Rating: 
Summary: Harry Comes to Understand
Review: I've always love J.K. Rowling from her very first book. This book is changing and takes you to a different level of Harry's growth within his own character and personality. You can understand his mood and then sometimes you can't - With an ending such as this, it only makes you want his next year to start once again so we can find out what will happen with him and The One Who Can Not Be Named.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read!
Review: JK Rowling has written another wonderful book in the Harry Potter series! I simply could not put this book down! It's full of interesting plot twists and page turning action. I absolutely loved it! Sorry, no spoilers here!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but some things rankle
Review: Good stuff:
1. Hermione and Ron. Their romance moves along at a glacial pace. I'm not sure they are even aware of it, though it's been moving for years. Will their kids all look like Carrottop?
2. Umbridge. The scariest words in the English language are: "We're from the government, and we're here to help you." She's a perfect example of why. But wouldn't it have been a better book if she had not been so completely evil?
3. Snape. I felt sorry for him. How weird is that?
4. Dumbledore. Not omniscient, and doesn't go quietly.
5. McGonagall. Gotta love her.
6. Padfoot. Wizardry's Most Wanted, and a concerned godfather. And his house elf turns into a full character too.
7. Trelawney. Who knew?
8. The Weasleys. All of them. Someday, Harry'll be even more part of the family than he is already.
9. The Malfoys and their minions. Especially the grown-ups, who replace their children as Harry's foes. Oddly, the evil kids don't seem to be growing nearly as fast as the good guys.10. Longbottom. Speaking of how fast the good guys are growing.... Rankles:
1. Lockhart. Why?
2. Hagrid was MIA. Apparently he has gone off to his own spin-off series. I know, what he was doing will be really important in the end, and his relationship with Harry was replaced with Padfoot's. Still, I missed his warmth.
3. No Quidditch. Sure, there was too much other stuff going on and no room for it, but it wouldn't have hurt to mention the other 10 games of the season.
4. Hermione knew things she couldn't have known. Several times, she just tossed out an amazing statement. Keep it moving, but c'mon.
5. When the students stood up to the adults, they were way too good. Sure, they are the heroes and have to prevail in the end, but still, they're just kids.
6. Harry slept too well. He has a recurring problem, but then it disappears.
37. Chapter 37. Jeez, why have the rest of the story when you just sit down at the end for 25 (!) pages of exposition that tells us what we learn from this whole adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Least impressive of the series
Review: If it had been Rowling's first, it would have been her last.
Hailing at an astounding 890 pages, Rowling still can write a good story. But that's the key word. Good. The other 4 books were great. This is just a mediocre followup.
With tremendous buildup in the pages, the book just doesn't pay off. I was left shaking my head, since things that definitely should have been explained were unexplained and issues that could have been left were overextended.
Rowling is a good writer, and her images are still amazing and her characters are good. But there is too much YELLING and bold type in the book; Harry has made a drastic change in his character that is never explained.
A key flaw in the novel is that the new annoying character, Umbridge, is too annoying. I almost stopped reading because I hated her so much. That's a mark of a good writer that I had that much emotion about it, but still, you don't want to chase your readers away.
The big death that everyone is hearing about is horribly anti-climactic, and the ending of the novel is a big disappointment (whatever happened to having a payoff for reading 870 pages? And I'm an avid reader).
If you've read the first four, you'll of course want to read this so you know what's happening, but if Harry didn't already have a following, Rowling wouldn't get one from this piece of overextended, somewhat plotless literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book but could have been better
Review: First I should say anyone that enjoys a good read look into the Harry Potter books.. they are well written, highly entertaining and full of robust characters, unexpected plot twists, mystery, suspense and everything else that makes a book keep you turning pages into the wee hours of the morning. That being said I have to confess I am somewhat dissapointed in this 5th instalment of the series. Or rather I should say the last 75 or so pages to be more accurate. The book imo has a rushed, hastily finished feel to the climax and is not at all up to par with the brilliant and imaginative writing I have come to love and expect from J.K. Rowling. The plot was outstanding.. the mystery and suspense kept me glued to the pages. The villians were masterfully done and a number of times I was shaking with rage and frustration over the antics of Umbridge and Fudge, then dancing with glee when some event would trasnpire to knock them down a rung or two. Everything seemed to be moving along fantasticlly.. then once you get into the final chapters and the climax starts to unfold it just kinda falls flat.. I dont know.. it all felt wrong to me. Over the course of any series you get to know the characters.. what they are like, how they behave ect ect.. I could not escape the feeling that all the characters I had grown to know over the course of 4 novels and 90% of the 5th were suddenly behaving in ways you know they wouldn't.
The hardest part of writing fantasy is setting fantistic elements into a cohesive and believeable world. The most important job of the writer when weaving these fantastic elements into a story is to do it in such a manner as to suspend our disbelief, to make the impossible seem possible.
This book just did not do that for me as strongly as the preveious 4 had done. I felt let down and somewhat cheated at the end. It felt as if she had written the book with a fantastic story in mind but no clear idea on how to close it, and when she reached the point where it was nessaccary to do so she just sorta winged it. This is just my opinion of course but I have to say what was shaping up be THE best instalment in the series to date suddenly fell apart and fell far short of hitting the mark.
Rating:
Summary: short, but sweet
Review: An unbelievable book! This book is so magical and dark. Mrs. Rowling is a superb writer... I can't wait for the sixth book.
Rating: 
Summary: J.K. Rowling has lost her touch
Review: What is wrong with this book....there are so many things to name. First off it is way too predictable and more of a recap of the series than then 5th addition to it. Second....this book was boring beyond belief. It was a struggle to keep reading. Three...Too much info involved. In her other novels of the series J.K. won the reader's hearts through witty turns with the words and her magical sense of being able to tie it together. This book lacks that and more. Harry potter yelling at everyone?! That is not typical teenage behavior. Get a life! I hope her next in the series are much better written than this. Oh yea. not to give anything away, but the "surprise" is a huge anti-climax.
Rating:
Summary: Book 5--best yet
Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is my favorite book in the series and after rereading it a few times it's easier to say why. Book 5 is darker, of course, especially psychologically. The character developement for Harry is especially rich (it is for the rest of the characters, too) and, simply, he grows up. This adds a whole new texture to the book, but Rowling does it gracefully without losing the humor.
I also liked the fact that this book isn't all mystery and sleuthing--for Harry, this isn't child's play anymore. There are bigger things to be dealt with.
JKR has left her signature clues (and herrings :)) in this book and I can't wait to read it again and again.
I highly recommend this book. --Meagan
Rating:
Summary: Really good book!!!
Review: I went to the midnight party at my local bookstore on June 20th and read all night all day and all night again, with only two hours of sleep. I'm telling you... just like the other books in the series, J.K. Rowling has a way to keep you glued throughout the book, not wanting to put it down. The first shock that hit me was how different this book was from all the others. You get more character development and a VERY angry Harry! It didn't have the same kind of setup as the other books did. And I liked how J.K. changed it. It made it more realistic for me. There's not as much action in this book as the others. The whole book is mainly about the Ministry of Magic. Near the end you'll just go WOW!!! There's so much action at the end that you'll drop your book in excitement and be on the very edge of your seat. But the death of a certain character was SO sad! That was the biggest shock of all! Book 5 was definitely darker and scary! And I have a feeling that the next two books are just going to be as dark as this one. Overall, I loved this book! It took me a few chapters to get used to how different it was and how Harry was, but believe me... it's just as good as the others! Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Book 5 met all of my expectations and then exeeded them. J.K Rowling dug deeper into every charachter and made me love them even more. Order of the Pheonix was also the most revealing book so far, but still left plenty to be uncovered in the next two books, which hopefully will be just as long, or possibly even longer. Fans will not be dissapointed.
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