act like...KIDS. Now many of them talk and act like 15 year olds. Rowling does an incredible job of listening to kids in her real life because what flows from her pen just sounds genuine. 10 - IT MAKES KIDS WANT TO READ. How many other times have kids lined up en masse to buy a BOOK? Never in my lifetime. The Harry Potter series is just FUN and EXCITING and kids want to be a part of that experience.
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Summary: less quidditch more drama and suspense
Review: Don't worry about the size of this book. It is fast reading, with the same fast-paced drama as the first four. The story of Potter's latest chills, thrills and some frills, hasn't suffered from sequelitis. On the contrary, Rowling continues to impress with simply excellent character development, timing, drama and intrigue. You'll find it has shorter descriptions of classroom lessons and quidditch. What it does have more of is drama, with many interweaving stories. It has a love angle, a secret society, an undercurrent of Voldemort's latest plan, and a lot of authority vs. righteous teen rebels. You'll find yourself wanting to shout "don't" at Harry, like when you're watching a horror flick. However, it never gets cheesy and there is just the right amount of suspense and missteps to keep you interested. Thanks Rowling! You deserve every dollar of your billions.
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Summary: Best Harry Potter Book
Review: I really enjoyed this book and I am desperately waiting the next one. I think that JK Rowling is an excellent author and goes into extreme depth in all her Harry Potter books but this one has just a bit extra. I am not into any other fantasy stories but found this whole series extremely difficult to put down.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful wonderful book
Review: I loved this book, I felt like I had entered Harry's world.
This series has been great. The writing makes you feel like you are a part of the story. It's fun to discuss it with my 10 year old grandson, who has enjoyed all the books also. Once you start to read it, you can not put it down. Wish the next book was out. I've read thousands of books in my 63 years and all the Harry Potter books rate right up on top.
Rating: 
Summary: Long but ultimately worth it
Review: While I have to agree with other reviewers that the book was overly long, I felt that HP:TOOTP was a great book. Particularly in characterization. If Harry had remained the same happy go-lucky kid that he's been in previous books then the story would make less sense. He's getting older, he's taken on tremendous tasks and yet the adults around him still want to treat him as a child. It's no wonder that he spent a good portion of this book being angry and frustrated. I thought the book did a good job of showing how kids mature, given their very different circumstances. Ron and Hermione have loving and supportive families and only have stressful situations at school. Harry's life is stress 24-7-365 lately. The only criticism I have for this book and it's not really criticism is that it is mostly filler. Books 1-4 were pretty much stand alone books in the sence that there is a beginning middle and end contained therein with the Voldemort return plot intermixed. This book unlike the others is entirely about Voldemort without a primary plot. The Order of the Pheonix is in the title but their barely in the book except as individual characters rather than as a cohesive group. With that caveat, I still found this book enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Rowling Keeps Rolling
Review: Rowling continues her streak of great story-telling in The Order of the Phoenix. As with all the books (in a series aimed at kids, continuity is good), the book begins in the summer with Harry at his uncle's and aunt's house being terminated by them and their son, Harry's cousin Dudley. This book lingers a bit more on Harry's life during the summer, but eventually, he arrives back at Hogwarts and, as always, spends the year trying to learn about wizarding while going through agonies over Quidditch and trying to uncover and thwart the plots of Lord Voldemort and his allies. Since this book is the longest of the series so far, Rowling goes through the story leisurely. Except for a scene early on, the action of the book does not start until midway through the book. Instead, we are treated to a lot of character building. Harry is going through the difficulties of a teenager. He doesn't always trust his friends, Ron and Hermione. He doesn't always trust his mentor, Dumbledore. And he is having real trouble sorting out how to deal with girls that he likes. I had one minor problem with the book. We also learn a lot about the wizard political world. Wizard politics are prominent in this book because the wizard government appoints someone to look over Dumbledore's shoulder at Hogwarts, and this supplies much of the plot of the book. Unfortunately, I think that Rowling made a wrong turn here. I am not that interested in the political issues of the wizard world (in the same way that I am not interested in the political issues of the Jedi world in the Star Wars prequels). But Rowling's story-telling ability is so good, her continuing deepening of Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's character is so interesting, and the climax of the book is so much fun--leaving us hungry for the next book--that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix still deserves five stars.
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