Rating: 
Summary: Completely Unexpected...and Amazingly True
Review: I'm going to be careful and try not to give spoilers out for this book. First off, WOW!!! I honestly loved the book. It was quite dark compared to the other ones and I had to get used to it...the lightheartedness was definitely gone (which is to be expected) but I enjoyed it nonetheless and I feel any avid Harry Potter fan will feel Harry's emotions (so well described by Rowling) are deserved. Again, Rowling brings up good points throughout the story (including the house-elves' viewpoints on being set free). Also, as many of you will know, a prominent character dies which I feel will be important to character development in the next two stories. She also brings up good points involving death... Definitely a must read for any avid Harry Potter fan, with points that reach all ages. Congratulations, J.K. Rowling!
Rating: 
Summary: The anti-series continues to improve.
Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix continues J.K. Rowling's ongoing development as a writer who is growing up in public. The early Harry Potter books were charming, engaging, enjoyable, but ultimately simply workmanlike. What separated them from the multitude of garbage in their genre was the author's inventiveness but not, regrettably, her writing. With the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rowling threw the gauntlet down to her readers and to the industry as a whole. Involved, serious, and complex, it was laughable to watch the book industry try to figure out how to deal with a "children's book" whose main primary market was childless adults. Book 5, The Order of the Phoenix continues this trend. Rowling throws Harry into adolescence and the ambiguity it brings with abandon. In a world where our politicians can categorize entire nations as "good" or "evil", Rowling lays out the shades of gray that spread out across the variety of human behavior. The questions of right and wrong, of how to know what is moral and what is good, of the fundamental difficulty of deciding what responsibilities to adopt and how to discharge them are front and center in the Order of Phoenix. I don't agree with the reviewers who characterize this book as "dark." Rather, like a photo of a subject in light and shadow, its textures and contrasts provide an illumination of their own. Yes, the Harry Potter "product" has been adopted by the mass media selling machine. For once, there's nothing to feel guilty about in giving in to the hype. The hype doesn't obscure the fact that this is an excellent story, told well. I'm personally looking forward to Rowling's first book after the Potter series ends. I think it will be worth the wait.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: J.K. Rowling has done it again. The Order of the Pheonix met every one of our expectations... and then some. It takes the reader deeper and deeper into Harry's emotions, life, and heart.
J.K. gives us a character that we can all relate to. She connects the readers to Harry through his awkward approach to the opposite sex *cough* Cho Chang, studying for the highly stressful O.W.L.s, and his devastating new wave of grief. We sympathize with Harry's frustrations when he frequently blows up at Ron and Hermione because they simply "don't understand." He also copes with the "slight problem" of more than half the Wizarding World, including his fellow classmates, refusing to accept that Lord Voldemort has returned to power, and having them believe that Harry is an attention-seeking "git." Then, of course, there is the matter of a recurring dream Harry has of attempting to open a black door in a circular room, which he is sure he has seen before... but where? All this occurs while Harry tries to bear the intensifying pain from his scar and the hostility of an extremely irrational new teacher. Don't worry though, it's not all depressing. You can always count on Fred and George Weasly to lighten up the mood with their outlandish pranks that amuse and delight their fellow Hogwarts' students as well as the readers.
Rowling seamlessly weaves mystery with tears, adventure, heroism, and the trials of growing-up to create the beautiful soul of The Order of the Pheonix. It leaves the reader satisfied and awed at the unraveling of her masterpiece. Questions are finally answered and Harry learns the true reason of Voldemort's pursuit of him since his birth. J.K. Rowling's brilliant novel leaves the reader wishing to return to Hogwarts just as much as Harry does... anxiously awaiting the next installments. The fifth book keeps Harry Potter fans riveted and we also highly recommend the series to anyone who has not been acquainted with Rowling's pure magic. So what are you doing looking at this silly review? Go buy the book and start reading! ^-^
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to Teen Angst
Review: In book five, Rowling truly captures the moody, anger-filled life of 15-year-old Harry. He feels the need for the attention while proclaiming that he doesn't want any attention. It's the Catch-22 of being a teenager. I only put the book down to take a 2 1/2 hour nap from 4:30 - 7:00 am before I finished the book at 8:00 am on Saturday. It was just that good. However, I'm now re-reading to make sure that I don't miss any symbolism in the names, which Rowling is quite clever in providing. Definitely the best so far in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Not Disillusioned
Review: I have to think that if the Harry Potter books aren't "great literature," then "great literature" isn't a useful concept in understanding books written for children. Although book 5 doesn't stand alone from the rest of the series (and is certainly not intended to), book 5 may provide the best argument yet that the Potter books should be understood as literature-with-a-capital-"L", or at least as works of great value with obvious staying power.
For one thing, unlike in so much classic children's literature, in the Potter books, a person's "character" is more a product of their choices and internal struggles than of anything else. Early in book 5, Harry experiences feelings of petty jealousy, struggles to overcome them, and (more or less) succeeds. The lesson here seems considerably more useful than a message that "good" children should simply be immune from jealousy to begin with. Yet classic children's literature is filled with such inhumanly perfect children [e.g. Roald Dahl's Charlie Bucket]. Like Harry, these children experience external hardships which they overcome through a combination of bravery and luck. But conscious struggles with one's own dark side are very rare in children's fiction. Another example: in the Potter books, morality manages to be clear without being presented in needlessly simplistic terms. In book 5, Voldemort continues to be as unambiguously evil as the White Witch of Narnia. But Voldemort has no monopoly on evil, and evil might turn up anywhere--including the bedrock institutions of society. Sirius Black's point that the world "isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters" is simple enough for a six-year-old to understand, but sums up a concept that adults often miss. In book 5, Harry is also forced to confront moral failings in adults he has idolized--a painful process. And there are characters who have both profound moral strengths and profound moral failings. In book 5, this tension is more obvious than ever in Severus Snape, who is at once capable of great heroism and great hatred. Some professional reviewers have complained that Harry's adolescent behavior in book 5 is too, well, adolescent. Harry spends much more time brooding, and even ranting, in book 5 than he does in all the other books put together. At one point, albeit while under great stress, Harry even smashes one of his professor's belongings for no particular reason. Most adults who have read the series would still empathize with Harry. Harry has endured extreme loss, abuse, and humiliation. Besides, he justifiably feels that he is constantly being asked to bear adult burdens, and is deeply frustrated with his childhood powerlessness. The problem here is not that Harry's behavior seems unnatural. The problem, if any, is that his friends and teachers sometimes seem a bit unnaturally tolerant of it. In the real human world, most people can't manage to overlook such behavior for long, no matter how "understandible" it may seem. While I disagree with those who have said that this poses a problem in book 5, I do think that Harry will have to outgrow this phase quickly if he is to continue to be a believable hero.
I'm confident that he will. As one major review noted, Potter 5 is about an adolescent's disillusionment (and someone even performs a "disillusionment" charm on Harry early in the book.) But the book concludes on a hopeful note, and the outlook seems excellent that Harry will triumph in both his internal and external battles.
Rating:
Summary: Quite long but quite worth the time...
Review: Well having read the previous 4 installments and being an adult I thought I had Joe Rowling's plot figured out, which just shows that intelligence does not rest upon age. It was not what I was expecting, it was much better. Nearly 900 pages and I still read the whole bloody thhing in one 24 hour sitting. I reminded myself of the book that Ron mentions in Chamber of Secrets that is bewitched so that the reader can't put it down. No giveaways of course, but this book is not what you are likely to expect, it's better, and I suggest you push on through it despite it's length. When you finish, you'll be begging for the next Book and merely hoping it is near as engrossing as this.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply satisfying
Review: I found Rowling's latest book deeply satisfying. I have been reading the book almost non-stop since buying it midnight on Friday. I won't give away any particulars as to who dies or what happens, but I will say there is something so great about Harry being a tortured adolescent. His sense of alienation, his fits of anger, his awkward foray into the dating world, makes this volume more akin to say CATCHER IN THE RYE except of course this is a plot driven book. I also liked Rowling's attention to detail we learn more about St. Mungo's hospital where Neville's parents are kept and yes, Hagrid has yet another dangerous, but surprising creature in his lair. There is a perfectly officious and pyschotic new administrator aptly named Miss Umbridge who reminded me of one hellish nun who taught me in high school. But where Rowling I think thrives, is creating personal relationships. I find Harry's relationship with the weasley's endearing and his relationship with Sirrus Black becomes more complicated, but in effect richer. This is not to say this book is without humor, Fred and George keep hellish Miss Umbridge on her toes and the endless list of decrees set by the aforementioned are funny and infuritating. As an adult reader of Rowling and one who got up at midnight and waited in line at the new Borders (rebuilt and relocated after the one in the world trade center fell), to watch all the kids with their parents dressed up and excited, I felt as though I was on the Hogwarts Express waiting the sweet cart to come around. Perfect summer reading!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic.
Review: As the 5th book in the Harry Potter series, this book again exceeds expectations. Although the tone of this book is darker, and Harry Potter does begin to act his age, it is still wonderful. This book is by far the longest of the series so far, but I couldn't put it down-in fact I read all through the night without meaning to. J. K. Rowling does a wonderful job of drawing you into the book, and just like Harry you are yearning to visit Hogwarts again by the end of the first page.
This book is worth every penny I paid for it, more even, and I recomend it to anyone who has read the previous four books. It is, however, a good idea to read this book soon after book 4 or at least to skim it, as it jumps right into the plot expecting you to follow.
Buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: The best one yet.
Review: It was worth the wait. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the best of the series so far, a massive book that flies by and repays rereading. JK Rowling demonstrates that she has matured as a writer, and that she can write convincingly of teenage hopes and fears (the scenes where Hermione explains to Harry and Ron why Cho acts the way she does is superb). Yes, many questions are asked and answered, and one character does die (no, I won't tell you who it is), and there is great sadness, anger, and danger, but I finished reading it with a smile. I can't wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant...
Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was incredible enough that I am still recovering from the experience. J. K. Rowling has created something that is quite possibly more moving than her other novels, and in this book, she has created a story that is all of funny, real, sad, and beautiful. As I said, it was moving. Coming up to his fifth year as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry has become restless and angry with his situation with the Dursleys. After an incident on Privet Drive that raised serious concerns with Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, and the rest of Harry's wizarding family, along with putting Harry in serious danger of being expelled from Hogwarts, Harry moves to spend the rest of the summer with the secret Order of the Phoenix, a small organization of witches and wizards that have come together to resist the return of Lord Voldemort, despite the obstacle of overcoming a Ministry of Magic that denies that the return has even occurred. The Minister of Magic has done everything that he could to discredit both Harry Potter and Dumbledore, so it has become almost impossible to get the wizarding world to recognize and prepare for what will inevitably come. The basic parts of the story is set on the foundations of Voldemort's return and the censorship that the Ministry (mainly, the Minister) of Magic is trying to impose, especially on Hogwarts School. Naturally, the main subject of the story is Harry himself, who, it seems as a result of his removal from the wizarding world during an important time, has become very angry - with everyone. And the arrival of a particular teacher at Hogwarts - and her way of doing things, from running detention to running, well, everything. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is definitely the most mature book yet. It was very, very emotional, especially towards the end. You can feel Harry's frustration with everything, as well as how his friends are reacting to him and what's going on.
The book was incredible - I find that I can't imagine waiting what looks like a couple of years for the next one. Please, please don't read this unless you've read the other four. You can't fully appreciate what happens in Book 5 unless you're familiar with the story and the characters up to that point, and if you don't appreciate it, then it's an insult to the story. All of the other books are recommended as well, so read those first. If there's even anyone out there who hasn't read them yet. For the rest of you - read, and enjoy.
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