Rating: 
Summary: WOW.
Review: Obviously if you are a fan of Harry's, you won't be disappointed! This book was sooo good. I couldn't put it down...I was reading it into the wee hours of the night! It's a lot darker than the previous books, and Harry is a very angry guy, but it was awesome nonetheless. There are a lot of shocking twists and turns, and some great new characters as well as the great old ones. What can I say...I'm addicted to Harry Potter!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible, gripping, exciting, amazing, dramatic...
Review: There are just not enough words to describe the next chapter of the Harry Potter series. It is however rather different from the first books of the the series. It is much darker, with more tough times for Harry. We find Harry for the first time in a constant state of worry or fury. Harry has to face the troubles of a new DADA teacher, a heavy workload, and the constant threat of "you-know-who". A definite "could not put it down" book. One of the best books in ages!
Rating:
Summary: jk rowling does it again
Review: This book was so good. I read it in one day I just couldn't put it down. Harry is as charming as ever and still has the support of his friends. Things at Hogwarts start out bad then go to worse. On top of everything Dumbledore won't look him in the eye and he keeps having weird dreams. He is afraid his worst fears will be confirmed. Later in to the book a horrible event occurs which leads Dumbeldore to answer Harry's most haunting questions.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit of a let down...
Review: I'd been waiting with baited breath to read the new Harry Potter book and so I picked up my copy early on Saturday morning and began to read it immediately... Couldn't wait to find out about Snape's secret mission and what would happen to Sirius, Hagrid and of course, Harry Potter himself.
Hmmm... I thought that book 4 could have been chopped down quite a bit but this one... phew... It could have done with being edited down to about 250 pages. By page 280-ish I was still waiting for the story to get going... At around page 520 it did pick up a little... but not enough. I kept looking back at the amount of pages I'd read and thinking "Where's the story then?"
I won't give away any details... All I'll say is if you're looking for an exciting, page-turning story as found in the other HP books then you'd better wait for book 6. This one has the feel of an in-betweener. Not much happens of any interest and it goes on and on forever. Nothing is explained until about 20 pages from the end and even then... it's a bit of a let down.
That's all I can say. I'm highly disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A great book, but definely not a children's book anymore!
Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a great read for the Harry Potter fan. A few warnings though; First, if you have never picked up a Harry Potter book in the past, do not start with this one. J.K. Rowling does very little backtracking on storylines in this, the fifth Harry Potter book in the series, so you really need to know the characters already. Another thing to know is that, unlike the first three books, (or four, depending on your own personal opinion), this is not a childrens' book. The book's overtones are darker and more sinister, the characters are all older and no longer enchanted by Hogwarts, as they have been in the past. For the Harry Potter fan, this book answers many of the questions you may have had since The Sorcerer's Stone, like why Voldemort tried to kill Harry when he was only an infant and why Harry's aunt and uncle take him back every summer, when they dislike him so, just to recall a few. Other interesting points in this book: learning more about the Ministry of Magic and St.Murgo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The main premise of the book is that Dumbledore and the "Order" are trying to convince Fudge and the Ministry the Voldemort has returned. Not only does the Ministry not believe them, it turns against them, as it attempts to discredit many of the Order's members, all the while slowly taking Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry out of Dumbledore's control ... The Order of the Phoenix is long, but I picked it up on the 21st, and couldn't put it down until I finished it on the 23rd. A war had begun between good and evil, and the battle lines are being drawn.
Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the other 4 but the saddest by far.
Review: Harry Potter 5 absolutely lives up to, possibly exceeds the originality, beauty, and intricacy of the preceeding 4 novels but, especially if you were a fan of a certain character (like myself) the end might leave you a little dumbstruck and reaching for the tissues. This is definitely the most emotional of the series so far, the most real if you ask me, and for those of us who have been growing up along with Harry will probably understand it the best.
Rating:
Summary: Transport Yourself
Review: As a registered adult Harry Potter addict, I picked the new book up as soon as I could on June 21 and read pretty much straight through until I finished it the next day. And I don't have kids, it was just for ME, a grown adult, who can't wait any longer than a 12 year old!Harry Potter V is another triumph for J.K.Rowling, as she somehow makes the subtle transition into fiction more likely to be fuond in the Young Adult section of the library. The writing style changes, Harry changes, there's adolescent reality (and confusion) woven in with the story line. The ease with which Rowling moves the sophistication of the series along by degrees is quite astounding. Not to mention that the story is as compelling as all the previous volumes, if not even more so. Because you will soon read a thousand reviews about how wonderful the book is, so I will simply give a word of personal experience in it's reading. I'm not sure I'd recommend the total immersion approach. It's just plain old HARD to come back to one's real life when it's over! Spare yourself and integrate the reading into an hour or two a day with the rest of your life. And spin out the magic for yourself....
Rating:
Summary: A Different Kind of Magic
Review: Wow...I know many of us have been waiting for the opportunity to read more Harry Potter for 3 years! I wish I had been able to pace my reading a little more...but I was too excited :-) While I was worried after the reading the first few chapters--the Harry Potter I was seeing was not the one I remembered!-- my faith in HP was restored once I got into the plot. Although this book was very different in the sense that there really wasn't a specific event happening, (the triwizard tournament, sirius black's escape...) Rowling writes about many different events that occur in the wizarding world. At the center of the plot is the problem that the ministry refuses to belief the truth---that Voldemort has returned. Using the character of Dolores Umbridge, J.K. Rowling shows how dangerous a closed mind can be. I don't want to give away any of the plot (as was revealed...someone does die...it wasn't as much a surprise as cedric's death was), this is definitely a darker version of any of the other books. But again...the theme of goodness returns (which I say mostly to point out that there is no reason to deem these books "evil" or "devil worshiping"--the whole point is that there is good in people, and it must be used to triumph over evil) in Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, etc. This book wasn't entirely what I expected, but once again it offered a great peek into another world. The reader is brought back to Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade, 4 Privet Drive- and onward to new magical places. J.K. Rowling's vivid style of writing also returned. I think she could make an instructions manual interesting...870 (not 896?) pages were definitely not too much! I recommend Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to anyone who has read 1-4---it's a great addition to the series!
Rating: 
Summary: Darkest " Harry" Yet!
Review: In this latest installment of the series, J.K Rowling once again proves her committment to the characters. This time she is not afraid to make our hero brooding and introspective.
Like any fifteen-year-old, Harry is very moody in this story, but his reasons for losing his temper become clear as the book concludes. All of the favorites are back again, with a little more light shed on some of the less-featured students, and some new friends are introduced as well.
The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,the well-named Professor Umbrage, wrecks havoc with Harry and the Hogwart's students. She also causes quite a stir amongst the current teaching staff, who openly wage rebellion against her "policies".
While this book has less action than previous books, it is no less exciting, with many secrets and political strategies revealed, and some astounding insights between Dumbledore and Harry.
I enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of the Ministry of Magic, as well as the Headquarters of the Order, which is like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland!
"Phoenix" is not a self-contained story this time, it requires some knowledge of the previous books to clarify parts of it, and it is also the first book where I began to see what kind of adults these children will become. (It IS going to be hard to let the kids grow up, but that is definitely what Rowling is allowing them to do, in a very realistic and believable way.)
And, even though Harry is not quite himself in this book, I was pleased that he still retains the inner sweetness and stoutness of heart that makes him such a beloved hero.
4 out of 5!!
Rating: 
Summary: J.K. Rowling sells out
Review: I believe that J.K. Rowling succumbed to the pressure of writing a fabulous 5th book by adding more violence, more anger, and unnecessary vulgarities and foul language. In the first couple of chapters the word 'damn' is used repeatedly as well as the word 'effing.' There is a discussion of someone's buttocks and I am sure the list goes on. I love the Harry Potter books but I don't think I would, in good conscience, let my children read this book. If Rowling wanted to start making the books where Harry is older darker and more like the 14 year old boy he is, then she should make her readers aware of it and let her younger readers know not to read it, which at this point, is like telling a child not to breathe.
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