Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling

Published by: Scholastic
Released: August 10, 2004 (1st edition published June 2003)
Genre: Middle Grade Children’s Fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 870

Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His best friends Ron and Hermione have been very secretive all summer and he is desperate to get back to school and find out what has been going on. However, what Harry discovers is far more devastating than he could ever have expected…

Suspense, secrets and thrilling action from the pen of J.K. Rowling ensure an electrifying adventure that is impossible to put down.

First things first, I thought this book was entirely too long. I understand this is a fan favorite for many people and I think the hype got in the way of my reading experience. All I ever used to hear was how many people adore Order of the Phoenix and how much they despise Umbridge and that she is just the worst person you could ever hate (and she is, but I expected worse). However, I still had a great time reading this book even though it took me way longer than all the other books have taken me. It may have been my lack of motivation to read or the book itself…I have no idea but I still did enjoy this book. Though I did have a few problems with it.

The characters

First of all, I didn’t not care for Harry in this book. It drove me crazy how moody he was and how he let his pride get in the way of what I thought was the right thing to do. For example, why the heck did he not go to Dumbledore or McGonagall when Umbridge was straight out torturing him in detentions?! If he would have just set aside his pride and hurt feelings over Dumbledore keeping him in the dark during the summer he could have outed her absurd teaching methods. My god, Harry get over yourself! Plus, he was making me so mad that he didn’t go back to Snape to resume his Occlumency lessons. Again, his pride. On top of that, he was so moody in the beginning! I get it he was feeling hurt because everyone was together and no one had told him what was going on with Voldemort or they were being extremely vague in their letters, but he kept snapping at everyone! He’s a 15 year old and I admire Jo for showing his teenage moodswings, but goodness he made it hard not to want to shake him a few times. Other than that, I still love Harry. I thought most of his actions and feelings were completely justified and my heart broke with his at the ending.

Now, Hermione. My oh my, Hermione was my least favorite in this book. I have always loved Hermione even though she was a know-it-all because she was still likable in my opinion, however in this book I could not stand her attitude! Okay that’s a little harsh but she really bothered me. All her nagging were completely overboard and I just wish she would get a grip. I hated how much grief she gave over Sirius or how reckless she thought he was being when he just feeling lonely, or her attitude towards people who didn’t share her empathy towards Kreacher. She just had such an awful attitude this time around and I didn’t always like her.

I really enjoyed the fact that we got to see more minor characters this go around. We finally got to see a little bit more Ginny (I was wondering why so many love her when for me she has just be meh) and Neville! I absolutely love Neville and I am so happy we are seeing him grow. But Luna has to be my absolute favorite. I have always loved Luna from the movies and I knew I would like her in the books and I was 100% correct. She is quirky and adorable, how can you not love her?!

Also, I am really sad to have to see the twins go. I don’t know how Hogwarts is going to feel without them wrecking havoc! I miss them already!

Umbridge, on the other hand, surprised me. I didn’t expect for her to be a little underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, I was completely annoyed by her and I thought if I had to read her interrupting “hem hem” one more time I would have thrown my book, but because so many hate her and go on and on how she is the worst possible character, I expected a bit more. Though I did still hate her way more than Voldemort, I admit.

Oh and Snape! Gah Snape. It really bothers me how much he bullies Harry even though he knows exactly what it is like to be bullied and humiliated in front of everyone. I don’t care if you are trying to save face, it doesn’t give you any right. I don’t feel sorry that he was bullied by Harry’s dad at all. Being bullied is supposed to give you insight on how it feels and how not to treat others because you know what it feels like, it’s not to make you vengeful.

I won’t discuss it, but the whole Percy thing makes me sad. I have always disliked Percy but seeing how he treats his family and how that makes them feel in return just breaks my heart.

The plot

Though a rather slow at times, the plot in this book really took the story in a whole new direction. I was completely engrossed in the story of the prophecy and can’t wait to take a closer look into the connection between Harry and Lord Thingy. 😉 Seeing as Harry and Voldy can how get glimpses from the other will be interesting.

It was also really cool to see the coming together of the Order and how they are all rallying against Voldy.

Because this is starting to sound like I didn’t like this book I am going to quickly bullet point some awesome things I enjoyed:

• McGonagall’s sass. I loved how she would just put Umbridge in her place!
• Ron making the Quidditch team and his nervousness to do well in the game. He was so adorable 🙂 Oh and that he actually made Prefect! Everyone thought it would be Harry (myself included) and he was so shocked that it was actually him. It was so nice to see Harry put his little jealousy aside and actually be happy for his best bud.
• The Order of the Phoenix and how it was building back up against Voldy.
• Harry and his friends naming their little group Dumbledore’s Army just to take a stab at the Ministry :p
• Seeing how crooked the Ministry of Magic is.
• The prophecy!
• Nymphadora Tonks! Absolutely loved her and her changing hair colors 😍
• Sirius’s protection over Harry
• How after Sirius…you know. Everyone in the Order got together to threaten the Dursleys. 😥
  It was almost like they got together for Sirius to make sure Harry was taken care of. Oh my god, I am tearing up again just thinking about it! 😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔

 

Conclusion

This review may sound like a bit negative, but I still loved it. I can’t not love a Harry Potter book because they are so magical and captivating. The writing is fantastic. The story is fantastic and bringing the stepping stones to a great story’s end. I missed all our beloved characters and seeing them mature is such a nice sight. I honestly can’t wait to read more, even though that ending killed me into a million pieces. I seriously had to walk away from my book because I was crying so much and I just couldn’t deal. I was terrified to read Harry’s reaction to Snuffles. I hate it even though I knew it was coming.

Actual rating 4.8