Rating: 
Summary: Really should be titled Harry Potter and Teen Angst
Review: Harry Potter reaches new heights of self-pity and depression as he passes through his most angst-filled year yet (I must say it came rather late in his teenage years, but it was bound to happen). He also shows an utter tactlessness that leads to more angst and self-pity. He has outbursts of unreasonable anger and amazingly loyal friends, considering his nasty comments about them. His newfound love, Cho Chang, is rather under-developed with two distinct emotional halves which rather conflict with each other. Often, she seems completely reasonable and a wonderfully nice person, but when you throw in some recurring Potter angst, she becomes utterly unreasonable. I suppose that this is rather typical of females of her age, but it is almost as annoying as Harry himself.In contrast, the adult characters are much more interesting and well developed than previously. McGonogall in particular is a rather interesting character, as are most of Dumbledore's supporters. ...P>And, as always, there's enough humor and good writing to keep you entertained. So, if you can handle Potter's angst and issues with authority and social ineptness, you'll probably enjoy the book. Well, most of it anyway. ...
Rating:
Summary: standard not met in my mind
Review: the thing that drew me to harry potter more than anything was the depth of imagination that was put into the novel. i feel that this book was fascinating with the creation of dolores umbridge (who you absolultley want to kick in the face) and the development of harry's character. however... my sister finished the book before me and informed me of the trajic death which occurs. in a 870 page book, it seems awkward to refer to any single scene as "rushed" however it is my feeling that the topic was left very untouched. anyone else get that impression. i just thought she would have thought up more to go along with it.. maybe that is to come in book 6..... i sincerley hope so.
Rating: 
Summary: You're Going to Read "Order of the Phoenix" Anyway...
Review: Book Five is finally here! Book Four left us with many unanswered questions, and although "Order of the Phoenix" answers these, I still felt J.K. Rowling was either bored, or simply setting the stage for Book Six. But then I consulted with the foremost authority on the books - my wife. She pointed out that we are seeing things through Harry's eyes. We feel Harry's frustration at being kept in the dark. We feel torn between our past love for Albus Dumbledore and our disappointment that things aren't the same. While reading, I couldn't help making two comparisons: 1) This book is much like the first 2/3 of David Copperfield - it is kind of a long, drawn-out narrative that familiarizes you so much with the characters that you feel much more intimately involved. Things don't always work out in the book as we want them to, or expect them to, but these only serve to feel Harry's frustration at a personal level. If this was the intent, J.K. Rowling did this masterfully; 2) There is kind of a Star Wars feel about this book, meaning the mystery surrounding Luke Skywalker's origin compared to Harry's scar. You half expect Lord Voldemort to say, "Harry, I am your father. Feel the burning in your scar and you will know I speak the truth..." Not the best book of the series so far, but we'll have to wait and see what Book Six holds to know if Book Five is as important as I suspect it is. You're going to read the book anyway, so just go ahead and buy it now and do it!
Rating: 
Summary: Without a doubt, Rowling is a goddess.
Review: Being a diehard Harry Potter fanatic,I waited roughly 7 hours to get this book from my nearest bookstore, and it was totally worth it. It took me about 3 hours, maybe less, to read the entire thing. The 5th installment in the Harry Potter series is a thrilling one, full of new settings, characters, and emotions, all expertly woven into an incredible plotline. The book delivers non-stop action, but this time without the comedy and cheerful flippancy that the precursors to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had. Instead the story has realistic undertones that set the mood of the book very well: the readers should not fool themselves into thinking that Phoenix will be another light-hearted tale of Harry Potter and his friends and their adventures in the magical world. Rather, they should prepare for incredible plot twists and gasp-inducing cliffhangers. I cried numerous times, and the intensity of what was contained within each chapter made me stop between each one to catch my breath. JK Rowling has produced yet another awe-inspiring work of art, and I await the 6th book with alacrity.
Rating:
Summary: We Love Harry Potter!!
Review: Never before have characters been more real...Never before has a setting held such mystery and appeal for a reader...Never before have we ever been so attached to a character and characters as Harry Potter and the list of intriguing characters who surround him--Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and his brothers, Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagal, bitter Professor Snape and even the wickedly, nasty school peer, Draco Malfoy! In this, the 5th and most compelling book yet of J.K. Rowling's timeless adventure of an orphaned boy whose parents met their demise at the hands of a Dark Lord who "should-not-be-named", is a magical adventure on each and every page. These are characters you hate to leave....visiting places you wish you could visit. This is a story that has become, over the course of 5 books, seemingly an integral part of the fan's life...and we mourn when the last page is read! Harry Potter is growing up...this much is clear...and it's also clear that his growing up is not unlike the rest of us in the muggle world...he faces peer-pressure, the pangs of first love...the first glimpses of self-discovery and independence...and we see, in this novel, Harry's first steps into really discovering who he is...and who he is not. He returns to Hogwarts after the summer holiday, to find it under the control of the Ministry of Magic in the person of Professor Umbridge, a honey-smiled nasty witch who has it in for Harry Potter...and who also supports the Ministries doubts that "He-who-must-not-be-named" has returned, as witnessed and testified by young Harry Potter from book 4. Harry quickly learns that even those he trusts most may not be so trust-worthy...and that perhaps, those he distrusts most, might be something other than what he thought. I will give no spoilers in this review...suffice it to say that J.K. Rowling doesn't seem to be slowing her pace on iota in this 5th installment of the thrilling Harry Potter adventure. J.K. Rowling is a legend in our day...and long after we and she have left our time on planet earth, people will still be referring to muggles, Every-Flavor Beans, squibs, Nimbus 2000's, as much as they will still speak of Tom Sawyer or Dorothy from Kansas. My only wish for this latest novel is that it were 1600+ pages...instead of just 800+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book. Best of the series.
Review: When I read The Goblet Of Fire I said "No book can get better than this". Well i was wrong. This is the most awesome book I have evr read. Fred and George are awesome in this one. The part where they fly out of the window on their brooms is hilarious. I rate this book a 14 out of 10. Fan or non - fan, READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: Clever, Superlative Writing, Way to go JKR!
Review: Thank You - JKR,
What a work of art...J.K. Rowling already won my admiration with earlier books. This was her shining star! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) is magnificent. I am soon to become a senior citizen. I never liked to read before I started her first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1). I found that I could not put the book down. Although I am a slow reader, if I did not have work, household chores and responibilities, I probably would have finished the book in 2 days rather than 4. I could not wait to find out what was next. I must have missed something, because most people I talked to cried when *"The Character" died. *(respect for those who have not yet read it.) I did get the message after the death when You could see how much it meant to Harry. I had mixed emotions about James' personality traits as a teenager. I was dissappointed in Harry in the beginning of the book showing more of a negative attitude than I expected. I was thrilled with Hermione's stronger character. UMBRIDGE....More strong emotion. I could go on and on. The point being JKR was able to cram so much emotion in this book. I felt emotion for each of the characters in her earlier books. I think that is one of the ingredients for the enormous success of "Harry Potter." JKR is my first HERO, even at my age. I would have like to be more like her!
Rating:
Summary: Watching Harry grow up-Outstanding book!!
Review: I love watching Harry grow up from "the boy who lived" to a young man and facing more than most wizards will in a life time. He shows loyalty,love,fear and most of all outstanding courage. Its a great book to experience it all and a great sequence to the last 4 books. So many new characters come into his life and make such a big difference to him and help him involve into the great wizard he is going to be. His friends are always there and they test there friendship everyday but not yet have they failed! I recommend it to anyone who would like to read a great book.
Rating:
Summary: A good read ... but too light on plot!
Review: You'd think that the "Order of the Phoenix", which is almost 33 percent larger than "Goblet of Fire", would be jam packed with action and would advance the Harry Potter story significantly. Unfortunately it's not ... and it doesn't! That's not to say it's a bad book - far from it! It's an excellent read & very hard to put down! However it's just not quite up to the standard set by Goblet of Fire.
In my opinion book 4 is far superior (in terms of plotting, characterisations & action) ... I also think book 3 comes in ahead of this installment as well. In this novel Harry becomes a very typical adolescent. Which is to say a whiny, angry brat! :-) I found this to be a little too sudden of a transition ... especially considering the story starts up merely 2 weeks after the conclusion of the last novel (in which he exhibited none of these traits)! However, this is a minor complaint. This novel also sees the introduction of a plethora of new characters - the majority of whom, once introduced & described in detail, fade into the background and are hardly mentioned again! (These introductions/descriptions make up a large percentage of the increased book size). I'm assuming that these characters will play a larger part in the next novel ... otherwise they were basically filler. J K Rowling announced that a major character was going to be killed off in this novel ... and she tries to keep the reader guessing which one it will be by *almost* killing off 4 or 5 others during the course of the novel.
In interviews, leading up to the book release, she mentioned that this character dies in a horribly gruesome way ... however this just isn't the case! I won't give anything away for those who haven't read it ... however suffice to say that while J K Rowling spends a great deal of time describing the events that *almost* kill off a number of other characters ... the actual character's death scene takes place in approximately 2 sentences, is very sudden and not at all descriptive (and in no way gruesome). In terms of the major players ... there is virtually no character development! With the notable exception of Snape! Snape gets quite a bit more background & character rounding (which is a good thing as he's one of the better characters). Overall, the storyline of Book 5 is a little too simple and linear. There is a *lot* of padding (which, while well written just doesn't advance the story at all). By the end of book 5 another year has gone past ... but Harry hasn't done much ... and not much has been accomplished against Voldemort! I have to say that while I did enjoy the book a great deal (and it is well worth a read), it left me feeling a little hollow at the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, this was a surprise.
Review: After four amazing books that have pleased every age level, the fifth book is a shocking smack in the face. Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Rowling has said in her millions of interviews that she was trying to have Harry "come into puberty." She missed the 'come into' part. Harry slammed into puberty with raging hormones that bloomed a sudden, confusing and annoying temper that flares everytime someone says something right. His rage and rampaging made me want to throw the book out the window (even though I waited so long for it to come into my hands in the FIRST place). Besides the many other "alluvasudden" character flaws in other characters (*coughcough* SIRIUS), the series has taken a slam for the worst by becoming this dark horror story that would most likely make a young child bawl at just some of the ideas... I KNOW she said that it would get darker, but COME ON. Some people told me that they cried when a "main character" died (we could all see it coming folks...don't tell me it caught you by surprise), and I have to say, I was crying by the end of the book, too. Why? Because after all the hype about what Dumbledore was going to say about "what he should have told Harry years ago," we find that we could have figured it out on our own three books ago. Why read this book? Because, heck- you read the first four. Only three more to go anyway, and majority rules. Let's just hope that the next two are better and at least SOMEWHAT like the others? Maybe we should just get Harry some Prozac and he'll get over it. I gave this two stars. One for being Harry Potter. Another for being nice.
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