[.ca] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (ISBN 0807220280)

From Amazon.com:
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 toad-like 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.L.s), 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 Philosopher'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

Brilliant and dark:
I have to disagree with the recommended reading ages. Nine might be a tad young for what Harry encounters and deals with in this book, unless a parent is able to spend the time discussing the book. There is certainly no maximum age for this book. Rowling doesn't lose her characters in the wizarding world, as amazing as that world is. She never forgets who Harry is and really begins to explore the darker nature of the life he lives and the world around him. Most teenage years are best forgotten and Harry has it more difficult than most. Rowling is brilliant as she reveals more and more of the complex characters within the series. She doesn't shy away from any topic, though it may be dark and unsettling. This is an amazing book, further proof that Rowling has more than just great ideas. She's a writer to the bone. However, if you're expecting something more akin to the first few books, put that out of your mind. She is true to her characters in every way and displays amazing range as an author. Rowling's characters are evolving and growing and I'm sad it's almost at an end.

How does she do it?:
Hello Everyone, This, in my opinion, was the absolute best Harry Potter book of the series yet! I can't believe some of the reviews people are writing. If you're one of those people who wrote bad reviews for this book then im guessing you either had made up your own vision of what this book was going to be about(a very bad idea) and were dissapointed, or you have not yet gone through puberty. There are exceptions to this of course. I think that J.K. Rowling captured what so many teenagers go through on our journey to adulthood and that is not any easy thing to do. Of course most teenagers don't have powerful wizards trying to kill you but hey we've all got our problems and Harry tried to deal with his using anger and depression which I personally did at his age as well so I was pleased to see a bit of myself in him in this book. Yes, this was a very darkly emotional book but honestly how would you feel if every year you went back to school there was some new evil plot to kill you when all you want is to hang out with your friends and gain the courage to talk to your crush. And besides I think we all be a little ticked off if Umbridge came to our schools or the one pace we felt truly happy was changed into a place you wanted to escape from. Anyway as you can tell i was a little ticked at things some(emphasize some)people were saying just because they do not have the emotional capacity to deal with the material in this book. All in All i applaude J.K. Rowling and am looking forward to Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince! Cheers!

as compared to the others:
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.

Unbelievably fantastic and completely absorbing:
To call this 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.

She Must Keep Going!:
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!