Rating: 
Summary: Truly a great book, on any level!!
Review: As with the Goblet of Fire, this book was slightly enormous, but this one was by far more satisfying in the end. In a world where Harry feels alone, the Ministry of Magic seems to be doing its best to deny the truth: that Lord Voldemort is back! In this truly amazing story, just when things seem to be at their worst, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher seems to be bent on making life at Hogwarts excruciating for all the students. The team from the other books, however is not backing down, and through pain, laughter, and extraordinary sacrifice, another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is completed. By page 870, you will be on the edge of your seat, you'll laugh, you'll cry--you may even pity Snape! If you haven't read this one yet, read it, if you have, read it again, for this is truly Rowling's best yet!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Yet.... Again
Review: When I got this book, I didn't know whether to read it all in a few days, or space it out over the following week. Whatever way you read it though, you will love this book. Although this book is definatly the saddest one so far, and Harry can't seem to control his temper (which results in a pretty unexpected relationship which Cho), the plot I think is the best yet. We are introduced to a whole new bunch of characters, including Luna Lovegood and Tonks. We also get to meat Neville's mom and grandma, as well as (suprise!) Gilderoy Lockheart, who I can't decide whether he's improved or not. There are also things in the book which can be very annoying at times, such as the stupidity of Dolores Umbridge, but it is all part of a fantastic story which never stops providing first class entertainment. You will find your self eagerly turning the next page...
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely darker
Review: I don't know what I was expecting given the events of the Fourth Book, so basically the fifth book did fit into the order of events. However, on the whole, the book depressed me. Through Harry's constant short temper, The new DADA teacher's sadistic approaches to everything, and the entire wizarding worlds' animosity towards Harry and Dumbledore the book makes you sad most of the time rather than delightfully amusing you. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Harry Potter fan and the book was still fairly good. There are even a couple of moments where I laughed out loud when encountering the light humor characteristic of the earlier books. But I would not recommend this book to younger children who are used to the "happily ever after" endings of stories. Perhaps it would be better to withold this book until a child of under ten years is ready to accept the death of a major character and constant undermining of the hero.
Rating:
Summary: Much more mature than the previous ones
Review: I'm amazed at the changes that J.K. Rowling has made bewteen this book and the fourth. This book is longer, denser, and a little more difficult to read- as expected as Rowling writes for a slightly more mature audience than before and as Harry grows a little older. The topics it addresses are slightly more mature than earlier. But fortunately, most of the elements that made the series a success are still evident. There is still very good comedic aspect and an engaging story. The thing that astounds me the most about this book is how well portrays Rowling portrays Harry's fifteen year old mentality. While Harry is not quite as likeable as the previous books, the portrayal is brilliant. Some younger readers will be disappointed as at times the story is a little slowerpaced- the real action does not start for quite a while after the book starts, and they might not understand understand the slightly more complex vocabulary and syntactic structure that Rowling uses in the book. But adult readers should love this book. Overall, this is probably the best book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Once again, JK outdoes herself
Review: After the extremely long wait, JK Rowling has delivered the most mature, exciting, and enjoyable Harry Potter book yet. The darkest book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix(HPOotP) shows us a new side of Harry. In the past four books, Harry has been seen as a heroic and courageous young lad. While these traits are still present, he has gained an adolescent attitude. His (minor) ego and constant temper makes him a much more realistic character. It is also the first book that the author doesn't spend the first fifty pages of the book recapping everything from the past volumes. If you haven't read the other four books, don't bother jumping on board now. JK's skill at maturing and developing her books along with her readers is amazing. Clearly the best book in the series, and definite must-read.
Rating:
Summary: Harry's growing pains...
Review: This _Harry Potter_ book, though darker than the past ones, is excellently written. Harry is now 15, and showing all the signs of adolscent turmoil - he doesn't understand girls, is frustrated with authority, and often angry and uncertain about the choices he must make. This is all handled excellently by Rowling, and although the book is very long, it in fact doesn't seem to be. The plotting is swift and as interesting as ever, as readers learn more about Harry's world, and the divisions among its leaders. For younger kids I would say the book does have some frightening stuff in it, which makes sense given that Voldemort has now returned and turmoil is spreading Harry's world. Also, there is, as Rowling said in an interview, the dath of a major player, and I must admit I was personally surprised and sad about this person's death, though it is fully justified in the plot. It's just that, unlike Cedric Diggory from _Goblet_, this is someone much more central who was introduced in earlier books and whom Harry cares a great deal about. (Hopefully that's not enough to spoil it!) As I said, this part makes sense - the good guys are fighting a war at this point, after all - but a seven or eight year old, or the parent of one, might want to know what's coming to prepare a younger child for this. Again, an excellent addition to the series! I hope Rowling keeps up the great work, and I'm waiting no less eagerly than my kids for future volumes.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Review: I just finished HP and the Order of the Phoenix(at 3am no less) and I thought it was super duper! I really think that JK has seriously laid the foundation for the next two books within Phoenix. The presentation of Harry's coming of age combined with his teen angst was bang on. I just cannot wait for the next ones! Will Hermonie and Ron ever get together? Who will be the next Dark Arts teacher?I was almost sad when I finally finished because now I will have to play the waiting game once again for the next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: For the first time, not wholeheartedly seduced
Review: "The order of the Phoenix" is different from the rest of the series. For the first time, I have reservations about a "Harry Potter":
It's very long and I don't think the length was quite justified. I think it dragged in a few places. Teenage angst or not, I lost patience with Harry's moods, lack of self control, and especially lack of common sense. After all he's been through, you'd think he'd pay attention to what trustworthy people keep trying to impress on him. I was neither fond of Harry nor impressed with him in this book and felt like giving him a good spanking once in a while.
I also ran out of patience with Hagrid's thickness. It's getting old.
Rowling seems to have been intent on showing many of her characters in a more nuanced way than just good or bad, black or white. But as we depend on Rowling to unfold a plot, it only seems to add confusion at times.
The expansion of the fascist regime (as someone called it) in the school, the power and blindness of the High Inquisitor and Ministry of magic reminded me of "That hideous strength" (C.S. Lewis) more than anything and therefore felt like déjà vu.
I was a bit surprised at the torture and violence and I can't help thinking it doesn't have its place in a children's book, even if the ending of "Goblet of fire" was starting to point into that direction.
Many people have called this book the darkest and the death, tragic. To me, it was the death of Cedric that marked the end of innocence. I was much more affected by his death than the one in "The Order..." because it was the point of no return, the sudden departure from the amusing light tale of Wizards. Adult wizards might fight and be killed but when even the kids are not safe from harm, we knew we had entered a different plane. After such an event, I expected the series could not go back to its lighter mode. However I would concur that this book is the darkest, not because of events (as in Goblet), but because of the mood throughout. Harry hardly has a happy moment. He's just going through one long bout of frustration, anger and moodiness and frankly, we're left feeling the same way. There's a lack of cohesion in the story, a lack of harmony. Rowling seems to be torn between writing a book for adults and writing a book for children and the result is an unsatisfying in-between. Don't get me wrong, it's still good, it's still Harry Potter but I'm simply not as hungry for the next one as I have been before.
Rating:
Summary: These CHARACTERS CHANGE and prepare for battle
Review: In an interview on BBC given 2 days prior to the book's release, J.K. Rowling made several points. One: the book would be darker than the predecessor. Two: Harry and his friends would continue aging and changing. Three: Harry would become "justifiably" angry for the things that have happened to him. I read the interview, nodded along, decided it sounded great, and stood in line at midnight to get my copy of the book. 40 pages into it, it finally sank in that J.K. Rowling *meant* what she said in the interview. Yes, Harry is not nearly as likeable here as he is in the last four books. He is moody, prone to anger and shouting (in one scene, Ron refuses to take a position with Hermione until he is sure Harry won't start yelling at him again), and frustrated over being kept in the dark, treated like a child, and being deliberately ignored by Dumbledore. This transformation was really hard to swallow to begin this - I mean, come on, this is Harry we're talking about here! But on the other hand, it is a rather realistic and fair portrayal of how you would expect a teenager to act, especially one with so much on his plate as Harry. He is not perfect in this book, and he takes an even bigger beating by the end of the year, so he is certain to come back even darker next time. I was initially very frustrated with this "new" Harry, but after thinking about and re-reading how the story line ties together, I think J.K. Rowling did a brilliant job here. One thing that most of the reviews here don't mention is that it isn't only Harry who changes in this book; his friends and school-mates grow up as well. Hermione, our socially-conscious brilliant know-it-all, becomes a force in this book. She now understands *exactly* when it is necessary to follow the rules and when to break them, and does it without much of her earlier squeamishness. Ron finally begins to emerge from Harry's shadow as he seeks to make his own mark. Neville, while still incredibly self-conscious, grows by leaps and bounds, and the hints of bravery we see in him in earlier books multiply ten-fold (so much so, that he almost steals several scenes). Ginny actually becomes a real character in the book, involved, decisive, self-assured, and a little bit mischievous - it is a treat to watch her change from a Harry-groupie to a real, interesting Weasley. George and Fred don't change much here(come on, it's GRED and FORGE!!) but have delightful spotlights in this book. And Dumbledore, like Harry in this book, is not the ever-knowing, ever-seeing perfect presence, but failable, and very very human. On the other hand, the rest of the old faculty are just fantastic! (Look who utters the line "It unscrews the other way...") And of course there is a new, and evil DADA teacher... but hold on, hold on, there are two, and the second one is far from ineffectual! And yes, Dumbledore's great revelation did leave me with something to be desired - I expected an surprise ending worthy of the other books. On the other hand, to say that this book leaves everyone at the same place as the last is untrue and unfair - it provides major character and plot development. Books 1 and 2 deal with Voldemort's abortive attempts to resurrect himself; book 3 gives him the ability to do so. Voldemort rises (as we knew he would) in Book 4. In book 5, he gathers his followers and prepares for battle, as "our" side does the same and Ministry of Magic comes to its senses. And of course, Book 6 will rise to power amidst an atmosphere of fear as people start to dissapear, be killed off, or controlled by the Imperius curse. Obviously preparation for battle isn't as exciting as the battle itself, but essential. Since this is a year-by-year account of Voldemort's return, book 5 makes perfect sense in terms of plot development. This was (obviously) the darkest and most psychologically suspensful of the five books so far. The characters of the book (NOT only Harry!) change and prepare for the next stage. The ending is less than stellar, but more than compensated for by the intense character and plot development (yes, there is much in the way of that here!) Happy Reading, and have a very Harry summer!
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter Just Keeps Getting Better!!
Review: True to her hints, Rowling has written a much darker novel this time. The Order of the Phoenix signals a change in Harry and his life. He is older, but not necessarily wiser, and is a very typical teenager. Rather than write about a teen who is bypassed by puberty and all of the attendant woes, Rowling has chosen to confront girls, fame, anger, and the fact that Harry is starting to realize much more fully who he is and what he has to confront. While the overall tone of the book is dark, there are some very funny moments and Rowling is at the top of her form. And, Harry is not the only one who grows. More than the previous four books, this one works with an ensemble cast. In addition, Harry's actions have much more far-reaching consequences. Harry and his friends are coming into their own and we are priviledged to be able to watch them.
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