The first time I read the first book, I was pretty disappointed. I read it for a children's lit class my second semester in college(spring 2002), I really wanted to like it but I just didn't think it was that good. I think part of the problem was that I was trying to compare it to the fantasy that I grow up with which was mostly Narnia. I eventually heard from people whose book taste I trusted that the third and fourth books were the best ones, so I changed my expectations a bit and tried again, and by the fourth book I was really loving the characters and Goblet of Fire became my favorite. After that I reread the series from the beginning and really began to enjoy them. Order of the Phoenix was easily the weakest book in the series, I honestly think it needed some editing, but I was very happy with Half-Blood Prince. I had mixed feelings about the ending of the final book, Deathly Hallows, at first but I liked the way it turned out after I had thought about it and discussed it a bit. Another thing that I think really made this series good for me is the audiobooks read by Jim Dale. They were all so well performed that it really helped me get into the series more. By the time Deathly Hallows was being released, I was genuinely excited. ( )

This is my favourite book in the Harry Potter series.

I always loved Neville and the prophecy is on of my favourite thing in the entire series. ( )

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it would be an ok book if a good editor cut about 1/2 out...repetitive to the max ( )

It flows quite well and keeps you turning the pages, doesn’t seem as long as it is; I quite like Tonks and Lovegood; but Harry and most of the others have such an awful time that I’m not much motivated to reread this one.

When I do read it again, I skip or skim bits here and there. ( )

Since this is my first time reading this far into the series, the only thing I have to compare to is the movies. Since I just recently marathon watched the whole series with my youngest child, they are all still pretty fresh in my memory.

And this one was SO MUCH BETTER. Now, that's NOT to say that the movies aren't good - they are!
but this book had so many things different and so many details the movies didn't have. It was a huge treat to get more insight, meet a few new faces (or ones I overlooked in the movie) and get to know Tonks better.

I can't wait to read the rest! ( )

2008 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature (for the series)

Yay! The first time I've read past Book 4!

The themes of grief and trauma, yet again, really resonated with me in this book. Now, not only is Harry continuing to grieve the deaths of the parents he never knew, he also finds out that his father may not always have acted like a hero to everyone. Even that piece gave me some perspective--school is hell, but people can and do grow up.

I remember now that one of the reasons why I didn't want to read this book as a teenager was that I'd heard Harry became angry and whiny. Well, now that I've read it as an adult, I can understand why he would be so angry. He's just been re-traumatized by having watched someone die at the end of the last book and having had to face his arch-enemy's horrible return. Not only that, but since he was the only witness, no one believes him, and to top it off, as a consequence he ends up under the thumb of one of the most odious villains in literary history, Professor Dolores Umbridge. The kittens (shiver).

The scene where Fred and George Weasley finally decide to make their exit was totally wicked, as was the image of centaurs carrying Umbridge off into the woods.

The Department of Mysteries was appropriately mysterious and sometimes downright bizarre. Some of that followed the theme of trauma, too--I remember Ron being attacked by a brain with tentacles, and the comment someone made that sometimes thoughts can be more dangerous than physical injuries. What a truth, especially about grief.

The death of Sirius Black was awful for Harry, but it made a lot of sense as a catalyst for Dumbledore to finally spill some details about what's been happening. I guess Rowling could have made Wormtail be part of the raid on the Department of Mysteries, then have had Black be acquitted when Wormtail was seen, but maybe that would have been too much happiness for Harry. Suckage.

I noticed that this book really brings in an overt Judeo-Christian theme in the form of blood.

My church is doing a "read the Bible in a year" plan and we are currently in the book of Numbers. I've been watching videos explaining how the ancient Hebrews thought that blood represented life, so that was why they believed in sacrificing animals in order to restore life (ritual cleanliness) to earthly places affected by death (sin). In the Christian theology that follows from that, the blood of Christ as a final sacrifice cleanses people of sin, freeing them from the power of death because of his love.

So, you can imagine how I could make a connection there with Harry's mother's sacrifice. The shedding of her blood, because of her love, saved him from death. Due to that, the same magic continues to protect him when he lives with her blood relative.

Finally, I cried reading the scene in which Luna Lovegood tells Harry about her own mother's death. Her certainty that she will see her mother again brings Harry some comfort about his most recent loss, and it gave me comfort about my losses too.

The fact that they could both see the thestrals reminded me of the compassionate community we often find in grief.

The companions who came with Harry to the Ministry of Magic may not have been the ones he would have chosen, but they were the right ones to accompany him, especially Luna and Neville who, out of all the people in the school, may be able to understand Harry's grief the best because they have also suffered.

J.K. Rowling knows grief inside and out, and these books continue to pile up truth upon truth upon truth about navigating it. ( )

Oooh! The teen angst! This installment explains the curse and has a lot of furthering the series narrative details. ( )

First sentence: The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive.

Premise/plot: Harry Potter and his friends struggle to keep things together as a new year at Hogwarts begins. Lord You-Know-Who has returned. But the Ministry of Magic (among others) are determined to bury their heads in the sand. (Perhaps because they are more involved with You-Know-Who than they'd like to admit. Perhaps because they would rather believe that Harry Potter (and company, the Order of the Phoenix) is lying than that HE has returned. You could argue either.) The staff and students are on high alert--namely from Dolores Umbridge (and those whom she represents as High Inquisitor). The year won't be easy. The foundation of Hogwarts is being shaken about.

Meanwhile, Harry Potter is continuing to have dreams and visions. His scar is still bothering him. He's beginning to realize that he and You-Know-Who share an unbreakable bond.

My thoughts: It is so easy to feel overwhelmed by the weight of the books in these series. The pacing is all over the place for me. On the one hand, the books never fail to have about one hundred pages of the most intense, fast-paced, action-packed DRAMA. On the other hand, so much time is spent getting to that point. Like you've got eight plus months of more mundane chronicling of school life--always taking a chapter or two for the Christmas holidays--and then BOOM end of school year, BIG show down. In the middle of the book, I'm always am I sure I want to keep reading. At the end of the book, it's like this is why I do keep reading.
Lighter moments are definitely getting harder to come by.

ETA: I am rereading the series. I definitely appreciated this one MUCH more the second time around. I have all the feels for the ending of this one. The last half of the book is SO intense and emotional. Sirius Black is one of my favorite characters. This one does feature some big reveals--for those reading it the first time around. ( )

Em seu quinto ano em Hogwarts, Harry enfrenta desafios a cada momento, desde a ameaça sombria de Aquele-Que-Não-Deve-Ser-Nomeado e a falta de confiabilidade do governo do mundo mágico até a ascensão de Ron Weasley como o guardião do Time de Quadribol da Grifinória. Ao longo do caminho, ele aprende sobre a força de seus amigos, a ferocidade de seus inimigos e o significado do sacrifício.

After over 20 rereadings, I believe it's time to review "Harry Potter". To those of you saying that I'm crazy (like my mum) - mind your own business. And to those of you admiring me - thank you.
I'll try to keep these short.

For a fair amount of time "Order of the Phoenix" was my favorite novel. I always enjoy reading it, especially the part after the formation of the DA.
There are so many great moments and interesting plots and subplots. I like how it is more mature. There are politics, corruption and romance. I've learned not to trust the government and to always doubt the elected official from the book. And not to be a dick on a date like Harry. Harry and Cho's plot was weird from the beginning as she loved both him and Cedric and of course it didn't work.
Sirius' death always breaks me. Cedric's death was sad, but this is Sirius - Harry's last living relative in the magical world. I hate the fact that he had to die leaving Harry more orphaned than ever. And the chapter after his death always breaks me.
Umbridge - I hate her so much, but doing something in front of her nose was so satisfying. There's one thing I really like in the film: Harry telling Umbridge that he mustn't ell lies when she asks him to tell the centaurs that she means them no harm. Poetic justice and so sassy and fitting.

FILM NOTES:
This was the first film I've seen in the cinema. I was so excited but, ultimately disappointed.
Well. The longest book in the series produced the shortest film in the franchise. I don't blame only David Yates, the director, for this. I also blame two screenwriters: Steve Klovis for leaving the crew after the fourth film (he rejoined it for the sixth, seventh and eighth film) and Michael Goldenberg for taking over. That combination was ultimately not good. While they did managed (at least in part) to transfer the rebellious spirit of the book to the film, it was ultimately cut down to several montages. Awesome montages, don't get me wrong. But it wasn't enough. Several major plot lines were also omitted including Percy's estrangement from the Weasleys and the reappearance of Lockhart. While the Quidditch was also not in the fourth novel and therefore not in the film, it was in the fifth novel, so I don't know why they've decided to skip that. They've skipped Ron's growth as a person and I hate that fact.
The same thing happened to Ginny. She was supposed to be presented as cool and interesting in this one, so that it would've been clear as to why would Harry fall for her in the next film. I'm sure that some people who've seen only the movies were surprised why Harry started liking her.
And one more thing: I hate that they've skipped the chapter after Sirius' death when Harry is in Dumbledore's office breaking his things. It is so emotional and easy to feel empathetic towards Harry. And then Dumbledore tells him a long story about the prophecy. The film reduced the entire chapter to two lines. Two lines??

Harry's interview and his date with Cho Chang were also omitted.
Similarly to the previous film, Dobby was also cut and his storyline, was given to Neville.

This sounds like I hate the movie, which is not true. It's great as a standalone film, but there are too many things missing to make it work as part of the series.




PERSONAL NOTES:
I don't remember buying "OoTP" tbh. It was after the first four, but I don't remember the exact circumstances. It was the second book I've read prior to seeing the film. And I was really excited, but disappointed. I was hoping for a two and a half hour movie, but got only two hours. ( )

Harry não é mais um garoto. Aos 15 anos, continua sofrendo a rejeição dos Dursdley, sua estranhíssima família no mundo dos 'trouxas', ou seja, todos os que não são bruxos. Também continua contando com Rony Weasley e Hermione Granger, seus melhores amigos em Hogwarts, para levar adiante suas investigações e aventuras. Mas o bruxinho começa a sentir e descobrir coisas novas, como o primeiro amor e a sexualidade. Nos volumes anteriores, J. K. Rowling mostrou como Harry foi transformado em celebridade no mundo da magia por ter derrotado, ainda bebê, Voldemort, o todo-poderoso bruxo das trevas que assassinou seus pais. Neste quinto livro da saga, o protagonista, numa crise típica da adolescência, tem ataques de mau humor com a perseguição da imprensa, que o segue por todos os lugares e chega a inventar declarações que nunca deu. Harry vai enfrentar as investidas de Voldemort sem a proteção de Dumbledore, já que o diretor de Hogwarts é afastado da escola. E vai ser sem a ajuda de seu protetor que o jovem herói enfrentará descobertas sobre a personalidade controversa de seu pai, Tiago Potter, e a morte de alguém muito próximo.

Harry não é mais um garoto. Aos 15 anos, continua sofrendo a rejeição dos Dursdley, sua estranha família no mundo dos 'trouxas'. Também continua contando com Rony Weasley e Hermione Granger, seus melhores amigos em Hogwarts, para levar adiante suas investigações e aventuras. Mas o bruxinho começa a sentir e descobrir coisas novas, como o primeiro amor e a sexualidade. Nos volumes anteriores, J. K. Rowling mostrou como Harry foi transformado em celebridade no mundo da magia por ter derrotado, ainda bebê, Voldemort, o todopoderoso bruxo das trevas que assassinou seus pais. Neste quinto livro da saga, o protagonista, numa crise típica da adolescência, tem ataques de mau humor com a perseguição da imprensa, que o segue por todos os lugares e chega a inventar declarações que nunca deu. Harry vai enfrentar as investidas de Voldemort sem a proteção de Dumbledore, já que o diretor de Hogwarts é afastado da escola. E vai ser sem a ajuda de seu protetor que o jovem herói enfrentará descobertas sobre a personalidade controversa de seu pai, Tiago Potter, e a morte de alguém muito próximo.

Harry não é mais um garoto. Aos 15 anos, continua sofrendo a rejeição dos Dursdley, sua estranha família no mundo dos 'trouxas'. Também continua contando com Rony Weasley e Hermione Granger, seus melhores amigos em Hogwarts, para levar adiante suas investigações e aventuras. Mas o bruxinho começa a sentir e descobrir coisas novas, como o primeiro amor e a sexualidade. Nos volumes anteriores, J. K. Rowling mostrou como Harry foi transformado em celebridade no mundo da magia por ter derrotado, ainda bebê, Voldemort, o todopoderoso bruxo das trevas que assassinou seus pais. Neste quinto livro da saga, o protagonista, numa crise típica da adolescência, tem ataques de mau humor com a perseguição da imprensa, que o segue por todos os lugares e chega a inventar declarações que nunca deu. Harry vai enfrentar as investidas de Voldemort sem a proteção de Dumbledore, já que o diretor de Hogwarts é afastado da escola. E vai ser sem a ajuda de seu protetor que o jovem herói enfrentará descobertas sobre a personalidade controversa de seu pai, Tiago Potter, e a morte de alguém muito próximo.

Harry não é mais um garoto. Aos 15 anos, continua sofrendo a rejeição dos Dursdley, sua estranha família no mundo dos 'trouxas'. Também continua contando com Rony Weasley e Hermione Granger, seus melhores amigos em Hogwarts, para levar adiante suas investigações e aventuras. Mas o bruxinho começa a sentir e descobrir coisas novas, como o primeiro amor e a sexualidade. Nos volumes anteriores, J. K. Rowling mostrou como Harry foi transformado em celebridade no mundo da magia por ter derrotado, ainda bebê, Voldemort, o todopoderoso bruxo das trevas que assassinou seus pais. Neste quinto livro da saga, o protagonista, numa crise típica da adolescência, tem ataques de mau humor com a perseguição da imprensa, que o segue por todos os lugares e chega a inventar declarações que nunca deu. Harry vai enfrentar as investidas de Voldemort sem a proteção de Dumbledore, já que o diretor de Hogwarts é afastado da escola. E vai ser sem a ajuda de seu protetor que o jovem herói enfrentará descobertas sobre a personalidade controversa de seu pai, Tiago Potter, e a morte de alguém muito próximo.

Você está compartilhando os pensamentos e emoções do Lorde das Trevas. O diretor acha que é desaconselhável que isto continue a acontecer. E quer que eu lhe ensine como fechar a mente ao Lorde das Trevas.'

Tempos sombrios se abateram sobre Hogwarts. Depois do ataque dos Dementadores ao seu primo Dudley, Harry Potter sabe que Voldemort fará tudo para encontrá-lo. Muitos negam o retorno do Lorde das Trevas, mas Harry não está sozinho: uma ordem secreta se reúne no Largo Grimmauld para fazer frente às forças sombrias. Harry precisa permitir que o professor Snape o ensine a se proteger dos vorazes ataques de Voldemort à sua mente. Mas eles estão ficando cada vez mais fortes, e o tempo de Harry está acabando...

Felt a little long at times but definitely a locked packed into this book. The characters have really developed and are growing into themselves while still dealing with typical teenage relationships and issues ( )

There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it's haunting Harry Potter's dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?

It's not just the upcoming O.W.L. exams; a new teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a venomous, disgruntled house-elf; or even the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Now Harry Potter is faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts.

Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he finds depth and strength in his friends, beyond what even he knew; boundless loyalty; and unbearable sacrifice.

one of the best books of the series, albeit the largest! ( )

I believe that "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is the one of the best entries in the franchise. I love this book and the movie its based on. I believe that people don't give this installment nearly as much as credit as it deserves, and I'll try to explain why I believe so in this review.

The greatest aspect of this book is its mature tone and themes. Now, I know that people may laugh at what I just said, claiming that all Harry Potter books are for children. While I would agree with that opinion if they were talking about the first 2-3 books, I heavily disagree with it with regards to the remaining entries, especially this one. It is much more serious, dark, and depressing than any of the books in this franchise thus far. By the end of the book, Harry's depressed mood isn't completely gone. He's still miserable. He yells at Albus Dumbledore, he storms out of Hagrid's cabin without letting him complete his good-byes, and he wishes nothing for himself but death to end the insane amount of grief he has over Sirius Black's death. At the same time, not every good character is made out to be perfect. As I mentioned in my Prisoner of Azkaban review, I love that they made Black a morally grey character (pun not intended). It is more apparent than ever in this book, where his arrogant younger self (as well as that of James Potter) is revealed, and where his horrible treatment of his slave, Kreacher, is what inadvertently causes his own death. I love the fact that our exceedingly positive views of James and Sirius are put to question, as well as our exceedingly negative views of Severus Snape. The characters don't feel like cartoons anymore. They feel like real people, and I love that.

Yes, this book goes on for quite a long time, but I actually kind of like that. In the first 4 books of this series, practically every single paragraph is important and drags the plot forward. There is very little information contained in any paragraph that doesn't affect the overall story in one way or another. However, this book takes its time. It lets the world, the dialogue, the plot, and the characters soak in. It takes its sweet time describing scenery, and it lets us read these characters engaging in dialogue for quite some time before moving on to the next thing, and that's what makes the pay-offs immensely satisfying in the end. It's a slow-burner, for sure.

I will say, however, that the plot was not perfectly planned by Rowling here. Some things seemed very convenient. The whole section where Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville get cornered by Umbridge in her office and Hermione tricks her into coming to the Forbidden Forest so that she can get attacked by centaurs feels very convenient. A lot of unlikely things happen that help propel it forward. Also, the protagonists have quite a lot of plot armor when fighting the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. Lucius Malfoy orders them to kill everyone but Harry Potter, yet they resort to Stunning spells instead and never take this perfect opportunity to murder them.

With that being said, this is still a fantastic story in my opinion, and I wish more people would give it credit and analyze what it does right instead of simply dismissing it as "the long one." ( )

Fantasy

I liked this one a little more than the previous ones. I can start to see the characters developing, but it's insanely long for no reason. ( )

tl;dr: Why is Dumbledore being so stupid?!

I have read this book, in its entirety, for something between the fifth and tenth time now. It is a brilliant book like all of the others, but it is definitely the most tedious and probably least enjoyable one. The obvious reason for that is the frustrating experience of reading through anything related to Umbridge. (Also, sometimes Snape). ( )

Stellar.

As I've often said, reading the series through the 1st time, Book 5 was my least favorite. I didn't like the teenage angst and the yelling and the whining... but reading it again now (and this was ... perhaps my 3rd time on this book? 4th?), it was quite good.

Yes, there is teenage angst and whining and yelling.. but actually, taking it a little slower and reading what is there and not just trying to tear through the book as fast as humanly possible, I realize that Rowling really did an excellent job of showing 15-year-old proclivities and mentality while also subtly introducing Lord Voldemort's own personality. It was subtle and, on this slower, more involved and in-depth read, quite nicely done.

Not only was I able to get past my original dislike for the UNNECESSARY YELLING ;), but the book is MEATY. mmmm, meaty. There's so much in this book. It moves just fast enough and just slow enough to wrap you nicely up inside that cozy little harry potter blanket.

Very much looking forward to reading Book 6 (which I've only read twice!) and 7 (which I've only read once, at lightning speed!)

And then.... I will watch the entire set of movies, front to back. It's gonna be a good winter... ( )

9/10, what a masterpiece, I might read this again later. ( )