Rating: 
Summary: Harry Potter Book 5 Stinks! :(
Review: Harry spends the first 234 pages sulking and feeling sorry for himself, and it doesn't get much better afterward. Forget the sentiment that "well, this is how normal kids would act." Not all kids have such a lousy attitude! There are also some serious leaps in logic; he's supposed to be banned from playing Quidditch for life by an evil new professor, but even after her true identity is revealed, the book never gets Harry back on the team. Lying, sulking and walking around raging against loved ones such as Dumbledore are shown without any assistance for kids to grasp that although Harry is acting this way, he's not in the right. Later there is a tie-in with Voldemort (gee, what a surprise!), but it isn't clear until way after the fact. Harry shocks himself with some of his behavior, but shows very little remorse or self-reflection. The implication is that it's somehow okay, because after all, he's faced a lot of evil-doers in the past. Note that those encounters from previous books, if we're to follow the logic in Book 5, did NOT provide Harry with a stronger character or more likability. Nope, his history just adds to his self-pity and despair. He even lists them at one point. ("In first year, it was this, in second year, it was that... How much should a boy have to face?") Well, if a boy is the central character in a multimillion dollar industry, I'd say quite a lot, and without whining about it. His only real reflection is on how rough he's had it. This whole bit makes him less likable and a much less sympathetic character. There are numerous authors, such as C.S. Lewis, who skillfully show their protagonist(s) going wrong and help you see along the way whether the character knows he's on the wrong path. (It's made clear that there is a wrong path!) I didn't get this same impression with Harry. Finally, I'm seeing what religious groups keep yiping about; when things are truly bleak and Harry desperately needs a divine miracle, he has nobody good to pray to. When his heart is truly broken over the death of a loved one, again, he has nobody, no Higher Power, nothing to end his suffering. If you want to spend 870 pages with a whiny, sulky, formerly admirable boy who winds up headed toward clinical depression, go ahead and read this book. If you want to read fantasy and feel entertained, uplifted, enchanted and satisfied, I suggest trying The Chronicles of Narnia instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Best book yet!!!
Review: This is the best book of the series and one of the best books I have read. Rowling never lets you down. It is an action packed book and you are always guessing what will happen next. I was upset and shocked when I found out who dies. It is upsetting a little when you see all that Harry has to endure throughout the book. As soon as I got this book I started reading it. I couldn't put it down. Despite the 800+ pages I managed to read it in about 2 1/2 days. You will be on the edge of your seat during the whole book. I strongly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Unsure Thoughts
Review: I thoght the book would be a five star rated book had it not been that it left me questioning Harrys thoughts on Cho Chang his attitude in the book about her change dramatically. I think Harry should have asked Sirius how to talk to girls and learn how they act in certain subjects that bring them emotion, and if Sirius didn't know the answer Harry should have asked Hermione what to say before talking to Cho instead of learning what to say after ward. The other thing that would have changed my thoughts on it would have been that if the person that died had not died that probably would have changed my star rating as well. But all in all the story made me laugh it made me sad it desturbed me it was magical just as all the Harry Potter books are.
Rating:
Summary: The Story Keeps Growing
Review: Harry Potter is 15 and acts like it in HPATOOTP. The teen angst is evident in almost all the characters. The kids are overwhelmed and irriated with the adult control in their lives. They are questioning their relationships, their futures, themselves and their friends. Rowling stays true to her stories and characters by letting them grow, and not always growing for the best. FABULOUS!
Rating:
Summary: two thumbs up!
Review: Rowling's writing gets better with each book. She captures the anger and restlessness of 15-year-old Harry wonderfully. I always love getting sucked into this world. Now I'm depressed I have to wait another few years for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: DEPRESSED
Review: I loved this book because it was interesting (i was up till 2 in the morning reading it) It is great in the begining but sort of dragged on nearing the end. The one flaw was the fact that harry has changed so much over time! i was actually annoyed at the way he had a constant temper. It was really depressing as well, with all the characters leaving hogwarts or dying. I was almost crying near the end! I still can't wait for the next book though, and it is a must read. I'm only sad about the direction that the books are heading. Hogwarts is getting a little lonesome!
Rating:
Summary: Stupedously Awesome
Review: I don't understand the naysayers--don't these people remember what it's like to be a teenager. I know if my parents were murdered when I was just a baby and I had to survive four attempts on my life in school, spent the summer with people who hated me and were emotionally abusive, not to mention my godfather being a fugitive from justice (the animagus wizard who could prove his innocence is conventiently set free by the hated Professor Snape), witnessed a cold-blooded murder, and then half the wizarding world doubting his word based on a stupid report by a sensationalist reporter, and dementors being sent after him, not to mention a new idiotic DADA professor, I'd be disagreeable too. But Harry is getting on with his life, learning to be an effective wizard--even teaching the defensive spells he's learned in the last four years to his fellow student who wish to be prepared for Voldemort's attempted take over. Even with Dumbledore ignoring him and Umbridge putting him in detention for telling the truth and refusing to back down, Harry finds by the end of the story, that once again, while the fate of the wizarding world does lay on his shoulders, he is NOT alone. Not just friends amongst his schoolmates, but other adults in his corner (Lupin and the real Moody, and McGonagall for example) This book makes it clear that Hermione is not a stick in the mud, Ron is a true Weasley and a true friend, and good professors know how to have fun. There are unanswered questions--the biggest being Snape. But the real BIG QUESTION IS--WHEN IS BOOK 6 DUE OUT!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Mrs. C says Harry is better than ever!
Review: J.K. Rowling has figured out how to gracefully mature her writing style along with the characters of the latest Harry Potter adventure. I promised myself I would space out the reading of this new anxiously awaited book, but found myself staying up late to get to the next chapter. It started off slower for me; there was no Dursley fun and games (which I love in the other books) which changes the tone of this tome. This is not a story about 11 year olds anymore. The more serious teenager angst tone is a little unsettling at first but feels natural after the first 100 pages. This book, more than any of the others, really requires all the previous knowledge of its antecedents. This is a book for Harry Potter fans. It is not meant to be a stand alone read. J.K.Rowling does an exquisite job tying in all the details and clues without retelling things monotonously, as many series writers seem apt to do. There are surprises along the way of course, new magic, new characters, and old problems. Bravo Bravo.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: While I felt all along that Harry was a bit too chipper through
his previous trials in books 1-4, I hardly expected the whining
and temper tantrums in The Order of the Phoenix. Maybe things
happen later in Britain, but the teenagers I teach go through this at 12 and 13. Ditto the angst and awkwardness with his new girlfriend. I found the book very dark and frustrating without some of the comic relief I've come to expect from Rowling. I suspected as I read along that the entire 800+ pages was such a huge machine grinding along to set up books 6 and 7 that I wondered how it would stand alone as a work of fiction.
There were many enjoyable moments and some nice payoff in the deepening friendship among the three main characters. We get a glimpse into a few of the more minor characters and a large question mark around a family member. I wasn't surprised at the identity of the character who died. Rowling also leaves the fate
of at least one villain dangling in a very tantalizing way. I hope the next two books give us magic, mystery and plot resolution!
Rating:
Summary: Great, but not the best of the series
Review: I finished this book in seven days, reading about a hundred pages a night until I became too tired to continue reading (this soporific effect was not caused by the book), and at the end, I must say that I am thoroughly satisfied with what this book has presented to me. In this book, Harry is much easier for the "teen set" to relate to. He is confused, moody, and arrogant. He wonders why he doesn't receive more recognition and feels bitter toward many of the people that he relies on the most. Additionally, there are many more complicated setbacks for the kids: their barring from Quidditch, the appearance of Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge on the scene, Percy's defiance of his family, the trial at the Ministy of Magic, and of course, the return of Dumbledore. And, of course, and perhaps most significantly, the death of one of the most significant characters of the series thus far. Overall, I was very compelled by the many mysteries that lie ahead of the three main characters, Dumbledore's Army, and the Order of the Phoenix, but I was still left with a sense that this book didn't quite live up to the previous books in the series. While I like this book more than the first two of the series, which served mostly to introduce readers to the characters will still providing an interesting story, after reading the third and fourth books, I came to expect more out of this series than I received from reading this book. To me, the book was too long with many unnecessary sublots, which, though some were good, took the focus off the main conflict between Voldemort and Harry Potter. I still think this is a good read, don't get me wrong, which provides many interesting hours of suspense to the reader, but something pivotal is missing in this book which leaves me yearning for Book Six to whet my appetite for more Harry Potter.
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