Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fifth novel in the Harry Potter series. It follows Harry Potter's struggles through his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including the surreptitious return of the antagonist Lord Voldemort, O.W.L. exams, and an obstructive Ministry of Magic. The novel was published on 21 June 2003 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic in the United States, and Raincoast in Canada. It sold five million copies in the first 24 hours of publication. It is the longest book of the series.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix won several awards, including the American Library Association Best Book Award for Young Adults in 2003. The book was also made into a 2007 film, and a video game by Electronic Arts.
This is, to my taste, the least successful Harry Potter book. It just meanders from scene to scene, dwelling on characters' backgrounds, and not achieving very much all the while. Of course, it's still entertaining to a large extent and manages very well to build upon a sense of urgency that will carry through the remaining two books.
I think Rowling went a little over the top with the Umbridge character, though: she is just so hateable that one is constantly grinding one's teeth while reading about her rise to power, and her fate (in this book) is so far from satisfying that a lot of bad feelings towards her remain well after the end.
Review of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Hey, stuff happens in this book!!! Incredible!
Check my bio. I hate the author. Reading for cultural understanding, blah blah blah. I did not go into this in good faith so whatever I say is from a place of immeasurable negative bias. HOWEVER, there's stuff I liked here. I would give this more of an objective rating of 3, but because it's Rowling, I don't wanna give her that.
Umbridge is very fun to hate, which is something I always like to see in any villain, but especially a YA one. I also like how the meddling Ministry plotline for this book is Radicalization 101 for the youth. Lovely. Very nice.
If there's one thing I can say as a positive for the evil woman who wrote this book, it's that she does a damn good job writing about grief. If only she could extend the same amount of empathy …
Hey, stuff happens in this book!!! Incredible!
Check my bio. I hate the author. Reading for cultural understanding, blah blah blah. I did not go into this in good faith so whatever I say is from a place of immeasurable negative bias. HOWEVER, there's stuff I liked here. I would give this more of an objective rating of 3, but because it's Rowling, I don't wanna give her that.
Umbridge is very fun to hate, which is something I always like to see in any villain, but especially a YA one. I also like how the meddling Ministry plotline for this book is Radicalization 101 for the youth. Lovely. Very nice.
If there's one thing I can say as a positive for the evil woman who wrote this book, it's that she does a damn good job writing about grief. If only she could extend the same amount of empathy towards anyone outside of her immediate family.
Damn, remember when these characters were friends? I barely do. Harry spends most of his time yelling at Ron and Hermione. What's super messed up is that R+H act scared of him at times. It toes the line, if not outright crosses into being emotional abuse. Like father, like son, eh Harry?
Review of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I should do a proper review of the books but it never felt justified because the series is so well known. What I have enjoyed on this re-read is what I thought were slow or tedious parts (eg: Grawp) are now quick and over within a chapter. Order of the Phoenix is a great trip, packed with all the best parts of Harry Potter (dislikable characters, lighthearted moments and magic). This was the first book I read before watching the movie and I enjoy that view I have of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries or the battle in the depths of the Ministry of Magic.
One item that has stood out on this re-read is my opinion of some characters. Going in to this further would derail this short review but I was a few years removed from the loss of someone close to me when I …
I should do a proper review of the books but it never felt justified because the series is so well known. What I have enjoyed on this re-read is what I thought were slow or tedious parts (eg: Grawp) are now quick and over within a chapter. Order of the Phoenix is a great trip, packed with all the best parts of Harry Potter (dislikable characters, lighthearted moments and magic). This was the first book I read before watching the movie and I enjoy that view I have of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries or the battle in the depths of the Ministry of Magic.
One item that has stood out on this re-read is my opinion of some characters. Going in to this further would derail this short review but I was a few years removed from the loss of someone close to me when I first read this book. I grieved with Harry during the Through the Veil moment and I understood that frustration and guilt that followed.
A character I idolized originally now seems reckless and disobedient. Yet, I expect we would all feel the way Snuffles did if we were told to stay home and feel like we were not helping the cause. Perhaps my opinion on Sirius didn't sour but I am able to look at his actions with a different perspective I did originally. That raw emotion has been washed away and now see who he was, what he did, and how he behaved in a more mature light. Perhaps that idolization is replaced with frustration because I'm not sure I would have acted differently in such a position.
And maybe after this brief internal analysis Sirius is still my favorite but I can understand his faults and see the justifications for his actions.
Well! Enough of that, on to Half Blood Prince...
PS: Bumped the rating from 4 to 5 because it really is an amazing story.
Review of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Can't believe I haven't reviewed this book before. It's one of my favorites in the series. So much happening to Harry and his friends. Umbridge, Dumbledore's Army, the return of He Who Must Not Be Named. And at the center of it all is Harry, who should be putting all of his efforts into becoming the best wizard he can be, but does the silly rebellious teenager thing and doesn't stay focused.
There is loss. There are bad decisions. You will be angry and sad and frustrated by this book. But in the end you realize all of the things that happen had to happen to get us to the final pages of book 7. I had to go through all of the steps of grief while reading. I had to take a series break because I know what happens in the next book and I'm just not emotionally ready …
Can't believe I haven't reviewed this book before. It's one of my favorites in the series. So much happening to Harry and his friends. Umbridge, Dumbledore's Army, the return of He Who Must Not Be Named. And at the center of it all is Harry, who should be putting all of his efforts into becoming the best wizard he can be, but does the silly rebellious teenager thing and doesn't stay focused.
There is loss. There are bad decisions. You will be angry and sad and frustrated by this book. But in the end you realize all of the things that happen had to happen to get us to the final pages of book 7. I had to go through all of the steps of grief while reading. I had to take a series break because I know what happens in the next book and I'm just not emotionally ready for it all.
Jim Dale really brings it all to life on audio. If you haven't listened to this series yet, you are in for a treat. 4 solid stars and an extra hug for Neville.
Review of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I'd recommend every Potter fan out there to listen to the audiobook version, even if they've already read the books. Stephen Fry's voice is really amazing! And speaking of this book, when I'd first read it, it seemed that Rowling made this book unnecessarily lengthy, and I also was really annoyed by Harry's behaviour. But listening to the book just after finishing Goblet of Fire made me understand and appreciate Harry's angst and alienation. The boy had just seen a friend getting killed right in front of his eyes, and on top of that everyone was avoiding him and telling him a liar - it was bound to have made anyone angry and bitter.
Review of 'Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Have decided to re-read the entire series. Will not change the original star ratings, but will include my updated star ratings in the wall o' text.
3 stars I liked this quite a bit more than when I read this the first time around... 13 years ago (WHUT)... I think I had a greater appreciation for the increased complexity of the plot and themes and the increasingly "grown-up feel" of this book. I really enjoyed the Department of Mysteries this time around. Hermione is always a delight, and I like that Ginny finally gets a personality and Neville gets something to do. Luna is wonderful. But... it still needs editing, there is so much completely unnecessary fluff (all the house cleaning, for example) that just doesn't justify the length of this book. Harry is a difficult character in HP5 - he's whiny and self-absorbed but he also probably has PTSD …
Have decided to re-read the entire series. Will not change the original star ratings, but will include my updated star ratings in the wall o' text.
3 stars I liked this quite a bit more than when I read this the first time around... 13 years ago (WHUT)... I think I had a greater appreciation for the increased complexity of the plot and themes and the increasingly "grown-up feel" of this book. I really enjoyed the Department of Mysteries this time around. Hermione is always a delight, and I like that Ginny finally gets a personality and Neville gets something to do. Luna is wonderful. But... it still needs editing, there is so much completely unnecessary fluff (all the house cleaning, for example) that just doesn't justify the length of this book. Harry is a difficult character in HP5 - he's whiny and self-absorbed but he also probably has PTSD which at least makes him interesting if not exactly likeable. I cannot believe that school officials would fail to notice VISIBLE ABUSE inflicted upon the students; yes, wizards do things a little differently, but I can't believe they tolerate child abuse; and even if Harry stubbornly refuses to tell, one of the other disciplined students would, and even if they didn't, teachers would see when they looked around their classroom at kids writing. (For that matter, I have a hard time believing that Snape's verbal abuse would be tolerated; and that the Dursleys wouldn't be investigated by the british equivalent of CPS when teachers compare Dudley's and Harry's outward appearances.) Plus, it has the same problem plaguing the others -- at the end, way too much telling, not showing.
Review of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
From all the Harry Potter books this is my least favourite one for some reason. It just dragged on a bit with not much happening for the most part. Lot of things made sense in later books and so this seems like an introduction for them. Oh well...still worth the read
Review of 'Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Was I this bad as a teenager? Wow. Harry has become a sullen, whiny adolescent, and you find yourself wanting to smack him one throughout much of this book. It's an interesting choice by Rowling to characterize Harry this way, he really is a non-sympathetic protagonist in this latest episode. On the other hand, the back-room politics of the Ministry of Magic are incredibly slimy this time around, and the antagonistic characters are so entirely odious that I feel there must be some political caricatures here. Since I'm not British, there's probably a lot of satire included that flies right past me, but this is a good adventure yarn in it's own right. Tina thinks it's a bit long, and I guess I agree, but I still finished it in three days.
Review of 'Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Le cinquième tome de la célébrissime saga Harry Potter, qu'on ne présente plus. C'est peut-être celui qui m'a le moins plu des sept. Malgré le ton définitivement sombre, quelque chose m'a déplu dans cet épisode, sans que je parvienne réellement à mettre le doigt dessus.
