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


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Useless or Not?

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Micaela It seems to me like everyone always says that this book is useless and that it really doesn't have to do with the story of Harry Potter. But if you think about it they are preparing to fight, and they are saying that the war is just starting. What do you think useless or not.


Storm I don't think it was useless at all. We found out a lot of information about the Order as well as more information on the connection between Harry and Voldemort. I think each book in the series had it's place.


Kate For me it's the opposite. It's my least favourite but it lays so much groundwork for the final battle and everything else.


Oderah Lots of people find this book exciting, but I think it is the most boring. But I guess it is important because it shows what everyone is doing. Like the Order, and what the Ministry thinks of what is happening at Hogwarts. And you guys are right, it does kind of prepare everyone for the upcoming battles because of Voldemorts return.


message 5: by Jen (new) - rated it 5 stars

Jen My least favorite one of the 7...but I wouldn't call it useless.


Christina This is my least favourite, I think - although I still thought it was amazing - but I don't think you can call anything in any of the Harry Potter books useless. Everything that is written is important. For example, the parts about Mrs Figg in the beginning books become important in OoTP, because we suddenly find out that Mrs Figg is in fact a member of the Order. That's one of the things that I love most about JKR's style of writing, apart from the subtle humour she uses, is that everything has significance, every detail is well-thought out. It's incredible, really.


Micaela Thats what i tell people but they still think that it is useless


message 8: by Angela (last edited Dec 18, 2011 12:37PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Angela This book was certainly not useless in the series. Though it was another year at Hogwarts, it was the beginning of the new war. Hogwarts students started taking their place in the new war with Dumbledore's Army and the Dept of Mysteries. We saw the hysteria and government cover-ups of the beginning war. Also the ministry's fear of Dumbledore and abusing the school system with placing Umbridge in charge. There was also plenty of background info and just setting the grounds for the upcoming books. I know many people dislike CAPSLOCK angry Harry, but this book also shows some growth on his character taking a new role as teacher (for the DA) and leader in the upcoming fight, while struggling with his connections with Voldemort.


Sofia I don't think this book is useless. Actually it's one of my favourites from all.
We get to learn many things in this book (about Harry, about Voldemort, about the ministry...)
How can it be considered useless?
*shakes head*


B-zee Perhaps they thought so because it didn't end as the past books. They usually end with Harry came home and then another story, but this book had specific connection with the next books, with no 'real' ending.


Sandy I wouldn't call it useless at all. We learned so much that is vital to the series. We learned why Voldemort targeted Harry, about the Order, we got to see a bit of why Snape hates Harry, we learned about what happened to Neville's parents, about the prophecy, we meet Luna who's father we meet in book 7 which helped with learning about the Hallows. This book actually had a lot of character development for minor/side characters as well as setting up for the rest of the series.


Ivana O.O This book is my favorite of all seven. There was Grimmauld Place, which will later become Harry's home, the Order of the Phoenix, so many new character (including Remus' future wife), there was D.A. , and so many other things I adore about this book. This is the first book where Neville becomes a major character! And we meet Luna, and get to know Ginny much better. Plus, Umbridge was definitely the worst Defense against the dark arts professor we got to know up close.


message 13: by Kim (last edited Dec 21, 2011 11:35PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Kim I haven't finished the series yet, but I loved this one. It was their stepping stone into adulthood, and things are pulling together.


Rhianna Useless? This book is all about the prophecy!


Andrea I loved this book! Probably my second favourite, actually. I think it was great for world-building -- you really saw how big the wizarding world was, and what the stakes would be if/when the war came. It made you see how, for Harry, it would be about more than just avenging his parent's death -- that there was a whole world to save. I don't know, this for me was when I REALLY started to care about this series, and it was more than just a bunch of fun adventure books, you know? So not useless at all, I don't think. :)


message 16: by J.J. (new) - rated it 4 stars

J.J. I loved this book especially for the details that may not have necessarily advanced the plot. The minor characters made it for me--that, and the introduction of some very grown-up themes. It was my favorite of the whole series.


Ciara NOT!!! This book was just amazing. Not just amazing, it was fantastic. Every little detail leads up to the final book, the Deathly Hallows, and this book includes some pretty amazing moments...
1. Sirius's death
2. Harry (and Hermoine) starting DA.
3. Fred and George's antics!
4. Ron starts Quidditch!
5. Theres the whole romance between Lavender and Ron,and Hermoine becomes really jealous.
6. The prophecy.
The list goes on and on...I love this book!


message 18: by Greg (new) - rated it 5 stars

Greg This book is certainly not useless, it's quite important in the scheme of the series. However, I find it the hardest to read. It the longest in the series (not something that makes it bad) and has Harry at his worst. He grated on my nerves and generally annoyed me the for a good 600 pages. The lack of Dumbledore and Sirius's moodiness didn't help either.


george ☽ This book is not useless, though I didnt enjoy it as much as i did the rest...


Janice Harry faces a lot of challenges in this book (adolesence, Umbridge, the Ministry lies, Sirius's death) and comes out much stronger as a result. He channels his anger and frustration with Umbridge and the Ministry into something good...the DA and as a result he finds a positive way of coping with his anger.

So far from being a waste, I think Harry did a lot of necessary growing up in this book.


message 21: by Rose (new) - rated it 5 stars

Rose This was my favourite one!! It had it's importance in giving information about Harry and Voldemort, as well as bridging the gap between Voldemort's resurrection and the war that takes up the last 2 books. Plus, I think it was important to have a book where nearly everyone was really against Harry just because otherwise he'd have spent the whole series being a perfect hero, and it would have been to easy. Plus, Umbridge is a brilliant character (evil, and nasty, but brilliant).


Cierra I think this book was just fantastic. I actually just re read it a few months ago and it invoked so many emotions for me. I thik this is the book where they are all finally starting to turn into young adults...not that they were childish before but they're just maturing more in life. Plus...Luna Lovegood is my all time favorite character.


BubblesTheMonkey I do not conclude that any of the books are useless. I equally love them all.


message 24: by [deleted user] (new)

I think absolutely no Harry Potter book is useless..... They all teach me important lessons and they could make 50 more Harry Potter books just of every day of Harry Potters life and I would absolutely love it. Also, this book was very important because Harry lost the closet thing to his family he had- Siruis. It also showed how mad Harry can get and how strong voldemort is getting as he gets into Harrys mind.


Susan Absolutely not a useless book. It sets the tone for books 6 and 7, and shows how insidious fear can be in a society. No one outside the Order wanted to believe that Voldemort had returned, and they didn't, until irrefutable proof smacked them in the face. Harry's eyewitness account wasn't enough; they had to have someone else see Voldemort before they'd believe it.


message 26: by Kim (new) - rated it 5 stars

Kim The 5th book was the turning point in the series. This was the "stuff just got real" book that set up a reality of the government and Voldermort's return that continued into the final book. Without it so many things would never be understood, and the atmosphere wouldn't be developed enough for it to be a good world. It was my favorite book in the series for so many reasons, but it was pivotal for Harry to choose a side against the government and for the people.


Peter I always find this book to be an interesting point with Harry Potter fans. For many fans this is their least favorite book. To me there is some irony with this. This is probably the best written of the Harry Potter books. This books captures what it is to be a whiney selfish teenage boy.

To me the problem with the later books is it seems like her publisher told her more action less character. Becuase her writing really go flat after this book.


Tehemamma Kim wrote: "The 5th book was the turning point in the series. This was the "stuff just got real" book that set up a reality of the government and Voldermort's return that continued into the final book. Without..."

I agree with a lot of what you said. I'm a bit surprised that it's your favorite book, but I respect and understand why. I just found the book very hard to read because of how much I cared about Harry by the time I got to it. However, I would never classify it as useless because of the reasons you stated.


Micaela Okay ya my one friend who thought it was useless now thinks otherwise so you dan't have to comment anymore unless you really want to.


message 30: by Hazel (last edited Jan 14, 2012 04:46PM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Hazel The order of the phoenix wasn't useless. The Half Blood Prince, however, was utterly pointless...




Sanne ♔ the fifth book was not useless! :)


message 32: by Mel (new) - rated it 5 stars

Mel (Daily Prophecy) It's one of my favorite books, so for me, it wasn't useless at all.


message 33: by [deleted user] (new)

ok, to be honest, it is hard to say. I read all 7 books in german, twice or more times in english and am now reading them in spanish. I have to admit, there are some pages in that book I just HAD TO LEAVE OUT. (when Hagrid shows introduces Grawp)
So, most of us agree that the fifth is our least favorite one, BUT
1. it is part of the story, so there is no way it can be useless.
2. it is not useless, on the contrary it is THE most important book of all, because there is much information we need to fully understand the greater picture.
3. Yes, it is a hard read, because (in my opinion) it is a little bit too much information, and the topics she puts in there are all sensitive and complex.


message 34: by [deleted user] (new)

Actually, this book was one of my favorites. I really felt emotional during this one like Harry felt. I felt I could really connect in this book, though that meant I was a bit grouchy during the process! After Deathly Hallows and Prisoner of Azkaban, this is my favorite.


Amanda I've never actually heard anyone say that before. I def don't think any of the HP books are irrelevant. I actually think this is one of the more relevant ones. Def not useless!


message 36: by [deleted user] (new)

did drag on a little, but everything was important in the story


Tammy This is my favorite one in the series! So, no I do not think it is useless :)


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