Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Can I Join the Order?, May 1 2009
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" finds Harry about to enter his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gone is the quiet boy in glasses; Harry has grown up. At fifteen, he is officially a young man. He has passed away another boring summer at Number Four Privet Drive waiting anxiously for some news, any news, from the wizarding world.
After Voldemort came back to life at the end of last term, after Cedric had died at Voldemort's hand, Harry was sure the world, Muggle and Wizard alike, would be turned upside down - but Harry has heard nothing, not even a mention of the fact that the Dark Lord has risen. Letters from Ron and Hermione are vague and uninformative. Frustrated, Harry is unaware of how quickly things are about to change.
After his cousin Dudley, is attacked by Dementors (evil soul-sucking monsters who guard the Wizard prison of Azkaban), Harry's life is turned upside down. He is whisked away to the Wizard world, to the lair of the Order of the Phoenix, a select group of witches and wizards who protected the world from Voldemort the last time he was in power.
Now that Voldemort is alive again, the Order has come together again to protect the world from dark evil. But Harry is still frustrated. Those around him like the Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore or his godfather Sirius Black and Ron's parents Mr. and Ms. Weasley are being more cryptic than usual and Harry knows that there are things that he is not being told. Voldemort is alive in the Wizard world and dark times are upon them.
Hogwarts is also under siege. A new teacher, Dolores Umbridge, has taken over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. She is also a ministry official sent to keep an eye on how Dumbledore is running the school. When Dolores takes over the position of Headmaster, Hogwarts falls into dark hands indeed.
Harry, Ron and Hermione know that this year will be one of their hardest. For, if they fail to stop Voldemort from attaining a prophecy that he seeks, they know that the end is near for Witches and Wizards everywhere....
This book is beyond amazing. By now, everyone knows who Harry Potter is. The Harry Potter books have become publishing phenomena; children who have never read a book are reading Harry Potter, adults are reading Harry Potter books on the bus. Harry Potter has become one of the most read book series of all time and has brought people back to reading. That is pure magic.
With four books already under her belt, J. K. Rowling offers us the highly anticipated fifth book in the Harry Potter canon, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Even though fans had to wait for almost three years for "Order of the Phoenix", the book is so amazing that it is well worth the wait.
It's a big, big book. It's well over six hundred pages. My plot description doesn't even come close to covering what happens in this book. I've already read the book twice and will have to read it again a third time to make sure I've gotten everything. Rowling is so adept at weaving a story, that the detail is astounding.
This book is incredible. Simply put, it is magic at it's purest form. The story flies along far too quickly, the characters are alive and vivid and the plot is wonderful. I can't say enough good things about "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".
I love everything that J. K. Rowling has written and am eagerly awaiting book six. Book five was particularly wonderful because it represents a turning point in Harry's life. It's an incredible achievement and Rowling proves she just gets better and better.
I will read anything she writes, as she never fails to tantalize us with magic and stories that are made from the stuff that dreams are made of. She is a born storyteller and I'm going to keep hope that she keeps telling stories for a long time to come.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
She Must Keep Going!, Jun 18 2007
This is by far and away the best book in the series so far! It is certainly the most mature and disturbing book Rowling has written (going in the sequence of the series). The punishments handed down by Professor Umbridge leave the reader cringing, wondering how someone could be so evil. But, of course, Harry and the gang triumph in the end. And on top of that, we are given much more information than the previous books offered. I doubt I could comfortably say the book was too long. I found it engaging, intense, and difficult to put down. Rowling has outdone herself in this one, and there is still so much more to come! She has *got* to keep going!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
as compared to the others, Jun 4 2007
So here we are at book # 5 in the Harry Potter series, if you want to know where I'm coming from the other ones I would grade them as follow:
Philosophers Stone 4/5
Chamber of Secrets 3/5
Prisoner of Azkaban 5/5
Goblet of Fire 5/5
now the reason this book gets just a 3/5 from me isn't because I didn't like it. I just find that in a series like this you have to compare the other books and quite frankly I thought Rowling has done better.
Good things about the book:
-we learn a lot about the Death Eaters (Voldemorts followers) and those who oppose them The Order of the Phoenix.
-we get to learn more about Harry's parents generation, including Neville Longbottoms family
-we finally are taken inside the ministry of magic
-finally people will get that Voldemort is back
Bad things:
-the begining leading up to the arrival to Hogwarts was a little too lengthy and could have been made shorter
-wasn't a big fan of the parts involving Hagrid's 1/2 brother (sorry)
-overall I felt the book didn't need to be as long as it was to convey what it did.
All this being said I still think all the Harry Potter books are great reads, and I am currently 1/2 way through Half Blood Prince, which I can say I am enjoying a lot.
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