As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It's been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero's non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief... or will it?

The fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series follows the darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a peg or three after the events of last year. Somehow, over the summer, gossip (usually traced back to the magic world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet) has turned Harry's tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and discount the teen. Even Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of the school, has come under scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic, which refuses to officially acknowledge the terrifying truth that Voldemort is back. Enter a particularly loathsome new character: the toadlike and simpering ("hem, hem") Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, who takes over the vacant position of Defense Against Dark Arts teacher--and in no time manages to become the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, as well. Life isn't getting any easier for Harry Potter. With an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their Ordinary Wizarding Levels examinations (O.W.Ls), devastating changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team lineup, vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors, and increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar, Harry's resilience is sorely tested.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I was rather disappointed by this book, as the ending did not surprise me much, unlike the previous books. For anybody who has read the previous books, he/she should have easily guessed the prophecy - wasn't it the pounding point in the previous four books?! Overall, I feel that it was a winded way to deliver a simple prophecy that all of us knew before reading the book.

On a separate note, Rowling portrayed Harry's in a more angry tone than a lot of us have gone through in our adolescence. Such anger, lack of deliberation, and endless rash decisions make one wonder whether Harry does possess what Dumbledore said that Harry has in abundance. I found that quite unconvincing.

Additionally, I found that Rowling overemphasized the heroism in Harry and failed to give due credits to Hermione and others for their loyalty and teamwork. For example, Hermione continued to amaze me with her knowledge and skills, and without her, Harry might not have bothered with Daily Prophet and a lot of other sources. I would think that by cutting down on Harry's self-pity and developing other characters more, Rowling would have made the book much more intriguing.

Worth the wait, and a re-reading

This latest volume in the Harry Potter series is well written, clever, and approaches profundity. The author dives in depths only hinted at in the third and fourth books. All of the adolescent characters have matured in a believably awkward way. Harry's feud with the new Defence Against Dark Arts teacher is suggestive of the bureaucratic hubris and petty tyranny that vex us Muggles, too. She is very much the book's real villian, loathsome and power-hungry, but in a scarily mundane way. This Harry Potter, unlike the others, is complex and difficult. The protagonists are often unsympathetic, (am I the only one who keeps liking Snape more and more?) surly, and foolish. It's hard to see the sweet brave orphan of the first book in this one's insufferable teenager. The book's only disappointments are Dumbledore's post-climactic explanation of events and a certain lack of emotional depth regarding Harry's relationship with the character-who-dies. This is Order of the Phoenix's emotional zenith, however, and merits careful reading.

Can't wait for the movie...

I'm a huge fan of the horror genre and am a huge King fanatic, but I couldn't resist reading this book after seeing the Third film. I'm 17 and I found unbelievable that these books are aimed at 9-12 yr olds. The vocabulary is fantasic and Ms Rowling is quite an inticing writer.
I should have read the fourth book first, that's a little advice for the rest of ye, because now I know the general outcome of that book - so I think I'll wait for the fourth film rather than read it.
Anyway, being such a huge King fan, I can't help comparing different writers to him. He is - to me - the best writer in the world, just just at horror but at everything, and I found J.K Rowling right up his alley. She's brilliant, the book's brilliant, cant wait for the film!!! :-)