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 601 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
Reviewer Peter M. wrote:
People are confused about Sirius' death. Most people seem to think that Rowling could not possibly have killed him off because of how close a character he was to Harry. I completely disagree with this. In my opinion, Sirius was not a character that was very close to Harry at all. We are only supposed to think so because of how we know James felt for him, and the position James gave him in relation to Harry (his godfather). IF Sirius had actually been built up as a lovable, attatchable character, then his death would have been more dramatic and I would have cared more about it. We barely get to know who Black really is before he is killed, so we dont have time to connect with him. Really, after Book 3, the only contact Harry was with him is indirect (owls, fires, etc.). We meet up with Sirius again in Book 5, but we dont see evidence that Harry truely loves his godfather, until he is killed and Harry begins to try to lie to himself about Sirius simply falling through a mysterious curtain. At this stage in the book the fact that Sirius died does not affect the story in any way other than Harry's emotional aspect. Rowling picked the wrong person, or at least the wrong time for the death.

Reviewer Peter M. wrote:
It seems that too many people feel that they must take an obvious side in weather they decide to bash Book 5 or not. I have read many reviews and agree with many of the ideas, dislikes, compliments, etc. expressed in them. First, the book does seem to end up basically where it started, minus a few large changes in what the future may look like. Still, these changes only set up the possible future of the book and dont actually come into effect in this book. The biggest example of this is the Ministry of Magic finally realizing and acknowledging the fact the Voldemort has returned to power. We are releived to have this happen, but as far as actions to slow or stop Voldemort, we are left waiting (hopefully soon in 6). Another aspect of this book which needs to be discussed is the intense build-up of tension at school in the form of Umdridge's usurping of power, which essentially mirrors the Ministry of Magic in relation to the rest of the magical world. Many parts throughout the series thus far have parallels between the more prominant (though ultimatey less important) Hogwarts story, with the less mentioned but innevitably more important magical world as a whole (i.e., the Ministry, the Dark Side, the Order of the Phoenix, etc.). I feel that this entire sense of tension is both good and bad. I felt releived when Umbridge is "dethroned" and the Ministry joins sides with Hogwarts, but up till then you just have a feeling that something will finally crack or else the book will simply spiral downward, as two parties which should be working together manage to destroy their own defensives for the third and truly evil side. Overall, this book yielded an interesting read, though much of that may simply be because it is Harry Potter 5, and that mere fact is enough to keep JKR's minions reading. The books certainly could have benefitted from more actually action throughout, the only real battle being the one at the end which essentially serves no purpose other than opening the Ministries' eyes to the truth. This book seemed to basically do the same as the fourth, get us ready for the final stages of the series, but this time it seemed forced and there wasn't one unique plotline to hold the subplots together (Book 4 had the Triwizard Tournament). And finally, Rowling's choice of who dies in this book was a poor one in my view. Why? For one, I was not very sad when Sirius actually died, but more angry. Sirius was never really built up as a character we learned to love and feel compassion towards. We know he was suffered, but that is not the same feeling we have for Ron, Hermione, or Hagrid, for example. I realized that Black was a good candidate to die a couple hundred pages before it actually happened. Also, the method in which he died didn't seem couragous and fitting as Dumbledore tries to explain to Harry. He died from a curse which was not explained to us, from a witch we are only recently supposed to hate, and his death served no purpose for either side in the long run. The battle itself did nothing, and I think Rowling created and chose this spot in the book for the death simply because it was convenient and she felt she was under pressure to kill some one off. There were good points in the books as well, my favorite being the twin's escape from the dictatorship that had become Hogwarts. The complaints about Grawp are understandable, but I agree with another reviewer that he will almost certainly play an important role in the next two books (most likely some battle). I must thank J.K. Rowling for another entertaining book and hope that there is better stuff still in the future. Despite the unexplained parts of Book 5, this book is a good read, and we can assume that Books 6 and 7 will need to resolve the issues now pressing on Harry's world. That's all for now (though I have more to say). Time for bed ;)

Reviewer Dylan B wrote:
The book was crap. I've read each book like 5 times, and i read them before they got famous whe onl book one was out. OotP was horrible, it read like a fanficition. Like what was up with everyone making patroneses and shit...thats likie mad advanced. Rowling culd have done much bettter

Reviewer Sameer wrote:
I love the lines:- Hermy Where is Hagger. Grawp wann Hagger! This book's better than the 2nd which was just tooo good.

Reviewer Luke Skycrawler wrote:
Unbelievable. really. Amazingly POINTLESS. Incredibly effective in ruining people's days for weeks without ANY good reason. and the only reason for my harsh words would be the pathetic, PATHETIC PROPHECY. Look, how can i NOT feel feel thoroughly pissed at the book when: 1. HARRY'S F******* WAS CONFISCATED, 2. My fav character's kicked the bucket, and 3. THE @$#%ING 'WEAPON' THE OH-SO-MIGHTY OOTP'S BEEN GUARDING DOESN'T EVEN MEAN ANYTHIN'!!!!!!! 1 thing i know, what it'd REALLY mean is that, the whole book could've never been there, and you-know-who could still be breathing! Here Jo puts in all the death eaters and all the Ootp personnels in a pointless battle, with all the blood and fury, and gives us a lame-LAME explanation, which, if you'd notice, made the OOtp even more useless. guh. totally.

Reviewer lily wrote:
i just finished this book couple of days ago, and i could not stop reading. i loved it and any book that is 870 pages long and can keep me intrigued is a excellent book! i have read all of the other books of Harry Potter and i actually liked this the best because it is darker and also there are a lot of questions to be answered, which makes me excited for the next two books and i think any book that is good always keeps you asking for more!!

Reviewer Alice wrote:
I loved the book. It was fairly slow-paced at times, and sometimes hard to work out where it was going. And it didn't have the excitement and revellation that book 4 had led us to believe it would have. And I couldn't really see the point in Grawp, either but the thing is - JK has never before introduced something irrelevant, so it's unlikely that Grawp will turn out to be so. I have no doubt that he will turn up in book six or seven as some major plot point. OK, so the word "mate" was used a lot more than it ever has been. It's a bit weird, but people do suddenly start using new words - especially kids (it's why "teen-speak" is so wide-spread) And if JK says "pitch " instead of field, blame the american editors - she always says "pitch" in the British books. And I think the idea that JK may be writing to throw fanfic writers off course is ridiculous - she's had these books planned for years and she's made it quite clear in various interviews that she wouldn't let anyone decide the plot for her. And that goes for some people's suggestions that 9/11 somehow influenced the end of OotP - I don't think us in Britain were quite as devastated by the twin towers attacks as you in America.The length of the book was not a problem for me, and although a lot could have been removed without affecting the plot, for me it was just great being inside Hogwarts again, and learing so much more about the characters I have grown to love. I thought Ginny was very good - she's grown up from being just a giggly 11 year old into a real person - and a witty, intelligent one at that, and in this book people start to realise how much they had underestimated her. Fred and George were as funny as ever - and I don't always mean insanely funny, often it's just the kind of funny which makes you think "these are good people to have around". Their last stand was a brilliant exit which suited them perfectly, and was incredibly satisfying to read. And I don't think their mother would have been angry at them after they (and their father) had talked her round - considering Lord Voldemort is back. And it was good reading more and more about Neville, and learning about Sirius's past. A lot of people have said the book was too dark - I'm afraid I don't see the problem, in my eyes darkness puts the book on to a far deeper emotional plane, makes it a better book. Life isn't all pixies and fairies - and if Harry's world was too happy it would be a )boring b) unbelievable and c) boring. Maybe some of us here should stick to their nursery rhymes... Another point a lot of people have made is that Sirius's death was too sudden. I'm sorry to break it to you, guys, but that's what death is, most of the time. It can happen to anybody at any time, and leaves the people left behind with that feeling of numb, disbelieving shock, as well as all the hundreds of unanswered questions. And if the actual death scene didn't touch our hearts (it didn't work for me because I'd already been told about it) the scenes which followed certainly made up for it. It doesn't matter that Sirius was only in three books. He was clearly a very important character who played a huge role in the life of James and Harry, and had a very large place in his - and our - hearts. I don't quite think the death of Fred or George would have had Harry tearing up Dumbledore's office, somehow. Which leads me to my next point. Was Harry too angry? Of course not. reason one: he is fifteen. reason two: he has been through hell and witnessed things no adult should witness. I would be worried if he wasn't angry, actually. Apart from Umbridge's anti-climactic exit, she was a beautifully horrible character - and not overdone - the scene with her hand in the fire was so creepy - and it was just so fun being so blood-boilingly angry at her - and growing to love the other teachers, especially Dumbledore and McGonangall even more. And the DA lessons were just full of that heart-warming sense of pride that only comes when people rise together to fight "the external enemy". And the ending - the scene in Dumbledore's office was just beauitiful. I sobbed. And now no one can say Harry is too perfect, or that he can't do anything on his own. In short - it was a great book, it had it's faults, but don't we all.

Reviewer david, a.k.a. Freddie Mercury wrote:
I was neither pleased nor dissatisfied with this book. I believe that book 4 is easily the best in the series, followed by perhaps book 2 or 5. I did not enjoy the first half of OoP, as it seemed to me that it was just going round and round in circles. Although I have great respect for J.KJ. Rowling and what she's done, I think that sometimes she writes chapters just for the sake of making it longer. However, this book is actually pretty entertaining. I am the same age as Harry, 15, and I can tell you that his anger, confusion, and romantic struggles are nothing like the 15 year olds I know. The 15 year olds I know are into sex and drugs, and are the happiest people in the world. But that's just I. I especially liked the Weasley Twins' exit, which was funny how Professor Flitwick didn't bother to clean up that one pile of slime or swamp or whatever. Also liked it when Remus Lupin storms into Privet Drive at the beginning - Lupin is my favorite character in the series, except for maybe Dumbledore. He is the ideal teacher and friend. He rocks the house! But my favorite part was when Fudge and the Ministry were about to arrest Dumbledore, and Dumbledore's like "it seems that you've been laboring under the conclusion that I am going to - what's the phrase? 'Come quietly'' However, I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could easily escape, but I can think of a whole host of things I'd rather be doing." In fact, that's probably my favorite moment of the whole series. The book picks up the pace when Mr. Weasley is attacked. I liked it when Harry looks into the pensieve and sees the Maurauders in their heyday. No wonder Snape hates Harry so much! Beautiful! The duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort was also genius; when Voldemort "Avada Kadavras" Dumbledore, Fawkes flies in front of him and takes the full blast and dies, but he just is born again right away. That was cool. Frankly, I thought the chapter in which Dumbledore reveals this HUGE SECRET to Harry is was just dumb - my little brother could have thought up something like that. And as for Sirius dying, I really wasn’t all that impressed for two reasons: 1.)My friend who also reads the HP books told my other friend(who doesn’t read them) that Harry’s godfather dies, and so for some reason he told me, so I already knew, and 2.) Sirius really isn’t that important of a character. He’s introduced in book 3, but he’s thought of as a criminal and really isn’t Harry’s friend most of the book; in the fourth book he just writes letters all book and then finally shows up at the end. A better person to kill would have been Hagrid, or maybe Mrs. Weasley. Or even better - Cho Chang! What a whore - I hope she does die! She’s with Cedric, then Harry, then two other people. . . . I think that it would actually be better if on the way to Kings Cross, with all those guards escorting him, Voldemort jumps outand attacks them all right away. And kills Mad-Eye Moody! That would start the book off darkly! And no, I didn’t cry when Sirius died, because it’s just a book character. I’m careful not to get too attached to them because it’s not the real life; it’s just fantasy. Umbridge could be the most evil character in the book, but it’s still a book, and if you want, you could create an even eviler character yourself; it’s not real. But to conclude, I would like to say that this book does have its ups and downs, but the ups do make up for the downs in the end. Oh, and how about that rumor that Harry dies in Book 7 ?!! That would be something, wouldn’t it?

Reviewer Hope wrote:
I realy enjoyed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I've noticed that through the books, as Harry gets older, the books themselves become more serious as well. I really admire that about J.K.'s writing. She definitely has talent which I hope to develop one day. This 5th book had me crying when I read from where the character dies all the way until the end of the book. I am an avid Harry Potter reader. The movies are okay..but they will never compare to the excellent book series. I'm glad that Harry lost his feeling for Cho Chang. After all, she was a bit spiteful and too jealous of something she didn't understand. I think it's best that Cho wait until the pain of Cedrics death has somewhat diminished, before persuing another relationship. Also, I was thrilled that Harry started the DA and he;ped his students better prepare for Voldemort. It seems to me that with Ron and Hermione by his side, they make an excellent defense team (and always have)! Professor Umbridge really tested my patience..I couldn't stand her. I'm glad she was out of our hair at the end. I was pleased to see that Neville had become a bit more brave, and better at defending himself, as well as his friends. Luna Lovegood seems strange to me..I'll be interested to see what happens with her in the last two books. There are a million thing I could sit here and say about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but I'll stop here. I can't wait until the 6th one comes out!

Reviewer Mike wrote:
I loved this book. I was really angry when i heard that most people didn't like this book. i think it was the best one yet. U people need 2 realise that you'd never be able 2 write anything like this book. and the people who have been complaining about how long it took 4 her 2 write this: Lets c you sit at home and write 900 page novels in 3 years, while u have 2 take care of children, and spend time w/ ur husband. i know it would take me at least 10 years 2 write a book this long. i think that Grawp was significant because he'll probably cme up in the next book. I hope the next ones twice as long! I love u, JK! thank u 4 all the wonderful books!

There are in total 206 reviews for 'Harry Potter (Book 5): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', viewing numbers 601 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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