Rating: 
Summary: Deeper and darker!
Review: "Deeper secrets, darker magic..."JK Rowling does it again!! From the first chapter (in which Dudley faces a dementor), Harry's year is a rollercoaster. In this installment, Harry deals with the tangles of the wizarding world while treating us to a view of the Ministry of Magic. He learns just how awful it feels to be riduculed by students who don't believe Voldemort has come back again (end of Goblet of Fire). And, he *finally* does something about his crush on Cho Chang... JK Rowling introduces a myriad of new characters from hot-pink-punk-hair Tonks of the Order of the Phoenix to Kreature, the "noble and most ancient house of black"'s rather deaf and disgruntled house-elf. Oh, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (new one every year!)...let's just say she's cruel/unusual/two-faced, etc. etc. etc. Both her appearance and personality remind me of a cranky toad. As JK hinted in January, one of Harry's "biggest fans" will die in this book. Red herrings scattered throughout will leave you in suspense until the earth-shattering battle in the end... If you've followed Harry Potter through his Hogwarts years, you'll love The Order of the Phoenix. If you haven't hopped on the bandwagon yet, start with The Sorcerer's Stone and grow with Harry!!
Rating: 
Summary: A grimmer Harry Potter
Review: This book's pacing suffers from the constraints of having to begin and end with the school year, and as with the previous books (most noticeably Philosopher's Stone), the children's lack of trust in the adults around them, fostered by those adults' attempts to shield the children from dangerous or unsettling consequences, leads everyone into peril, this time with tragic consequences. While this is certainly a grimmer book over-all than the previous ones, I found the much-dreaded main-character fatality far less immediately disturbing than Cedric's death in Goblet of Fire, despite the tragedy of it being an almost completely preventable death. The book adds to its cast of odiously over the top villains with Dolores Jane Umbridge, Cornelius Fudge's undersecretary who forces her way up to Hogwarts' headmastery and has obviously taken a page on disciplinary measures from Franz Kafka's "In the Penal Colony," while Percy Weasley fulfills a supporting role as Ministry-flunky estranged from the rest of his family, Neville starts to come into his own, Ron is given a chance to shine, Aunt Petunia exhibits some unexpected (and unexpectedly sympathetic) backbone, and we see far more of the frailty and failings of many of our favoured characters. While a few of the expected consequences have arisen from the end of the last (Cornelius Fudge and the Ministry prove predictably obstreperous, Hagrid and Olympe complete a mission to find the exiled giants, Firenze is exiled from the other centaurs, and we find out a bit more about Hagrid's and Neville's families), Dumbledore's touted "I shall tell all" at the end of the book does little more than leave us with a standard-issue prophecy and a certain measure of dread about the future.
Rating:
Summary: HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDEROF THE PHOENIX
Review: THIS BOOK IS STUNNING THE BEST EVER
Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter Book Review
Review: When my mom first got this book I was shocked (I found it on the kitchen table when I woke up early in the morning). I started reading right away. I was eager to keep reading because of all the exciting things that are happening, like Dudley almost getting kissed by dementors, the O.W.L.'s coming up soon, and the classes from the mysterious new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. These mysteries gave me a lot to think about.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing will stop you if you want to buy this book, but...
Review: There is no way to stop a Harry Potter fan (like myself) from buying this book, but this is certainly not the glorious fun filled book I was looking forward to. It appears that the humor is fading fast in the Potter series, and it is being replaced with a vision that is far more bitter and dark. Favorite characters such as Hagrid and Dumbledore are only minorly involved and bring none of their lighthearted charm. The author has created a cruel and vicious villain, but fails to bring any further insight or interest into her existing cast of characters. With the exception of Snape, there is no exploration of another level to any of them, which leaves them all somewhat flat and one-dimensional. Even the dreaded Draco Malfoy is barely to be seen. It seems the author has gotten bored of several of her characters before her readers have. Harry's surprisingly adolescent temper is forced, the revelation concerning his father uninteresting, and the final ending "twist" is unexceptional. This book also has the second needless death brought into the Potter series. I would not call The Order Of The Phoenix a bad novel, but it is surely the weakest written of the series, and considering the wait, it is an over all disappointment. I can only hope the final two books in the series return to the quality of the first books. But as the character of Harry ages the author seems determine to make him more flawed and bitter. She seems uninterested in developing the Dursleys characters at all and the entire collection of wonderful Hogswarts residents are slowly being left to the side as she focuses only on creating new eccentric villains and resolving her main plot line - the inevitable demise of He-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED.
Rating:
Summary: Deepest and Darkest Potter Book Yet
Review: I was prepared to hate it, honestly. But from the first page, confronted with a much angrier and isolated Harry, I couldn't help but love it more. Though it's difficult at this stage not to read the books and hear the voices of the stars of the movies in one's head, this book really stands out from the entire collected "Potter" universe of works. The plot is well-crafted, the twists and turns are shocking and compelling, and the story-telling is superb. Rowling does an outstanding job showing the growth of her characters; she really pulls the reader in for a magickal ride on her broomstick. Be prepared to set aside large quantities of time to swim through this one, and be prepared to have the entirety of it, in lovely bits and pieces, stick in your head for a long, long time!
Rating:
Summary: Rowling grows with Harry...
Review: (No more spoilers lie herein than you'd find on the jacket of the book.) J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series falls somewhere between pre-adolescent fantasy and timeless literature; its protagonist is a boy who grows before our eyes, and although Rowling's universe was clearly assembled before she began her first book, her skill as a writer grows along with Harry. My childhood was filled with Madeleine L'Engle, Susan Cooper, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Rowling is perhaps this generation's only provider of truly transcendent literature for youngsters, keeping her subject interesting to the young reader without compromising quality or engaging in histrionics. (The Lemony Snicket series, which is perhaps funnier to adults than to children, is still not great literature - more like Edward Gorey in typeset instead of ink.) With "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", Rowling spreads her wings and also allows Harry to branch out into humanity with all its many facets. If the Harry Potter of the "Sorcerer's Stone" was too plucky in the face of adversity for you, you'll relate much more to the 15-year-old, who now faces all of the crippling insecurities and doubt that make life as a teenager both harrowing and educational. His gut-wrenching triumph at the close of "Goblet of Fire" is brought into sharp, non-fantasy relief by the opening of "Order of the Phoenix". The Harry Potter phenomenon in our world is at its nadir; in Harry's world, he has returned to the role of misfit and outcast that he thought he'd left behind when he began his life at Hogwart's. Rowling's writing is more confident, as though the voice of the 15 year old boy is the one she knows best. She describes in succinct phrases the heady mood swings of adolescence, showing neither pity nor disdain to the subject. The story here is much more dark; the Triwizard Tournament of "Goblet of Fire" was still a school contest, but the outside world encroaches on Hogwart's in this tale and the tone from start to finish is darker for it. The Harry in this story faces many of the things a headstrong boy his age would in the real world - challenges of popularity, struggling in school, minor run-ins with law enforcement and tests of strength in his friendships. "Order of the Phoenix" trusts its young readers to be able to use all of the Harry history they know to follow him through the book's events, and emerge unscathed even if a few sleepless nights between cliffhanger chapters occur on the way to the end. The suspense and tension in this novel are genuine from the first chapter onward, unlike Goblet of Fire, which always felt safe until its very end. Although my personal opinion is that children will find far worse on prime time television, some parents may feel the minor language and descriptions of violence in the book are too much for younger kids. (In truth, I often chuckled at the very rare and well-placed minor cursing - which captured the unsteady voice of a teenager who is only beginning to test his right to speak those words aloud.) We need not fear that the Harry Potter series will outgrow its original core reading audience, since it's growing up with them apace. I also strongly recommend "Order of the Phoenix" to adults who found the first Harry Potter books too childish for their liking.
Rating:
Summary: By Far The Best Book In The Series
Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the best book in the Harry Potter series. Although it is very long, it doesn't seem long because you find yourself lost in the words of J.K. Rowling. Her expressive writing easily catches the minds of its' readers- varying in age. These books are good for any age. Her wonderful books just keep getting better and better. I can't wait for the sixth one! If you love any of the books in this series- you will certainly love this one!
Rating: 
Summary: What is Harry's problem?
Review: It was really difficult for me to get through the first seven chapters...wait, did I say seven? Harry really surprised me when he turned out sniveling, whiney and just plain annoying throughout most of the book (although he does get better towards the end). He obviously does not understand the concepts of accepting responsibility, humility or even loyalty. The writing is superb, as always, and definitely an easy read. I was on the edge of my seat for alot of the book, but I was incredibly disappointed in Harry. (Plus at Ron and Herminone too for not giving him a huge sock when he most deservedly needed one!) As a whole, I really enjoyed the book and explained away Harry's arrogance and attitude as teenage angst/puberty. Hopefully he becomes a man and grows up a bit in the next two books.
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Summary: The saddest and best book I've ever read!!
Review: I bought this book the day it came out. The book started out well, all I did was read it 24/7. Towards the middle I slowed down a little bit but in the last two hundred pages I couldnt stop! Up to the ending point the book was a definite 5 stars but the ending would make it 5+. As the title says, the book was outrageously SAD! I spent over and hour bawling my eyes out as my family asked my what was wrong. Yes, the rumours are true, a fairly main character dies. This person was my favorite character though. I felt my personality related really well with him/her. No more though!! Even though it was the saddest book and movie I have ever seen or read, it was also one of the best. Good job Mrs. Rowling! You make me cry, laugh and not want to stop. I cant wait untill the next one comes out. I completely reccommend reading "Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix."
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