Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Darker Times for Harry
Written: Jun 23 '03 (Updated Jul 15 '09)
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Pros: Harry and his friends are back.
Cons: Harry had an attitude problem at times. Someone died.
The Bottom Line: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was another good book in the series by J.K. Rowling. It is a must read for fans of the series.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the ... |
I had been looking forward to reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for a long time. I loved the first books in the series and was anxious to find out what would happen to Harry and his friends next. I reserved a copy at my local bookstore months ago. I happily picked up my copy on June 21 and started reading.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released as a hardback and as an audio book. The audio book is available on cassette and CD. I have the hardback. There were some small illustrations at the beginning of each chapter by Mary Grandpere.
I am going to try to keep from revealing too much about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone. I will be mentioning some things that would be spoilers for the first books. If you haven’t read those books yet but plan to, read with caution. You have been warned.
Harry Potter was a teenager who was also a wizard. He’d been raised by his muggle relatives, the Dursleys, after his parents, James and Lily Potter, had been killed. Harry had been told that his parents had been killed in a car accident and that the scar on his forehead was from that accident. James and Lily had really been killed by Voldemort, a powerful dark wizard. After he failed to kill Harry, Voldemort seemed to vanish. Harry learned the truth from Hagrid on his eleventh birthday. Harry started to attend Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore, the headmaster, seemed to take an interest in Harry. For the first time, Harry had friends. Ron and Hermione helped Harry several times. Harry faced Voldemort in different forms more than once and survived. Harry learned that he had a godfather, Sirius Black, who had been best friends with his parents. During his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry competed in a special tournament and saw Voldemort return before his eyes.
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I’m going to discuss some of the plot of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I am not going to discuss anything major that happened. If you would rather not read anything about the plot, you can skip over the plot discussion. I will mark where the plot discussion ends.
A month had passed since Harry witnessed Voldemort’s return. Harry was worried about what would happen. He was getting the Dailey Prophet, a magical newspaper, and checking the front page for news of Voldemort, but there was none. Some thing strange happened, and Harry ended up in trouble with the Ministry of Magic. Harry was very frustrated because he didn’t know what was going on. He knew Ron and Hermione were keeping something from him.
Harry was surprised one night when some wizards, including Mad Eye Mooney and Remus Lupin, arrived. Shortly after that, Harry left with them. He spent the rest of his summer vacation somewhere else. Ron, his family, Sirius, and Hermione were there. Harry was told what the Order of the Phoenix was. He also found out that many people didn’t believe that Voldemort had returned. The Ministry of Magic was busy denying that he was back. The Ministry was trying to discredit Dumbledore and Harry in the Daily Prophet because they said that Voldemort was back. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was worried that Dumbledore wanted his job. Percy had turned his back on his family because they believed Voldemort was back instead of agreeing with the Ministry.
Harry had to go to the Ministry of Magic because of what had happened before he left the Dursleys. Fudge was very unhappy with Harry and Dumbledore. Once back at Hogwarts, Harry saw that several of his classmates didn’t believe him about Voldemort returning either. Dolores Umbridge, who worked for the Ministry of Magic, was the new defense against the dark arts teacher. Many students and some instructors felt that the Ministry was trying to interfere in things at Hogwarts. No one seemed to like Professor Umbridge very much. She wouldn’t let her classes practice spells. She felt that by studying the theory behind the spells, then the students would be able to perform the spells fine for the first time during the end of the year exams.
Two students from each house were chosen as prefects during their fifth year at Hogwarts. There were a few surprises with the new selections. Fifth year students would start to receive information and advice about magical careers for after they left school. They were facing huge exams, the O.W.L.s, at the end of the year. The Ordinary Wizarding Level Exams would influence students’ last two years at Hogwarts and what jobs they could get once leaving. The professors were giving extra homework to try to prepare the students for the exams. Hermione was still trying to free the house elves at Hogwarts. Harry was still struggling with the feelings he had for Cho, another student at Hogwarts.
****End of Plot Discussion****
I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but there were a few things that bugged me a bit about the book. The book was very entertaining, engrossing, and imaginative. It was very descriptive and well written. The book hooked me right from the beginning and I didn’t want to stop reading until I finished the book. I never knew what would happen next. This is the longest book in the series yet with 870 pages. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the books end up hitting 1,000 pages in the future. The plot was complex and there was a lot going on throughout the book. I barely touched the surface of what was going on in the book. It wasn’t confusing though. I had no trouble keeping straight what was going on or who was who. Several things that happened did surprise me. A few things didn’t exactly surprise me, but I didn’t see them coming either. I didn’t think the book was predictable at all.
There was some mystery in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It wasn’t always clear what was going on or why certain things happened. I thought that most of the mystery in the book was related to the strange dreams Harry continued to have. He didn’t know what they meant, but he thought they were important. Some characters did some things that didn’t make sense at the time. The adults were keeping things from Harry and his friends. Dumbledore was acting differently. Some other things that weren’t exactly mysteries were also dealt within the book. There were things that were left unanswered by the end, so readers will have to wait for the next book to find out some things. There were several suspenseful scenes throughout the book. I didn’t think any part of the book was boring.
Magic was again very important to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. All of the main characters and most of the minor characters were somehow involved with magic. Harry and his friends were students at a magical school, where they continued to learn more about magic and magical creatures. They were disappointed that they weren’t allowed to do spells in their defense against the dark arts class. Harry and his friends had to use their magical knowledge and skills in a dangerous situation. Adult witches and wizards were also doing spells at different times. Harry made his first trip to the Ministry of Magic and a magical hospital. It was very interesting to see those places, especially the Ministry of Magic since it has been mentioned in every book. I thought that the magical aspects of the book were fascinating and I really enjoyed reading about them. People who don’t like to read about magic, or who are offended by it, shouldn’t read this book.
Each new book in the Harry Potter series has been darker than the book before it. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the darkest book yet in the series. Even the cover was darker. I normally don’t pay that much attention to the cover of a book, but I noticed right away that the cover of this one was darker than the covers of the earlier books. That made me think that the book would be even darker, and it was. On the previous covers, Harry looked happy or like he was enjoying himself. He didn’t look either way on this cover at all. There was little for Harry to be happy about in this book. Voldemort had returned, but people didn’t believe that and some started to think that Harry was a liar. He was having strange, disturbing dreams. The Ministry of Magic was meddling in things at Hogwarts and making life miserable for most students. There was little happiness for Harry and his friends, but I did enjoy the book.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix wasn’t terrifying, but there were some scary scenes in the book. Dementors and Death Eaters both return. A snake turned up again. I really hate reading about snakes. The new defense against the dark arts teacher was rather scary, as was her idea of detention. Children might find the book scarier than adults do. Really young children probably shouldn’t read the book. Parents should check the book out first if they have concerns about their child reading it. Different children have different maturity levels and are scared by different things. Because of that, I don’t think there is any one right age to read this book. It depends on each child. There were a few swear words that turned up once or twice, but that was it. That didn’t bother me, but some parents may not like their children reading those words. I don’t think the length of the book should deter anyone, even children, from reading the book.
Two days before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released, I read an interview in which J.K. Rowling said that a character was going to die in the book. She didn’t say which character or how it would happen. I was not happy to find that out. I immediately thought of four characters that I thought might be the victim. I was almost certain it would be one of two characters. I was wrong, but it was one of the original four I thought of initially. I am not happy about the death at all. It wasn’t extremely upsetting to me - I am more mad that it even happened - but other readers, especially children, may feel differently. This was not the first time a character in one of the Harry Potter books was killed, but it bugged me more this time, mainly because of who it was.
There was still some prejudice in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but it didn’t seem as pronounced as it was in some of the other books. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, something about Hagrid was revealed that made some students turn against him. That played a part in this book as well. Professor Umbridge had some very strong feelings about people she considered to be half breeds. She looked down on some people who were different, like werewolves and merpeople. She made some very nasty remarks about some people.
Voldemort and his followers looked down on everyone who wasn’t from pure wizard families. If a wizard had any muggle blood, Voldemort and the Death Eaters considered them dirty and inferior. They thought that only what they considered pure bloods were good enough to be strong, powerful wizards. However, Voldemort himself wasn’t from a pure blood wizard family. His father was a muggle. By his own logic, Voldemort wasn’t good enough, but he considered himself to be one of the most powerful wizards that ever lived. If his followers truly felt that only pure blood wizards deserved to live, then they shouldn’t have had Voldemort as their leader. They should have hated him as well and targeted him with their hatred. I’m really not sure how Voldemort was able to get wizards who should have despised him to be his loyal followers and do his dirty work. For that matter, since Voldemort was part muggle, it seems like he shouldn’t have wanted to target other people like him. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, it was shared that Voldemort hated his muggle father, and that is what set off his hatred for all other muggles and part muggle wizards. After doing some thinking about this, all that really makes sense to me is that Voldemort kept his muggle father a secret from the Death Eaters. At the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore said that very few people knew who Voldemort was before he’d changed his name and became a powerful dark wizard. Some of the Death Eaters were very viscous in their hatred of muggles, so I doubt that they would have been so devoted to Voldemort if they had known about his muggle father.
In addition to the magical things they had to deal with, the characters in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix also had some more ordinary things to deal with. The characters had to deal with some things that normal teenagers deal with all the time. Harry was still struggling with his feelings for Cho, a female student in Ravenclaw. Harry managed to keep his head and know what to do in dangerous situations, but he is clueless when it comes to Cho. Harry doesn’t know what to say to her or how to act around her. Harry and his friends are growing up and becoming interested in the opposite sex. Hermione continued to write to Krum, something that bothered Ron. Ginny, Ron’s little sister, was also growing up and she started to date, which freaked Ron out.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione also had to worry about taking the O.W.L.s at the end of the year. The importance placed on those exams reminded me of the SATs. Fifth year students have to start thinking about what they want to do after leaving Hogwarts, so they can take the right classes during their last two years. The students do get some counseling about what to do to be able to get the jobs they want. It was shared what career Harry was thinking of, but it wasn’t shared what Ron and Hermione were thinking of doing. That disappointed me a little bit. Eight fifth year students, two from each house, were picked to be prefects, which put them in a position of authority over other students. Since Harry and his friends are fifth year students, eight in their class were made prefects. There was very little regarding the prefects and their duties after the first announcement and what the prefects had to do the first night back to school. I would have liked for there to have been some more about what all the prefects do.
Several characters had secrets in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Some of the secrets had a large impact on the outcome of the book. At the beginning of the book, several characters were keeping things from Harry. Some things, and the reasons for the secrecy was explained, while some other things remained a mystery. Dumbledore was acting different, and the reason was related to a secret he was keeping. That was explained late in the book. Even though Harry has done things that some adult wizards have failed to do, the adults still seemed to think of him as a little kid. They tried to protect him by not telling him some things. Harry was very frustrated about being kept in the dark about some things. At different times in the book, Harry kept some secrets of his own. Hagrid was being very secretive about something as well.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. As far as I know, there will be a total of seven books in the series. Each book follows Harry and his friends during a different year at Hogwarts. I have read all five books, and I plan to read the sixth and seventh books once they are published. I love the plots and the characters. So far each book has had a different plot, but there are some continuing subplots that help to tie all the books together. The books really need to be read in order, like I read them. If they aren’t read in order, the reader would miss out on a lot, and be more likely to be confused by some things that happened. I did like this book, but I liked Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a little more. After Goblet of Fire was published, it took three years for Rowling to finish Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and have it published. I really hope that it doesn’t take another three years before the sixth book is released. I will be getting it whenever it comes out.
There were several returning characters in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry was the main character again, and still the most developed character. Harry has been through a lot, and it started to take his toll on him. He was in a bad mood a lot. He yelled and took his bad moods out on his friends. At one point he even had a temper tantrum. I think a lot of the problem may have been because he was frustrated about being kept in the dark about some things. He was also upset because so many people seemed to think he was a liar. Harry was also fifteen, so there were probably some raging hormones added to the mix as well. Harry had mood swings more than once, and would snap at people for no real reason. Regardless of the reason, Harry’s attitude did get annoying at times. His yelling and mood swings did get old. It seemed like those things were a bit over done.
Ron and Hermione were still important characters, but it seemed like they were in less of the book. I would have liked for there to have been a bit more about them. Ron did seem to be getting a bit more serious. Hermione was still obsessed with studying and getting good grades. She was also very stubborn at times, and refuse to see things from another point of view. She was still focused on freeing the house elves who worked at Hogwarts despite the fact that the year before she saw the elves and heard from them that they were happy there. Most house elves did not want freedom like Doby had. The idea of receiving clothing and being free was an insult to them. Hermione didn’t care about that though. She spent a lot of her free time knitting hats and socks that she hid all over the Gryffindor common room for the elves to find because she was determined to free them. She didn’t seem to care that she was insulting them by hiding the clothes and trying to trick the elves into taking them. She decided that she knew what was best for the elves and that was it as far as she was concerned.
Two characters who played smaller parts in the previous Harry Potter books really stood out in Harry Potter in the Order of the Phoenix. Neville Longbottom was a fifth year student in Gryffindor with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Neville has had trouble in almost every one of his classes and he has been made fun of by many students. He is terrified of Snape and a nervous wreck during the potions classes, so he usually messed up in some way. Neville lived with his grandmother because of what had happened to his parents at the hands of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Neville did some changing and showed that he wasn’t totally helpless as a wizard like many people seemed to think. He found out something that made him determined to improve his magical skills. Ginny, Ron’s little sister, showed up much more often in this book. She was also growing up and changing. She got over the crush she had on Harry and could actually talk coherently to him. She had some surprises for her brother Ron. She was able to show off her magical skills at one point as well.
Professor Snape turned up fairly often in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He has been turning up more often in the last few books. He was fairly important to some events that happened. He did continue to hate Harry because his father was James. Something that happened when Snape and James were students was shared that further explained why Snape hated James so much. Snape did seem a bit childish in how he hated Harry because of things James did. Harry wasn’t even around when those things happened and it really isn’t logical for Snape to hold that against Harry. There were also many other characters that returned in the book, like a few other students and the professors, but they didn’t turn up as often. Draco Malfoy actually seemed to turn up less often, but he was still nasty when he was around. Dumbledore seemed a bit different at times, but he was also shown in action again.
There were only a few new characters in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Professor Umbridge turned up more than any other new characters, and even more than some returning characters. She was fairly well developed for a new character. She was nasty and hated by almost everyone at Hogwarts. Even the other professors didn’t seem to care too much for her. She liked throwing her weight around and seemed to have it in for Harry. Luna Lovegood was the only other new character who turned up that much. She was a fourth year student in Ravenclaw. She and Ginny seemed to know each other. Many other students at Hogwarts made fun of her and called her Loony Lovegood. She was a bit odd. Her father was the editor of The Quibbler, a tabloid like magazine for wizards and witches. Luna turned up several times throughout the book and ended up helping Harry and his friends a few times. She wasn’t in much of the book, so she wasn’t that developed. The other new characters only turned up once or twice, and they weren’t developed at all.
CHARACTERS
Harry Potter - He was a fifteen-year-old wizard going to Hogwarts. He was raised by muggle relatives who didn’t like him that much. His parents were killed. Harry did well in some classes, but he had trouble with potions, mainly because he couldn’t stand Snape. Harry played on the Gryffindor quidditch team. He was normally kind, but he was having some mood swings and was angry a lot. He could be stubborn and he kept secrets that he shouldn’t have.
Ron Weasley - Harry’s best friend. Ron was the next to youngest in a large family. He loved his family, but was tired of them not having enough money. He was becoming a little more serious. He didn’t like the fact that his sister was dating and that Hermione was still writing to Krum. Ron was fed up with Harry’s attitude a few times. Ron was still willing to do things to help Harry.
Hermione Granger - Friends with Harry and Ron. Both of her parents are muggles and she is sometimes the target of hatred from other students because of that. She studied hard almost all the time and good grades were important to her. She believed in following the rules, but she was known to bend them once in a while. She could be very stubborn at times. She was still determined to get freedom for the house elves that worked at Hogwarts even if they didn’t want any part of it.
Mr. And Mrs. Weasley - Ron’s parents. Arthur worked for the Ministry of Magic. He was fascinated with muggles and how they did things. Molly didn’t have a job outside of the house. She was the strict one and seemed to be disappointed that Fred and George didn’t do better in school. Arthur and Molly were both close to Harry, and protective of him. Molly thought of him as another son. They believed Harry about Voldemort being back. They supported Dumbledore.
Percy - One of Ron’s older brothers. He finished up at Hogwarts a few years before and had a job at the Ministry of Magic. He was blindly loyal to the Minister and wouldn’t dream of doubting anything the Minister said. He turned his back on his family because they didn’t feel the same way.
Fred and George - Ron’s older twin brothers. They were known as troublemakers at Hogwarts. They were planning to open a joke shop after they left Hogwarts.
Ginny - The youngest Weasley and the only girl. She was in her fourth year at Hogwarts. She had a huge crush on Harry, but she was getting over that. She did some things that surprised and shocked Ron. She and Hermione were friends.
Luna Lovegood - A fourth year student in Ravenclaw. She was considered strange by most of the other students.
Draco Malfoy - A fifth year student in Slytherin. He and his two friends hated Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Draco believed that only pure bloods should be at Hogwarts. He was nasty and liked to cause trouble whenever he could. He loved it when Harry had problems.
Sirius Black - Harry’s godfather. He was still in hiding because the dementors were still after him. He was frustrated about having to stay hidden. He wanted to do more to fight Voldemort. He cared a lot about Harry and wanted him safe.
Mad Eye Mooney - He use to be an Auror, a wizard that hunted for dark wizards. He was very paranoid because he had been attacked m any times before. He went through a very bad experience the year before, and that increased his paranoia. He was fond of Harry and wanted to fight against Voldemort.
Remus Lupin - He was a former defense against the dark arts teacher at Hogwarts. He decided not to return because it came out that the was a werewolf and he knew many parents wouldn’t want him around their children. He was very kind and was able to keep his condition under control with a potion. He had been best friends with Sirius and James when they were all students at Hogwarts. Lupin took a special interest in Harry when he was a teacher there, and taught Harry how to fight dementors.
Dumbledore - He was the headmaster at Hogwarts. Most of the time, he is a very kind, understanding man. He is a very powerful wizard, and he was able to show that a few times again. He is the only wizard that Voldemort was ever afraid of.
Professor McGonagall - She teaches the transfiguration class and is the head of Gryffindor. She was strict with her students, but also kind.
Professor Snape - He teaches potions and is the head of Slytherin. He has a nasty temperament most of the time, and isn’t liked by many students. He favors students in Slytherin over all others. He seems to have it in for students for Gryffindor, especially Harry.
Professor Dolores Umbridge - She worked for the Ministry of Magic and was the new defense against the dark arts teacher. She wanted to change just about everything about Hogwarts and how things were done there. She was not liked by just about everyone, including other professors.
Hagrid - He was the groundskeeper and teacher of the care of magical creatures class. He was really very kind. He had a softness for magical creatures that others found very dangerous. Some students looked down on him and made fun of him.
Cornelius Fudge - He was the Minister of Magic. He refused to believe that Voldemort was back and he didn’t want anyone else to believe it either, so he set out to discredit Dumbledore and Harry. Cornelius was afraid that Dumbledore wanted his job.
Cho - Student at Hogwarts who was in Ravenclaw. She was on her house quidditch team. Harry had feelings for her, and she seemed to be returning them. She had some mood swings, and seemed to be jealous of Harry’s friendship with Hermione.
Dementors - Guards at Azkaban prison. They sucked the happiness out of anyone who was near them. They sucked a person’s soul out if they kissed them.
Death Eaters - Voldemort’s supporters. They hated muggles, and wizards who were part muggles. They thought nothing of killing.
Voldemort - He was a very powerful dark wizard. He wanted to kill wizards who were part muggle and even muggles. He killed Harry’s parents and tried to kill Harry when he was just a baby. Voldemort returned to power and was after Harry again.
I really liked Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. There were some things, like Harry’s attitude, that bothered me, but I did like the book. I didn’t think it was as good as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire though. This is a must read for fans of the series.
Harry Potter Books
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ The Tales of Beedle the Bard ~
Harry Potter Movies
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ~ Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows Part 2 ~ Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter ~
Other Harry Potter Related Reviews
Scene It? Harry Potter 2nd Edition (Trivia Game) ~
Recommended:
Yes
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