Rating:  Summary: Bravo! Rowling does it again!!! Review: Okay, I was one of those people that had to get my book at 12:01 on Saturday. I finished it Monday morning! It's wonderful! There are lots of twists and turns that keep the pages glued to your fingers. You just don't want to put it down, because you want to see what happens next! If you have read any of the other Harry Potter books, then this one is a must! If you haven't read any of them, this is the one to read. I don't want to give any secrets away, but so much seems to happen in this particular book. I cannot wait until the next one comes out. Until then, I guess I'll just start reading this one again!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rating:  Summary: This is probably the best book yet Review: I still have about 200 pages left in the book, but it's amazing. Rowling has probably done the best on this book filling it with every detail she could cramp into the almost 900 pages she records. In this book, Harry starts his fifth year at Hogwarts on the rocks. Voldemort has come back and many things are happening. For one, Ron and Hermione start their first year as prefects. More will happen as readers soar through the fifth addition!
Rating:  Summary: Suspencful but dragging Review: Well, we've all been waiting patiently for some time for the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, but I must say I am a little disapointed. The book has given more detail to many of it's main characters, including parts explaining why Snape is so cruel. This I must say makes the story much more interesting and provocative, allowing readers to understand and thus to relate more to the characters. This is a definite plus. The story however, starts to drag very early on and continues throughout the book. The story has pages seemingly added into it simply to lenghen the story, this causes real drag on what would be a nicely streamlined story. This dragging may have been intenden to increase suspence in some parts, but the author's over-use quickly becomes irritating. The story seemed to loop over upon itself, repeating similar situations and end results constantly, this gives a slight feeling of deja'vu. All-in-all this story is much the same as the others, Harry came, he saw, he conquered, narrowly escaping the Dark Lord yet again to the awe and admiration of the other characters. I read to several hours straight waiting for the story to live up to the expectations I had for it. I waited in vain. The story did indeed have many interestingly suspenseful parts but they were few and far between. By the end of the book I took Snapes opinion of Harry, He IS always trying to be a hero, and in his arrogance and disobedience he leaves casualties in his wake. If you're a die hard Potter fan collecting the series this book if for you. If you have only fleeting interest in the potter books, get it from your library before buying it.
Rating:  Summary: Well Worth the Wait Review: J.K.Rowling has indeed made us wait long and hard for her fifth installment of the journey of Harry Potter. I thank her for taking the time and attention to detail that makes Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix more than worth the wait. Rowling's writing has matured as much as Harry himself. I read the novel in a little more than 24 hours, and so much enjoyed her narrative, that I have already begun my second read. Order of the Phoenix book is darker than the previous stories, and rightly so. Harry is at such a volatile stage in his life, not only in his wizadry studies, but also in his journey into manhood. Rowling takes such care with his emotions and his loss of innocence that one cannot feel anything but empathy for Harry. So many questions are answered from the previous stories, and happily, more questions are raised. I can't rave enough about the writing, the story, and the timing of this novel. J.K.Rowling must have read President Bush's "No Child Left Behind Act" while constructing the beurocratic blowhard, Professor Umbridge. She would have worked perfectly in today's high accoutability atmosphere of the new education act. I can only hope the new education act shares the same fate as Umbridge. Thank you Ms. Rowling!!!
Rating:  Summary: Stop Voldemort Review: I am a Creative Writing major attending a prestigious liberal arts school in Maine. I have been an avid reader and writer my whole life. I have taken class after class on the criticism, composition, and interpretation of literature. I could describe to you the depths of Claudius' sin, write a paper on the silent mirror in Phillip Daedalus, and present a thesis on Zarathustra's snake and eagle. I am not a brilliant reader nor a master of composition, but I am educated and somewhat creative, and have always taken great pleasure in the simple act of transforming letters into words and words into stories. There is nothing I have ever read that has affected me like the Harry Potter books. When I read them I am completely transported into J.K. Rowling's world. Completely. Coming back is not always easy. There is nothing else like it. I do not read these books, I experience them. And, upon returning to my real life, the experience stays with me, lingers inside me. The world does not seem as real as it once did, nor does my place in it. But the change is for the better. Most people who read these books do not have this reaction, though they still enjoy Harry's adventure. This does not show a lack of insight or intelligence, or even lack of imagination. It is a very particular kind of personality that can lose itself so totally in a story. I have not discovered the key to this ability. I am, however, not alone. For those who understand exactly what I am talking about, I can do no more than raise my glass and offer you cheers; praise Jesus, she's done it again. Stop Voldemort
Rating:  Summary: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Review: Harry suffers from the attempts by others to protect him when he just wants to know what's going on. Life is dark and frustrating for Harry as he attempts to come to grips with the understanding that the adults in his life aren't as perfect as he thought. My overall impression of the tone set by this book is isolation and frustration. I didn't like it, there is enough of that in real life. It didn't seem as if there are ANY happy moments in this novel. Depressing.
Rating:  Summary: Go Go Gadget Book! Review: For all of you who don't read Harry Potter, start. While some may think that the book is childish, but as you read you find things that Rowling has put in that are truly remarkable. She uses literay techniques that College professors should look at the book to get advice in teaching English! Even though it may be childish, Everybody has to return to being a kid once and a while. Just let it be now and read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!
Rating:  Summary: Great Book But Spoilers present Review: I am a very big Harry Potter fan. However, I wanted to write an objective review of the book. The plot line of Harry potter seems to me a bit confusing in that most of the story really has little or nothing to do with the ending of the book. In fact the major plotline probable could have been left out without much difficulty. The only thing I can think of is that Rowling decided to use the the overly long story line as some sort of pretext for future novels. A couple of the minor plot lines such as the student dada organization and the death of the major character do make major impacts on the overall arc of the story. All in all the book is a good addition to the Harry Potter collection but will confuse most younger readers. Plus parents may want to note that the last portion of the book that containes the death of a Character may really scare children younger than there teens. Also any child, or person for that matter who has recently lost a family member or loved one may want to consider talking to someone after reading the book as it does tend to make one reflect on ones life.
Rating:  Summary: Not just longer: It's also much darker Review: From the very first page of the long-awaited new Harry Potter volume, readers should know they're in for a darker, harder journey than ever before. Starting as always in Privet Drive, the book takes readers through the summer of Harry's greatest discontent yet and into the dark headquarters of Dumbledore's mysterious Order of the Phoenix before returning to a Hogwarts that's significantly more frightening than it ever has been before. This book was both more difficult to read than any of its prequels and more captivating than any volume so far. The complexity of the story is spectacular; Rowling pulls no punches in portraying the stresses and struggles of an adolescent under more pressure than any normal boy should be. Gone is the thrill of adventure in Harry's exploits; instead, he and his friends encounter danger out of grim necessity. Though major mysteries are reveal, every revelation and every battle seems to raise only more questions. In short, this is a spectacular book that establishes only one thing for certain: Demand for the 6th volume will be even higher.
Rating:  Summary: Tiresome in places, overall well done Review: I enjoyed this book very much. But is it worth all the hype? I don't think so...I feel that the overall smoothness of the plot has degraded, and dare I say it, getting tiresome in some places. Why does Hagrid always bring back weird creatures? And boy, does our hero show his petulant side this time. I can hardly recognise this angry young man. I suppose you can call it "coming of age" stuff. The villainess Dolores Umbridge is really downright nasty, I find myself wanting to punch her myself! Particularly funny bits are Harry's interaction with Cho Chang. Oh yes, someone dies alright, pretty soon we will run out of peripheral figures to kill off. It's a good book, but I will only rate this as 4 stars because I don't find it as engaging as previous installments.
|