Rating: 
Summary: This book gets 15 year olds exactly right!
Review: This book is so brilliant because it gets 15 year olds exactly right. This is what people are forgetting about Harry - he is 15! Rowling's insight into the minds of 15 year olds is simply superb - and all the 15 year olds I know identify with Harry in a whole new way. (I am 48, by the way, but know lots of 15 year olds on both sides of the Atlantic). So I think a lot of the critics are wrong - Rowling is 200% back on form with this outstanding new addition to the Potter series. Christopher Catherwood (author of CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE, Zondervan, 2003)
Rating: 
Summary: Reads less like a mystery than the others
Review: I always found the other 4 books to be fantasy-mysteries. Who wants the sorceror's stone, and why? Who's opening the chamber of secrets? How is Sirius Black getting in? Who put Harry's name in the goblet of fire? Well, this one is different -- we know Voldemort is back, we know the Ministry doesn't think he is. Though it still has the mystery -- the dreams, that is -- it seems that the book is more focused on politics which may turn off some, but I found to be interesting. In the end, I thought it was pretty solid. I'll summarize.Bad points: Slow start. The "big" death wasn't really *that* big or touching. I was really hoping for closure with the Snape / Potter hatred (save it for book 6/7 I guess). I think the battle at the end would be better written without every paragraph starting with a magic word being shouted. It got annoying to read "EXPELLIRAMUS!" and "STUPEFY!" every five words. She could just focus on the dynamics of the battle. Good points? The twins really shine; Percy's slowly becoming a real bastard (I always sort of liked him, but not anymore); Dumbledore is badass; Lupin, Moody, and Tonks; Neville's past; The ministry/order politics; the dreams; the deepening of Snape's character.
Rating:
Summary: No longer a children's book
Review: J.K. Rowling has written a true masterpiece. This book makes the transition from a children's book to adult fiction. That is probably why so many people - accustomed to the children's books - don't like it. First, let's get rid of the concept of child-like wonder and adventure. That's the past. Now we get into politics and intrigue, with the Wizard World acting as screwed up as the adult world we see around us. We see the adults acting like children and the children acting like adults - except for Harry, who is probably the most childish among the characters, simply because he has such a burden placed on him, and he, like so many of the readers of this novel, is not accustomed to this burden. This book serves as a primer for growing up. Fantasy goes away and you are left with lots of emotional garbage, lots of tension that must be resolved. In this book, the tension builds until an incredible climax that makes this book rival the Star Wars series and Lord of the Rings. Children aren't used to tension, especially unresolved tension. Rowling gives us tension that is only partially resolved at the end, but then she compounds it. We go into the next book knowing that there will be fireworks. The next book will be the wizarding version of World War III. That's very exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Another Rowling Master Piece
Review: If you loved the others, you'll love this one. It isn't that the Order of Pheonix leaves you unsatisfied....but wanting even more.
Rating: 
Summary: weak
Review: The highly anticipated book was a let down. The plot made no sense and dragged on and on. even for a world of magical things, the key points were highly unbelieveable. Major dissapointment.
Rating:
Summary: Rowling's done it again!
Review: Order of the Phoenix is much different from the previous 4 Potter books. Phoenix is much darker, and dealing with much darker themes. It is a transitional book, moving us from the innocence of the first 4 and onto the unknown of the next 2. There probably won't be anymore small time childish adventures for Harry et al. Now he's going to have to focus on the biggie.
Harry has grown up, and has finally gotten angry for being kept in the dark about the things going on around him.
The only notable disappointment for me, was that Draco Malfoy has fallen to the backburner. He is a character with much potential, no matter which way he would be taken, but in Phoenix, Harry just seems to have outgrown the petty bullying of Malfoy, and Malfoy does nothing but bully...Oh well, perhaps later, perhaps not at all.
Filled with her own often dark humor, Rowling has put forth the pivotal Harry Potter novel. Where she will go with the final 2, only she knows.
Rating: 
Summary: So disapointed ... its horrible!
Review: This book is horrible. I need to point a few things out... Spoilers below. Harry,Ron and Hermonie were not acting themselves. They are way too emotional, greedy, liar and mean. This is not how they behaved in the last few books. Do you even care Miss Rowling? The first 100 pages (as another reviewer said) had no point whatsoever. After 100 pages of nothing you finally get into themain plot which was weak. Harry might get suspended? Again? Oh dear, lets add another 100 pages on that matter... and then how about Mr.Weasly gets attacked ... yes! That'll do. Oh and then Harry can have a dream about it when it happens ... that sounds good and also extremely boring! Dumbledore is not acting himself either. This nice old man is turning slowly into a mean cold-hearted person. They way he speaks to Harry and stuff .... Along time ago should a "Defense Againts The Dark Arts Teacher" actually stay at hogwarts for at least a couple of years. The whole new teacher that is mean and another one thats nice is getting boring ... Sirus Blacks death had absoloutely no effect on me or probably anyone else. Harry might care and get over emotional about it that went on for so many pages ... BUT THE READERS DONT CARE. We are not attached to Black in any way. We still see him as a mean old man that Harry likes. I really don't think that anyone cares .... And please give the Snape thing up ... PLEASE... its getting old ... And dont go on pages and pages and pages (about 50 pages) about their exams.. we don't care... get on wit it... I could say so much more And probably everyone will be mad at me for sending in this review. But this is the truth. Harry Potter is now turning bad. As another reviewer said Jk Rowling didn't wrrite with any passion .... Overall: Bad.
Rating:
Summary: Feet of clay
Review: At 15, Harry begins to realize that his heroes, even his parents, were not perfect. He's an angry teen. A little tighter ploting would be welcome, but this is still a page turner in a wonderful series.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling, Fanciful Coming of Age Story
Review: I find it somewhat discouraging that this is the only Harry Potter book listed on Amazon.com that does not have an overall rating of 5 stars. It may be 4 1/2, a mere fraction away from the ratings of the four previous novels, but I believe it was the best. There are a large amount of people who did not enjoy this book; many Harry Potter faithful loathed it. I believe this is because of one simple reason: J.K. Rowling deviated from their beloved formula. In my opinion, the series is better for it, but for those who disagree with me, this book caught them off-guard. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix starts off faster than any of the other books, and has a much darker feel, and a much darker hero. Harry is no longer the idyllic, immaculate hero, but a confused, angry, spiteful teenager. He is not quite as admirable as before, but he is much more identifiable. Most teenagers feel the same resentment as Harry feels in this novel. Maybe that is why they didn't enjoy him, because he paralled themselves much more than before. Readers had placed Harry on the proverbial pedestal, and now, Harry has been knocked down from that summit, and he doesn't seem quite as heroic. And the death of a certain major character left us sobbing hysterically, and cursing J.K. Rowling for her callousness. But, as I mentioned before, the series is better for it. As we prepare for the sixth novel, we are left to contemplate all we have consumed in OotP. But I beg you, do not curse this book for being different, but cherish it because it is different. Rowling has created a wonderful stepping stone to what will most likely be the best and most eventful two books in the series, and when we finally reach the final page of book seven, we will appreciate Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix even more.
Rating:
Summary: Deeper, darker, better!
Review: If you haven't read any of the others, why aren't you doing that instead of reading this blog? They're wonderful! Sure, they're for kids, she repeats the story of the first three books in the fourth as explanation (and did that since book two -- repeating synopses of the prior books each time), but kids are reading them, and there was a long lead time between books -- I would point out that other classics of the genre are careful not to do this (the Narnia series, the Lord of The Rings), but I'm not sure they were specifically aimed at kids. Regardless of this -- the fifth book does little of that retelling, and just gets into a much darker, better fleshed out story than the others. It's as if the books are growing with the audience, and we've hit an age you can get really good characterisation instead of cutout children's book characters. Harry is angry, and he's alone. (SPOILERS) There's a piece in the end of the book where he gets the Harry Potter version of "To be a bearer of a ring of power is to be alone" from Tolkien. He's even more alone because he's the only one who can fight the bad guy. And it leaves him open to all manner of cruelty. It's a better book than I expected -- the first four are really nice and fun and fairytale, but this opens into a more complicated reality for the character. Good stuff. Easy reading too even at ~800 pages. Definitely recommended.
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