Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (5)

Loved it on to #6 . Read them years ago forgot how good they were. Enjoying them immensely. Great read.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of children's books. Several weeks ago I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Harry Potter #5 and had preordered it. When I woke up this morning, I found the book right at my doorstep. Elated, I quickly opened the package and started reading. I just finished the book, and I am not one bit disappointed. J.K. Rowling's writing style is still ever-present in this book, vivid and wondrous as it had been in the previous four books. There are many surprises in the book (like Ron getting to be prefect while Harry doesn't), but I also think that a lot of the details in the book were extraneous. The book was also a bit on the dark/moody side. When I read it, I was constantly disturbed and worried, and the book no longer had the flippant and jovial tone that the first book had, the original reason why I enjoyed it so much. However, that doesn't stop this book from being so great. Again, the magic of Hogwarts accompanies Harry, Hermione, and Ron throughout the book, but some developments in the book are disturbing, such as Percy's separation from the family, Dumbledore's aloofness in the beginning of the book, and the somber tone on which the book ends. The only characters I felt were unmarred by the morose theme stretched throughout the book were Fred and George Weasley (they operate a joke shop throughout the book). One of my complaints about the book was the length. This installment of the Harry Potter series is the longest at 870 pages. There are only two reasons I can think why J.K. Rowling would do this: 1) She gets paid by the word so the more she writes, the more money she makes. 2) She is afraid that once she writes all seven books, then she will have nothing more to write about, so therefore, she has to write as much as she can before the momentum of her series is over. Both of those are bad reasons why the book should be long. While the writing isn't Joyce (concise and perfect in all ways, but slightly unhumanistic), I think that a lot of it is overly verbose. However, I don't feel that the length of the book is something to complain about. Other people disagree though: in fact, upon hearing that HP5 was 870 pages, he responded, "HOLY...." That doesn't mean the book is bad though. I would still highly recommend this book and would agree that it is _on par_ with the previous writing of JK Rowling. Even though it is slightly depressing at times, it's still an excellent read. Now, for a brief summary - don't read ahead if you don't want the book spoiled. Harry is first caught fighting two dementors near Privet Drive. As a result of his breaching of the Underage Misuse of Magic, he has to go to a trial, where he defends himself so he won't get expelled from Hogwarts or get his wand snapped in half. Wizards from the Order of the Phoenix, an underground anti-Voldemort society, come to rescue Harry and take him to a hideout. Once Harry is acquitted of all charges, he finds out that Albus Dumbledore is extremely aloof and that Cornelius Fudge and Percy Weasley do not believe that Voldemort has come back to power. Percy is cold and disattached to the Weasleys because he "betrayed" the family when he went to work for Fudge. Harry also finds out that Ron and Hermione are prefects for Gryffindor, and he is not. Once Harry makes it back to Hogwarts, there are plenty of things to worry about. Aside from the new Defense from the Dark Arts Professor, Umbridge, who is working as a "spy" for the Ministry of Magic, Harry has to contend with O.W.L.'s and people who don't believe him when he tells them that Voldemort is back. Ron is made Keeper for the Quidditch Team in addition to being a prefect. Fred and George are selling pranks and pills for their joke shop. Tons of homework plague Harry and Ron, causing them many sleepless nights. Also, Umbridge inspects all the teachers as Head Inquisitor and she also disbands all clubs and teams (including the Gryffindor Quidditch Team), so they must reapply for reforming. This happens just as Hermione, Ron, and Harry decide that they are going to create a Defense Against the Dark Arts "study group" themselves. Later on, Harry and the Weasley twins are banned from Quidditch for life by Umbridge. In the middle of the book, Mr. Weasley is attacked. Harry has an out-of-body experience where he is actually a snake and attacks Mr. Weasley. It is even suggested that Harry is being possessed by Lord Voldemort. Harry eventually takes Occlumency (anti-mind reading) lessons from Snape. Right after the first Occlumency lesson with Snape, Harry realizes that the door at the end of the long, dark corridor in his dreams is the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. The next day, Hermione, Ron, and Harry find out from the Daily Prophet that ten Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban. Dumbledore eventually leaves the post as headmaster of Hogwarts and Umbridge takes over. It seems worse and worse everyday and that Voldemort is getting closer and closer to victory. Eventually the book climaxes and as you might suspect, Harry and the rest of the D.A. (Dumbledore's army) find themselves on a rescue mission to the Department of Mysteries. There is a showoff with Voldemort. There is a main character who dies. I won't tell you who it is, but it is a main character (not someone minor like Cedric). The book ends on a somewhat sad note, with the Ministry admitting their wrongdoing and that Voldemort is back, aka the start of the "second war." Let's hope that Harry can withstand two more years at Hogwarts with Voldemort around...

Having just reread the entire Harry Potter series in preparation for Book Six, it seems like the time is now right for me to finally review Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. To call the book fantastic is a gross understatement. Without doubt, it is the most absorbing novel I've ever read - even on multiple readings. It may be well over 800 pages, but it's still a quick read. I'm betting most fans read this book in two days or less - you just can't put it down. There were times when I wanted to throw it at something, though, just because so many awful things happen to these beloved characters over the course of Harry's fifth and - by far - most trying year at Hogwarts. You sit there enraged, struggling to believe such awful events can possibly be happening, and you're quite powerless to do anything about it - except plow on, hoping for a proverbial break in the clouds. At other times, I wanted to put down the book and cheer - especially for Fred and George and Professor McGonagall. Heck, even Peeves had me cheering in this one. They're not lying when they call this a coming-of-age story. Fifteen is a tough age for anyone, a sort of purgatory between childhood and adulthood, but for Harry it's uniquely unbearable. He's just seen Cedric Diggory killed and barely escaped from a fully restored Lord Voldemort, and what happens? He goes right into a wizarding deprivation tank on Privet Drive, with absolutely no word for weeks on end about what is going on. Then Dementors attack him, and he's suddenly facing expulsion and a hearing before a council of grand wizards. Once he is reunited with his friends and godfather, the adults still keep him in the dark - and he blows up, as well he should. Knowing almost nothing about what the newly restored Order of the Phoenix is actually doing, he's then packed off to Hogwarts - where he is almost completely ignored by Professor Dumbledore. The most unbelievable (and enraging) thing about all of this is the fact that Cornelius Fudge, the git running the Ministry of Magic, refuses to believe Voldemort has returned, and the Daily Prophet devotes the whole year to stories about the unbalanced, unstable Harry Potter and his attention-seeking claims. Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, you have the arrival of Dolores Umbrage - easily the most hateful, infuriating character of the series - as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and - in short order - High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. Well, I won't go through the whole list, but Harry is really on his own more than ever this year - facing the largest obstacles imaginable. When I first read this novel, I felt that Harry was really just a little bit on the mean side during this fifth year at Hogwarts. A second read shows me that I was wrong, however. Harry is a teenager, in many ways a normal teenager despite his unique situation. The whole relationship thing with Cho Chang, for example, is perfectly envisioned. And the young man has a right to be mad - the fact that he even survived Hogwarts this year, let alone another encounter with Lord Voldemort, is darned impressive. We really learned a lot about all of the characters in this book - Snape, in particular. Good old Ron finally gets a few moments in the sun of his own, Neville emerges as a crucial character to the whole saga, and Hermione (my favorite character) is still her delightful self - except even more so. And I love Luna Lovegood. I didn't think any book could be as good as The Goblet of Fire. Now, I don't see how any book could be as good as Order of the Phoenix. Knowing J.K. Rowling, though, I expect the best is yet to come.

J.K. Rowling has produced a great adolescent novel. While coming of age stories are staples of both quality and popular literature, modern "quality" ones tend to be painfully self-indulgent. A century or so ago, Mark Twain's Huck Finn had the sense to decide that freeing his friend Jim was more important than going to heaven and Dickens' Pip (_Great Expectations_) learned just how foolish had been his self-indulgent adolescence. The writers understood that purpose resides beyond the self. Then, around fifty years ago, critics became enamored with the likes of Holden Caulfield, and the self-indulgent study of adolescent ennui came into fashion. Granted, the readers receive a far deeper exploration of Holden Caulfield's psychological makeup than Twain or Dickens ever offered a reader, but we have paid a terrible price for this exploration. Authors and critics stepped forward to claim that solipsistic self-exploration was "what it's about," and few seemed ready to say, "Yes, this is what adolescence is like, but you've got to step out and take on the world even though the entirety of William James's 'blooming buzzing confusion' seems to be doing its blooming and its buzzing within the confines of your emotions." Can one experience the confusion of Holden Caulfield and yet set forth boldly as Huck Finn? Harry Potter tries, as the many of us who have not grown up to be self-indulgent agoraphobics have done exactly that. We've sorted through the world, discovered the faults and flaws of the outside world, come to terms with our own weaknesses, and occasionally saved the world (or some tiny little piece of it) in the process. Harry Potter is a real adolescent, writ large. He is a wizard; he has a Destiny; he is the hero of childhood fantasy. He is confused, impulsive, traumatized, and full of both anger at the world and self-doubt. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry suffers all the deep pangs that are the fodder of modern literature yet manages to stand true to himself at the end. Harry has heart, and, as Dumbledore notes, that is what matters. In the Harry Potter books, Harry tends to create or force the final confrontations. Harry unintentionally cooperates with Voldemort again in this piece, propelled, as always by selflessness rather than malice. Harry may need Voldemort in order to discover what is within himself; Harry also feeds Voldemort as he presses ever greater challenges onto himself, leaving us to ask: is Harry responsible for Voldemort's increasing power and the consequences of these ever more violent confrontations? It is dangerous to act in a world where we posses only incomplete knowledge, but part of Harry�s appeal is that he does act, rather than retreating Hamlet-like into indecision. Harry also must discover that his finest role models are not perfect; this is another element of the adolescent rite of passage. Harry, always the underdog in the Muggle world and always the defender of the underdog in the world of wizardry, discovers something unsettling in the form of one of Snape's memories. The revelation explains much of Snape's animosity toward the Potters and Black, and offers Rowling's readers an uncomfortable window into the adolescent world. The more rambunctious behavior of Harry and his friends, throughout the books, has consistently appeared as either benign or justified. In our real world, the behavior of "good kids" is all too often neither. Rowling reminds us of the adolescent play that is scarring to all involved: victims, victimizers, and even those who would object but were powerless to do so. And she leaves Harry with the choices of justifying (improperly) his heroes' actions, rejecting his heroes, or accepting that even the best wizards have flaws. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher epitomizes the Dark Art of the Twentieth Century. Those of us who have lived through 1984 may see her as a figure of ultimate evil, one far more depraved than the merely malicious Voldemort. She is the bureaucrat, the agent of societal convenience and unquestioning obedience to authority. All who would argue with her are not merely wrong, they are misguided or deceitful obstacles to the Truth. Order is all, and Order derives only from unquestioned obedience to the rules as delineated by the State. Her methods of punishment are Kafkaesque; her aims include the destruction of independent thought. Question Nothing! It is basic nature for an adolescent to rebel against such a figure; what is difficult is efficacious rebellion, rather than pointless or self-destructive opposition. Can an adolescent learn when to fight and when to pretend acquiescence? Yes, this book is dark in tone, raw with the emotions of adolescence and with its external actions a perfect mirror to Harry's confused, angry young mind. In the world of childhood, tomorrow always dawns fresh and new; for an adult, tomorrow's dawn carries the consequences, for good or bad, of the night before. For an adolescent, the dawn is always painful as consequences are a fresh addition to the world, and last night's experiments in living were sure to have produced at least some undesired results. The lessons are intense, the learning rapid, but understanding may be long years away. The brightest thought, and Rowling lets us end with this thought, is that there are others who have felt the pain of adolescence, who have confronted the great human questions, and who have not only survived but have grown into strong, effective adults. Harry Potter may be letting a generation of kids know that one's life matters, even in its harshest, most confused periods. It should be letting a generation of critics know that there is more to adolescent self-discovery than simpering self-indulgence. This book suggests that Huck Finn can feel like Holden Caulfield on the inside, yet still behave as Huck Finn. It also suggests that there is no excuse for behaving like Holden Caulfield -- and I like that suggestion.

I understand that this book has sold more copies more quickly than any book in history, and that Amazon took pre-orders for around $3 million for it. Impressive. The story itself is not quite that awe-inspiring, but that's good news; if Harry's latest adventure were that brilliant, I can practically guarantee that people wouldn't love it as much as they do. We begin where Harry's adventures always begin; he's safe and miserable at the home of his disgusting relations, longing for the Hogwarts School and anxious for news from his friends. Well, he eventually gets both - no prizes for guessing that bit. This time, significantly, getting back to school and to his friends provides no relief, for several reasons. First, much of the wizarding world thinks he's either crazy or lying about his previous experiences. Second, his adult allies give him little or no information about how much danger he is in, from where, or what they are doing about it. And third, although it is not spelled out, he gets no relief because he's turning into a teenager. (He's been a technical teenager for a couple of years now, of course, but now he really starts to act like one. Never mind bloodthirsty enemies, horrible relatives and a cowardly Ministry of Magic - becoming a teenager is serious.) You've heard all the rumors about what happens next, of course. Suffice to say that Harry and his growing corps of buddies spend the next several hundred pages fighting the evil wizard Voldemort, the reactionary elements in the Ministry of Magic, the snobs and thugs in Slytherin House at school, and the usual gang of idiots. Nothing new there. So do you really need to worry that someone will tell you how it all turns out? No, you don't - you already know how it all turns out, that's why you're reading the book in the first place. Well, that and a few other things, but let's be honest; anyone who reads any popular fantasy series, including Harry Potter, and expects daringly original plotting is a fool. Ms. Rowling is neither a brilliant prose stylist nor a devastatingly original thinker. What she is, more so with each volume in her series, is a teller of rattling good yarns that carry a deep but deftly handled understanding of a young person's psychology. Why, for instance, is "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" so dark in tone? Because the life of a fifteen-year-old, wizard or not, can be a dark place at times. Let me ask you this: If you, like Harry, were a teenage boy forced to spend weeks and weeks with people you loathed, after suffering dreadful losses at the hand of someone who hated your every cell and was still out and about, and after you had unequivocally shown several times how brave and skillful you were - how would you react if every adult in your life said "Just sit tight, dear, you wouldn't understand anyway, you let us handle it"? You'd be an angel of light, would you? I don't think so, buddy. On the other hand, if you, like Harry, have a normal level of decency, you would not throw temper tantrums every five minutes, either. You would behave as Harry does here - you would struggle against bitterness and frustration, you would try to be kind to your friends, and once in a while you would lose it and nail everyone in sight right between the eyes. All of this is right on target, as anyone knows who has raised an adolescent boy, had dealings with an adolescent boy, or been an adolescent boy. What's more, Harry in this book must contend not only with a highly pressurized attempt to grow up, but also with the true unpolished memory of his father, the mysterious minds of girls, and his role as a leader - to say nothing of the ongoing threats to his life and sanity. All of those, except the last (I wish), fall to the lot of every maturing teen. People wonder why Ms. Rowling's books get thicker with every passing Hogwarts year? Well, so does the life of an adolescent. I cannot agree with those who gasp with delight at every Harry Potter development or trumpet the series as the best of all time, hence I must give "Order of the Phoenix" four stars rather than five. (I should add that, although I actually consider "Goblet of Fire" the best Potter story to date, it outdoes "Order of the Phoenix" by only a hair's breadth.) On the other hand, I re-read the first volume not long ago, and as good a read as it was, it was pretty formulaic as compared with "Phoenix". Like I said, Ms. Rowling improves fast, and her series has indeed developed into something that approaches the unique. As a teacher, I would stop worrying about any young person who loves Harry Potter - such a youngster has a brain and a heart, very good news considering how popular these books have become. And who knows - if I were 15 years old and reading this story for the first time, from the pen of a writer who really seemed to understand what I was going through, maybe I really would say it's the best series of all time. Benshlomo says, Fantasy - it isn't just for babies anymore.

I'm not going to say why I cried, because that would spoil the whole book (warning: DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT read the review: Harry Potter Rocks! A Kid's Review. It gives away the ending!) But, I will say that that ending made me CRY! And I'm nearly 21 years old. How does one go about describing the Harry Potter books? They're almost indescribable! These books are so full of every emotion, every type of person and creature. They draw you in as the pensieve does into one's thoughts. As Harry witnesses Snape's worst memory (and trust me, you like I will actually feel sympathy towards Snape, believe me!) it is as though he is standing right there amongst his father, Sirius, Lupin and Wormtail. This is how I feel when I read these books. I feel as though I am right there with Harry, Ron and Hermione through every struggle, every injustice, every adventure no matter how dark or hopeless. I cry their tears, I burn with their sense of injustice, my heart leaps with theirs at every victory. But on to the story. The 5th year is the worst yet, no one will admit that You-Know-Who is back, all summer long The Prophet is making Harry look like an attention-grabbing, lying lunatic. Meanwhile, Harry has not seen his friends or Dumbledore all summer, and when they write they are incredibly vague, understandably frustrating after all the horrors Harry witnessed at the end of his 4th year. Then, before you know it, he is under magical attack on Privet Drive! Matters don't improve, Harry risks being expelled from no fault of his and Hogwarts is now under strict control from the Ministry of Magic, led by none other than the blind-to-all-facts Cornelius Fudge. Hagrid has disappeared and Harry is thwarted left and right in all the things he loves and needs to do! I don't understand how anyone could say that these books have been going downhill since the last 150 pages of year 4!? In my opinion, Prisoner of Azkaban was the best yet after years 1 & 2 and Goblet of Fire was better still! This book now is more on the lines of the end of Goblet of Fire, things are getting darker and more ominous and more difficult for everyone. And this is appropriate! With the return of the Dark Lord (eww) we must naturally expect that life will no longer be as fun. But lighten up, there are some truly funny scenes, and a little romance too! But, times are just not as carefree (if they could ever be called so) as they used to be. Someone said that Harry has no sense of humor anymore. I ask you, would you be full of laughs if you had seen the return of free magic's WORST ENEMY, seen someone die and then have to endure a year of people not believing you, teachers trying to discredit you, people you liked turning against you, insanity charges, visions of You-Know-Who doing his dirty work, all your favorite things being taken away? How would you feel if you thought all the world was against you??? These are the struggles Harry must endure, he is run through the mill, his limits are tested to the max, and we all must hope that he is able to survive it all. I'm not sure I could take it and I'm presently 6 years older than him! As they say, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, this will be Harry's test in the future books. Seems so real, doesn't it? Rowling has a style that makes you believe she is writing a biography! But it's more like watching a film of someone's life and walking right into that film and feeling every single thing that they feel, being in the same dangers, loving and caring about the same friends and almost-family. It's really like what Harry felt when he looked through Voldemort's (shudder) eyes and felt what he was feeling, did what he did but was powerless to stop it. Harry is tested to his limit in the Order of the Phoenix, he endures things no human should have to suffer, and he will receive a warning that may change his views and way of life forever. I don't envy poor Dumbledore, on his shoulders seems to rest the weight of the world, and now Harry must truly shoulder some of that weight. Dumbledore can no longer protect Harry from the worst, and in trying to protect him from the ultimate truth up to this point, Dumbledore may have made a very grave and horrible mistake. This book is wonderful, heart-breaking, astounding, depressing, and truly amazing all at the same time. World-Class author, kudos Ms. Rowling! How could I ever have been skeptical of these books??? They are now amongst my ALL-TIME favorites! I hope book 6 is released soon, I'm not sure I can stand the wait!

This is year 5 of Harry Potter. The ministry of magic refuses to believe that Voldemort is back and Harry refuses to deny it. There is a new teacher at the school and she is turning everything upside down. I loved this book!

This is the fifth book in the original series of seven novels in the Harry Potter world. Of course, more have been added over the years and the universe of Harry Potter has expanded beyond the original set of books. It is set in the fifth year of Ron, Harry, and Hermoine at Hogwarts. Harry and Dumbledore are being discredited by the Ministry Of Magic for saying the Voldemort has returned, and as a result, the Ministry tries to take over Hogwarts by installing one of the worst characters (meaning one of the best "bad guy" characters) from the series, Deloris Umbridge, at Hogwarts. She is first installed as the new defense against the dark arts teacher, then accumulates more power. This is again another very long book (840 pages) and because it was not (unlike Deathly Hallows) split into two movies, there is a lot in the book that the movie cut out or changed heavily to fit the time constraints. There is a lot more at the beginning of the book than there was in the movie, there was a lot more to the Order and what they were up to, and there was a lot more of the Harry-Voldemort mind connection. And, of course, there was a whole storyline with Hermoine and SPEW that had been removed from The Goblet of Fire movie adaptation, so the continuation in this novel was totally left out of the movie. The book is also darker (yet again) than the prior book and since the idea is that kids would be reading it when they were around 14-15 years old, they would be able to handle more violence and death than when they were 9 or 10 (about the ages that first novel was appropriate for). The style of the book is much like the others. It takes longer to read than the first three novels only because it is over twice as long as those books were. But in terms of readability and how easy it is to follow, it is on par with the shorter novels. And, as I have said about the other novels, even though they are technically kids' books, adults can easily enjoy them as well. That is true whether you read them as a kid and are now an adult, or read them for the first time as an adult. The stories hold up very well over time and are definitely worth coming back to.

Gut, zugegeben, ich habe "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" noch nicht fertig. Aber trotzdem muss ich hier einfach mal meinen Senf abgeben. Mit einem Wort: grandios!!! Ich bin sprachlos und verneige mich vor dem literarischen Können J.K. Rowling's. Allein in den ersten Kapiteln passieren so viele Sachen, lernt man so viele neue Gestalten kennen und wieder fügt sich einfach alles perfekt in den Ablauf der Geschichte. Es ist ein heißer Sommertag. Alles ruhig und still. Harry liegt im Gras...aber nicht mehr lange. Denn die Ruhe und Stille wird nur allzubald gestört und durchbrochen...und die Ereignisse um den Jungen mit dem störrischen schwarzem Haar überschlagen sich. Unter anderem lernen wir Sirius' Mutter kennen (aber wie....), Harry bekommt Ärger, weil er unerlaubt gezaubert hat und natürlich gibt es auch wieder einen neuen Zauberer für "Verteidigung gegen die dunklen Künste"...meiner Meinung nach äußerst unsymphatisch. Insgesamt ist anzumerken, dass im fünften Teil deutlich eine düstere und dunkle Stimmung vorherrscht. Es gibt auch fröhliche Momente, sicher, aber alles in allem geht es doch mehr um Abgründe....tiefe Abgründe. Kein Wunder, wenn man bedenkt, nach welchen Ereignissen der vierte Band endete. Ich kann es nur jedem, der Englisch kann und Harry-Potter-Fan ist, empfehlen. Lest es, lest es und genießt...aber Vorsicht vor Ihr-wißt-schon-wem....

It is very Good 👍🏻 I am so happy to see this book

Todo perfecto. Buena encuadernación. Perfecto para llevar.

Book received fine and in good condition

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