Rating: 
Summary: Another Excellent Novel
Review: *sigh* How does J.K. Rowling do it? This is not only one of the best volumes in the Harry Potter series, but also one of the best reads I've enjoyed in quite a while. I won't waste any words on the plot, suffice to say that everything you've probably gathered by now is not enough to prepare you. Rowling seems to have cured her slight pacing problem from the last book, and even though Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is considerably longer than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it is so filled with events and happenings that it goes by considerably faster. It's more high adventure and learning lessons. This also continues the darkening tone of the series, and its end promises considerably more darkness for the future. In spite of the gravity of this volume, though, Rowling fills it with more of her charm. There are numerous laugh-out-loud moments of humor and clever touches of wordplay to keep near everyone amused. In short, this gets my highest recommendation, and double if you're already a Potter fan.
Rating:
Summary: No Spoilers Here - Review of Order of the Phoenix
Review: A worthy successor to the previous 4 novels. Lots of teenage angst, clever plot twists, and purposeful misdirection by Rowling. The book is equally dark in tone to Goblet of fire (so don't be surprized). Colorful background information is introduced for some of the secondary characters. Can't be more specific, but these flashbacks were unexpectedly disturbing. Good job, J.K. Read it quickly before someone at Time or USA Today decides to publish spoilers and ruin the ending!
Rating:
Summary: J K Rowling did it a agin!
Review: I loved it. J K Rowling put out another hit book! The whole series is a must read for children and adults alike. This does deal with some darker parts of life such as the death of someone close, so it probably isn't appropriate for younger children. However, I couldn't put the book down. This series is an excellent way to get your child to read!
Rating:
Summary: Not One Page Wasted
Review: I was afraid that a book this long would be repetative and lacking substance. I was wrong. The book moves along with each page and trying to trim any of the content would have been hard. The book starts out as usual at the Dursleys house, and then moves on to Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts. Unlike past books, Harry is now a full blown teenager with gripes and attitude (just like my own 15 year old). He's not the big hero on campus this year-he's the laughing stock. The wizard's local paper has dubbed him a "nutter" and even his bunkmates are unsure of whether to believe his story about Voldemort. This installment has another evil character for Harry and his friends to contend with each day-Prof. Umbridge. This character is the essence of all that is evil in government intervention in people lives-especially education. As an special needs educator, I saw parallels to how our own government tries to impose its idea of a perfect education. This new twist in bringing in social controversy into her fantasy world gives the book a whole new dimension. One that is full-bodied and rich. J.K. Rowling has grown from the other books along with Harry and is allowing her readers the chance to be transported into the world of fantasy, but with the tip of the broomstick touching into the real world so that we can all find ourselves in the story.
Now that summer is here and the kids are out of school. Enjoy all 870 pages. You'll probably end up wishing there were more.
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: Harry Potter has always been an amazing and fantastic book. Following the life of the teenager Harry Potter, yet in this book, to me at least, it seemed that he was...scarred. In more ways then the scar on his forehead. Maybe it was just because of his hormones of being fifteen, or maybe it's because of everything that has happened. I don't think I have ever hated a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, as much as Professor Umibridge. She is, as some people say, like poisoned honey. I cannot tell you more here, but I believe that you will hate her, almost as much as Harry does. Surprise, surprise! Many characters from previous books show their faces once again, if you don't want to know who they are, then I won't spoil it for you. But be prepared for anyone! I have read that a fan of Harry's dies. That is a lie. Someone dies, but not a fan. Well, in some sights you could call him a fan. IF you don't want to know, then don't continue to read this. He wasn't a fan, he was more like, as Dumbledore says [...]P>I've lost my favorite character, but I still love these books, and I'd recommend them to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: dark and angsty - but quite good
Review: I've waited a long time for this book and I wasn't disapponted. There are a lot of diffrent themes/subplots brought up in this book , so sometimes it feels like you're reading a bunch of short stories all at once. However the author keeps them nicely arranged (for the most part) and weaves it into one neat (and exciting) book. This book is all about revalations. Revelations into some of the character's pasts and personalities, revalations about the wizarding society as a whole, as well as revalations regarding some of the secrets. Some of these you could see coming from miles away, but I'll bet that everyone who has been following these books will come away with at least one surprise. To say more would make this a spoiler review, which I don't want to do. A major theme of this book is also the elitism among the wizards and the borderline contempt/hatred they feel towards non wizards. I'm not just referring to muggles, but to ALL of the creatures encountered. Rowling goes heavily into this theme by describing some of the ill effects to the other groups that have been looked down on, especially the anger and contempt returned by those groups onto the people that mistreat them. I challenge any reader not to think about racism while they are reading those passages. Also very well done is Harry's teen angst. It's been half a lifetime ago since I was that age, but Rowling really brought back memories of the confusion with the opposite sex and the annoyance/anger you get when well meaning adults keep information from you or mollycoddling you. All of the secrecy leads to a tragic conclusion that will resonate strongly with young people. There is a healthy bit of "challenge authority" here (more so than the last books) which may have some adults coughing nervously (hem, hem), but will delight many youngsters. In short, its a more ambitious, more sophisticated read than the last one, but its still amazing and entertaining fun. Can't wait for book 6.
Rating: 
Summary: A lot of build-up for a dramatic ending
Review: This book meandered around a bit before, getting very good. It's pacing for the first 500 pages is pretty slow compaired to the other four books. Overall I liked it but it was not what I expected. A surly Harry was sometimes annoying, but was probably a more accurate depiction of a typical teenager. Its enjoyable but I don't think its her best work.
Rating:
Summary: The deepest and darkest Potter yet
Review: This is the best of the series to come along since the third book, PRISONER OF AZKHABAN, and certainly the most thought-provoking and scary. Harry is no longer the wide-eyed eleven-year-old he once was, and this is not the (relatively) simple and fun adventure that the first book was. Much is revealed within the 870 pages--enough so that a plot summary is both a challenge and a danger. Suffice it to say that Harry has a lot to question and be angry about, even with his closest friends--and with Dumbledore. There's some budding romance between Harry and Cho Chang, from Ravenclaw, which includes its own misunderstandings and problems; there's his struggle with upcoming O.W.L. exams (Ordinary Wizarding Levels; this is a nod to British O.L., or O Level, exams), which require more homework and study than ever; and there's the new evil Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge (check the last name), who does her best to enforce a fascist state at Hogwarts before the book is at an end. Oh, yes, and there's a final battle between Good and Evil with important consequences, and Dumbledore finally tells Harry the truth about himself and Lord Voldemort. All this and more, and yet the book is an incredibly fast and exciting read (unlike THE GOBLET OF FIRE, which had a much slower start and rate of unfolding). Recommended for *mature* kids and adults--NOT for young children. There is indeed a death (not gory). However, if they could handle GOBLET, they can probably handle this one.
Rating:
Summary: J.K. Hits Again
Review: Given the hiaitus between books 4 and 5 of this acclaimed series, I was concerned about the quality of the book. I should have known better. J.K. Rawlings delivers again! This is an excellent book - immediately drawing the reader into the world of wizards and muggles.
Rating:
Summary: The Best One so far.........
Review: This the best book so far. It's one of those books that you can't put down, because there is so much going on from the first page to the last.
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