Rating: 
Summary: Finally the 5th book!!! From a 14 year old girl
Review: It took me 16 hours and 30 minutes to read this book, and i finished it a day after it was released. It is 870 pages and a third longer than the 4th book. I think this is my favorite of all 5 Harry Potter books. Like the 4th book someone dies but this time he or she is close to Harry. J.K.R. released this info before the book came out. I cried when i found out who. It ties so many things together and answers some of the important questions we all have been guessing at since the first book several years ago. Such as why did Voldemort want to kill Harry in the first place 15 years ago? In the end you find out this plus many other things. I can't wait for the 6th book!!! I'm going to re-read this book soon!
Rating: 
Summary: Another page turner from J.K. Rowling
Review: Harry's back at Hogwarts and despite almost 900 pages of text, year five flew by as fast as all the others. Of course after all the "hints" given out in the press, I spent too much of the time wondering 1) who was going to be the one to die and 2) what the "big secret" was. That, and having to constantly remind myself that Harry's fifteen now and that it's normal for him to be sulking about, having fits of temper and kissing girls.We do get the pleasure of some fun new characters -- Tonks is a hoot -- as well as a gaggle of new magical creatures, spells, and practical jokes to enjoy. The Weasley twins are in top form. We also have the usual assortment of threats -- dementors, ominous dreams and what not, but surprisingly (at least to me) quite a lot of the book ends up revolving around political intrigue at the Ministry of Magic and their desperate attempt to put Hogwarts under their control, and stop the Lord Voldermort "rumors". Their agent, the enjoyably repellent Ms. Umbridge, nicely fills the roll of chief nemesis/pain-in-the-butt for the year. She's like some short, smarmy Hitler, murmering "Hem, hem" as she cuts down teachers, creates sadistic punishments for the students, and slowly but surely declares martial law in the school with herself as supreme leader. Fortunately, as the new decrees become increasingly ridiculous, so does she, causing even the most mild mannered of students to get a little rebellious. Did I happen to mention the Weasley twins are in top form? Overall, another good book in the series with new magic, new characters and more mythology revealed while still maturing and developing our faves -- Neville's never looked so good. There are some good thrills, a great fight sequence, and plenty of mischief, rebellion and sly jokes going on between teenage sulking fits. There's also some good plot twists and a few surprises -- just try and guess why the flakey divination teacher got hired in the first place. Yes, someone dies and yes, there's a secret revealed, but don't worry -- it's not as dark as all that and there's still plenty left hanging. Now, if she'll just get on with the next one!
Rating:
Summary: Order of the Phoenix was worth the wait
Review: The 5th installment of the Harry Potter series was well worth the 3 year wait. This is darker than the previous books, but as Harry and his friends are now 15, the mood suits it. Harry not only has to worry about the fact that Lord Voldemort is back, he also has to deal with the normal problems of 15 year olds. Harry is much more complex character in this book and he runs the gamut of emotions of a boy his age; paranoia, jealousy, disillusionment and anger are just a few. He has to face some uncomfortable truths about the people he loves and his own shortcomings. We also find out more about Voldemorts obsession with him. This book may be almost 900 pages, but it doesn't feel that long. The book pulls you in like pensieve and makes you feel like you are watching the story unfold before you. I would highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Fun but Unsatisfying
Review: After a 3 year wait, thousands lined up at midnight for the much anticipated OotP. Worth the wait? Yes. A fun read? Yes. Questions answered? NO. Rowling does a magnificent job of painting new scenes, new characters and creatures, some you love, some you hate. Some that seem "thrown" in (Hagrid's little brother). We have all known that there would be a death of a main character, we knew it was coming and speculated as to who it might be, Ron? Hermione? Hargid? Dobby? Colin? I think the actual choice was rather unexpected. I also think it was a big mistake. It is interesting that the heroism for which Harry has been so beloved and hated, is the very thing that causes a dear friends death. There are too many warnings that are overlooked/ignored that deminish the credibilty of this installment. The Harry Potter of books 1-4 would not have overlooked these warnings particularly in these perilous times, even in anger and rage. Unfortunately, OotP never answers the very questions that it purports to address. Why Voldemort was after James & Lily? I think we all have guessed the prophecy, it was not a surprise. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop...it never did. Dumbledore's explanation of things were pretty weak, except for the bit about Neville and Trelawney we already knew/guessed everything else! We all knew that James and Snape hated each other no news there, book 3 explained that they had a tendancy to be "gits" based on the trick they tried to play on Snape. We didn't get any grea revelations about Lily either or exactly why Voldemort wanted them out of the way...(beyond the prophecy deal). All in all, I've more questions now than before I read the book (in 8 hours). There are unexplained contradictions, for instance the ancient magic that protected HP when his mother sacrificed herself was supposedly compromised in book 4. It's Harry's mother's love and the blood she shed that protected him to the point where Voldemort could physically touch him (Book 1). We learn (*beware* spoiler coming up) that it's the same protection that extends to Harry at the Dursleys' via Aunt Petunia. But that protection was compromised when he regenerated himself with Harry's blood. So now that the same blood that runs through Harry's and Petunia's body also runs in Voldemorts!?! It follows he should be able to walk right into Privet Drive and render some damage, but he can't? One thing for sure though, the Weasley Twins' exit combined with the Dumbledore Death-Eater beatdown was worth 5 stars alone. I love the series but this installment was anticlimatic, unsatisfying and I'm not so sure I'll be back for the sixth. And if it takes another 3 years, definately not. Potter fans deserve better.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Truly magnificent. The character of Dolores Umbridge is so well-depicted that one often finds him- or herself passionately loathing Umbridge. If anyone has ever had a horrible high school principal, he or she will be able to relate. Again, the book was awesome and well written. Harry has a lot more depth in this book, which in turn makes it a lot better than the other ones. I'm not going to say anymore. I feel that I will give too much away if I do. However, GO READ THE BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever.
Review: Harry is now 15 years old, a precarious and emotionally strained age. (His emotional behavior may shock you a bit.) Even as a normal kid it would've been a hard year to overcome, but Harry has more on his plate than anyone could possibly imagine. (Only Dumbledore seems to understand.) His anger at being isolated and uninformed by Dumbledore creates resentment in him. And the dreaded prophecy finally nails him to his fate without any reversing it. Feeling inescapable and burdened, Harry, by the end of the book, seeks solitude. Knowing the truth is a hard thing and accepting it to challenge himself is more difficult. Growing up to accept the burden that comes with heavy responsibility is harder still. Thrill, suspense, teenage awkwardness, heroics, whatever you can conjure up in an adventure book, it's there in abundance. Loyalty of his friends and the Order of Phoenix are amazing to read as well as Harry helplessly seeking the return of his lost loved one makes you feel for him and grieve with him. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix is the best installment yet by J.K Rowlings; I simply could not put the book down until finished. J.K Rowlings definitely has an extraordinary talent for creating a fascinating and (fictional) magical world that will draw you to the book.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as the other books.
Review: SUMMARY: You may be deciding whether to get the book now or after it is available in Paperback. I would recommend the latter. This book is good, as it advances the plotline we have anxiously followed. However, it is nowhere near the value of its predecessors. Thus, it is good to read once but not so great for re-reading. On the other hand, if you choose to wait for paperback, you must beware of spoilers. There are several prominent plot twists (such as character deaths) which would be unfortunate to learn prematurely. If this worries you, feel free to get the book now, as Amazon is running a spectacular deal on the book. GOOD: This story is a real page-turner. Once again, Rowling inserts just enough colorful insights into the magical world, that we really feel that we are living in a spectacular dream-world. This is the transition-point of the series, where the final pieces of the background are falling into place. You simply cannot put this book down when the answer to yet another question might be on the next page. BAD: This book may suffer from having TOO many points to cover. Upon finishing the book, I felt quite unfulfilled. Not only are we left with the standard cliffhangers for forthcoming books, there are far too many missed opportunities to explore our favorite characters. As an example, fans have anticipated the exploration of Harry's romantic crush on rival Quiddich-player Cho Chang. One would hope that Harry's first love would change him, and provide new challenges to his character development. We could see how to woo a girl in the Wizarding World- what gifts should a boy send, where to take her on a date. But instead of this development, we get very little dialogue between the two. No challenges are resolved to any extent, and Harry never seems concerned with Cho more than 5 pages before and after his infrequent dealings with her. Likewise, we learn early on that Hermione and Ron are chosen as school prefects. One would think this a perfect jumping-off point to enrich the Hogwart's experience. When do they patrol the corridors? Do they get special privileges or learn special spells? Yet Hermione's character takes the rarest of opportunities to boss kids around, while Ron never seems a prefect at all. Instead of bringing magical miscreants into line, Hermione spends her time teaching Ron and Harry how to prioritize their homework assignments. Problems like those above were really a shame, as I think the author missed out on some great chances to expand the breadth of her world. We read these books to escape from reality. I'm sorry, but I am not compelled to re-read a book where I spend more time vicariously experiencing magical, homework-planners than patrolling the halls of a haunted magic-school. Little decisions like this seemed to detract from the books effectiveness overall, and lead me to only give it 3.5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: J.K Rowling gets better with each book - FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!
Review: All I can say is WOW!!!!!!! It is spectacular - definately worth the 3-year wait - it would have been worth a 50-year wait!
J.K. Rowling fuses comedy and terror magnificently in "Order of the Phoenix" and creates a plot completely intriguing and unbelieveably exciting and imaginative. The plot is amazing fresh, new, unique, and distinct from all the other books yet feels properly connected and joined to the ongoing plot underlying the whole series. Simply fantastic! J.K. is nothing short of a genius!
The emergent themes that emanate from this book are more salient and powerful than ever! She uses an intricate plot to get across so much in such a little space (I know the book is almost 900 pages, but it just flies by - I wish it were 9,000 pages!)
J.K. Rowling will follow in quick sucession when the names of historic English (and all) authours are mentioned: Shakespeare, Dickens, then Rowling. She by all means belongs in this group and will be remembered along the lines of Shakespeare and Dickens.
I don't care if you're a Harry Potter fan, don't like magic, or even dislike every character, buy this book and you'll see - it the best book of our age (along with its predecessors, although I will say it is probably the superior book in the series)and quite possibly one of the best of all time!!!
Harry rules and will definately live on as one of the most memorable and loved characters of all literature! I am just thankful I am living during the period of literary history in which J.K. Rowling is writing!
Rating:
Summary: Hang in there, Harry
Review: The best Harry Potter yet. Although fun and exciting and full of Harry Potter magic, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", takes a more serious turn, a somewhat disturbing turn. Growing up isn't easy and Harry must confront some of his own demons. Helping him through his disappointments and disillusionments is the bond between Harry and his friends as it grows deeper and more profound. You may cry a little, but you'll also thrill as you race through the pages unable to put the book away for the night. Now we have the difficult task of waiting for the next Harry Potter.
Rating:
Summary: The best so far
Review: This book was soo amazing! I just couldn't put it down, it was so good. Its slightly different from the others - Harry deals with jealously, a new "high inquisitor" of Hogwarts, a disgruntled house elf, a crush, the O.W.L. exams, the Ministry of Magic, the death of a person close to Harry, and (of course) Voldemort, among many other challenges. In this book you will find a mysterious door, a dementor attack, surprising news about a batty old neighbor and about his Aunt Petunia, a new club formed by Harry, the unstable government taking over the school, a few more secrets to Harry's past, a disturbing memory of his father, and a lot of teenage emotion. The emotion is all very convincing and easy to relate to. Its a great book and I'm not going to say anymore as I don't want to ruin the ending for anybody.
|
