Book details of 'Harry Potter (Book 5): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'

Title	Harry Potter (Book 5): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author(s)	J K Rowling
ISBN	0747551006
Language	English

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Related pages for Harry Potter (Book 5): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix : Harry Potter book series, US edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Harry Potter (Book 5): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix':

There are in total 206 reviews for 'Harry Potter (Book 5): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', viewing numbers 1201 through 206.

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Unknown reviewer wrote:
I was so excited about this book, I went to line up at Chapters at midnight. I really enjoyed the whole book, but the main criticism I'd have is that it didn't need to be so long. Even though is was really nice to have so much to read about Harry Potter, not much to do with the whole plot really happened until the last few hundred pages. I did like how much character development there was, though, and also how the end allows for more exciting things to happen in the next books. I liked how much it described the whole "Harry Potter" type lifestyle, and now that I'm done, I'm going to have to read some of the other books again becuase I love them so much. I think Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix could have had a bit more suspense and such, but I'm still really excited about the sixth book. I can't wait!

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Reviewer Kathryn Ardizzone wrote:
I have mixed feelings about this book. Although the plot line seemed to be a lot less thicker than in other Harry Potter books in the series, I did see some very important themes emphasized in this story-- particularly, Rowling shows that the world is NOT simply a battle of black and white, good and evil. There are gray areas. Snape is not EVIL though unpleasant and dark he still fights against Voldemort with the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore is not perfect either, toward the end of the story, he admits to Harry he has made some serious errors. PLUS James Potter, though called the best of people, antagonized and humiliated Snape and was known for conceitedness Other themes were: mass deception and propaganda (and the importance of knowledge), the subjugation of "lesser races" like elves, centaurs, and mudbloods, and ambition being a source of evil. Rowling's writing style in this novel certainly takes a different tone, but the adolescent tone, and i felt that it was certainly appropriate. Harry, although extraordinary, is not perfect and experiences the hotheadedness and angst that every teen goes through. Bottom Line-- Harry can no longer categorize people into good and evil, its not inherent, its based upon their choices-- do they choose to consort with voldemort to seek power or do they choose to combat him and restore peace and order. It will be a difficult fight, but unity and goodness can always overcome evil in the end

Reviewer ADAM CROSS wrote:
Well firstly i would like to say it is a fantastic book and JK sould be highly commended for it and to all those who degrade the book because of the darker themes and the time she spent developing the characters, this is perhaps a reflection of your own literary skill as JK has obviously created a realistic book about a normal tenager. ie theme of teenage angst!

Reviewer pandora wrote:
I have been reading everybody's reviews for OOTP, and I think that they underestimate the book's appeal. I enjoyed it immensely, and found myself returning to several passages over and over. JK Rowling has been saying from the beginning that the series was going to take a dark turn, and it makes perfect sense for it to happen as Harry becomes older and filled with teenage angst. I don't think the book is depressing-I think that Harry acts EXACTLY like a teenage boy would when faced with life lessons like love, hate, and death. I liked how all of the characters interacted, and I absolutely loved how all of Harry's friends banded together at the end and were so strong. I think that Rowling is an absolute genius-her imagination and penchant for tiny details is amazing. I think that anyone that felt that the dark tone of this book was disappointing is really going to be upset with the next two books. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next, and how Harry grows into even more of leader.

Reviewer indira wrote:
Whilst I couldn't put down Book 5 and read it in 2 days, I am disappointed that: a) there were no surprises/twists...in the previous books, someone who appeared to be evil wasn't (e.g. Snape, Sirius) but someone who was good turned out to be really bad or possessed (Quirrel, Ginny, Mad Eye Moody). This time, I had thought that Percy (at the suggestion of Mr Weasley) was clevery pretending to be a prat in order to spy on the Ministry of Magic, and that Dolores Umbridge must be on a similar undercover mission...but alas no b) there were big logic flaws...I have not spotted any in the previous books e.g.1. Sirius gave Harry a means of communicating with him in an emergency (or otherwise)and Harry didn't use it even when he was desparate to see whether Sirius was safe (instead he reverted to the much clumsier Flue solution) e.g.2. Why does Harry hope that Sirius will be a ghost when he has already experienced the loss of his beloved parents and has known that they haven't turned into ghosts? Who is Harry's godmother - will we see her in Book 6? c) lacked emotional balance. I felt no sadness at all when Sirius died...just surprise and relief that it wasn't any of the children. Usually when a character dies (e.g. Harry's parents, Cedric) there has been a build up of the evil that is mounting - this time Voldemort was just a bit character (as were Hagrid and Dumbledore)and Sirius was so miserable throughout the whole book with no better role than sitting at home that it seemed as though he was kindly liberated from that misery when he was finally able to die as he wished, fighting d) this book was very strong on describing life from an adolescent's view point (anger, frustration, exams, dating) but scored low on the gripping evil of He Who Must Not be Named. e) the biggest disappointment was the complete lack of power/force in the "hidden secret" that Voldemort is trying to uncover...what a very weak "weapon" for all those efforts...which of us before Book 5 didn't know that Voldemort and Harry were inextricably linked in power and conflict. Its point e) that destroys this book's credibility for me. I hope Book 6 goes back to the original top notch form. I am beginning to wonder whether the person who suggested that Book 5 was written largely by someone other than JKR is right? Indira

Reviewer Rebecca wrote:
I finished reading OOP last night - it was everything I had aniticpated and hoped for. I especially loved learning Neville's backstory after the tantalizing peek we got in the last book. As I was reading about the D.A. lessons and how Neville improved so much, I decided that he might be my favorite character. While I didn't cry at Siruis' death, I did cry when, for a brief moment, I thought that Mr. Weasley was going to be killed off. The thought of the Weasley children (and Harry, as the Weasley's care for him as if he were a member of the family) losing thier father was devastating. I also thought that the description of St. Mungo's was great - and of course, it furthered along Neville's story. In all, I think that this is the best of the series. I can't wait to read the next installment.

Reviewer Paul wrote:
Well I have to say I was very unhappy with Book 5. The anger that Harry felt didn't bother me, after all could you blame someone for flying off the handle if they had the life young Harry has had? The thing that upset me was that to me it felt like a different author had written this book. I kept turning to the cover just to make sure I had picked up Harry Potter and not some other title. The first 500 odd pages just bored me to death, I am actually suprised that I kept reading. Then when there was finally some action it just seemed so stupid...everyone was attacking everyone else and all you could read was "stupefy", no "stupefy you", no "stupefy you back". I tell you what I was beginning to wish someone would stupefy me. I could not believe that the book needed 760 odd pages, I reckon Rowling could have written this book in 40 pages. Why it took a couple of years to write I will never know, I've read English creative pieces written by students in a weekend that I enjoyed more. I hope it was just me that was dismayed with this book cause I wouldn't wish this feeling of disapointment on anybody. Here is to a better book 6...

Unknown reviewer wrote:
This book is the BEST book ever. That is what I thought when i had finished harry potter and the sorceror's stone. I was going into 3rd grade at the time and quite young. After book one I thought the same for book 2 and 3. then i had to wait. (for only one year though) until the 4th book came to my overexited hands. WOW!! that book was so great!! about a week after I had finished reading (and rereading) number four. I wanted the next book. I will have to tell you that this wait has really taught me that some things are just simply worth waiting for. I LOVED this book. J,K, Rowling is such a great writer; she keeps the plot going at a nice pace and makes the spine nice and thick ( acually I thought it was to short) Anyone who has not read these books are missing out on a lot. (I kind of feel sorry for them) Go harry potter!!!

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Reviewer Erin wrote:
I'm twenty so maybe I'm just being overly critical, but I must say I was slightly disappointed with the fifth book. Don't get me wrong it is still one of the best books out there, but compared to the third and fourth books which JK has written it just wasn't up to pare. The plot was not nearly as interesting and twisted as the other four, however it was still an extremely easy read and did have its good points. Umbridge and the Weasley twins by far and away were the most interesting and what really held the book together. I however, didn't like the excessive usage of Mate, which cannot to be found anywhere in the previous four books and seemed completely out of place. I mean they are in Europe right? Not in Australia. People keep saying that they are mad that the book didn't contain more sexual events, but I think that readers need to take into account the audience for which this book was originally written. The book is a childrens book NOT a romance novel. Many older readers may deny this but it cleary says when you buy the book for readers between the ages of 9-12, although it is enjoyable for people of all ages. Everyone needs to get a grip, they are fifteen years old and if you can recall being that age I'm sure you'll agree kissing and holding hands were the extent of what a relationship was. The world has been watching too much Ricky Lake, they must realize that normal people (or the average teens) are not having sexual intercourse at that age!! It would also be a shame for schools to ban this book for explicit material when it is the best read this year and should be a crime to stop children from reading it; having inspired many to begin reading or continue to do so. I would just give it four stars..instead of five.

Reviewer Bucky wrote:
Before this book came out I made a special effort not to hear a thing about it, I hate having things spoiled for me. From this point of view I found the book to be great. As usual it took me a little while to get to the point where I absolutely could not put it down but I definately got to that point about 3/4 of the way through. I personally like the emotion this book had, and the darkness. By losing Sirius we as readers now know that no one is safe. I also liked the increased depth of Harry's caracter, his anger, resentment, and maturity. I have mixed emotions about the revelation that James Potter was a bully but I think this also adds depth to Haryr and the story, no one is perfect anymore. Even Dumbledore shows some emotion.

There are in total 206 reviews for 'Harry Potter (Book 5): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', viewing numbers 1201 through 206.

Other selections: 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 101-110 111-120 121-130 131-140 141-150 151-160 161-170 171-180 181-190 191-200 201-206
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