Rating: 
Summary: The Order of the Pheonix and my high expectations
Review: I couldn't wait to get my hands on the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series. Finally, the Saturday came and I was anxiously waiting for the FedEx feller to come and deliver my package...anywho, when I started reading it, the book immediately seized me into the plot. It felt as if I was actually there. I was seeing everything out of my own perspective. Of course, all the other Harry Potter books did that.
I thought it started off rather interesting and the climax of the story was great. the Order of the Phoenix was filled with suspense, teary moment and more humor than in previous books. I have to admit, there were some parts in the book were I had misty eyes. Compared to the other 4 books, I would have to rank this under GoF because the fourth book was definitely my favorite. There were some minor disappointments, only because I had high-expectations when plunging into this book, but like I said, they were just minor setbacks (and i mean microscopical). Ex: there were some holes left unfilled by the end of the book. I think she might've forgotten to explain a few tiny things, but that's ok.
Overall this book was great. As i was reading along, I knew I wasn't going to be satisfied until I had completely finished the whole book. However in the end, I felt a tad bit empty...but I still can't wait until she releases the 6th book, which I hope will be very very soon. If you enjoyed this book as much as I did (which is a lot) you can count of wanting to read it more than once. I know I do.
Until Harry turns 16...maybe we don't have to wait a few years for Ms.Rowling to finish...
Rating:
Summary: Best yet
Review: This is surely the best one so far. I have never wanted to kill a fictional character, but if I could get my hands on Profesor Umbridge I'd do just that. Well done Ms Rowling, great story telling! I particularly like the way the story paralells recent world events, with President Bush as Dumbledor, Profesor Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic as the Axis of Evil and the Daily Prophet as the left wing media. This will show our children how evil is spread through the media and how we must fight to stop it.
Rating:
Summary: Best One Yet!
Review: Haven't read the latest installment of Harry Potter yet? What are you waiting for? This one really was worth the wait. Rowling brings us much more of Harry's world beyond Hogwarts. In fact he doesn't even make it to Hogwarts in the first 150 pages, because he's too busy worrying about Voldemort's return, dealing with yet another attempt on his life, and then facing a kangaroo court at the Ministry of Magic. While he discovers what the Order of the Phoenix is, and meets most of the members, they keep all their plans to defeat Voldemort secret from Harry. Even when he returns to beloved Hogwarts, further changes await.The worst one is this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. This job is Hogwarts' answer to Spinal Tap's drummer or South Park's Kenny; it's going to end up badly, but you want to see how. Internal changes wrack Harry as well. He is now 15, and acting it. A vicious gossip campaign, pushed along by The Daily Prophet, paints Harry as a tale-teller and unstable, and his hormones aren't helping him demonstrate otherwise. Harry will also discover that adults aren't always reliable even when they are on his side. He also learns why Professor Snape dislikes him so much, but finding out why is painful for both Harry and the reader. Others at Hogwarts develop as well. Ron finally comes out from the shadows of his many brothers (one of them has gone a very different route from the rest of the family). Harry has to deal with Ron's challenges, and learn to support him rather than vice versa. Ron's twin brothers make some major life decisions as well, and his younger sister proves more than a dazed schoolgirl. And amid all of this, the fifth-year students must prepare for their OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) which will determine what career paths they can work toward. Harry must contend with all this change along with a mostly absent Dumbledore, an injured Hagrid, a date with Cho Chang, and a High Inquisitor who has full support of Minister Fudge. Tons of stuff going on, plenty to learn, experience, and enjoy. Get it today!
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Review: I think this book is excellent because it has plenty of adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing. Dissapointing . Demising.
Review: Potter returns in the fifth installment, evolving into a shockingly grouchy and choleric adolescent, tenacious against the unmalleable and pertinacious Ministry of Magic who persists in repressing the renascent Voldermort from the magical community. While struggling with relationship strains that has whimsically surfaced, Potter realises his future is at stake, with his aspirations precariously drawn into the darkness.
His enthusiasm and new-found charisma vehemently places his friends in direct peril, especially Umbridge, a shrewish yet unreasonable harridan who persecutes the people who does not conform to obsequiousness which she readily expects, even of her colleagues, whom she disdainfully put down.
The exposition is rather idling, and the development is depressingly mouribound expectedly. Comic relief is contrived. Altough the sedition is most refreshing, it still fails to deliver the trenchant fun that existed and hopefully still in extant in the Potter World.
Rating: 
Summary: And so the story continues...
Review: First of all I would like to say to those of you who think Harry Potter is a (boring, offensive, dull, rude etc. etc.) book, you need to pay more attention to the details and tone of the story. I understand that not everyone would find interest in a book that dared to stretch the imagination further than the limits of reality, but please give this one a chance. The 5th Harry Potter book is great, no doubt about that. Rowling is has a wondrous imagination, and shares her thoughts with the world. Harry comes back as being more like a sort of "rebelish" teenager who is torn apart by what he is forced to go through (and me being Harry's age myself, I can understand what that's like). He even makes a few cracks at Dudley, and is obviously becoming cockier. The book goes on, explaining everything in a beautiful artistic language that makes you read it quickly, and then want to go back and read it again this time more slowly. It's amazing... up until the end. If I could change one thing about this book it would be the end. The long anticipated "secret" of the Potter's is pretty... disappointing. "The only disappointment I had was the big secret, hinted at in the press releases leading up to the sale of the book, wasn't really all that major and something that I pretty much figured out before I had even started reading the fifth book.
-Someone else who rated this book. Then the "extremely important character" is murdered. I wanted to slam the book down, jump out of bed and hide under the kitchen table. Not only did Rowling kill off my favorite character but she did it without making him (and his death) seem that important. It almost made the third and fourth books a complete waste of time. I am hoping Rowling will make these little "issues" important in the next two books. Besides that the 5th book is, like the others, a thrill beyond all expectations of the "average book".
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down.
Review: I'm a die-hard Harry Potter fan, and I read this one in three days, all 896 pages. I liked this book better than the last one. The action starts right away, and there are lots of the imaginative details that make these books so great. Fred and George provide comic relief, and as a teacher, I got a big kick out of her portrayal of Umbridge as the teacher/ administrator from hell. It's interesting to watch Harry mature, although his self-absorption did get to me at some points. The past few books are referenced often, and I sometimes had trouble remembering all of the details. (It's been a while since I read them.) Anyway, it's a great read, and I can't wait for the next one
Rating:
Summary: Different, but does it work?
Review: *SPOILERS* First, let me ask a question: did you ever want Harry to grow up a little? Well, he did. And not just a little. Many parts of this book is filled with teenage angst. Harry is no longer the giving and lovable boy anymore. Now he's either exploding with anger all over the place or brooding in a corner. It works IMO, but some people may have been frustrated with Harry for much of the story. Also, did you ever expect to find a professor that Harry hates even more than Snape? That happens too. Prof. Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, is truly twisted. She's probably one of the high points in this book. It's impossible to not hate her. But the ending: Did you ever think that Dumbledore would tell EVERYTHING to Harry? I didn't, and while I usually like unexpected twists in th plot, this just seemed too random. It felt to me that the "prophecy" was just a gimmick to let J. K. Rowling finish the book. It would be a pretty good ending for many people, but I felt that the other endings were better. Also, some parts feel rather rushed, that is, for a Harry Potter book. They could have been developed into something more interesting. Because of Harry's teenage angst, the series takes a big turn in style, making the whole book much more ironic and dry when compared to the previous releases. I think it's a nice touch. This is a [dang] good book. Probably better than the past four. The reason I took off one star is because it still could have been so much more.
Rating:
Summary: Not great until the last 200 or so pages.....
Review: This book was by no means as wonderful as the other 4 HP books. I didn't get very interested in the book until the last 200-300 pages. Don't get me wrong, I am an avid fan, even took my 10 year old to England to see the HP filming sites. But unlike the other 4 books, I was unimpressed. Nothing, except an evil new teacher's arrival, is happening until about page 500. Sure, the Order of the Phoenix is doing things, but we don't know what they are, and Dumbledore doesn't show up after the beginning until about page 600. I just kept waiting for something to happen, for Hermione and Harry to see or hear something and start doing research to figure it out, or anything to keep the story going. I hope the next volume is more robust, and that we don't have to wait another 3 years for it. Sorry Jo!
Rating:
Summary: The darker side of Harry Potter
Review: Taking place only a few months after "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", this fifth book is darker and more oppressive than the others in the series. Harry and his friends know about Voldemort's return, but the rest of the wizard world seems to be determined to discredit Dumbledore and Harry and deny the return of the Dark Lord. There's yet another new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and she's very malicious in her attempts to exert the Ministry of Magic's influence at Hogwarts. There are almost too many plot threads weaving through the book and they nearly bog down the story (Ron on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry's first attempts at dating, the looming O.W.L. exams). A major character dies, and unlike in the previous book, the death isn't fully explained or properly grieved, leaving the readers bewildered. Even the dénouement pales in comparison to the previous books. Despite these issues, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is a great book as it gives us more of Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they mature, support each other, and learn to be wizards.
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