Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) (ISBN 0439567610)

Amazon.com Review:
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 toadlike 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.Ls), 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 Sorcerer'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

great! and no more "kids novel":
"the order of the phenoix is even darker than the last. but still captures the struggles of normal teenagers. the characters are great and interesting. the story is long and complex. but you will have to read it more than once to truely enjoy it.

The battle begins:
I love all the books. After reading it a couple of times, I have grown to like this book even more. He is angry and sullen, which is different than what we expect. However, He also grows up a bit by the end. What can I say-I think J.K. Rowling is one of the best authors out there right now.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:
I really enjoyed "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". I believe that J.K. Rowling did an excellent job in writing this book. I think she was trying to set a dark and gloomy tone which was similar to the third book of the series. This basically sets up the big ending for the last two books. In this book, Harry is accused of using magic outside of school. There is a trial and Dumbledore helps Harry so he can continue attending Hogwarts School of Wizardry. Harry goes back to Hogwarts and before long Cornelius Fudge (the minister of the Ministry of Magic) appoints the defense against the dark arts teacher named Delores Umbridge as headmaster of Hogwarts. Because Fudge has so much power, he kicks Dumbledore out along with other teachers who he was suspicious of. Umbridge didn't allow the students to learn spells so Harry and his friends, Hermione and Ron join together with other students to learn defensive spells. I believe Umbridge was a perfect character that Rowling made for this book. She is nice at first, but then the more you got into the book, you realize she is very evil. I think Rowling really shows us how much Harry has matured over the five books. Ron is definitely not as strong and powerful as Harry, but you can tell how close these two have become. Without Ron, Harry wouldn't be as strong as he is because Ron is such a good friend and always supports and defends Harry. Hermione also really helps in this book. One example is when she and Harry decide to teach magic to a lot of kids from Hogwarts in order to fight off the "dark lord". Without Hermione in the book, it would lack a lot of love and adventure. I thought the plot was very well written. This book is easy enough for children of at least 8 years old to understand. This book contains a lot of action, humor, romance and adventure. I believe this is the best Harry Potter book that I have read.

Fifth entry in a superb series.:
I cannot rate any book in this series less than five stars, but I must confess to being somewhat disappointed with this book; not that it isn't superbly written -- it is -- but as it continues the pattern of the books getting somewhat darker as we get farther into the series, it was just a bit too depressing for my taste. I understand the reasoning behind the pattern, and appreciate the necessity of there being real losses to underscore the truly dire nature of the threat facing Harry & company. But I don't have to like it, and I don't. It doesn't keep me from appreciating the story, but I miss the somewhat more triumphant nature of the triumphs in the earlier books.

Excellent, Nearly Super:
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" takes Harry back to school for his fifth year. This is the longest and most complicated book so far. I think that it is excellent and comes close to being a super book. However, J.K. Rowling did run into some problems. The major problem is how one fits a great deal into a smaller space. Yet, the author must be true to several ideas that permeate the entire series. The result is a book that is somewhat darker than any previous book and a book that is somewhat more difficult to read. I think that younger readers should read this book, one chapter at a time. This will be hard to do, because the earlier books could, almost, be swallowed whole. Here, one must chew on the story, one bite at a time. Is it possible to improve on what J.K. Rowling wrote? Perhaps. However, I am glad that I do not have to try to do that. Really, the introductory review supplied by the publisher (way up above) gives a good enough idea of what to expect in terms of specifics. Harry is older and is going through a tough phase of adolescence. The tension is growing between the forces of good and evil. And, Harry must grow up. In addition, all the major characters face some growing pains. Further, the author must point the tale in a particular direction to start lining up a clean direction towards the ending of the series. This requires that the plot must include the death of a semi-major character. In short, the ending is not quite the heroic success of the previous endings. Nor is the ending as neatly tied together. Finally, the plot of the entire series turns in unexpected and complicated ways. Yet, I rate this book highly. Have some patience reading this book. There is a lot of material to digest. This is a very good book but requires some effort on the part of the reader.