Rating: 
Summary: Best Book EVER!
Review: The Harry Potter Books are the best books ever-no doubt about it! In the 5th Book, The Order of the Pheonix, characters and events from other books are tied in, and a lot of information is revealed. I could not put this book down. YOU HAVE GOT TO READ IT!
Rating: 
Summary: Meh
Review: I was debating between three and four stars, but gave credit because I finished it in one day, so at least I wasn't bored.I tend to like that the latest books are getting darker and more involved, but I'm beginning to get frustrated with the lack of development when it comes to characters. Sirius especially seems underdevoloped, and I loved him best. And it seemed completely useless for Harry to use the fire to talk to Sirius about what he saw in the penseive. I mean, he's supposed to be getting more mature, and yet he risked getting caught just to talk about something that happened well over sixteen years ago. Plus his constant yelling and complaining was beginning to get on my nerves. My biggest problem with this book was the chapter "Beyond the Veil" and I don't want to spoil anything for those who hadn't read it, but that threw me into a fit. What 'the veil' is was never explained, but to her credit, at least this time I cared what happened, despite the fact that it was the worst thing that happened in the entire book! It seemed to drone, and Harry, as usual, was ignorant and naive to the end, and has gotten far too much of an attitude problem. It's kind of frustrating that the one character I did care about will most likely not show up again. Unless J.K. brings him back, I think I'm done with the series. To its credit, the book was decently written, obviously oriented towards a younger audience, which explains her lack of detail when it came to Harry and Cho, which was incredibly frustrating, and I wasn't sure whether I should laugh at him or pound my head against the wall for his ignorance. I doubt I'll read it again any time soon, but I'm hoping things actually go somewhere in the next two books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Major Disappointment
Review: I have loved all the Harry Potter books up until now. It wasn't until I was almost 3/4 of the way through it before anything happened-and really, not much ever did happen! The change in Harry's personality was not believable, the storyline was a stretch in many ways and the characters were very weak in this book. It was as though Ms. Rowling really didn't know where she was going with this book and just rambled along. Please, Ms. Rowling, take your time with book #6 and give your readers quality, not quantity.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Disappointment!
Review: What a disappointment this book is. Halfway through the book I was still waiting for it to pickup and get moving a little faster...my 9 year old even commented that J. Rowling has lost her touch (BORING!). The new characters are good, but it seems that the storyline is lost in the same thing throughout. Nothing special here. I guess we'll stick with the new Lemony Snickett book coming out next month.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting journey
Review: This is an excellent insatllment in the ongoing story and adventure of Harry Potter. There is a lot of mystery in this book as well as a lot of character development. Harry is definitely a teenage boy and his emotions are surfacing now more than ever. It is a lot darker and more serious than the other books, but it has just as much magic and humor and fun adventure if not more. You cannot read this book without having read those that came before it. And you cannot miss this one if you've read the first four. In fact, after completing this book, I went back and reread the first four. They are all so magical. Thank you, Ms. Rowling.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Never Fails.
Review: J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter story will never disappoint us! I don't even compare one book to any of the others; they are, after all, just separated parts of the same continuing story. This book is quite dark and ominous, building up tensions amongst characters as Voldemort rises to power. A few things to mention? Well, thestrals, for one: Scaly, lizardlike skeletal horses that are visible only to those who have seen death. They're the coolest magical creatures to debut in these books yet! Also, fellow Snape-lovers beware chapter 28: it will make you cry!!! And renew your disgust with Harry's father, and his stupid Marauder buddies too. In fact, after that, I almost wasn't sorry that Sirius died. Snape's role in this book is wonderful; he (reluctantly) teaches Harry the art of protecting oneself from mind-control and thought-probing (in a word, occlumency). We find out fascinating tidbits about his past (his fighting parents, his sensitivity to their arguments, some anonymous girl laughing as he tries to mount a bucking broomstick...) On the whole, alot happens in the book. Some mild romance amongst the children. Reappearances of characters such as Dobby and the repulsive (yet admittedly funny) Lockhart. New characters, strange anger from Harry toward Dumbledore, and yet more secrets unveiled. And...of course...the death of Sirius Black. It can only build our excitement about the last two books in the series!
Rating:
Summary: Simply awesome!
Review: This is a great book. I could not put it down! The series keeps getting better and better.
Rating:
Summary: Another bravura performance for Jim Dale
Review: I learned the joys of books on tape (or CD) several years ago and became totally hooked. Imagine, a personal performance in your car or on your headset. It made driving home in the evenings after a long day of work something to look forward to rather than the dragging end of the day. Jim Dale's fifth American recording of the Harry Potter series was as hotly anticipated for me as the book itself. His characterizations have been so correct, so appropriate to the characters that you are lost in the story and forget that it is one man reading the entire book. Only an Englishman with the ear for regional dialect (my apologies to Henry Higgins) could have come up with all the different voices. My wife (who is from England) had to struggle before she realized that he had given the centaurs Welsh accents. I am a devoted reader but I have found that listening to books forces me to slow down, hear every word and the performer can bring something to the story that I would never have expected.
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait to read the final two
Review: I am an avid reader of fantasy books, and yet I had been nervous to read the Harry Potter books, but after going to see the second movie I couldn't wait to see if the books were even better. I tore through the first four books in record time, biting at my nails and cheering for the characters the whole way. I couldn't even wait for the fifth book to be released in paperback(like I normally do for books)--I had to buy it the day it came out. And I was not disappointed. I have found that with other fantasy series, that last longer than four books, the author gets to enjoy the sound of their own voice instead of creating interesting stories and developing characters. I was so worried that I would find fluff and nonsense to fill the pages, but no---it was just as lovely as the rest. To see how the characters are developing is so engaging. Rowling does not shy away from the teenage angst that we have all felt on some level--she embraces it with her characters. And to see those doubts and misgivings be justified or rectified is what makes the books so good! To not be able to guess how it will all end, to actually stay up until 2am to finish the last half because you just couldn't put it down(I'm guilty of this), to feel empathy for the characters---all of these things are what makes this series wonderful. I can't wait to see what unfolds with the final two books!
Rating:
Summary: And your point is...
Review: I'm sorry, but this book was pointless. Even worse, it seemed bent on making us all hate the characters. Ok, Harry's a teen, but does he have to be a brat? And does his 40 year old godfather have to be worse? Not to mention Snape, of course, and Umbridge. What exactly is she trying to prove with the parallels between Sirius and Harry, anyway? I had a hard time caring what happened to Harry, and frankly it was kind of a relief when Sirius well...you know. Why did Harry love this creep anyway?? Sorry, but this book was way off course. She would have done better to allow Harry to develop some kind of meaningful relationship with an adult--if not Sirius, why not Lupin?--for once. He needed Sirius, Sirius needed Harry, and JK turned let them both down and turned them into incredibly nasty people. So nasty, in fact, that it's hard to understand what motivates them to fight evil. Why doesn't Harry just go over to the dark side and stay there?
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