Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, Book 5)

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of children's books.Several weeks ago I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Harry Potter #5 and had preordered it. When I woke up this morning, I found the book right at my doorstep. Elated, I quickly opened the package and started reading.I just finished the book, and I am not one bit disappointed. J.K. Rowling's writing style is still ever-present in this book, vivid and wondrous as it had been in the previous four books. There are many surprises in the book (like Ron getting to be prefect while Harry doesn't), but I also think that a lot of the details in the book were extraneous. The book was also a bit on the dark/moody side. When I read it, I was constantly disturbed and worried, and the book no longer had the flippant and jovial tone that the first book had, the original reason why I enjoyed it so much.However, that doesn't stop this book from being so great. Again, the magic of Hogwarts accompanies Harry, Hermione, and Ron throughout the book, but some developments in the book are disturbing, such as Percy's separation from the family, Dumbledore's aloofness in the beginning of the book, and the somber tone on which the book ends. The only characters I felt were unmarred by the morose theme stretched throughout the book were Fred and George Weasley (they operate a joke shop throughout the book).One of my complaints about the book was the length. This installment of the Harry Potter series is the longest at 870 pages. There are only two reasons I can think why J.K. Rowling would do this:1) She gets paid by the word so the more she writes, the more money she makes.2) She is afraid that once she writes all seven books, then she will have nothing more to write about, so therefore, she has to write as much as she can before the momentum of her series is over.Both of those are bad reasons why the book should be long. While the writing isn't Joyce (concise and perfect in all ways, but slightly unhumanistic), I think that a lot of it is overly verbose. However, I don't feel that the length of the book is something to complain about. Other people disagree though: in fact, upon hearing that HP5 was 870 pages, he responded, "HOLY...."That doesn't mean the book is bad though. I would still highly recommend this book and would agree that it is _on par_ with the previous writing of JK Rowling. Even though it is slightly depressing at times, it's still an excellent read.Now, for a brief summary - don't read ahead if you don't want the book spoiled.Harry is first caught fighting two dementors near Privet Drive. As a result of his breaching of the Underage Misuse of Magic, he has to go to a trial, where he defends himself so he won't get expelled from Hogwarts or get his wand snapped in half. Wizards from the Order of the Phoenix, an underground anti-Voldemort society, come to rescue Harry and take him to a hideout.Once Harry is acquitted of all charges, he finds out that Albus Dumbledore is extremely aloof and that Cornelius Fudge and Percy Weasley do not believe that Voldemort has come back to power. Percy is cold and disattached to the Weasleys because he "betrayed" the family when he went to work for Fudge. Harry also finds out that Ron and Hermione are prefects for Gryffindor, and he is not.Once Harry makes it back to Hogwarts, there are plenty of things to worry about. Aside from the new Defense from the Dark Arts Professor, Umbridge, who is working as a "spy" for the Ministry of Magic, Harry has to contend with O.W.L.'s and people who don't believe him when he tells them that Voldemort is back.Ron is made Keeper for the Quidditch Team in addition to being a prefect. Fred and George are selling pranks and pills for their joke shop. Tons of homework plague Harry and Ron, causing them many sleepless nights. Also, Umbridge inspects all the teachers as Head Inquisitor and she also disbands all clubs and teams (including the Gryffindor Quidditch Team), so they must reapply for reforming. This happens just as Hermione, Ron, and Harry decide that they are going to create a Defense Against the Dark Arts "study group" themselves. Later on, Harry and the Weasley twins are banned from Quidditch for life by Umbridge.In the middle of the book, Mr. Weasley is attacked. Harry has an out-of-body experience where he is actually a snake and attacks Mr. Weasley. It is even suggested that Harry is being possessed by Lord Voldemort. Harry eventually takes Occlumency (anti-mind reading) lessons from Snape.Right after the first Occlumency lesson with Snape, Harry realizes that the door at the end of the long, dark corridor in his dreams is the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. The next day, Hermione, Ron, and Harry find out from the Daily Prophet that ten Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban. Dumbledore eventually leaves the post as headmaster of Hogwarts and Umbridge takes over. It seems worse and worse everyday and that Voldemort is getting closer and closer to victory.Eventually the book climaxes and as you might suspect, Harry and the rest of the D.A. (Dumbledore's army) find themselves on a rescue mission to the Department of Mysteries. There is a showoff with Voldemort.There is a main character who dies. I won't tell you who it is, but it is a main character (not someone minor like Cedric).The book ends on a somewhat sad note, with the Ministry admitting their wrongdoing and that Voldemort is back, aka the start of the "second war." Let's hope that Harry can withstand two more years at Hogwarts with Voldemort around...

I will keep this spoiler free, so if I am vague about plot, that is why. May I suggest that all other reviewers do the same, at least for the first month or two?With each passing novel from JKR, I become more apprehensive that she will have lost her touch, that the shine will be gone. Rest assured, dear readers, that this novel has all the magic, all the excitement, all the adventure that we have come to expect--and more.The appearance of darker themes (death, consequences, truly evil villains who have an agenda that is definitely not wholesome) that marked the end of novel four were an unexpected twist for me. I had heard that this was not a fluke, that she was taking the septology into a serious examination of what happens when someone truly evil rises to power; this is indeed what she appears to be doing. Serious themes such as these form the backbone of the novel, and are apparent from the first pages. This disconcerted me a bit, as I was expecting the usual romp through Privet drive, a la Dobby; instead, I got a much different thing. The New York Times calls this section somewhat "ponderous", but I think that that is a specious view. In reality, it was important to change the tone of the world, and she wanted to make sure that we understood that all was not mandarin oranges and ice cream here.As JKR has admitted in interviews, Harry is much more angry in this novel. I felt that she handled this reasonably well--she does an excellent job portraying adolescent confusion. It feels like Harry spends a lot of time being very distressed, but when you imagine yourself, at 15, in his situation, he is not necessarily unrealistic. Teenage angst has been done better, but seeing this side of Harry is important in understanding how he is growing.The plot is where Ms. Rowling really shines. The Order of the Phoenix his one has significant plot twists where they should be, as well as where you least expect them. Ron and Hermione are there in spades, and there is significant character development for all the major characters as well as a few minor characters. We see new sides of McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Black, and Neville. I was thrilled to see threads from novels 1-4 that seemed unimportant at the time be picked up and woven skillfully into the narrative. Her grasp of the overall plan for her septology is admirable, and I am pleased that she even more careful a writer than any of us had anticipated. This is a united whole, a well planned world. This 7 book series has a definite beginning, middle, and an end, and we are in the thick of things now.All the old charm is back as well. Rowling's wit seems mostly absent for the first 100 pages, but don't give up hope. She was not not attempting to make the first hundred pages funny--she wants us to know she is in deadly earnest. The wit is always bubbling under the surface, however, and later in the novel, there are a number of laugh out loud funny passages.Descriptions, as always, are excellent. I needn't add that the names of her characters are always interesting, funny, and often revealing. Spells play an important role, of course, and their magic words never fail to amuse.Please note: This is not a novel for 6 year olds. They won't understand the adolescent issues. The plot is not as scary as the end of the fourth novel, but the overall tone is dark, as has been much discussed. Her literary style is much the same as the previous novels, but her vocabulary is becoming more advanced as Harry ages. This is an excellent novel for the precocious 10 year old; I'm not sure I would let 7-8 year olds read it unless they are exceptionally mature. No sex, but there is some violence, and as above, the dark themes.Overall, I would say that this is--hands down--her best novel yet. The climax left me literally breathless, turning pages as fast as I could, unable to believe what I was reading. I look forward to her 6th installment in this series.Well done, Ms. Rowling. Keep up the amazing work. Take your time on the next one--it will be well worth it when you do. And whenever it comes, we'll still be here.