Product Description:

As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It's been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero's non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief... or will it?

The fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series follows the darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a peg or three after the events of last year. Somehow, over the summer, gossip (usually traced back to the magic world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet) has turned Harry's tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and discount the teen. Even Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of the school, has come under scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic, which refuses to officially acknowledge the terrifying truth that Voldemort is back. Enter a particularly loathsome new character: the toadlike and simpering ('hem, hem') Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, who takes over the vacant position of Defense Against Dark Arts teacher--and in no time manages to become the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, as well. Life isn't getting any easier for Harry Potter. With an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels examinations (O.W.Ls), devastating changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team lineup, vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors, and increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar, Harry's resilience is sorely tested.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, more than any of the four previous novels in the series, is a coming-of-age story. Harry faces the thorny transition into adulthood, when adult heroes are revealed to be fallible, and matters that seemed black-and-white suddenly come out in shades of gray. Gone is the wide-eyed innocent, the whiz kid of Sorcerer's Stone. Here we have an adolescent who's sometimes sullen, often confused (especially about girls), and always self-questioning. Confronting death again, as well as a startling prophecy, Harry ends his year at Hogwarts exhausted and pensive. Readers, on the other hand, will be energized as they enter yet again the long waiting period for the next title in the marvelous, magical series. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: 4.43 out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Not the best of the series, but still a good read!
While the Order of the Phoenix is not, in my opinion, the best of the Harry Potter series, (I think that title goes to book 3 the Prisoner of Azkaban) it was still a fun read that managed to prick my interest for many of the 896 pages.
The upside -- Even though The Order of the Phoenix follows the same cookie cutter sequence we've come to expect from JK Rowling's Harry Potter books, here in book 5 she does give us a fresh perspective into Harry's character. He's finally become a real teenager!! He's moody and morose, and prone to flashes of anger, and has no idea what to do on a date! In this one we see that the line between good and evil, is not always so easy to draw...Harry's father wasn't always a good guy, and Snape...well we can feel bad for him in this one. And, while this one ... Read More

Rating:

- Tedious.....
I read the first Harry Potter book hesitantly, but was overwhelmingly surprised and impressed by the creativity and imagination of J.K. Rowling's contrived world. Unfortunately, the creativity pretty much ended there. I love the core characters and therefore enjoy the books, though it's pretty much the same story retold five different times. The Order of the Phoenix is the worst, in my opinion, for two reasons:

1. It's way too long. I'm all for long books when essential to the storyline, but this read more like the publishers were too anxious to get the book on the shelves to bother with actual editing. If an abridged version is ever released, I'd highly recommend it.

2. The main weakness of the first 4 books is the unrealistic creutly and manipulative schemes carried on ... Read More

Rating:

- The best book yet
I really enjoyed this book - I thought it was definitely the best one yet. There were many things in the earlier books that annoyed me (like everyone always muttering and gritting their teeth), but these annoyances either weren't there as much or I didn't notice them as much this time because this book is much better-written than the past ones. There are very few fiction authors that I enjoy - I am mostly a Stephen King fan - but Rowling's mix of good old-fashioned story telling, suspense, and humor have definitely won me over. One word of caution, though, this is NOT a childrens book. The first one may have been, but successive volumes have become more and more adult. Perhaps a good guideline would be that the reader's age match Harry's age in each book.

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