A Book Review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

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In his fifth year at Hogwart's, Harry faces challenges at every turn, from the dark threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the unreliability of the government of the magical world to the rise of Ron Weasley as the keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Along the way, he learns about the strength of his friends, the fierceness of his enemies, and the meaning of sacrifice.

Series: Harry Potter (Book 5)
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (September 1, 2004)
Page Count: 896 pages

This was my favorite movie of the series so I was excited to read this book and see the source of my favorite of the Harry Potter films!


The Plot: The plot moves a lot slower than the film. Montages in the film worked a lot better than the drawn out sequences in the book. As like the other books I liked seeing details the movies had to leave out such as more expansion on occlumency and legilimency.
I still like this book the most because things are really heating up for the Wizarding World. We also get to see more about the Wizarding World’s politics. The ministry is desperate to stay in denial about Voldemort and inadvertently is causing more self-destruction. It’s a neat allegory about the government meddling too much. 

The Characters: Harry really goes through the ringer in this book. He’s dealing with the aftermath of the Goblet of Fire and survivor’s guilt. He’s also a target for the ministry since he refuses to say that Voldemort isn’t back. It’s interesting and sad how he lets himself be punished for his speaking out when he’s really letting himself be punished for failing Cedric. Also, him learning that his father was not quite the person believed him to be. Basically, everything Harry loves about Hogwarts crumbles around him.

I love that Luna is in! I really like her character and how she bonds with Harry. She’s someone who understands his pain.

UGH UMBRIDGE! I HATE THIS WOMAN SO MUCH BUT SHE’S WRITTEN SUPER WELL. So as a writer I say she’s an excellent villain as a reader I want to stab her in the eye with a fork—or that sadistic quill.

Another thing the book expands on that the movie doesn't is Percy Weasley. He’s a traitorous little squid who values his reputation more than family and the right thing. 

The Setting: Because of Harry’s court date we finally get to go into the Ministry of Magic which is quirky just like the rest of the Wizarding World. I love the memos!

Epic Things: I love the thestrels. They’re such cool creatures! Also everything about Dumbledore’s army. I loved seeing everyone’s patronus. Hermione’s fits her so well!

The Theme: A big one is guilt since Harry deals with it throughout the book.

Content Cautions: There’s not too much content in this one. There some violence and torture via that expletive quill. There’s also four uses of d*** and two uses of h***.

What We Can Take Away For Our Writing:

Not Succumbing to the Super Common Villain Threat - When Harry gets a hold of the prophecy the Death Eaters threaten to kill his friends if he doesn’t hand it over, but Harry just retorts with “You’ll just kill them anyway.” THANK YOU! This happens so many times where the protagonist hands over the thing or does the whatever and the bad guy then just kills whoever and wins to boot. It’s nice to see this trope kicked in the pants.

How this can be applied to writing: Avoid this trope if possible.

Conclusion: Overall I enjoyed this book though actually not as much as the movie. 

About the Author:

J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in the summer of 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London to work at Amnesty International, doing research into human rights abuses in Francophone Africa. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a Manchester to London King's Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing the first novel. Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1993. When her marriage ended, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where "Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone" was eventually completed and in 1996 she received an offer of publication. The following summer the world was introduced to Harry Potter."Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in June 1997 and was published as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in America by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in September 1998.The second title in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was published in July 1998 (June 2, 1999 in America) and was No. 1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts for a month after publication. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was published on 8th July 1999 (September 8, 1999 in America) to worldwide acclaim and massive press attention. 

The book spent four weeks at No.1 in the adult hardback bestseller charts, while "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" simultaneously topped the paperback charts. In the US the first three Harry Potter books occupied the top three spots on numerous adult bestseller lists.The fourth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia 8th July 2000 with a record first print run of 1 million copies for the UK and 3.8 million for the US. It quickly broke all records for the greatest number of books sold on the first weekend of publication. The fifth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," was published in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia on 21st June 2003. Published in paperback on 10th July 2004, it is the longest in the series - 766 pages - and broke the records set by "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire" as the fastest selling book in history. The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was published in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries on 16th July 2005 and also achieved record sales.The seventh and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published in the UK, US and other English speaking countries on 21st July 2007. The book is the fastest selling book in the UK and USA and sales have contributed to breaking the 375 million copies mark worldwide.J K Rowling has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of Harry's school books within the novels. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through The Ages" were published by Bloomsbury Children's Books and Scholastic in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. The Harry Potter books have sold 400 million copies worldwide. They are distributed in over 200 territories and are translated into 67 languages. Find her on her website and Twitter!

Other Books by this Author I've Reviewed:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire