Rating: 
Summary: He was only fifteen...
Review: And then Lupin said quietly, "I wouldn't like you to judge your father on what you saw there, Harry. He was only fifteen --""I'm fifteen!" said Harry heatedly. For the Majority: Rowling catches the snitch again! This strong fifth book allows us to slip into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry once more taking our seats close enough to overhear whispers and adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Rowling manages to introduce engaging new characters while revisiting almost all of our favorites. (If fans have any complaints, it's that their favorite characters don't have more to do.) The book is not for the very young for it tackles such nightmares of real life such as death, rebellion, and first dates with teenage girls. The Order of the Phoenix is delightful novel from beginning to end. For the Disappointed Fans: Rowling has been very brave by making Harry Potter a real fifteen year old boy. I too would have preferred a heroic, perfect and eternally young Potter (whose friends never die), but he does have flaws and he did have to grow up (and friends sometime die). I've heard people grumble that this book was too depressing and that Harry was a brat. Who wasn't at 15? And if you think it was you, look again. Rowling was brave in making Harry less than perfect. It will make him a stronger protagonist in books six and seven. For the People Who Don't Know What Muggles Are: If you haven't read a Harry Potter book yet. Stop. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect 200 dollars. (And start with Book 1. You could start with his one, but why would you want to?) For the Nitpickers: Yup, the ending was rushed. The climax didn't come close to Harry's final nail-biting battle in Book 4. Okay, Ron and Hermione were flat and had less to do. Alright, the Quiddich wasn't as exciting. Sure, there was the absence of an overall unifying task, such as stone hunting, chamber breeching, convict hunting, or wizard competing. Sadly, Dumbledore only answers five of the five thousand questions still hanging out there. I know, I KNOW, the ending felt tacked on. Still, the book was a homerun. Maybe not the hardest Rowling has ever hit the ball, but it was still a homerun. In Conclusion: For those who love Harry, you will love this book. For those who felt disappointed by the book - give the book another try and remember, it's hard to have a book about school, coming to terms with who you are, and dealing with an upcoming war with one of the meanest fellas around with nothing but sunshine and lollipops.
Rating: 
Summary: Order of the Phoenix is ok, but the other books were better
Review: I enjoyed this book --there were many humorous and clever bits in it. However, I think it is a step down from Rowling's previous writing. The main plot line has a few major gaps, and I thought that Harry had quite a whiny, spoiled-brat attitude in the book. I can understand his adolescence, but 38 chapters of it is a bit too much. Read this book for its small parts and try to overlook the unfortunate repetitiveness.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book-too long to wait
Review: This was a great book, with two problems:
1) Waiting three years for one book? Please. At the rate she's going, I'll be out of college by the time it's finished.
2) It's like reading a soap opera synopse, but a little more interesting. Also, it didn't live up to the media hype-but then, does anything ever do that? (Two words: Phantom Menace) Don't get me wrong, once I got past the letdown of the hyped expectations, I really like this book. When the sixth book comes out, I will just not watch news for three months. Hope it will not take as long, or our beloved JKR will run the risk of losing much of her fan base to the ravages of old age.
Rating:
Summary: Book is okay but not as good as the others.
Review: My copy was also missing pages 787 to 818, a big disappointment since that's about when the book is really getting some true action. A lot of the characters are so heavily done, the overly evil Umbridge (and where is the headmaster when the "Nazish" Umbridge is making Hogwarts a prison camp?), even the teenangst Harry is overblown to a great degree. Oh well Amazon is sending me another copy of the book so maybe I will finish it. I can almost predict the ending given it has been virtually the same for all the other 4 books...
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Book Ever!!!
Review: the harry potter book 5 is a great book! j.k. does a great job keeping the reader stuck in the book not wanting to put it down. i think anyone who likes magic and things would like this book. this is definetely the best book in the series yet!! i am waiting patiently for book 6 and 7 to come!
Rating:
Summary: It rocked!
Review: The book was awesome. I loved it. Really. The two reasons I gave the book four stars and not five:
1) Snape seemed less mature than the children he was teaching, again!
2) It was your typical "Dumpledore knows all" we have come to love in the series. BUT, I think I may have read it too fast, and not soaked up enough of the details. The plot was fast, and, wanting so desperately to find out what was going to happen, I found myself skimming ahead or reading the different typefaces sections ahead of time. At one point I had to cover the page next to me, just so I wouldn't cheat. The characters are really developing here. I really loved Luna Lovegood -- it's nice to see someone from a different house is able to hang out with the main characters. I think, however, that Cho has way too many issues. Poor thing.
Rating:
Summary: Sad, Hopeful, and Enlightening - An excellent book
Review: This latest installment in the Harry Potter series was both exhilarating and heart breaking. It is quite a different read from the earlier books, especially the first two, where Harry is too young to really understand all that is going on around him. This book sees him through the first year when he is a young man, and no longer a boy. It is dark, it is sad, but it is also hopeful. Harry learns the secrets of why Lord Voldemort tried to kill him 15 years ago, and he has to yet again face him and the Death Eaters, who are continuously trying to kill him and his loved ones. The hurt and pain that Harry experiences throughout the book is so well written that you feel like you are living it with him. You also experience his confusion and frustration that comes with being a young man, including his first date with Cho. Harry has a new nemesis in this book, along with Voldemort, and that is Dolores Umbridge. She gave me the feeling of being almost as evil as Voldemort, but in an entirely different way. She suffocates any happiness and works hard at forbidding the students of Hogwarts from actually learning anything that may aid in their fights against Dark Wizards and especially Voldemort. Harry rises against this, getting himself in more trouble then he's ever been in, and forms a secret club, to teach other students whom he trusts real defense against the Dark Arts skills. In the end, all of the nasty rumors about Harry and Dumbledore are extinguished, and their names are once again redeemed in the public eye. But along with this comes great cost and unhappiness, because the steps Harry takes to fight against Voldemort takes from him someone he truly loves. It's a very fast and well thought out read, though it has left me feeling sad. But I also feel that now, perhaps, Harry can truly start being the Wizard he is meant to be, and realizing his goals and dreams, now that he knows the truth behind Voldemort's attacks on him. I of course recommend any lover of Harry Potter books to read this book. It really is fantastically well written (like all of the books) and I cannot wait for the next installment to come out.
Rating:
Summary: The best reading experience the planet has ever had.
Review: Against all odds, J.K Rowling has produced a masterpiece. Her writing has matured along with her characters, the humor is funnier, the suspense more exquisite and the surprises still shock. From the adult perspective, I found myself laughing out loud. Then staring transfixed at a certain line revealing a shocking plot twist. Then breathlessly tearing through page after page just to see what happened next.
There is a reason that the Potter phenomenon exists. There is a reason that this will be the seminal literary event for an entire generation of children. There is a reason that more people read this book than did almost anything else this weekend. The reason, simply put, is that this is the best reading experience this planet has ever had. That fact is pretty much inarguable. With tremendous regret, I finished the last page late last night, still wishing for more. An 870 page novel I didn't want to end. A series I will be very sad to see completed. We are going to have to realize that this is a cultural event we will probably never see again in our lives. Be a part of it. For yourself and for your kids.
There is no Harry Potter "hype". It's real. This is the real thing.
Rating:
Summary: Very Nice!
Review: While this is not my favorite, this is my runner up. Harry definitely shows a different side in this story. And the new professor is positivly horrible. The ending is very shocking, as is a few parts. A very nice and well thought out story. You have to be a rock not to cry at the end. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a very nice book and I would recomend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Harry's Darkest Days are Fascinating for Fans
Review: While I'm sure no one who's read the last four Harry Potter books needs to read a review to decide whether to buy the fifth one, a few words might be in order to indicate how this book stacks up compared to the previous installments. As always, in Order of the Phoenix Rowling's plotting is flawless -- not only will readers discover surprises in the course of this book, but there are plenty of occasions when a seemingly insignificant detail from books one through four turns out to be crucial to some new plot twist. There's less humor and zaniness, as the problems at issue in the story world have gone beyond winning the Quiddich Cup to serious conficts between good and evil. We continue to discover more about characters we thought we knew, and they continue to become more human (so to speak) and well-rounded. I would think parents who aren't reading this series along with their kids (if there are any) should be advised that unlike the protagonists of some children's series, Harry is actually growing up. While I could imagine a seven or eight year old child reading the first three books, this book might be too much -- Harry is now a very believable 15-year-old, with all the problems that go along with that age. And the "major death" that Rowling said would happen in this book does occur. Overall, it's a darker book than books one through three, or even book four. I've heard some people voice concerns about the magic and fantasy elements of this story. I suppose that if you don't want your kids experiencing anything of the kind, this is not the book for you. However, it seems to me that the message of the series, which comes out more clearly in this book than in any other so far, is that our love for one another is the most worthwhile quality we have, and that it is what makes us strong. Readers will be glad to know that Harry is making that discovery in some of the darkest days he has faced yet.
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