It's Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts and things have never been so different. You-Know-Who has returned to full power, but the Minister prefers to act as if everything is still the same. It's a topsy-turvy world with the Death Eaters living out in the open away from Azkaban, while the only people who have faced the truth about Voldemort are forced to meet in secret. And at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is making big changes too. Most students are worrying about their O.W.Ls and Quidditch, but Harry's got much more on his mind, and his burden will only increase as the page numbers get bigger (and they do get big!)

I like how the story was split not simply into good and evil, but into believers and non-believers of the Dark Lord's return. Their actions toward each other are frustrating and unbelievable but also brave and even hilarious. What did you expect with the Weasley twins--and (I kid you not) Professor McGonagall--around?
This book also contains a lot of character development. Even the most stubborn minds (such as my own) will find their opinion altering toward such characters as Snape, Neville, Dumbledore, Petunia, and even a certain Potter boy.

There is one particular scene where I find Harry unnecessarily intrusive. Additionally, I find it a little hard to comprehend how Harry can still be surprised at the way magical buildings hide themselves. Those are, however, flaws about the people themselves and not the book. The book also itself seemed to have several loose ends, albeit none very large, and they will likely be answered in future books.

Upon finishing this book I wanted to discuss it with someone, and a proper discussion on this book could take hours. It answers some questions partly, some questions fully, and yet leaves many unanswered, leaving plenty of room for theories to fly while we're waiting for HP6.

The thing that makes the Harry Potter books most outstanding to me are the way they make me feel. They pull me inside the characters' heads and match my emotions to their own; I share their triumphs, their failures, their amusements, their frustrations, and their fears. Never before have I cared so much about what happened to people in a fictitious book.

J.K. Rowling has never let me down. During the extensive wait between HP4 and HP5, their have been thousands of theories and fanfiction stories, and yet she still manages to include things in her book that were never considered. No matter how high my expectations are, she always tops them.

This is our fifth book about the unlikely hero that is Harry Potter and a fight between good and evil, and I have yet to grow bored with the premise. In fact, I grow more anxious for the next book with each one that passes. The characters are three-dimenstional and interesting, the setting is imaginative and surprising, and the plot never fails to be intriguing and suspenseful. Furthermore, HP5 carries an additional message that I am rather fond of: No matter what anyone else says, always have faith in yourself and your beliefs.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)   from Amazon.Com!

Created Jul 18, 2003 at 12:46pm • Submit your own review...