Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!
Review: This was an excellent installment to the already great Harry Potter series! Many mysteries are solved andi throughly enjoyed it! I was unable to put it down!! I highly reccomend it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Rich and interesting, with excellent character development.
Review: The fifth year at Hogwarts begins with the same sense of unease that characterized the end of the fourth. Harry and company are alone in their conviction that Lord Voldemort has returned, and the Order of the Phoenix has been reformed to fight the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. Rowling uses Harry's age to great effect; he is moody and rebellious and uncertain of how to handle his emotions.All of the characters we knew before have returned, and a few new ones are introduced. The book is rich in detail, particularly in incidents that enhance our understanding of the personalities and motives of the characters. That being said, the plot does not encompass as many "major" events as it might until the very end. The book is probably longer than it has to be, although this is not a criticism of the amount of detail included. Rather, the plot-forwarding events that occur might have come about more quickly, but the character-building details are not to be missed. Rowling handles the budding romantic feelings of her youngest characters with particular humor. Hermione is cast as sage to Ron and Harry, explaining the wiles of women to her less-mature male friends. Great comic relief is also provided in the usual guise of Fred and George. All of the adult characters become a bit more human as the children's understanding of them grows. New light is cast on Snape, Dumbledore, Aunt Petunia, and particularly Harry's parents. During the course of the tale, mistakes are made, and no one proves to be infallible, which adds a nicely realistic touch to a saga that is also a coming-of-age tale. Harry, Ron, and Hermione gain a greater understanding of the world they live in and the motivations of the adults who are supposed to be in charge. Rowling's depiction of the Ministry of Magic as a government deaf to unpopular opinion provides an interesting commentary on modern governments, particulary in the Ministry's attempts to squelch any dissenting information and discredit any naysayers. That being said, the weakest point of the book is probably Professor Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and ministry toady inside Hogwarts. She toes the party line to extremes and seems to be evil purely for the joy of it. Her hatreds do not seem to be motivated by anything other than bureaucratic spite, and she lacks even Lucius Malfoy's motive of promoting pure-blood wizardry. In a book where so many characters are revealed to have multiple layers and motivations, it is a bit disconcerting to have a villain who is so one dimensional. It may be that Rowling wanted to make the point that not all villains are Death Eaters, but Umbridge is so appalling and abusive that she seems far worse than Voldemort as a daily threat. That being said, the book clips along nicely and then soars into excitement at the end, with many revelations and major events. The plot twists are nicely handled, and the loose ends tied up. The character development is Rowling's best yet, and she does an excellent job at instilling humor even in the grimmest chapters. While not as consistently thrilling as the fourth installment, it does match the humor and characterization of the third. It is a thoroughly engrossing chapter in the Harry Potter saga, and leaves this reader hungering for more.
Rating:
Summary: Another giant leap forward for J.K
Review: Darker,more mature and certainly better written this book takes the Potter series to the level that it always should have been. Come on, really the first three books, while entertaining weren't brilliant, anyone over 9 had problems with the 'perfect' Mr potter. But this book takes Harry to the adolescent character weve been told he was and expands everything. In the last book we were given a real glimpse of the wider world and the effects harruy has had on it. Now we get a full window view. Everything gets bigger, we thought saw Dumbledore get angry in the end of the last book, now we see the guy kick some serious [tail] in what should become one of the greatest film scenes ever if they ever get that far with the films. Expect to have many of your views changed, on the much matured characters, the link between the real and magical world and even on the ministry of magic. As I said before, its become the series it was hoped to be. Brilliant
Rating:
Summary: What is wrong at Hogwart's?
Review: I just finished read this book. It is darker in tone than the previous ones. At first, this is hard to read--I wanted the powerful wizards to live in their happy, funny world. However, the wizards are afraid, angry, disappointed, hurt, and their feelings influence them to be short-tempered and misunderstand each other. Despite all their talents and powers, the wizards are frightened; peace and harmony are hard to find when evil is disrupting every aspect of the Wizarding world. This books is wonderful. Ms. Rowling's writing skills get better and better with each book. She has given the characters a greater span of emotional responses as each one matures towards adulthood--grownup and child alike. I gave this book five stars but that really isn't enough to indicate how great this book is. Buy this book. Read this book. You will not be disappointed...now, excuse me, I have to go read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Order of the Phoenix Review
Review: Altogether, this was an incredible book. We finally learn the answer as to who and what Mrs. Figg is, and towards the end Dumbledore finally tells Harry why exactly Voldemort wanted to kill him in the first place. We don't, however, learn anything new about James and Lily, as was purported on many rumors pages. Most importantly, throughout the book Harry's character truly grows. The people around him he once saw as perfect and infallible are now shown to him in a different light... one of these characters is, indeed, the one who dies. This death is indeed one of Harry's biggest fans, as JKR had hinted, though it is not one of his peers, as you might expect. I was surprised, I'll give you that much. Harry also branches out a bit and widens his circle of freinds to include more than just Ron and Hermione. Neville, in particular, becomes much more of a significant character. We learn a huge secret about Neville too, tied in with the mystery as to why Voldemort tried to kill Harry in the first place. We also learn more about the wizarding world in general, especially the Ministry of Magic. JKR did a superb job, once again, at weaving all her mysteries together and leaving us waiting eagerly for more. However, the book was very long- while I did not mind the length at all, at times it became a bit of overkill, writing about every detail. In her other books, JKR didnt explain her little clues much to the reader, you often had to come to the answer on your own. In the Order of the Phoenix, however, she spends more time elaborating on the little hints she throws out there, leaving less to the imagination. Also, I had been under the impression that this book was going to reveal a lot more than it did, which was a little disappointing.. I found Dumbledore's explanation to Harry at the end to leave me with more questions than it answered! You should definitely buy this book, Harry Potter and JKR are awesome!
Rating:
Summary: Her Best One Yet
Review: Simply amazing. The 5th installment in Rowling's acclaimed series is an excellent story filled with suspense, darkness, humour, and triumph. I just finished reading it after quickly heading to my bookstore to pick it up. In my opinion, this is her best writing yet. Harry is not as appealing in this story (he's rude to people at times) but mostly all of the other characters are. Each one has so much depth to them, as Rowling achieves heights with each one. I don't want to give away any details because there are some major surprises in the book! All I can say is: READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the wait!
Review: This was an amazing addition to the Harry Potter saga. I was captivated throughout its 870 pages and couldn't put it down. Rowling introduces us to a more mature and more emotional Harry, who, in addition to dealing with his Voldemort problems, must also go through the everyday trials of a teenager. I was able to relate to Harry more as I saw more of his emotions coming out in this book and has he becomes more of an adult than a child. A fantastic read - I recommend it for both children and adults who have enjoyed the previous books. My only complaint is that now we will have to wait a while for the next installment!
Rating:
Summary: Was worth waiting for!!![.]
Review: even though it took over 3 years for JKR to write
this excellent book, it was defenetly worth it!!!
I just finished the book, with a bit more muscle in
my arm - it is a gaint book with 255000 words in it,
cross your fingers for more!!!
- the plot has thickned!!! JKR really shows understanment
of a teenager, and move the book to a real high level!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good not great
Review: (disclaimer: I'm a grown-up). OK, it's long, but Rowling is a great storyteller and we've all bonded with the characters, so there's no choice but to read the whole thing. Still, in the end, there's a feeling that there wasn't enough to it, for all the pages. The whole book describes an in-between time. Those in the know realize that you-know-who is back. Some wizards in high places stubbornly refuse to admit it. So there is no widespread panic, both sides are quietly marshalling their forces, and the war hasn't really begun. It's hard to say more without giving anything away, but the nasty little plot twists, the romance, even the disaster leaked by the editor are all somehow unimportant compared to what we know is coming soon. Or what ought be if writer's block doesn't interfere this time. Points for having good characters who are real enough to make mistakes. Points for humor. Points for some of the wimpier characters beginning to come in to themselves. Rowling clearly understands early adolescence, and likes kids. Kids will like the book too, even if they'd wish for a tighter plot line and less character development.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back, Harry!
Review: Though the wait for this installment in the Harry Potter series seemed endless, it was definitely worth it! Ms. Rowling allows us to experience even more of her complex young wizard and his seemingly innumerable struggles and predicaments. Harry is now 15, and not only must he deal with the trials of ordinary adolescent angst, such as girls, school, and asserting his independence, but the Dark Lord is back more than ever before and presents Harry with more challenges than most ordinary adult wizards could successfully handle. We gain insights into what the future may hold for Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and the rest of the Hogwarts gang, as well as a better understanding of Harry's complex past. I found this volume much easier to understand and follow than the fourth volume, probably due to the extra time the author allowed herself when writing. The younger J.K. Rowling fans will no doubt share in this opinion; though my son enjoyed Year 4, parts of it, especially those dealing with the Dark Lord, were difficult for him to understand. I do not anticipate that being a problem for him at all this time. I was lucky that my son was away this weekend so that I could read it first (smile), and I wholeheartedly recommend this to all Harry Potter fans, both young and old! Well done, Ms. Rowling!
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