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Summary: I love this book!
Review: Harry Potter books are the best in the world!! I love how everyone is growing up. Although this book became very sad (I cried), I really really enjoyed it and I recommend it to all Harry Potter fans!
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Summary: J.K Rowling has done it again
Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's fantastic series.
In this new adventure, Harry feels he is misunderstood and not being treated like the adult he is becoming. He even gets this treatment from the one person he thought would understand, Dumbledore. But Harry keeps his chin up and reminds himself that another year at Hogwarts is approaching and what could be better than that, right? Unfortunately, even Hogwarts fails to be a place for Harry to drown his sorrows. Voldemort is back, but the Ministry of Magic won't admit it; Harry is having strange dreams of a long, dark hallway with a terrifying door at the end of it; and possibly worst of all, there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher named Professor Umbridge (or as Hermione likes to say, "that foul Umbridge woman") She is hated and feared by all of the students but eventually takes over Hogwarts and Dumbledore is kicked out by the Ministry of Magic.
Harry, Ron. and Hermione must once again solve this dilemma and survive another year at Hogwarts.
Although quite a bit deeper than the first four books, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is just another example of the superb writing abilities of J.K. Rowling. The sixth book can't come fast enough!
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Summary: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is the darkest book of the series yet. It is about Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts and it is truly a coming of age story. Harry deals with a horrible new teacher, a crush on a classmate, hiding his connection and friendship with Sirius Black, and the fear of the return of Lord Voldemort. Not to mention the many other things a fifteen-year-old boy goes through.
A common trend that I have noticed is that in nearly all the books of the series, Harry has had to deal with the death of someone very dear to him. This is true again in the fifth book. Another thing that troubles Harry during his fifth year at Hogwarts is his reoccurring dreams. At first, Harry dreams of people being murdered but then he begins to dream about a long hallway with a single black door. Harry has this dream nearly every night and he keeps getting closer and closer to the door. Then one night in Harry's dream he reached the door but was unable to open it. Harry feels he needs to tell someone other than his fellow classmates, but in a twist of events, any of the adults he would have been comfortable talking to, are not available to confide in.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a very good novel, but also a very long one. I am 17 years old and still found it a lot of reading. I can only imagine someone the age of nine, the age the book is intended for, reading a book of this length. I also believe that the book was longer than necessary, because some parts were not needed for the plot development. Overall I found the book very entertaining, and I would recommend it to any Harry Potter fan.
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Summary: Another great one
Review: Awesome book-now that I am done I miss it very much(my solace is the 3rd movie that comes out next month)My only upsets with it were that the umbridge character is so nasty it was painful to read at times(why did Harry endure the cutting quill?) and Harry's anger was annoying sometimes. But besides that it exceeded my expectations and left me hungry for more. Thank you J.K. Rowling! A delight-when does year 6 come out???
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Summary: The good parts
Review: The book "Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix" is a great book. The whole book is filled with intrigue and mystery, and the large number of smaller-font pages keep you guessing. Personally, I think the next Harry Potter book might be just as good as this one was-perhaps even better. The fact that the author has created so many spells for use in the book always keeps the reader guessing what Harry will do next. The mix of magic and adventure is a clever touch. I'm glad the author is applying herself, and that there will be more books like the other 5.
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Summary: Outstanding!
Review: J.K.Rowling has done it again. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is an amazing novel, although it is 800 pages long,it is worth every sentence. If you think its too long, fine. But don't let its length influence the content.This novel is alot darker, and Harry IS a teenager, so its understandable he's moody, also considering everything he's been through. I thought it was an intense book, that had many twists (such as the one at the end). I also loved how J.K. Rowling, gave a bigger role to Neville, and Ginny. Neville's life, also interwines with Harry's as he learns the truth about Trewanly's preminiation. Voltemort's and Harry's lives also become closer. This book, also has more action and fighting! Dumbledore, also comes out with WHY all of this has happened to Harry, and what will become of him and Voltemort. There's a death of a beloved character, and some close calls, as Harry fights against the death eaters, and Voltemort and all that he stands for. There's a new defense against the arts teacher, Harry learns Occumulary, prophecy is prononced, Ron becomes Keeper, and much much more. THe ministry of Magic and Hogwarts (Dumbledore and his followers) are enemies, the ministry refusing to exknowledge the return of Voltemort, and Dumbledore insisting on it. People become divided, even Hogwart students pick sides.This novel contains lots and lots of action, suspense, drama, and new twists and turns that will forever alter the path of the hero Harry. HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX!! a MUST READ.
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Summary: A more mature book for a more mature Harry
Review: JK Rowling set herself a difficult task when she began a series that would culminate and end in adolescence. It's easy enough to write glowingly of the adventures of children, like Rowling did particularly in the first couple of books. But it was clear from Book One that these children would grow up, and the dangers they face would become increasingly serious. And so they have. The major threat in Book Five doesn't come only from the purely evil Lord Voldemort but also from mistakes made by characters on Harry's side of the fight. Sirius, Harry's father (in flashback), and Dumbledore all show themselves to be fallible, while many readers will find themselves feeling true sympathy for Snape for the first time. Similarly, the plot is driven mainly by Harry's frustrations with the restrictions he faces, rather than immediate mortal peril. Harry feels like he should be given more responsibility because of all he accomplished, but more and more restrictions are piled on him as the story progresses - it's any teenager's worst nightmare writ large. Because the book is mostly built around Harry dealing with growing up rather than winning a series of exciting fights, the plot sometimes feels a bit meandering. I remained riveted the whole time, but I did sometimes wonder where it was going. There is a big action sequence at the end, and it's long and thrilling and seriously dangerous. But it could have been avoided if the "good" characters had better communication with one another, so for the first time, blame for the injuries (and death) doesn't fall squarely on Voldemort. This makes the losses more difficult to bear, but for the first time Rowling directly addresses the afterlife as well, deftly inserting some comforting answers that aren't specific to any religion. Overall, this is a far more nuanced and adult book than the first four, and is well-suited to Harry's emerging adulthood. It's still safe territory for Harry's younger fans but will likely find more appreciation from the early-teen through adult set and provides a great opportunity for those who started reading Harry Potter when the first book came out to truly grow up along with Harry.
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Summary: It's just plain bad...
Review: I enjoyed the first four books in the series, but this one was just awful. It's far too long, short on ideas and humour, and the attempt to make Harry a teenager is unsucessful. The Voldemort story doesn't get anywhere, and the 800 pages drag along. As for the new characters, JKR is trying too hard to please her supposed audience. A "cool" young woman wizard with pink hair, a black wizard etc...as for Harry's girlfriend, please, what's the point? Teenage themes are catered for in different books - we don't want them in the Harry series, particulalrly if they're done so badly! I fear for the last two books in the series, unless JKR can perform a U-turn and get back to the original stlye that made the first four so readable.
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Summary: Rowling...what happened?!
Review: Up to the third book of the Harry Potter series was really good but this one...ugh! It was such a pain to read. The only thing that made me finish it was Rowling's great style. Darn, why does the style have to be so good! Harry Potter has gone from a fun magical person to a depressed teenager. What's the deal? Does Rowling think that becuase she's rich, she can stop putting effort into these plot lines?! URGH, it makes me so mad!!! The whole series started out so good. It's really a shame. I don't know. Maybe Rowling's just tired of having to write the same series for so long. I don't blame her for that but she shouldn't have promised seven books, if she wasn't up for it. I don't know. I just wish her luck with he next book! Good luck, J.K. Rowling!
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Summary: An Audio Masterpiece
Review: I have been ardently listening to the other books in the Harry Potter series but this one is truly special. These stories were made for the human voice, and no one does them justice like Jim Dale. He will make these characters forever memorable to you, and the fact that Phoenix has so many characters makes the listening experience that much more enjoyable.
Jim Dale is an accomplished stage actor with a staggering resume-see that at www.jim-dale.com. He won the Tony award for his portrayal of PT Barnum on Broadway and is debuting another play on Broadway this month. The fact that he is 68 years old this year only adds to his prowess as a reader.
There are 134 individual distinct characters voiced by Dale in Phoenix- that is a Guinness world record. The quality of the book itself is darker and more brooding than the earlier ones, and that may disappoint you. But this recording won't.
Don't be put off by the length. As with any good storyteller, Jim Dale leaves you hungry for more. I'm only sorry that the next book isn't on shelves yet. I'll be listening...
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