From the Bookshelf of Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry .…

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

J.K. Rowling,

Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)

Discussion leader: Jasmine

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Nov 24, 2011 Louise Metierre rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, now-a-major-motion-picture, series-i-really-love, books-2009

..and the thickest of them all

I discovered on reading it all made a bit more sense to me, and what bugged me before about the book was part of what made it truly amazing. Throughout this book I was completely at the mercy of J.K. Rowling's writing ability as she took me on a roller coaster of human emotions. I laughed out loud and was tied into wicked little knots. I was surprised and unnerved, and I loved every minute of it.

Don’t get me wrong. I wanted to rip pages out of this book (gasp). ..and the thickest of them all

I discovered on reading it all made a bit more sense to me, and what bugged me before about the book was part of what made it truly amazing. Throughout this book I was completely at the mercy of J.K. Rowling's writing ability as she took me on a roller coaster of human emotions. I laughed out loud and was tied into wicked little knots. I was surprised and unnerved, and I loved every minute of it.

Don’t get me wrong. I wanted to rip pages out of this book (gasp). There are parts of this book that are extremely frustrating but they are vital to the plot and while they grated at me so completely, the book would not have been half of what it was without them.

Harry is your typical whiny, volatile teenager. I mean, I understand that he just saw a boy killed and the Dark Lord restored to power, but you’d think he could still manage a little civility towards his friends and family. He’s moody, irritable, and sometimes just plain annoying, though it turns out he has a very good reason that you don't fully understand till the end.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the book is one of J.K. Rowlings best characters ever – Dolores Jane Umbridge. She is a loathsome, horrific, undeniably misled, and unbelievably aggravating character who is exceptionally well written--so well written in fact that I wanted to crawl into the story and claw her eyes out. I. HATED. HER. Having to read about Umbridge and her insanity throughout the book was enough to make me want to throw the book across the room. The only thing that kept me reading (other than, well, faith in J.K. Rowling) was a strong desire to see her get her comeuppance.

This book allowed me to see more of the intentional flaws in all the characters – Mrs. Weasley’s fears, Hermione’s torrential temper during O.W.L.S., Ron’s inability to overcome his Quidditch insecurities, and Harry’s emerging darkness and deepest fears. It made them more real as characters and ultimately even more likeable. My husband pointed out, and I agree, that one of the best things about this book was that it was the first time where so many characters worked together in the end, actually applying what they had learned at Hogwarts. It was no longer Harry alone. He had people by his side, fighting with him, and it was marvelous!

...more

Like · see review