Rating: 
Summary: It just keeps getting better!
Review: This book, the long awaited fifth installment in the world of Harry Potter is a wonderful treat!
In my opinion the quality of each of the four Harry Potter books have increased, the fifth book does not dissapoint, and is in my opinion probably her Best work Yet.
The only downside I can see with "Harry Potter: and the Order of the Phoenix", is that we will have to again wait for the next book.
Brilliant!
P.S. Having read this book in three days I can say with pride that I have kept this review Spoiler Free, but please take my word it is truly every bit as good as I have said.
P.S.S. Don't forget to read years 1-4 before reading this great work.
Rating:
Summary: Finished it in two days
Review: Like the four previous HP books, I couldn't put this one down. J.K. Rowling warned us in interviews that this Harry Potter book would be darker than the rest, and she wasn't kidding. Still, the storytelling grabs you from the first page and keeps you spellbound (pun intended) until the very end of the book.There is a definite sense that the characters, wizard and Muggle alike, are maturing into adults. There's a lot more angst this time around, not only about Voldemort and what he might be up to, but also things that ordinary teenagers worry about. I think it really gives a new depth to characters that readers may have thought they already knew so well. Rowling also mentioned in interviews that one of main characters would be killed off, and while I didn't want to know ahead of time who it was (so I'm not going to tell you here), just knowing that someone would die gave an extra edge to the story. There are a few "teaser" incidents in the book that make you gasp, "Oh, no, don't kill [fill in the blank]!" which added even more to the suspense. We also get more of the back story involving Harry's parents, and his connection to Voldemort, which takes a surprising turn and makes the plot much more dark and complicated. People who have dismissed Harry Potter as children's literature will be in for quite a surprise. Bravo to J.K. Rowling for another outstanding Harry Potter story!
Rating:
Summary: Loved it, can't wait for 6
Review: Entertaining as the last one, maybe more so. I love the details about day-to-day life at Hogwarts. The world that Rowling has created comes into light more and more and the detail becomes more visible as you read the books. I can almost smell the smells and feel the textures at Hogwarts. The characters, which were always well-developed and multi-dimensional, are even more vivid in Book 5. It's a great escape; she really transports you into their world. One minor warning: this is probably not appropriate for young or sensitive children. But for the rest of us, it's great.
Rating:
Summary: good, but sad
Review: the book is brilliant and i loved it. The plot thickens and Harry is put under extreme situations but Rowling's way with words often lightens up the mood. The book is very enjoyable and if you're a fan of the series i recommend you purchase it immediately. However, it is very sad too, i found myself in tears toward the ending chapters. I can't wait for book 6!
Rating:
Summary: Harry's Growing Up
Review: I loved the book. It is charming that Harry's growing up and dealing with some of the problems of the average 15 year old. J. K. Rowling hasn't lost her touch, the book is every bit as good as the first 4, maybe better.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome reading!
Review: I loved this book but wish that Harry had a better year. I really don't like Professor Umbridge.I thought her characteristics pointed towards an evil personality. I hated her.
Rating: 
Summary: Taking Umbrage with Umbridge
Review: I've been caught up in the wizarding world of Harry Potter since Year 1, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I was as eager and awestruck as Harry in discovering the magical world of J. K. Rowling's imagination. But as the wizarding world has become more mundane to Harry over the past 5 years the focus has gradually shifted away from the delights of discovery to Harry's growing desire to find his ultimate place within the world of wizards. This change of focus has not made the Harry Potter series any less compelling for me. I was just as caught up in Harry's travails during his 5th year as the adventures of his 1st. The main thrust this time is Harry's battle of wills with Professor Dolores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who is malevolent even beyond Snape. For where Snape has spent the book series trapped between his hatred of Harry and his need to protect him from Lord Voldemort, Professor Umbridge has a free hand to sadistically punish Harry and try to change the very essence of Hogwarts. While I wasn't really satisfied with the resolution of the Harry vs. Umbridge battle, it's impossible to be too critical without knowing what might happen in books six and seven because, as all readers of Rowling know, characters have a way of reappearing in new ways. I do feel that it occupied too much of the book however. It gave a face to much of Harry's anger and resentment, but I didn't see any growth in Harry because of his encounters with Umbridge. One sub-plot where I would have preferred more development and depth, however, was in Harry's relationship with Cho Chang. I think it would have held up as a larger part of the story. Cho has never really been developed as a character. She's just been an object of infatuation for Harry. Unfortunately, we don't really learn anymore about who she is in Year 5, even in the face of a blossoming romance. (And speaking as a former 15-year old boy, I think that Cho would have been on Harry's mind more than Rowling allows, even in the face of possible expulsion and death.) The biggest disappointment for me is that the Harry vs. Lord Voldemort plot that is driving the 7-book series plays a minor role in Year 5. After the rebirth of Lord Voldemort and the return of the Death Eaters at the end of Year 4, I expected the battle between good and evil to be joined early in Year 5. But if you expect that in Year 5, you've got about 35 chapters of filler to deal with. There is the obligatory showdown scene, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix finally accelerates Harry toward what must be his ultimate showdown with Lord Voldemort in Year 7. Although Harry learns important new facts this year, I think he has shown greater personal growth and maturity in his previous years. There is more British slang in this book than the previous Scholastic releases. I'm glad they didn't try to Americanize everything, but I did find it useful to find a British slang web site to use as a reference. One word of caution, however, the first site I found was replete with vulgar slang. I've read the other Harry Potter books at least twice each and I'm sure that I'll read this one again. My view of the book may change, the way I sometimes appreciate a CD more each time I listen to it. Has anyone started the countdown for Year 6 yet?
Rating:
Summary: Great! Can't wait for the next one!
Review: I just finished reading it and this is the best one yet! Full of twists and turns. From the very beginning to the end you are going to want to shout at the book for what's happening! This one is darker and Harry all the anger that he's been holding for 4 years. This one is bound to be a pivotal book in the series and when you get to the end of this book you are going to want more.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone is back, and better than ever.
Review: I just recently finished a second reading of "The Order of the Phoenix." And I must say that everything Rowling said would happen, is a big down-play to what actually happens. The normal array of twists and turns in the plot kept me reading the thing straight through, at 870 pgs. this took awhile. I was amazed at the revelations Rowling reveals. I wasn't expecting to find out about many of the things till her last book.
This book has grown-up with Harry. Rowling doesn't play the kids as little sweet boys and girls, but gives them raw teenage emotions. Plus you get to meet all your old friends. Almost everyone from the previous books comes back into this one, even Lockhart in a small, but amusing, role.
This books has many joyous times but also has its sad. Like Rowling has said someone dies. She wasn't kidding. Many people will be upset to see this character gone. But their death brings up many questions in Harry, that add to the wonderful book this is. I recommend that anyone and everyone read it. Though you don't have to read the other books before you read this one, I think you should. Happy Reading.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but lacks something the other books had...
Review: I have always loved the Harry Potter series, ever since the first one was published when I was 11. This book is VERY good (very long, too!) because in it, Harry and his friends deal with the pressures and uncertainties of their teenage years. The only critisism I have is, unlike the previous books whose endings wrapped up every detail of the plot, Order of the Pheonix leaves many open endings. I suppose I'll just have to wait for the sixth book of the series to find out if all of my questions will be answered!
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