Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)

Rating:
Summary: An impressive twenty-seven hours
Review: Jim Dale does it again -- his reading of "Order of the Phoenix" has to rank among his best of the five books so far. One of the most memorable new characters, Dolores Umbridge, is brought into fine form in this audiobook. I'll never be able to reread "Phoenix" again without hearing Jim's rendition of "Hem! Hem!" While I did notice a few inconsistencies in voices this time (there's one noticeable moment where he mixes up Mr. Weasley and Sirius), the audiobook does have a nice and lively pace, and Jim Dale does such a commendable job of giving each character such detailed attention. And considering the fact that he recorded over a entire day's worth of narration, it's a wonder he didn't make loads of mistakes. Most importantly, there is no such thing as a small character to Jim Dale -- every voice is unique and holds their own among the other voices. In fact, he's even aged Harry and Ron's voices a bit from the previous audiobooks. This has become a ritual for me...reading the book first and listening to the audiobook afterwards. I recommend to any Harry Potter fan the experience of listening to the multi-voiced talent of Jim Dale.

Rating:
Summary: The plot thickens!!
Review: Ok, so the first time I read this one I was thouroughly disappointed. I waited in line for like 2 hours to get it then of course hurried and read it in a day, so of course I missed all kinds of important stuff. I was upset so I stayed away from Harry Potter completely for a couple of months. Then I decided to read it for a second time and WOW! I get in these little stages where Im obsessed with the books and I read all of them back to back. "The Goblet of Fire" is still by far my favorite. So much happens. In "Order of the Phoenix" you can obviously tell that the characters are growing up and starting to mature quickly. Personally I think that Hermione and Ron are developing a bit of a crush on each other, but who knows what J.K. will have that grow into. Harry and Cho is kind of a complicated subject. He likes her but he still seems to be in that "girls have cooties" stage. I was sad that Sirius "died" but I have convinced myself that he is coming back in some form and it will have something to do with the mirror that Sirius gives Harry in the beginning of the book. I know that a main character dies in "half blood prince" due to come out on June 16the (I am sooo excited) but Im not sure as to who it might be. J.K. has already confirmed that it will not be Harry, Hermione, or Ron. Maybe HAgrid, though I hope not. So, overall, if you have read the 5th book once and you weren't all that blown away, try it a second time and you might be pleasantly surprised..

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: Order of the Phoenix, I would have to say, is.....probably the best one. Or at least in my opinion. The only thing I didn't find enjoying was that new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She got annoying after awhile with the whole "hem hem". I swear if she was real person, I would of thrown something at that person. All-in-all, the book had it's ups & downs. It was the one volume/year that cleared a lot of things up. (Answered a bunch of my questions). But it was sad towards the end.