Jayson’s Reviews > Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix > Status Update

Have fun!!!

Aoife - Bookish_Babbling wrote: "Have fun!!!"

Oddly enough, Order of the Phoenix is probably my least favourite of the series. It gets a little long and stretched-out, and Harry's bursts of rage get old fast.

Juho wrote: "Oddly enough, Order of the Phoenix is probably my least favourite of the series. It gets a little long and stretched-out, and Harry's bursts of rage get old fast."

Not so odd, everyone's got their own order of preference with these books. I'm sure there are a good number of people with this at the bottom. I can certainly see the justification for it.

I still haven't read this book. I guess it's because the movie was my least favourite one :3.

Tahera wrote: "I still haven't read this book. I guess it's because the movie was my least favourite one :3."

Well, depending on what you disliked about the movie, I can't really say that the book would be all that much better. Though, I do know that a good portion of the book was cut, since they made a big deal about how the longest book was made into the shortest film. In any case, I think it's worth a read if you're ever so inclined, if anything it might worth it for the very detailed minutiae about the wizarding world it provides.

Those movie title sequences always get me. Just finished Half-Blood. Harry really gets on my last nerve sometimes.

Rebekah wrote: "Those movie title sequences always get me. Just finished Half-Blood. Harry really gets on my last nerve sometimes."

Yeah, Harry can get on your nerves in the fifth and sixth books especially. On the bright side, at least he developed a defined personality, which I think was largely absent until after the fourth book. Granted, it may not have been the personality people were expecting, but at least it's interesting, much more so than the blank reader avatar he was until this point.

Young me would prob have put this among my least faves because it was the longest and I was unable to emphasize with Harry. This me would put it among the higher ones and also defend Harry with tooth and claw.

Maja Ingrid wrote: "Young me would prob have put this among my least faves because it was the longest and I was unable to emphasize with Harry. This me would put it among the higher ones and also defend Harry with too..."

I can see that. I think that may have been the case for me as well the very first time I read the book. I've grown to empathize with him as well. Especially considering that raging hormones in teenagers is essentially equivalent to being high on drugs all the time. I find realistic portrayals of any sort are more uncomfortable for younger readers and more appreciated by older ones.

Jayson wrote: "Maja Ingrid wrote: "Young me would prob have put this among my least faves because it was the longest and I was unable to emphasize with Harry. This me would put it among the higher ones and also d..."

I think that, we also are better at understanding all the trauma and hardship he's been put through and are going through. I think lots of people forget that he still is just 15 at this point and has lots of PTSD to deal with and in this book being told he's a lying brat desperate for attention by the ministry and basically tortured by Umbridge. Even the best and strongest would crack under that load

Maja Ingrid wrote: "I think that, we also are better at understanding all the trauma and hardship he's been put through and are going through. I think lots of people forget that he still is just 15 at this point and h..."

Exactly, context is very important when assessing someone's character. Is his attitude a realistic reaction to the things that happened to him? Absolutely. It all makes sense, and I appreciate logic in books, where actions have consequences.

I've never really paid attention to the title sequences but you raise a good point.

Alexandra Elend Wolf wrote: "I've never really paid attention to the title sequences but you raise a good point."

Thanks, Alexandra :)

This wasn't my favourite when i read these in my youth but i deffo agree with J & Maja amd I think that I'd deffo change my mind if/when i reread them now 😊

Aoife - Bookish_Babbling wrote: "This wasn't my favourite when i read these in my youth but i deffo agree with J & Maja amd I think that I'd deffo change my mind if/when i reread them now 😊"

That's the thing with books, despite being static objects, they change with time. Some books get finer with age, while other books don't age so gracefully. It all depends on personal experience.

So wise 🤩🤓

This has personally always been my favorite in the series so I am curious to see what you think of it in your reread:)

Aoife - Bookish_Babbling wrote: "So wise 🤩🤓"

😁👍

Layla wrote: "This has personally always been my favorite in the series so I am curious to see what you think of it in your reread:)"

Thanks, Layla. I always seem to have a new favorite every reread, so it'll be interesting to see how things pan out after it's all done :)

I’m towards the end of this beast of a book and so far along this reread after every book I thought- ok this one is my favorite. Lol. Still undecided we’ll see

Annie wrote: "I’m towards the end of this beast of a book and so far along this reread after every book I thought- ok this one is my favorite. Lol. Still undecided we’ll see"

Lol. Glad to hear that, Annie! It's definitely a great problem to have :)

Jayson wrote: "Maja Ingrid wrote: "I think that, we also are better at understanding all the trauma and hardship he's been put through and are going through. I think lots of people forget that he still is just 15..."

Some people seem to forget that, yet they are hypocrites: they complain when there's no feelings bc actions have consequences, but when they get the feelings they complain as well (not just talking Harry Potter here).

Maja Ingrid wrote: "Some people seem to forget that, yet they are hypocrites: they complain when there's no feelings bc actions have consequences, but when they get the feelings they complain as well (not just talking..."

Yeah, I know what you're talking about. A lot of the time I think people just like the kinds of books they're accustomed to, and get upset when those things change. With Harry Potter, for example, people are used to Harry being roughly consistent through at least the first three books. Reaction to change is subjective, reaction to art and artistic deviation is certainly subjective, and often spawns negative opinions when people think it should have been done differently or not at all.

Another thing I believe is at play here is the difference between middle-grade and young adult/adult fiction. I'd confidently classify the first three Harry Potter books as middle-grade, and characters don't seem to grow or change appreciably book to book. They do once the fourth book comes along, because it's no longer strictly middle-grade anymore and a more mature readership expects more dynamic character growth. Which goes back to your initial point about being more appreciative of the book when you were older.

Percy Jackson is an example of a series that was middle-grade start to finish, and at least my opinion is that characters didn't change much at all book to book and saving the world every year didn't really affect anyone. Despite aging everyone up every book like Harry Potter did, characters never really grew.

Jayson wrote: "Maja Ingrid wrote: "Some people seem to forget that, yet they are hypocrites: they complain when there's no feelings bc actions have consequences, but when they get the feelings they complain as we..."

As someone who dislike change, I can totally get that. Personally I like how the books changed and matured as the story progressed. It would be odd to read about 16 or 17 year olds fighting a war when it's still on the level as the first book with 11yo's. I've only read the first Percy Jackson books so I can only take your word on it. Character growth is important when a story spans during a long time and we get so see the character grow over the years. No one is the same when they are 11 and when they are 17 no matter how much or little they go through.

I totally get that the later books are more mature and complex and that Harry is suffering from PTSD and the reader should make allowances for that when reading the later books. And even appreciate that he behaves badly. On my first read through the series I was totally enthralled and enchanted. But on this, my second read-through (also probably influenced by the fact that I am listening to the audible versions by Jim Dale) I can't help my visceral reaction to some of Harry's behavior.

Maja Ingrid wrote: "As someone who dislike change, I can totally get that. Personally I like how the books changed and matured as the story progressed. It would be odd to read about 16 or 17 year olds fighting a war w..."

Ultimately it was a really smart decision on Rowling's part to age up the books in tone, and graduate them out of being middle-grade. She could well have continued to write the same kid-centric standalone mystery stories she did for the first three books, but she took a risk by adding a lot of adult characters, complex concepts and emotions into the mix. An it really was a risk, the books being as successful as they were at that point, but it's a gamble that really paid off.

Rebekah wrote: "I totally get that the later books are more mature and complex and that Harry is suffering from PTSD and the reader should make allowances for that when reading the later books. And even appreciate..."

My current read-through is audiobook as well, and I can say that Stephen Fry's narration similarly accentuates Harry being whiny, angry and annoying. For good or bad, you get a more acute sense of the dialogue when it's read out. As always, taste matures, and it's entirely understandable to have a different opinion now than before, especially with a different format.

Jayson wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "I totally get that the later books are more mature and complex and that Harry is suffering from PTSD and the reader should make allowances for that when reading the later books. And..."
I wish I could get the Stephen Frye version, but I'm in the U.S. I have problems with Jim Dale.

Jayson wrote: "Maja Ingrid wrote: "As someone who dislike change, I can totally get that. Personally I like how the books changed and matured as the story progressed. It would be odd to read about 16 or 17 year o..."

Good point.

Rebekah wrote: "I wish I could get the Stephen Frye version, but I'm in the U.S. I have problems with Jim Dale."

It's funny living in Canada, because we get the British version of the books, but the American versions of everything else, like CDs and movies. So, usually you can only get the Jim Dale version of the audiobooks here as well. But for some reason, probably because someone donated it, the British CD audiobooks were at my library, which is why I'm listening to them.

Rebekah wrote: "Jayson wrote: "Maja Ingrid wrote: "As someone who dislike change, I can totally get that. Personally I like how the books changed and matured as the story progressed. It would be odd to read about ..."

Thanks :)