Book Five Review Thread

[Morgoth]

Post your reviews here.

[Loz]

Okay, well it's all been read, all 700 and 66 pages of it, and all in the space of a day. Non-stop. ;)

I liked it. I really liked it. I have never experienced a journey so emotional and fantastic in all my life. It was an emotional rollercoaster to be sure, and on many occasions there was the resounding feeling that this was the best book ever written. However, I now that I've read the whole thing, and mused, and throught, and sworn - effing loudly - that CoS has been closed (what kind of stupid idea was that? lol) - I have to tell you, PoA remains my favourite in the HP series so far.

Don't get my wrong, I am not about to say "she's losing her touch" or "did those three years harm her writing" because that is both conceited and extremely pompous, and I will no doubtless be getting extremely angry at some within the next few weeks who will dislike the novel. There are, however, some grievances I hold with OotP, and these must be aired, for my sanity's sake.

I think, perhaps, some people were expecting too much. I think there was too much hype, and that some people were holding their breath for too long. I am, I also think, one of those people. I strongly believe coming here to CoS has tainted me. Suddenly I was witness to a thousand different theories and it, for lack of a better word, disillusioned me. Suddenly, over the past few months, I had come to believe things, to hypothesise things I had never thought of before. No doubt reading and writing fanfiction was a major contender in this feeling. Throughout the novel I saw connections with fanfiction, none less but a very strong one with mine. How can a novel with this much speculation ever live up to the impossibly high standards chucked at it? Really - OotP holds up extraordinarily well under such scrutiny.

I also think, though, that despite having waited so long, despite expecting too much, the book was just too long. There was too much information in the one novel, and it is starting to jostle for space within a brain that already had some preconceived notions. The amount of information about the HP world we are presented with is phenomenal, connections we had never thought of become strangely clear, and characters we had often thought of in one light get cast in another. Whilst, on the whole, I liked this, I maintain that it was all too much for one novel.

The pace was also not nearly as well ordered as it has been in the other novels, it was highly erratic in fact, the beginning and end are extremely slow whereas a whole year seems to fly by within 10 chapters (out of 38 chapters, that's pretty quickly). Now - I suffer, a GREAT deal from this horrible curse as well, it is inherent in needing to display some information and elaborate on some issues, but in condensing a whole year into a book that can technically be read in one day. The only way I can offer any solution is that great vast amounts of information and characterisation I highly enjoyed could have been cut, or squashed at least.

The plot, whilst all coming together in the end, was not quite as logical or really plot-like as it could have been. Whilst it was a journey, it was not the Hero's journey, that we visit in the other Harry Potter novels, and whilst that strengthens the novel, in my eyes, in some areas, it weakens it in others.

Whilst in many ways OotP is too little unlike its predecessors, in other ways, it is too like them. Umbridge, for instance, was in my mind, a little too evil. She was a thoroughly despisable character, and I highly enjoyed conjuring up ways to maim or kill her, but she detracted, in general, from the other despisable characters.

This comes directly from having come to CoS and thought about him too much, but, Draco... it appears, holds as much chance of being redeemed as his father, and this makes me feel slighly annoyed. He was completely unlikeable in this novel, in every way. In previous novels, whilst a snivelly little git, he was also quite funny, and there was a distinct hope in him changing before the series is through. He was neither funny, and he had changed, most definitely, for the worse. This horrible curse of making the Slytherins pure evil strongly detracts from the 'we must stand united' song the Sorting Hat sings.

Sirius's death. Whilst moving in the subsequent chapters, I'll admit, simply was not quite clear enough. I wasn't entirely sure how he died, and believe me, even found myself wondering if his was the death of an important main character. His falling through the curtain, i'm sure she'll explain it more next time, but there was something not quite so heart-wrenching about it. I was more moved by Cedric to tell you the truth. In fact, in some ways I had grown to dislike Sirius so much, I was glad he was the one who died. I feel bad saying this on the one hand, because I also did like his character, but I love other characters... and I never loved Sirius. This is perhaps a fault inherent in me, rather than JKR, and believe me - I did cry! I just... I just... I just can't express it in real words, in words you could understand.

Okay - well, I think I've gone on enough about the faults of OotP... how about the strengths? I have admitted I like the novel a great deal.


To start off - Harry. Angry Harry. I liked him. I did. Finally we got to see some emotions stirring in the unusually calm boy's depths, and most of it was destructive. The teenage boy i'm-so-angry-at-the-world-I-wanna-scream was just working for me. I liked his new outspokeness, I enjoyed his ranting and raving, and it was nice to know the little soldier was painfully human. The way he was goading, Dudley, for example was just a brilliant illustration of Harry's mentality. At that moment he was so real you could touch him. Awww, come here, Harry, give me a hug. I do, of course worry that he could become a little... shall we say... dark, but somehow I think JKR will combat this with Harry's constant discourse during this next summer with the Order.

Which brings me to the Order. I loved some of the new characters so much. Tonks, especially, was totally cool. Kingsley Shacklebolt was too, and I am sure we'll be seeing more of him. What can I say about Mundungus? Well - he had my favourite line of the whole novel - "S'up Figgy?". I was rolling in laughter for quite a while with that one. Kreacher showed us a whole new side to House-Elves... he was really, and I mean REALLY creepy.

Neville! What can I say? I've been a Neville fan from the start, and I was never happier than to see this gorgeous little tike start proving himself. It was interesting to see how closely connected Harry and he are now, I was right to pay him so much attention I see. Neville, I think, will really start to develop within the next 2 novels.

Ginny and the other Weasleys. The way this family progressed pleased me immensely. Go Ron for becoming a prefect and making the Quidditch team. Go Ginny for making the Quidditch team and finally showing some of the spunk and interesting character we've been waiting for for years. Go Fred and George for being absolute mayhem makers and inventing such cool things. But Percy... how could you? Oh well. You will pay, I bet. I can see this becoming very interesting in the next book.

The characterisation on a whole, and the development was a delight, it was good to see characters grow up. I strongly believe some of the characters needed some of the time and energy that was put into others, though. I am hoping this will happen in the next two.

Okay - I loved, loved, loved the flying aeroplane memos. This is a small thing, I know, but I just loved it. Those small
details like that, they are what makes Harry Potter so enjoyable.

The sorting hat song was just brilliant. I've never been more impressed with a hat in all my life. Or with a writer, actually, LOL.

The marauders. It was nice to see that JKR did not, for once, show them as being good, nice little boys to be worshipped. It was slightly shocking how horrible she made them actually. This is partly responsible for making me not so upset it was Sirius... I commend JKR for showing us that it is not simply a case of black and white, or green and gold as the case may be, but a nasty big gloop that could mean anything. I do think she will have to let Harry see the Marauders older and wiser, though, I really do. I liked how it affected him to see his father as conceited little twerp, I think it did his ego a world of good, and it opened pathways into him and Snape having a somewhat interesting discourse in future.

Okay - so this is the place for the 'good' side of OotP not being an identicat of the others. It was at least refreshing to see that JKR had opted for a different style this time, I was worried it could get stale. Whilst in some ways it was bad the book was so different, in others, it was brilliant. It reflected the turmoil of growing up.

The humour in general was above par, and the way it interplayed with the drama was extremely intense and exciting.

All in all, I found reading OotP incredibly rewarding, and wouldn't give this experience up for the world. I will stand by the novel if others pan it, I will vigourously defend my theories and my thoughts. I think it was well worth the wait, really. After all, what is literature but a history recounted so that we may discuss it? OotP will be discussed for quite some time yet. I am, however, going to make a concerned effort not to go quite as psycho over the next one. Green Flame Torch? But perhaps the book won't take 3 years - so I won't have as much time to stew.

[Flames]

I'll keep it simple:
Beautifully suspenseful, completely unpredictable, and satisfying without being complete. The death sucked, the whole book seemed unreal, and I'm still in an effing daze. I'm not quite sure what to think, other than that it was awesome -- in both a good and bad way. Some things you may have seen coming may have come, but definitely not the way you expected it.

[dumbleedore]

Well, I must say this first.

For the first few chapters, I was not enjoying it at all. It was too different to what I knew as a HP book.

But opening it for a second time, with the excitment to find out what happens gone, I enjoyed it.

This is a much more layered novel and it starts off with such a great bang, unlike the first 4 which just ease slowly into the story.

For the first half, though, I felt the humour was lacking. Well, until Dumbledore left the school and the twins let loose.

That Umbridge woman... I'm torn... I hate her but in some strange way I like her *dodges more books*. But taking Harry off the Quidditch team was wrong. Dead wrong, although we may get a Ginny storyline from it.

And speaking of Ginny, JK developed her a bit more than just Ron's sister. The two boyfriends for a start. But that's a different rant.

The Cho/Harry storyline felt tacked on and Cho seemed like a tap in dire need of a plumber. I can understand, but puh-lease!

I was expecting more Ron/Hermione stuff than just becoming prefects. Next book...

And as for the death and the ending... I won't go there yet. Let me finish it for a 2nd time and then i'll tell you what I thought...

[marspeach]

I don't have time for a long post because I have to leave soon. I'll do that later. One thing I really want to say that disappointed me was in the Sorting Hat's new song. He said that Ravenclaw were the smart ones, Gryffindor were the brave, and Slytherin were ambitious, as usual. But he just said Hufflepuff were the others. So Hufflepuff are really just leftovers? I would feel bad to be in Hufflepuff then. I thought they were loyal and hard workers? This just made me a little sad. I'm weird.

[hermiones mum]

Got the book at 8am and finished it at 7pm - re-read it again the next day making notes this time.

I enjoyed the Demented Dudley the world of magic is encrouching on Little Whinging..
Harry just seemed to snarl at everyone through the book and I was beginning to lose empathy with him, until Dumbledore revealed a bit of his fate. disappointed there will it ever be revealed las!
I was more upset over cedrics death in book 4 rather than Sirius. Lupin again came out as the nice guy.
not the best book, as I am still left wanting more and felt some parts of the book had a gap between the times they were written.

[Tarawyn]

Marspeach, I don't think that was what the hat was trying to say - more was that Hufflepuff (the person) was willing to teach anyone, and the people who came to her were the people who were unbiased as she was. So it's not the same in essence.

Back on topic. The beginning of the book was a little choppy - not because it wasn't as usual (I didn't notice that until later), but because so much action was piled up and there wasn't much time for me to digest it. Action from the first chapter isn't something I expect. Tension, yes, but not action. I got used to it as the book went on and I was more interested in the action, though.

Also, I don't think that Dumbledore's explanation-at-the-end worked as well as it could have. Voldemort was an anticlimax and I was paying about as much attention as Harry to what was being said. So much had happened that what was being said should have mattered, but didn't. It works better on a reread...

Last complaint is, again, that the climax was like an anti-climax. Voldemort's appearence was like a cameo. Too much else was going on and not enough emphasis was put on it for it to work very well.

Otherwise? The book was excellent. The smaller bits were interesting and folded into themselves, a definite improvement from the last. Rowling's developments were amazing. Characters were interesting, ideas were well-refined...it's a great book, even if it's not flawless.

[Jerkwater]

I liked the book a great deal. PoA and GoF are still tied as my favorites, but this one comes in right behind. The beginning, with revalations that there may be more to Petunia than we thought, and the Order and Ron becoming a prefect kept me turning the pages. I also GREATLY enjoyed the entire span of the book that takes place at Hogwarts. Umbridge was awful, but she did seem to succeed in bringing the houses of the school (besides Slytherin) together - united against her, houses and teachers and students alike, just as the Sorting Hat had advised. The formation of Dumbledore's Army was great, and I did not have a problem with Cho and Harry's relationship. Grawp seemed a bit tacked on to me, but his usefulness came through at the end.

The final, climactic scence in the Ministry of Magic is what let me down the most. It was action-packed, and it had the classic "Here comes the cavalry" feel when the Order showed up to bail out Dumbledore's Army. Still, I wasn't terribly impressed with this scene. It felt slightly rushed to me.

Sirius's death... Well, when I realized that he was gone, I was very pleased. Not that I didn't like Sirius, but I was just so relieved that it wasn't Hagrid or any of the Weasleys. Frankly, I don't really consider Sirius to be a "major character", nor do I see why JKR would be driven to tears killing him off. He was a secondary character to me (tertiary, really) - only introduced in PoA (I don't count the mention in PS) and for much of PoA we were afraid of him. A handful of letters and a floo visit in GoF didn't strengthen him as a character to me. In fact, in the final chapters, I thought Harry was greatly over-reacting to his death. I just don't think that realtionship was developed enough to merit such a response from Harry.

All of this being said, let me again reiterate that I enjoyed the book a great deal. I thought it was well up to snuff with the rest of the HP series and it certainly didn't let me down. The final chapter, where we learn that Lucius Malfoy has been sent to prison was great - could Draco be coming back next year? Probably, but here's hoping that he and Narcissa are forced out of their priviledged life, and Draco comes back poor and with hand-me-down robes. Let him have a taste of the medicine he gave Ron over the years.

[FlyingPhoenix]

One day after I finished this book and I begin to think about it and I mean its not the best from this serie.

I know its hard said by me but it wasn´t the fact it was darker, IMO not really darker Harry was simply depressing, It wasn´t that Harry was angrier and just like a teenager who reminds me at someone maybe myself I know I had a bad temper against my teachers. It was much more how they managed to get Harry from this expelling thing not really smart if you ask me. Dumbledore wasn´t smart in the same case. Not one full growing wizard was very smart to be exact there is only one character who is that smart and knows all this clues and thats Hermione but I mean how can she be more smarter as Dumbledore? I don´t get it. Dumbledore avoid Harry and let him screaming and destroy his office and on top off all he is crying sorry have I missing something? Maybe he is really old grandgrandpa. The fun starts as the slytherins sing that song about Ron, sorry but Ron wasn´t that funny, was he? By the way he was pretty much out of action, or? I mean look how he is always aways if something happen. At Harrys side is Neville or Hermione but not Ron. This part never quiditch again its a little bit hard but I thought it might bother Harry more. Or this Cho thing for what was it there? I mean I´m not a guy and still didn´t understand Cho. Why was she interest in Harry if she starts to speak about Cedric? The only answer I have is simply she wanted to know how Cedric died and Harry was well there. How his feelings changed against her by the first row he was somehow sorry but than he wasn´t it anymore much more angry and didn´t really bother that she wasn´t anymore around him. After 2 year crush on her a little bit fast. But its fine with me. Off course this one Ginny would play a bigger part??? Nah it wasn´t really bigger she got only that attention what Ron did lose. If you put both attentions together you have the role of Ron in POA or COS. What happens at Hogwarts was like a school where nobody cares anymore somehow like a getho school, sorry but its seems to me so.
Thats all till now.

[Daveydee]

Okay, so who feels in need of counselling?

There can be few, if any, who put the book down with a feeling of great well being. Indeed it will probably be some time before any of us really come to terms with the impact that Order of the Phoenix has had upon us. It is unfamiliar territory. We humans generally do not like unfamiliarity.

Whatever we feel at this moment there can be no denying that this book was an absolute page turner. The plot was so well written that it became impossible to put the book down once started. But I think there was also a need amongst us devotees to speculation to press on and discover if any of what we discussed prior to last Friday would eventually materialise. Therein lies the source of our frustrations, because on the whole it didn’t. The book posed many more questions than it answered. We know little more about Snape now than we did a week ago, much less the nature of his mission. We are no closer to finding out why Voldemort killed Lily and James. Has Dumbledore revealed everything? I suspect not. And the unresolved sexual tension between Ron and Hermione remains ever more unresolved, to the point where one feels that when it does finally erupt it will be with such passion that the next book (if indeed that is when it happens) may need to be rated ‘over 18’. These were the questions we were all addressing. None have been answered. Is the book weaker for that? No.

I found parts of the book to be unnecessary. Grawp was an irrelevance. If there was no place for Hagrid in this book (and clearly there wasn’t) he could quite plausibily have been left in the mountains of Albania for the duration. Dumbledore’s explanation to Harry became tedious and bogged down and seemed to serve little purpose other than to allow him to have a ‘big scene’ in a book for most of which he had been absent. It was in disappointing contrast to his poignant and moving ‘Remember Cedric Diggory’ eulogy in GoF. And the antics of Fred and George became a little tiresome as the book wore on. I suspect that JK came to realise this for herself and their departure came not a moment too soon. Whilst dwelling on the negatives, there were at least two continuity errors for which the editor should be given lines.

The positives. Umbridge was delightfully awful. Kreacher amuses me as much as Dobby irritates me – which is greatly. Neville? Well – enough said. The fight scene and the lead up to it was brilliantly crafted. As though cocking a snoop to all of us, JK had us, within the space of a few pages, believing that any one from about twelve was going to be the one to meet their maker.

There is a strong sense in this book of a passing of the baton from one generation to the next, of Dumbledore’s Army becoming the new Order of the Phoenix. Of Harry himself replacing Dumbledore as Voldemort’s nemesis. And that is the theme of this book – change. We are no longer confined to the familiarity and safety of Hogwarts. The trio have become six. Change.That is why we are all feeling a little raw. We resist change, but we must embrace it however reluctantly. And we must adapt; we cannot have seven different versions of PoA. Rowling’s great gift has been the ability to absorb the reader into Harry’s world, and if we, like Harry have ended year 5 at Hogwarts feeling a little less sure about the past, the present and the future, it is because we, like Harry must realise that we have to face the uncertainties which lie ahead.

And that is the impact that great literature has.

[sharls]

I found the book quite different to the others, obviously harrys character has developed alot - i luv it how JK let him become an angry moody adolecent like he should be.
Yes bit dissapointed with the romance factor - after the arguements and "tension" between ron and hermoine in GoF i would have thought JK may have explored that much more.
As for Sirius' death - well i think JK implied it was a favourable character that would die and indeed he was. He was an important character to Harry
All in all im very impressed with the book... i took out time from study for my exams to read it - couldnt put it down
Cant wait for the next one... I can only see Harry gettin angrier - now he has lost the next best thing to a parent (excluding Mr and Mrs Weasley)

[supernatural]

I'm going to post my review before reading anyone elses thoughts, I'm a very suggestible person! ;)

Good points
well JK is a remarkable writer and I loved the first couple of chapters, including the appearence of the Dementors, Harrys anger at the silence and the appearence of the Order. (Absolutely loved the character of Tonks)
The return to Hogwarts was also excellent, including the train journey and another seperation of Harry from Ron and Hermionie.
Adored the Umbridge character- really well written- I knew the DADA teacher wouldn't be Fleur!!! but i was thinking Narcissa!
The duel in the ministry was also remarkable- Dumbledore is so cool- kind of like Yoda!!

Bad Points
3/4 way through the book had me convinced that the dumbledore revelation "I'm going to tell you what I should have told you 5 years ago..." was going to be the last sentence in the book. I felt it was all dealt with rather abruptly, and we didn't find out half so much as I thought.
The death of Sirius, I felt was also rushed, and by the time it happened I had been feeling rather annoyed with him anyway- he seemed to be rather hypocritical and almost a completely different character from the one which had brought me so much joy in POA. I dont know about you, but I didn't cry, and after shedding all those tears for Cedric, whom we didn't know that well, i kind of felt a bit cheated.
Also I expected more revelations on the Dursleys, though I did enjoy the Aunt Petunia angle


I was a bit disappointed that wormtail wasn't in it. Except in the pensieve. I am still expecting something big to come of that one, but I guess there are still 2 more books for that plot line to come to fruition.

Were you expecting more on the ghost angle? I definately was- i thought there was going to be a lot more of that, i felt a little disappointed that it was all contained in basically a paragraph.

I feel the connection between voldemort and Harry was a little obvious for JK. It was quite apparent that Voldemort was using the idea of sirius as hostage to lure harry, but i thought the fact that the weapon was a prophecy was remarkable.

I enjoyed the book and will continue to read it again and again as I have done with the others. I am still a devoted HP fan, but it has not replaced POA as my favourite book. I have high expectations of the next 2 books!!! Hope they dont take as long as this one though!!!!


edit- character omissions.
i just thought I'd mention this, it seems quite strange-
Jk has omitted two previous characters from this book-most noticably MR LESTRANGE and CROAKER (Bodes partner in dept of mysetries, now we we're introduced quite descriptively to Boe, but absolutely no mention of Croaker at all...!)

[Jerkwater]

Daveydee -

Enlighten me. What were these "continuity errors" that you noticed? I thought it odd that Harry had the Marauder's Map back in his possession. I also thought it was strange that he could never see the threstles before - didn't he see his parents die an an infant? Are these the same ones you came up with?

[tizzy weasley]

I found the book more dark then ever. Harry has more of an attitude building if you didn't notice. I founf that somehow very shocking. I also loved how JKR kept turning us in different directions on who would be dying. I know I thought one character one moment and then another the next moment.
The only thing I wasn't so happy about was the death. Yes it was one of the greatest characters but I wasn't to thrilled as to how he died off. I actually had to have it re-explained to me to make sure I understood what happened.
But overall I love this book. One of the best, if not better of all the Harry Potter books. Now all we have to do is wait for book 6. :)

[Katze]

Characters
I absolutely loved seeing McGonagall show her spine. I'd been waiting for this, and I was so pleased to see it. I was impressed with all the teachers in fact. Including Snape.

I didn't like Ginny in the first 4 books, but Rowling has changed my mind. I like how her character is developing.

Hermione is growing up so nicely. She's perceptive, kind, and smart. The boys need to wake up and discover what kind of asset she is to the team and to them as friends.

Luna is a weird and very interesting character. I think she's got some sort of talent or insight that is going to prove useful for the group. I hope to see her in future books. She's a bit of comic relief but at the same time, seems to be a strange source of comfort for Harry.

Neville has finally started to show some talent. I think he's just scared. He'll come around.

Ron seems to have developed some control over his jealousy, or perhaps that was quenched by his prefectdom. I was a bit surprised by this. It almost seemed a bit forced, but at least Rowling acknowledged that it seemed strange. I would've expected Dean instead.

Tonks - I love her. I love her character. I foresee her showing up in future books, but that might be because I'd like to see her pair up with Harry point. I wonder if she is going to inherit the Black mansion now that Sirius is gone.

The twins. How great could they be? They certainly have some talent, and I'm glad to see the rebellious nature of the Weasley show up in full force.

Snape. I kept hoping that he and Harry might have a civil interaction, but of course that won't happen. The angst between these two is chilling and I love it.

Umbridge is a horrid horrid woman, and I'm glad to see her gone. The trouble she received from the student after dismissing Dumbledore was priceless. You just know the kids were waiting to make her life hell.

The Veil & Sirius
It wasn't until 2 days before the book came out that I started even thinking that it would be Sirius. I wish I'd never popped into the thread that suggested it. I started getting paranoid.[1]

I had the feeling that the curse is NOT what killed Sirius, but that it was going through the veil. And that makes me wonder - is the veil that access door the afterlife? Luna seemed to think that because they could hear voices on the other side of the veil, that it's possible to see/hear the dead again. I wonder also if only folks who've seen death are able to hear the voices like being able to see the Threstals.

I wonder if the veil is a door, like I said above. I also wonder that if you are alive while going through that you end up in a state of flux or something when you reach the other side. Can you come back?

This enitre loss with Sirius is just heartwrenching. I hate how quiet the death was too. The room was so full of commotion that it's almost like no one would've noticed. That stupid veil. It better show up again, because I want to know what secret it's holding - just like the Mirror or Erised.

Other stuff
I have a question regarding the prophecy. Was Harry an ordinary wizard before he was attacked? Dumbledore said in book 2 that he gains some of Voldemorts powers. But now it seems that when Voldemort attacked him, that much more than just Voldemorst powers were transferred, but that some mystical higher power was granted to Harry. And I'm not sure I followed this whole "Your heart saved you" bit that Dumbledore was talking about. What's this super power that Harry has that he's not aware of yet?

I'm feeling very sorry for Harry at the moment. Losing yet more of anyone seems like real family. He's always got his friends, and now we know there's a new family for him brewing at the end of the book. But had he used the mirror - he would've known Sirius was ok.

And what about Dubmledore? I'm glad to see that he's taking part responsiblity in this mess. His perfect plan. Had he only told Harry what the dreams were. And why did he need to worry about looking Harry in the face since Voldemort wouldn't be able to possess him anyway?

I'm a bit confused about James not being prefect. How does one become Head Boy and not be prefect before hand?

Malfoy is jail. Juff said :D

My experience overall
One thing I thoroughly love about Rowling is how imperfect her characters are. They each have a dark side, and a light side (except for Voldemort who is pure dark). It appears to me that Hermione is the pure light. But each character has something in them that isn't perfect. This is what makes me believe that Harry will develop enough hate to want to kill someone. This is needed and it just makes him more interesting.

When I fnished GoF, I was so eager to read the next book that I looked for spoilers all over the place. When I started reading, I'd expected so much from this book, that I'd already had it mapped out in my mind. The book itself was great, but in retrospect, I wish I'd never known *any* of the spoilers. I wish I hadn't known that someone was going to die. I was so wound up about it, that I think it detracted from my reading experience.

I don't want to know *any* spoilers for book 6. Nada. I'll theorize alright, but I really don't want to know anything about what she's planning. I was so eager for the book that I couldn't hold myself together....but now...after having this experience (this is the first book I've actually ever really anticipated), I don't want to know.

I'm also wondering if my over-analysis of the story has taken some of the brightness away.

I'm going to have to ponder all of this....a bit more. I have some question, and I still haven't digested the entire story. My draw to reread is not as strong. In fact I feel quite satisfied with that book and the story.

---

1. I can sort of understand why she did it - for Harry's character development. But how much more loss does this kid need? It almost seemed gratuitous - as a way to play with my emotions. I feel like the death was unnecessary.

Is it going to be Harry's anger that will ultimately help him defeat Voldemort? It's interesting that Belletrix mention that he has to want to hurt someone for it to work. We see how angry he is in this book, and I think it's just going to get worse. I worry though, that with his anger mounting, if when he's killed Voldemort, there may be irreparable damage. We also now know that Harry will have to kill. I'd actually expected the AK to come out of him after he attempted the Cruciatus curse. In fact - I wanted to see him do it. :evil:

[Flames]

Now that I've digested a bit more and stopped crying at Sirius' death, I find that overall I loved this book. Still, I wish it hadn't been Sirius. A lot of it is becasue now Harry has no one, and how Sirius' life sucked in general, now that finding out his childhood was pretty awful as well. I don't think Harry's peak into Snape's thoughts really changed what I thought about Sirius - after all, we knew from the beginning he played cruel tricks - but James and Lily did surprise me just a little. James being so malicious, at least, did. No wonder Snape hates Harry as well. I was, though, hoping a bit more from Snape as well.

I liked how the beginning was so quick-paced, and even its gradual slow down in pace was all right, since everything was so amazing. I loved the summer chapters, and Grimmauld Place. Dung and Figg were great (" 's up, Figgy?") and I loved Figg's attacking Dung with her purse. The Dursleys were so much more interesting, and all.

I also loved Moody TONS more than the Crouch Jr. posed as Moody. Moody managed to come off as eccentric and jumpy but also caring in his own quirky way towards Harry. Tonks was adorable. Lupin, again, the nice guy... and, I daresay, the last good marauder left. That saddens me that he's all alone.

And I stopped expecting the whole "heir of Gryffindor" thing towards the middle of the book. There was just too little mention of his Gryffindor-ness that it sort of seemed out there. Then again, the Prophecy didn't much say anything new either, except that they both must die, and I was expecting that to a great extent as well.

The whole battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort was anti-climatic, I do agree. I actually think none of it sunk in, and I would be re-reading it, if it were not for the fact that my mom took the book from me *scowls*

Umbridge was absolutely horrid, and I hate her like no other. I absolutely adored the idea of Dumbledore's Army, and I liked Luna Lovegood. A rather unforgettable character, again. Hagrid, who I thought would be the one to snuff it, really didn't, and rather stayed exactly the same as always, bringing on his brother Grawp. Totally not surprised there -_-;; Fred and George were fantastic, and Percy has to go apologize, now that even the Ministry is admitting it.

I liked angry Harry. He had more personality than I felt he had in the previous books. I too loved how he goaded Dudley in the first couple of chapters. Even still, I told my mom about Sirius dying -- she cried for Cedric when I didn't (as I knew about it beforehand) and I didn't want her to be bawling over Sirius as much because of the shock that'd surely come with it. Ah well.

Strangely, though, I think OotPs ending is much more satisfying than GoFs. Dunno why....

Erm, can't think of more. That's it, for now....

[Neddser]

My post is shorter than I would like in a rush I'm afraid...
Loved the book couldn't put it down, new characters to get to know, old characters to reaquaint ourselves with. I really didn't get the death scene - if there was a bit more time spent explaining the curtain thing then perhaps I would have got to grips with it (only starting my second read so perhaps I missed something ay 3.00am) Tonks seems pretty cool, Umbridge took the heat off Fudge for most of the book - I felt Fudge could have had a more prominent role by that I mean he looks such a weak character in this book, again that could be because of my expectations of him being allied to Voldemort??? didn't really get to know what I wanted to know about Lilly and James, happy Neville has developed as a character, Hagrid as suggested earlier could have stayed in the mountains there was no requirement for him to be in this book, and I think that Harry has now become someone we can relate to - he no longer seems like the faultless hero, and I think that this is a good progression for him. Overall excellant read, already has me anticipating the next book...

[Flames]

Now that I've digested a bit more and stopped crying at Sirius' death, I find that overall I loved this book. Still, I wish it hadn't been Sirius. A lot of it is becasue now Harry has no one, and how Sirius' life sucked in general, now that finding out his childhood was pretty awful as well. I don't think Harry's peak into Snape's thoughts really changed what I thought about Sirius - after all, we knew from the beginning he played cruel tricks - but James and Lily did surprise me just a little. James being so malicious, at least, did. No wonder Snape hates Harry as well. I was, though, hoping a bit more from Snape as well.

I liked how the beginning was so quick-paced, and even its gradual slow down in pace was all right, since everything was so amazing. I loved the summer chapters, and Grimmauld Place. Dung and Figg were great (" 's up, Figgy?") and I loved Figg's attacking Dung with her purse. The Dursleys were so much more interesting, and all.

I also loved Moody TONS more than the Crouch Jr. posed as Moody. Moody managed to come off as eccentric and jumpy but also caring in his own quirky way towards Harry. Tonks was adorable. Lupin, again, the nice guy... and, I daresay, the last good marauder left. That saddens me that he's all alone.

And I stopped expecting the whole "heir of Gryffindor" thing towards the middle of the book. There was just too little mention of his Gryffindor-ness that it sort of seemed out there. Then again, the Prophecy didn't much say anything new either, except that they both must die, and I was expecting that to a great extent as well.

The whole battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort was anti-climatic, I do agree. I actually think none of it sunk in, and I would be re-reading it, if it were not for the fact that my mom took the book from me *scowls*

Umbridge was absolutely horrid, and I hate her like no other. I absolutely adored the idea of Dumbledore's Army, and I liked Luna Lovegood. A rather unforgettable character, again. Hagrid, who I thought would be the one to snuff it, really didn't, and rather stayed exactly the same as always, bringing on his brother Grawp. Totally not surprised there -_-;; Fred and George were fantastic, and Percy has to go apologize, now that even the Ministry is admitting it.

I liked angry Harry. He had more personality than I felt he had in the previous books. I too loved how he goaded Dudley in the first couple of chapters. Even still, I told my mom about Sirius dying -- she cried for Cedric when I didn't (as I knew about it beforehand) and I didn't want her to be bawling over Sirius as much because of the shock that'd surely come with it. Ah well.

Strangely, though, I think OotPs ending is much more satisfying than GoFs. Dunno why....

Erm, can't think of more. That's it, for now....

[talullah]

I'm just wondering if there are any other people out there just freakin' DISTURBED by this book... Good, doesn't describe it... it was well done, but there was no point in pretending it was a pleasant read. I was so frustrated for most of it....

Anyone else considering xanax today? Someone please PM me and tell me I am going to be okay?!

[adamdaniell]

Ah, the Davy guy... I'm pretty sure we are told why Lily and James were killed by Voldemort. The whole prophecy thing, about Voldemort thinking he had to go and wipe out Harry Potter? I mean, it's not like Lily and James - having gone into hiding BECAUSE of all this, see POA (Didn't know exactly why they did before, but now we do) - would just stand aside and let old Voldemort kill their son?

No, they were just casualties in Voldemort's attempt to kill Harry Potter. I mean, remember when Harry has flashbacks because of the Dementors? He says, 'Get out of my way girl!' or something along those lines to Lily... because he was anxious to get rid of Harry. I'm starting to waffle a little bit, but you get the idea, right? I think it explained all rather well, although I always rather thought that it might be something to do with lineage... y'know, that would have fit in as well... and him telling Lily to get out of the way would still have made sense... Ah well, everyone made a lot of errors in the guesswork...

With that cleared up, the review. I almost screamed in horror when I realised I'd be in Japan when the book was released... but luckily I got a copy reserved in a bookshop over here. And when I got it, oh my heart rose... I was full of joy, and this didn't leave me until the very end... and then I felt a little lost. How could I have to wait another three years for the next book?

My opinions on the whole are good. I thought that the characters got a new spur of life... Harry... well, I thought he was very believable, but I think... just maybe... that JKR could have done a little more with some of the other secondary characters. Neville was done brilliantly, and the twins were amazing... so were many of the adults and newly introduced characters, but Ron and Hermione (who are the only two I really count as secondary characters in a real sense) seemed to remain largely static... Ron moreso than Hermione. This and one other criticism I have: The end. I thought after such a brilliant book, the ending... well, it didn't let it down, but it let just a little air out. I liked the fight scene, and unlike some others... I think Voldemort's lack of appearance VERY well done. The fact that he 'only played a cameo' as someone remarked was much more realistic than if he had lead at the front, all guns blazing.

Y'see, Voldemort is everything Slytherin appreciated, minus the half-bloodedness, and he knows that doing things on the sly is the way to get things done. He stayed back in the shadows, playing the game from afar while the ministry faffed around ineffectively, and only entered when it looked as if there was no other recourse. Even the Death-Eaters in the Ministry could have done their job and gotten away stealthily as he wanted, so there you have it. MY problem with the ending is that Sirius' death was not up to par with that of Cedric's in the last book, and after this the whole thing seemed to be a race to the finish. JKR did, in my opinion, explain everything that needed to be explained (while opening up a host of new interesting questions) but she did not allow enough time for it to seem... well, genuine.

Apart from this, and the few other points I have mentioned, the novel was perfect. I have no problem with the length and it now ranks as one of my favourites, not just among the HP series, but among the best books ever written. The story was wonderful.　MOST of the characters were lovingly brought forward, and her writing was the most fluid I have ever seen it.

[Qeomash]

All around, it was another great Harry Potter novel. However, I noticed several differences in the style and tone.

Definitly, it was darker. Everything had a moody (not Mad-Eye) feel to it, and the worst was always expected of situations.

However, the biggest thing I noticed was a slightly different writing style. In the first four books, JKR rarely had anything from the previous books in it. In OotP, however, I noticed several old (and gone as we thought) characters return. Lockhart returned briefly. The Hogs Head returned, after a four book absence. Not to mention Arabella Figg.

Though, all and all, it's another Harry Potter book. And it's great.

[Weatherby]

I've only read it once but I think it's one of my favourites in the series.
I've always been one for character insights and we're given loads of insight into so many characters.
Everything happens internally this time around. Three of the main themes are subject to viewpoint. It's anticlimatic yes but after we read book six we'll probably draw on this one a lot.

We couldn't expect to see Voldemort for very long. Harry's not ready to battle him one-on-one yet.

Occulmency and the dreams - I think Voldemort was more present than we realise. He really affected Harry's relationship with the people closest to him.
Future-telling - Telling someone their future means it's not set in stone so are they really seeing into the future at all? Very tricky.
Relationships with muggles/slytherins/etc. This is a continued theme. We've seen little progress but a lot better than the last books.


We've also seen Dumbledore can make mistakes.

[FlyingPhoenix]

Yeah I agree Voldi has much more to do with Harrys mood as we might think. Specialy his feelings. We don´t know if Harry only react so because he is now a teenager or because Voldie has his finger in that. I don´t know but I think its from the point as Harry dreams about Mr. Weasley before that it seems to me like a normal angrie Teenager. I think that Voldie tried to controll Harry but couldn´t do it well till this point with Sirius. Thats where Harry got a wrong view at that and think Hermione is against him. Maybe it would be better if Hermione had use the fireplace to look after Sirius I mean if she was allready suspicious about Harrys dream but I doubt he would let her. So its happened like Voldie want it though this DA thing wasn´t expected by Voldie. Maybe he thought Harry would come alone and than He had both things he need.

[daniel4hp]

It just keeps getting better.

When I read Philosopher's Stone, I liked it. I thought it was a great book. I wanted to keep reading the Harry Potter books. Then, I read Chamber of Secrets, and thought that it was even better. After reading Prizoner of Azkaban, I was even more impressed. I thought it was a really great book--better than Philosopher's Stone, better than Chamber of Secrets. Then came Goblet of Fire. My reaction after that was just, "Wow!" Superb. Amazing. Now I've read Order of the Phoenix, and I have to say that I like it even better than Goblet of Fire.

It was mentioned a while back in this thread that perhaps we were expecting to much of this book. I certainly think that this is true. We had this long list of all the things that we would learn in this book. We had all these wonderful theories. We expected to learn loads of new stuff. I think that many of us had impossibly high expectations for Order of the Phoenix--expectations no book could fulfil.

This is not to say, though, that I was totally disappointed with this book. As I have said, I think it has become my new favorite among the five Harry Potter books. However, I think that our--or at least my--expectations were so high that we were bound to be slighly disappointed when it proved that it was, after all, just a book.

It was certainly darker, at least for me, than the previous book. The presence of Voldemort, and his access to Harry's mind, was all very interesting, but contributed to making the book darker. I liked the whole conflict with the Ministry, and overall, just really liked the somewhat sinister feeling this book often had. Certainly, it had its lighter moments, but it was, overall, much darker. I liked that.

One thing that I noticed to be absent from this book, at least from my perseption, was the "mystery" or the "whodunnit" aspect. The first two books had quite clear "whodunnit" plots--who was trying to steal the Philospher's Stone? Who was the Heir of Slytherin? The next two books, especially Goblet of Fire, retained the mystery aspect, but these began to drift away from that aspect. I would be hard pressed to call Prizoner of Azkaban a mystery, and while Goblet of Fire did have a mystery thread, that was but one part of the very complex story. However, since we didn't see where anything was going, I, and probably others, still felt that the books had a strong mystery element.

Now, looking back, I see I was wrong. Philosopher's Stone was a mystery, yes, and Chamber of Secrets could easily be called one too (although both these books had other elements as well), but Prizoner of Azkaban was not a mystery, and Goblet of Fire was more of a transition book. As I see it, the series has transformed from Philopher's Stone, a mystery story in a fantasy setting, to Order of the Phoenix, which is not in any way a mystery.

Just one more brief note about the plot. I thought that it flowed considerably better than Goblet of Fire. I found Goblet of Fire to be somewhat confusing at times, but this, I thought, really flowed quite well. I don't think that JKR was trying to through in as many things in this book, and it was better for it. Certainly there were many different things happening--the conflict with the ministry, the "weapon" and the Department of Mysteries, Fred and George's joke shop, life at Hogwarts, including Professor Umbridge--but somehow, I thought it was all handled very well, and I didn't feel in this book that there were multiple plots, like there were in Goblet of Fire.

The other thing I'd like to touch on in my review is Sirius' death. Somehow, for me, this was not all that emotional. I feel somewhat guilty, since I don't think I had ever formed a strong attachment to Sirius, but I have to admit I found Cedric's death in Goblet of Fire more emotionally jarring than Sirius' in Order of the Phoenix. I had never really thought that Sirius would be the one to die--I had thought it would be Hagrid, until he returned to Hogwarts safely. When Arthur Weasley was bitten by the snake I thought he might be the one to die, and I toyed throughout the book with several other people, including Molly Weasley, Professor McGonagall, and, yes, Sirius, but I never seriously thought that Sirius would be the one to die.

So, yes, it was a shock to realize that he was dead, and I'm not trying to say that I didn't, or don't, care. I am sad that he was killed off, but for some reason, I'm not really that grieved by it. I contribute this to the fact that I never really formed a huge affection for Sirius. I liked him, but nothing much more than that.

But yes, this was a great book. I really enjoyed it, and I have to say that it has become my favorite in the series. It felt considerably darker to me, and I liked that. It was a really good book.

[adonaichild]

Wow...yeah, the new book was incredible. At first, when I started reading it, I just felt incredibly intense. I was just waiting for someone to be attacked! I was really disturbed by how dark it was. Then, after I read it, I reflected and I thought "wow, that was a fantastic book." I agree with others about how this was probably the best book in the series. I think you REALLY see Harry growing up. I too had to wonder if Voldemort in Harry made him angrier, or he was just a teenager. I was also upset when Harry wouldn't stop being mad @ Dumbledore...but I think JK really wanted to make the transition from little boy to little man. You know? I was all disappointed about no further development between Ron and Hermoine. I was upset when Sirius died at first, really upset because he was one of my favorites. But all throughout the book, I couldn't help agreeing with Hermoine that Sirius liked to live vicariously through Harry, and that Sirius kind of used Harry to remember James, which isn't a bad thing, but still... I was really impressed with the Order itself--I thought Tonks was really cool, I was glad to see Mad Eye and I was really pleased about Lupin. That's about it...overall, a very very good book, when's 6 coming out?! :)

[Moah]

I didn't find this book darker.
I liked it a lot, but like many others was greatly let down by Sirius's death. I didn't cry or anything. I didn't even understand what was going on. Cedric's death affected me a lot more, and I didn't like Cedric half as much as I liked Sirius.

Did anyone notice that it's the first book where doing something noble ended up being the wrong thing to do?

[Moah]

Well to me the mystery (and because I read it somewhere) was the "who's going to die?" and I think JKR did play with that a lot, putting people in dangerous situations all the time.

[Daily Propheter]

Ootp is one of my favourites it plot wise, but character wise, not at all.

Hermione regressed into her Queen Bossy Boots of PS, Harry was only angry for the first part of the book and the last, but in the middle he wasn't really sticking to form too much. Ron barely showed up! I think that's prolly why JKR gave him Quidditch and Prefect-ness, because he didn't do much else, except say some funny stuff. :(

Gred and Forge sure went out with the bang I expected of them. That was amazing!!

James - whoa. Completely unexpected. I mean, Lily and James hated each other at first, and James was obnoxious and arrogant. Not what I expected at all.

Maybe it's because she's been away from her characters for longer than usual, but they seemed very OOC.

Anyway, plot wise ... wow. OotP is competing with PoA to become my favourite. If it weren't for the characters, it would be a sure thing. I get the feeling that Voldemort knew he was connected to Harry very early on - earlier than either Dumbledore or Harry knew. I didn't like the Metamorphmagi thing - it seems like to much, as we've already got Animagi too. :shrug:

When's Book 6 coming?

[sassywitch15]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was really good but did sirius have to die......i hate to say i would rather it have been hagrid then sirius!!!!!!!!!! i cried so much......it was a very good book.....it was very funny and very unexpected!!!!!! finished last night @ 12:30am

[Valerie]

Hmm this is my favorite of the series so far. I'm gonna try keep my review short:

Harry: He's so mean! That boy has some temper, he really seems to have a dark side coming out I mean he used the Cruciatus Curse on that lady who killed Sirius.

Ron: Didn't see him in here too much, he does seem less jealous of Harry though I was glad he got Prefect, he always felt less than his brothers and I think this helped his self-esteem

Hermione: She's more...rebellious in this book than in others which is a good thing she was a much more likeable character in my opinion

Neville: Now Neville suprised me, he seems to be doing much better now he's had Harry's help and all his work against death eaters, I'm hoping Neville will become a better wizard in the coming books, I felt really sorry for him when that mean 'ol death eater put the same curse on him that made his parents insane :sad:

Ginny: She was in the books so much more! She seems like the twins more than the others, and 2 boyfriends in this book? Geez...already...

Cho: Well I didn't have an opinion on her but now I don't like her, she seemed very jealous of Hermione especially when she had nothing to worry about...

Sirius: His death came by too quick in my opinion I almost missed it, too bad it was him who had to die, I feel bad for Harry now that he's lost his parents and his Godfather, he does still have Lupin though. And that mirror Sirius gave him, if only Harry would have discovered it earlier...

McGonagall: I liked her very much more in this book, especially her attitude towards Umbridge..great

Weasley Twins: They were awesome, truly memorable

Snape: I felt so sorry for him after reading the chapter where Harry went into the pensieve, James and Sirius were absolutely horrible to him when they were young, Snape didn't do anything to deserve it except "exist"

James: He was a mean young man who did seem as arrogant as Snape had suggested and not a prefect?

Lily: Wow, she hated James, that was highly amusing and she tried to protect Snape only to be called a mudblood...

Luna: Strange character....

Umbridge: Devil woman!!!!

Hagrid: Oh geez..a "little" brother, still it was interesting and his little brother ended up saving Hermy and Harry later

Mad-Eye: I didn't really like this guy...he seemed blunt and rude which I guess comes with the job

Lucius: That evil, evil man, good thing he's in Azkaban but he will get out now that the dementors are on their side

Dumbledore: Dumbledore was excellent in this and the duel was amazing, I liked how he kept calm when kicked out of his school

Figg: She was a disappointment, I think most of us expected more from her than a squib

Now I do think this book left a lot of holes, questions even though it explained a lot too. Now we understand about Lily's family and the prophecy but there are still a lot of questions to be answered and Harry..we're seeing his dark side, what will he do and now that he knows he either has to kill someone or be killed...I can't wait for the next books and I think this one was just awesome!

Oh yeah...what's up with that veil?

[DarkKnight]

Sirius........NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!.
Room of Requirment...

I knew the room with the Chamber pots that DD mentioned in GOF was real i even posted it and no one believed me....

any way is that the room that JKR was talking about?

[FlyingPhoenix]

Sorry but Sirius dead didn´t affect me that much. Its how JKR did write it. Nothing like GoF and Cedrics death that one was sad and tragical but Sirius there was nothing like that. I hope really that in book 6 we will read much more about Sirius. I mean he deserve it that his dead is more as just happened. I know Harry react quiete right that he is angry but I suppose in book 6 his wall will go down and we see how much it affect him.

[DarkKnight]

well I really wanted Serius to live on and thet some one less cool should die ...

What I really enjoyed reading eas the duel with Dumbledore that was what I consider the best part of the book it was incredible!

[DarlingChild]

Ok. I thought it was simply marvelous.

I have to admit, though. I started reading it and my jaw just...dropped. I thought to mysekf "Is JK Rowling insane?!" With every chapter came something new, more bizzare and even more unexpected. I just...never knew what was coming. After all the theories that we've been through in the past months, years, etc., I am finally starting to understand that there is no way we would have ever been able to scratch the surface of what was going to happen in this book (my Cho theory did turn out to be true, but more on that later). JK Rowling is just too great of an author. Sure, she let some things leak, that gave us the general idea, but I daresay that none of us expected it to turn out and happen quite the way that it did. Now, i want to talk about a few specific things.

I. Hate. Umbridge. Another extremely beautifuly crafted villan by JK Rowling that you just love to hate. I found myself wishing I could write myself into the story just so I could give that horrible woman a good hard slap in the face! She turned Hogwarts completely upside down, and I didn't like it one bit. Taking Harry off of the Quidditch team was just uncallled for! Though, Harry really didn't seem to care too much...more on that later. I just...hated her. Evil woman. Evil.

Next, Harry's emotions. I think, in all honesty, that he had a right to feel the way he did. He went through four years of the same ****, holding everything in, not being told almot anything about why voldemort is trying to kill him relentlessly, and he finally cracked. He didn't so much as complain before. But it all got too much for him. This book was a very pivitol point in Harry's life. And I think he had every right to say the things he said to people. Maybe he needed to find a better outlet for his anger...but holding it in would surely have destroyed him. Also, like JKR said, it's about time he started to feel a bit miffed at the hand life has dealt him. I know all of you will say things like "Harry's whining really annoyed me" and "I didn't feel bad for him at all" but I feel completely the opposite. When I just sit down and really think about Harry's situation in life, how it started and, now, how it has to end, I almost dissolve into tears! The poor guy! He's lost his mother and father, and any chance of 10 years of happiness, now along with his godfather! Sirius wasn't just Harry's godfather, he was so much more! He was Harry's friend. He was the person Harry was most likely to go to for advice besides Dumbledore. He was a father to Harry as Harry had never known one. Harry loved him. Anyway, moving on from that. Did anyone else notice that Harry's emotions were so unbelieveably different, that the things that had once mattered so much to him in the past four books, meant almost nothing to him in this one? When Harry was banned from Quidditch, sure he was miffed, but he didn't dwell on it, it seemed to me that he almost didn't even care. Also, the inter-house championship. When Gryffindor's hourglass was pretty much empty, Harry didn't care. I dunno...just something I noticed.

Ok, this is really a lot longer than I intended it to be, so I'm going to stop now, even though I have so much more I would like to say about this book! I loved it. It was different, and everything I was hoping for and more.

[sierra_sand]

I really liked this book. I do think though, that I will enjoy it more th 2nd time around. I was so tensed up reading the darn thing that when I did take a couple of brakes, I was sore! I was shocked at how involved I felt. Ok some of the best parts for me were- Dumbledores exit, I was jumping up and down cheering "YOU GO DUMBLEDORE" Telling them that he wasnt going to be taken to Azkaban, telling them he could escape but it would just waste more of his time ,rock on Dumbledore! Hagrids exit was almost as good! I never realized he was so powerful.
All in all, I was impressed. Heres hopin' we dont have to wait another 3 yrs.

[onetruegryffindor]

you expect me to read all this?
lets keep it simple...
i loved it
i loved the twists
i loved the turns
the unexpectedness
the suspence and unpredictability
true the death sucked
but i cant help felling.... TOUCHED by this story
it wasnt like any of the others
i have thought about dreamed about it
it leaves me shivering
now that's a good book! ;)

[DumbledoreArmy]

Honestly I thought it was great. I wasn't expecting what was in this novel. I knew there wasn't going to be a huge fight scene with Voldemort, but I didn't know who was going to die, and I am sad to say that Sirius is dead. I think the changing attitudes, and the amount of action in this book was great. I really enjoyed Luna Lovegood, and I hope to hear more. A lot of questions were answers, and loose ends were closed but the following questions still remain:

How much deeper in the Lily/James escapade, and will we learn anymore?

How will Voldermort get killed? Who will kill him?

How will they do on the O.W.L.'s?

How will die next?

and so much other stuff, that I just don't think that we can guess. I am done looking at rumors and all that. I think that those Rumors can give away bits and pieces, which just aren't good, but that can alose provide a sense of false hope which also isn't good.

9.5 out of 10 stars!

[moschino]

Yes this is my favourite among all the other books. I dont really fancy seeing Harry's dark side though, i suppose it's justified but surely he could have been a little more intelligent. I hate the way he didnt want to learn O from Prof. Snape. OH I HATE HIM AT THAT POINT! If so, then Sirius wouldnt have to die. SIGH. And at one point, I nearly cried thinking it was Mr Weasley who was dying! Thank goodness! Ooo... I think Prof. McGonagall is one the best characters in this book, the line ' I think it unscrews the other way, Peeves' OOH! She's one hell of a woman! Finally Malfoy get what they deserves! Gawp ... err ... I sometimes think Hagrid can be a little too soft. Neville is a big improvement too in this book, i suppose he feels a great hatred towards all the death eaters. I was surprised Figg is a squib, nearly toppling me out of my chair when i read it. Cornelius ... URGH ... I totally wish he's the one who died. Umbridge is a mean character, so annoying though. The part where she made Harry wrote in his blood is so sick.
Overall, a book worth the money. And the wait. But still, i wish i dont have to wait too long for the next one!

[Cho Chang]

OotP is a brilliant book. But I can't say it's my favourite nor I didn't enjoy it. OotP is a difficult book to love.

"I Will Not Tell Lies". That image will forever etch in my mind. I have to remind myself. Is this a children's book?

When Harry say to Dumbledore, "If that's what it means to be human than I don't want to be" really broke my heart

Harry has changed so much. He rants and raves. He’s going dark. It’s not pleasure to witness.

Sirius' death is so meaningless and pointless. I know some deaths are unavoidable and they do help deepen the plot but they'd at least be more tragic or heroic. Deep inside, I hope that's not the end of Padfoot. Padfoot will prowl again!!

I don't understand why Voldemort desperately needed that orb. Seriously, it's obvious that he tried with all his strength to kill Harry. The plot of OotP made the previous four books seem redundant. The prophecy involved Neville and Harry is really disturbing.

Of course I like the part that Harry got to explore the House of Black and Ministry of Magic. Although, MoM can do with more security control.

Introduction to Luna Lovegood makes me think. It's unclear to me the purpose of her introduction, but we will find out in future books. She seems an interesting character. Not Mary-Sue.

Not much of character development for Ron or Hermione though, same old perfect-brainiac Hermy but I'm glad Ron made Perfect and the team. They are the main trio but not much of development!!!

Don’t even get me started on Cho. She’s the most disappointing character. (seriously want to change my name)

Neville and McGonagall rock my world. They are real and brilliant!

Order of the Phoenix.... This is the end and a new beginning.

[John the Boggart]

My first reaction?

"Wow! I loved this book and I couldn't set it down!"

My second reaction?

"Shoot! I just realized that I don't have another book to pick up where this one left off!" :D

My third reaction?

From my experience as a Star Wars fan, I knew all too well the dangers of setting up unrealistic expectations for a story which I had great love and admiration. So, having gained that perspective, I feel that I am able to accept whatever is given to me in both of those storylines and appreciate it as what the authors had intended. I also learned to wean myself from what I call "forum speculation syndrome" - that is, a condition in which a person, by reading the seemingly endless possibilities for the story presented in this type of forum setting, becomes overwhelmed with the infinite variables that they eventually adopt one (or two) of those possibilities as "the only way it can be", and that One Way becomes their vision for the next book (or movie). They come up with all the data and rationalizations to support their One Way, and become very proficient in defending their view. However, once the next installment comes out and it DIDN'T happen according to the One Way they thought, they can feel disappointed, mad, betrayed... what have you. It's a sad thing to see: people who hold such a great love for something like HP or SW feeling a sense of dissociation because it didn't turn out "their way".

It's a hard situation to avoid if you're a prolific poster. Casual posters tend to do a little better, because they don't find themselves having to defend their arguments as often, and have a tendency to leave room for other possibilities. And I'm not saying that participation in forums like this are a bad thing, because we all like to share our love of the series with other people of like minds, right? :) It just becomes a double-edged sword after a while, and sometimes can lead to more disappointment if not held in check.

*whew* Well, that being said, let me get back to the book itself!

I think that the story is so layered and involved that if one was reading it in spurts, they may have trouble remembering where they are. I read it in two overnight sessions (much to my wife's chagrin!), finding that I just couldn't put it down! I would certainly agree with those who found that the story seems to flow better than GoF - I didn't get the sensation of being bounced around or abrupt interruptions. I very much enjoyed the fact that the story began with a bang (literally!) and we were off to the races from Chapter 1. That was one of my complaints (tiny, though it may have been) with GoF - I felt that the Quidditch tournament took far too long to get the story going. Not so here! And the way that it sets up the whole storyline - what with the dementor attack leading to Harry's need for Emergency Magic to his trial to attacks on his character and so on and so on - was just brilliant, IMHO. I find myself very curious about how much Aunt Petunia really knows - she seemed to have more than a passing knowledge of Moldywart than a regular run-of-the-mill-Muggle should, so I look forward to an expansion on this in the remaining two books (see Reaction #2). :p

When I got to the end of OotP, I truly felt as if I just watched Harry finally begin to "grow up". Looking back through the story, it was fascinating to watch how his character developed from someone who feels sheltered and angry due to his situation to a young man, aware of his burdens and responsibilities and finally prepared to face the future. He is informed, scared and unsure, but ready to face it nonetheless, and this is the first and most important step towards manhood. I think the turning point was Harry's decision to teach Dumbledore's Army (DA). (The fact that this was precipitated by Hermione is something I will touch on in a moment.) It was here that Harry stopped being reactive about his life and started to proactively exert control over his future. Watching him grow in his role as a teacher and a leader gave me a wonderful glimpse into how he could develop in the future. I found the parallel between his actions and James' behaviors at the same age truly interesting, in that it seemed to me that Harry began to shoulder his responsibilities a bit ahead of James, and how Harry got to experience what usually takes the rest of us a lot longer - the realization that his parents were/are, in fact, regular people with regular flaws, just like everyone else. It was a clever way JKR came up with for Harry to find that out.

And now, Hermione - knowing full well that she is essentially JKR's mouthpiece in the story (aside from Dumbledore), I've always tried to that in perspective when judging her actions. Let me state right up front: I love the character of Hermione, for many different reasons. However, to me, she has always seemed to be the "yin" to Harry's "yang"; that is, the two of them seem to complete each other (with massive apologies about the "Jerry Maguire" reference!). Hermione, time and again, has provided Harry with either inspiration or motivation, or to correct his path if he has fallen from it. Harry, in turn, has been there for Hermione to sound off to, to provide unwavering stability of friendship - that is, she knows that she can always count on Harry to be there, and to generate both ideas and action in Hermione. I've never really understood why people think that Ron would be a better match for her, to be honest - their personalities just don't seem to meld nearly as well as Harry and hers, but that an argument for another thread. :) Still, within the context of this story, I found it fascinating that it was Hermione - by her insistence of having Harry begin his instruction of DADA and her confidence in his abilities - who precipitated Harry's first steps into the adult world. Not Ron, Not Sirius. Dumbledore did later, of course, but it was Hermione - she helped Harry to realize the man within himself that she had always seen. If she seems a little "bossy" to some, to me it was always because she was confident in herself and feels the need to share that with everyone else. I felt that her character development was more subtle than some of the other characters, but only because she seems to have matured more quickly than either Harry or Ron... which is normally the way it is in real life anyway, right? :)

Ron Weasley finally comes into his own in OotP. I always felt that his character development lagged behind the other two major characters, in that he always had that lingering self-esteem issue hanging over his head. Becoming prefect gave him a jump-start, but making Keeper was his catalyst of change. For Ron, his joining the Quidditch team seemed to me to be a microcosm of his life in general: Ron, the young, inexperienced one who seems to bear the brunt of the older people around him; Ron, the boy who wants to make a name for himself but just doesn't seem to know how; Ron, always living (however willingly) in the shadow of Harry. Watching him fail time and again as he progressed through the Quidditch season was the perfect metaphor - especially when he did something impressive (his hanging and kicking defense) that later turned out to be by accident - for Ron's life so far. So it was only fitting that he finally decided at long last that the one way to win was to find the confidence within himself to continue that he began to break free of his doubts and took very important steps towards his own maturation. Hopefully, we'll be able to watch Ron develop into an equal in his own right relative to Harry and Hermione. As the Emperor said the young Anakin Skywalker, "We shall watch your future with great interest!" :D

While I did miss having more interaction between Hagrid and the trio, I think that we're going to find him playing a key part in wrapping up this series, so for a book I can forgive that. It was quite intriguing to take a look at Snape's past as he viewed it through his own eyes. There is still a lot to be learned about Snivellus, er, Severus Snape, but the thing I found most interesting about him in OotP was how he still maintains loyalty to the Order despite his ill-feelings towards just about everyone. This shows to me that he does have a strong strength of character, despite his flaws, and that there must be something really important about his relationship with Dumbledore to which we can still look forward in the next books.

My only issue with OotP was with Sirius' death. Not so much that it was him to die, really - his death was an appropriate motivator for both Harry (Bellatrix Lestrange, I'd watch out if I were you!) and Dumbledore, and he didn't really add a whole lot to the storyline in general, but I felt that it may have been left a little too ambiguous. What's with this "veil" thingee, anyway? Will he return as a ghost, or won't he? The fact that he died unexpectedly in the middle of a showdown (in which, I might add, he was too cocky and thus careless) could provide a way in which Sirius may have unfinished business and could return as a ghost... or perhaps as some sort of Obi-Wan-Kenobi-esque spirit guide. Or, perhaps he's actually gone for good, and that could serve as both a reminder to Harry to avoid the overly-arrogant attitude Sirius was displaying and a motivation for Harry to take out Voldy's top liuetenant, Bellatrix Lestrange. I can see it going either way.

All in all, I very, very much enjoyed this book, and this is only one reading through it. It had twists, turns, answers and more questions, endings and beginnings, and I can't believe that we're going to have to wait for Book 6! Thanks for letting an old man ramble...! :)

[mugglegirl]

Wow is prob. all I can say about this book. It certainely wasn't what I had expected. I felt like it was a forced story, like she knew she had to write it, and just put down whatever she could think of. It seems to lack personality, as many of the others have been full of.
I wasn't really impressed with her death or the promise of romance. Sirius was important, but not really. She had not developed him enough, and he isn't essential to the book. I did like the way that she ALMOST killed Dudley, then ALMOST killed Aurthur Weasley, and ALMOST killed McGonagall, and ALMOST killed Ron. It seems as if that was the best part of her book.
I'm now wondering if her next book is going to be like this also. She seems to have lost her passion for Harry, for being in Harry's world. I guess we'll see.... Any dates set on the next book?

Disapointed- but worth the time it took to read it.:(

[Jedi Potter]

I thought it was a wonderful book I can't judge against the others really until I reread it but it had a great plot and terrific new charactes. I hated that witch Umbridge she was a horrible person. Also I loved the Dumbledore -Voldemort fight, we now see why Dumbledore is the most powerful Wizard. I think I will wait a few days and reread it and I think I will have even more to say.

[Steed]

Well hello there.

I bought the book on Saturday morning and nearly got a parking ticket in the process!

There's a lot better reviews here by other people, but briefly:

Thought the start was good, easier to get into than GoF
Nice to see the Petunia thing flowering (pardon the pun)
Thought the Ron/dreams of graveyards thing was a very obvious red herring. Arthur got attacked too early for him to die too..
Wasn't too upset about Sirius' death. At least he went out fighting. He must have got pretty bored in Azkaban...Who will let Harry go to Hogsmeade now?
How come Hermione is such a "great" agony aunt?!
Good having the twins as comic relief.
Nice little cameo by Gildroy
Good to see Neville coming into the frame more (as expected)
After the end of GoF kinda expected more from the "Order of the Phoenix"
Thought the DA was very cool..

just about to start reading the whole thing again. At the moment Im going for 3/5. PoA still #1 for me. Right, time for coffee!

[wendelin_the_weird]

I cried all through the last five chapters. . .of course I could just have needed some sleep seeing as that it was 3:21 am. . . But I really liked how it was written.
It seemed as though I was in a whole different part of Hogwarts.
I just couldn't put the book down. So, in a few, well chosen words, I LOVED IT!!

[FatalBeauty]

I loved the book. I can't yet decide if I liked it better than the others, since I just finished it last night and I have to give it some time to sink in. At the beginning I was feeling sort of disappointed (which doesn't surprise me, because I had ridiculously high expectations of the book), but I started to like it a lot more once they got back to Hogwarts. I was expecting there to be a twist at the end where a good character turns out to be bad like in all the other books, but there wasn't one. The prophecy wasn't really a big shock for me, I guess since I had already assumed that was the reason Voldemort wanted to kill Harry. I was really looking forward to hearing that supposed big revelation about Lily, but unless I'm mistaken we didn't really find out anything about her. Now for the good parts....I really loved all the mindreading and possessing stuff that was going on, I thought it was really cool and pretty scary. In some of the past books, I thought Harry didn't seem to have much of a personality, but he definitely developed one in this book, which made me happy. Like Tizzy said, he has an attitude and he's got a lot of anger inside of him. Overall, I think this was a great book and I had a wonderful time reading it!

[bubblesofdeath88]

Well, I just finished the book a few minutes ago, and I think that it was positively the best book of the series. I loved it!

All the new characters were just wonderful! And It was wonderful in Dumbledores office when he was talking with fudge and the others. And his fight with Voldemort! That was so cool.

But I think that it should never be made into a movie. The movie could NEVER capture this book's whimsy. With all the subtle jokes, and imaginative scenes. It would ruin what we all created in our minds from reading the book.

[Aoife Diggle]

I won't keep this too long (she says at the start but lets see if she keeps her word)

Ok firstly, the book was totally mind blowing. I only finished it today (Monday) because I didn't want to rush reading it. I knew how important that first read was going to be and I wanted to be perfect for it all.

Ok here are just some general rants!
The new characters such as Tonks and the real Moody I loved and I did the return of old characters like Lupin, who I adore
The new depth that we are shown to many of the characters. They are no longer just black and white stereotypes.

I don't honestly know why but I've felt this way for a long time I simply adore the world of the Mauders when they were at school. I have ever since the 3rd book when we found out about the 4 of them. Whenever I fantisise about Hogwarts it's always when James, Sirius and Lupin are there not Harry, Ron and Hermione. For this reason I was almost beside myself with excitement as Harry went into Snapes memory and followed his father. At the time of reading what James and Sirus were doing all I could feel was total and utter confusion. This was not supposed to be happening, I couldn't get my head around it at all. But looking back on it now I realise what JK has done. Every single emotion I felt while reading that passage was exactly the same emotion that Harry was feeling, because I had built up the same opinion of James that Harry had done. This I believe is one of JK's biggest achievements, because I have never felt like Harry felt before. In the other books I tried to understand what he was going through but always looking in from the outside. In this book though I knew what he was feeling, what he thinking and I could understand exactly what he was doing.

So then obviously you can take a wild guess and see that I was totally devestated by Sirius's death. Before the book came out I never considered it would be him, but as soon as Harry reached Grumald Place (ok I can't remember how to spell it already!) I had this deep fear inside me that it would be Sirius. The death itself was a little confussing I must admit and I wasn't sure exactly what had happened in all the action, but I do think that JK had built Harry's dependance on Sirius up enough throughout the book and also, well for me anyway, she definately evoked a huge amount of sympathy for him throughout.

Those are the 2 momemts that stick out clearest in my head from the book. The first because I love hearing about James and the second because of how I completly broke down after reading, but there was a lot more going on.

I loved the imediate begining, usually I'm waiting for the summer to end and to get to Hogwarts but for the first time EVER I didn't want Harry to go back to school.

I loved all the information that we were given. Although yes we are told an awful lot for one book, we have got another 3 or 4 years to digest it all. Stuff like the Black family tree really interested me.

Characters
HARRY - The angry agitated Harry reminds me so much of my 16 year old brother its not even funny! Going off in a huff and biting your head off for no apparant reason. At last an insight into that strange world of a teenage boys head!

NEVILLE - Oh I was so proud of him. Can you believe that people questioned whether or not he should be in Gryfindor!?

GINNY - I never liked Ginny in the other books, I always thought she was a weak character, but like so many others my opinion of her has totally changed in this book

UMBRIDGE - Good Lord how I hate this woman! How JK can create such a crinable evil villian is beyond me

SNAPE - I was a little dissappointed here. I was expecting to find out more about him. We didn't find anything new about him, even though I must admit to feeling sorry for him when James and Sirius were taunting him, something I never thought I'd feel.

I'm going to stop now because I've become a little scattered, I'll come back and finish this post later I think!

[FlamingFuryOfXHope]

This is my all time favorite book.

This was suspenseful, unpredictable, amazing. The romance was perfect.

JKR really did a great job. She seemed to change the atmosphere of what we normally know as Harry Potter. But, then again, she did say this would be a darker, mysterious book.

I loved the new characters, and I felt the way Neville was more into the story was awesome.

[Jinxie Cat]

Three years... Three very long years is what I had to wait for this book. But once I had the wonderful, magical book in my hand... I felt a rush of adrenaline that only a Harry Potter book could bring me. I was so nervous as I read the book. Would the theories that I and others thought up really happen? The things we were suppose to find out about characters and places... Would they come up? Would our questions be answered? I must say I was the furthest from disappointed when I read this book.
We met many new characters. That wierd oddball Luna Lovegood. The spikey haired Auror Tonks. And a lady who in my eyes deserved what she got... Professor Umbridge.
We saw many many old characters. Harry in my eyes made me a little angry. It was because he himself was so angry. I noticed that Harry can't accept many things. Even though these things were facts and they were sitting right in front of his eyes. Ron, his best friend. Hermione, Harry's other best friend. I didn't noticed any big changes in these two and I'm happy that they stood beside him no matter how angry Harry was with them.
The Dursleys... I must say Dudley shocked me. I had no idea he would become such a horrible little delinquent. Vernon... Of course he's still the angry guy he's always been. And Aunt Petunia... She shocked me during the beginning. She seems to know a lot about what's happening in the Wizarding World...
Then there's everyone's favorite family- The Weasleys. Fred and George's practical jokes and merchandise had me laughing. They surley know how to make Umbridge angry and I hope their business goes well. Percy... I knew he was up to no good... I hope he'll talk to his family soon but I still don't forgive him. I thought for a moment that the major death would be Arthur... He certainly gave us a fright with that snake thing. And then Mrs. Weasley... She's the mother Harry never had. And Ginny... Perhaps she'll end up with Harry soon...
The Order of The Phoenix... Most of us knew what this was and we were quite correct. I was happy to see Lupin back. He's one of my favorite characters! And Mad-Eye Moody. He's not so bad after all. Tonks seemed really cool. So did Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mundungus Fletcher. Then there's the one person I'll really miss. I was really saddened when I read that Sirius had died... And it was worse when I found out that the one person he really cared about was Harry. That was a really touching moment. I was hoping it wouldn't be Padfoot that had to go... This death truly moved me.
The Hogwarts Professors... I almost felt sorry for Professor Snape when Harry was in the Pensieve... Almost... McGonagall seems a lot better now. I loved the way she'd react to what Umbridge was doing! Hagrid... I knew you wouldn't be the one to die... His brother Grawp.... A scary but helpful giant... Then there's Professor Dumbledore. I'm always happy when he's around. When he and Harry were talking in his office I became excited. The questions I had been wondering were finally answered! Now we know why Voldemort wanted to kill Harry... And now we know how the Dark Lord can be destroyed. Although it was a bit disappointing because my theories on the questions were correct...
Last but not least there's my two least favorite characters. Professor Umbridge really did deserve to be carried off into the forest. I was hoping we wouldn't see her again... She made me angry. She was just so unfair... And then there's Cornelius Fudge... If he had just believed Dumbledore in the first place things would've been different. I'm glad he's finally realized the truth though.
Well there's my review on the characters... I must say that this book has surprised me. It is now definitely my favorite in the whole HP series. I loved every moment in there. Although some things I didn't want to see happen like the death of Sirius and the tyranny of Umbridge... I can't say I was disapointed... This book was absolutely amazing! I think the series is getting better and better and I can't wait for book six!

[SeniorFishy]

Not my fav HP book...

Well the book was preety great, but I got a little tired of the Angst about 100 pages into it. He has the right to be angry but he went a little above a bearable level. The whining and the yelling was a little different from what we saw in the previous. Also a lot of rather 'dumb' questions were asked by Harry, it almost felt like his intelligence dropped in this book.

I was also dissappointed in the whole prophecy part. All this hype to what DD should have told him years ago, and what was it? something preety much even harry figured out by himself.

What I liked? Luna was a preety fun character, she was preety much different then everyone else and I guess we were supposed to relate her to Snape at an earlier age.

Fred and George made the book, their last bit of fun before taking the road out was just hillarious.

D.A. was simply cool, perhaps forshadowing that Harry might make DADA teacher one day.

Dumbledore was simply amazing, his duel with Voldemort was top notch.

cheers!

[pegoheart144]

I definitely want to post a review but I need some time to pull my thoughts together. I'm currently reading the book for the second time.

[landoeli]

I really mad at the moment because I had a great post written and then the computer crashed and lost the post. Anyhow, this book, through the good parts and the bad, wrought my emotions more than I ever thought possible. I had to take breaks from reading it so I wouldn't get high blood pressure at age 17. My most memorable parts:
LUNA LOVEGOOD: I don't know what her purpose is yet but I'm sure it will all be explained. She is very different from the other characters.
NEVILLE: So proud of him, showing bravery worthy of Griffindor in the Dept. of Mysteries, and talent, or at least ambition, in the DA.
THRESTLES: Completely creeped me out. As Jerkwater said earlier, why hasn't harry seen them before now, didn't Luna say they are always there? Maybe you have to be depressed to see them.
CRUCIATUS: This curse was used twice and both times it shocked me. Umbridge torturing Harry, and Harry torturing(or trying to) a death eater. How can this go unnoticed by the MoM?
TWINS: Have always been my favorites, loved them even more in this installment.
UMBRIDGE: I will strangle anyone who says "hem,hem."
BRAINS: what were these about, some deeper purpose or just another mystery?
BABY: The baby head death eater cracked me up. Can't picture it.
RON: "Weasley is our King" broke my heart.
The ending,however, was prob. one of the most satisfying of the series.

[FoolOnTheHill]

My review is short and sweet. I loved it. I think it was perfect. I can't wait to read it again. And Harry has become such a teenager.

JKR is a genious!

[Sam]

I had a long, inspired review but my computer is a ************ and decided to kick me off of the internet while I was posting. So, I will say that I loved the book-and OOP rivals PoA in my personal favorites.

[chimera]

OoTP was different than I expected. It was a difficult book, and it altered many of my previous opinions about the main characters. My view of Harry, for example, is quite different. He never left much of an impression on me before, but now he's angry and dark, a teenager. He's growing up. However, while Harry's world is in upheaval, some characters like Ron and Draco seem to stay the same, as if in a time warp. I was surprised when Draco wasn't given any depth after the sorting hat song. As far as I can tell, the Slytherins are still evil and one-dimensional. Thank god Snape became more sympathetic, and for once Harry's father wasn't perfect.

All in all, OoTP isn't my favorite Harry Potter book, but I enjoyed it thoroughly, and the wait was worth it.

Some things I loved:
-Ron getting prefect and *finally* doing well at quidditch
-J.K. addressing Harry's superiority complex
-Luna, Tonks, Mundungus and Kingsley
-NEVILLE!!! boo-yah!
- !talkative! Ginny
-D.A.
-The thing with the Death Eater turning into a baby
-Sirius, until he died...
-Bill and Fleur hooking up
-Professor Lockhart in St.Mungo's
-Sirius' mother (teehee)
-Fred and George
-Percy going semi-evil (it surprised me; I'd always thought he was good underneath it all)
-Firenze

Some things I didn't like:
-Sirius dying
-some characters, like Ron, not having as much of a role
-the prophecy; it was nothing new, though the bit about one of them dying will be an interesting plot device
-how short the school year was
-Umbridge was a tad boring (other than the "I will not tell lies" bit)
-no Ron/Hermione action.. ah well
-the occlumency seemed pointless

That pretty much covers it, though I'm sure I'll think of more once I post this. There's one thing I'm certain of though: it's going to be a long, painful wait until the next book.

[ArchChancellor]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

GOOD:
Dumbledore's army (loved Harry as teach)
DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES BOO YA (creeepy veil... u can bet that's coming back)
Sirius black dying (I'll explain in a min)
Dumbledore's loooong talk (so that's why, I'm glad we know more about Sybil)
Inner conflict/strife (very good theme thruout)
Voldemort vs Dumbledore (Dumbledore's got style, eh?)
Grawp (He will have purpose... you shall see, disbelievers!)

BAD:
Death Eater woman, one which tortured Neville's parents (Now Harry and Neville will have to compete for revenge, old story)
Dumbledore's silence (completely unjustified, in my opinion)
Fred, George, and Harry not allowed to play (Stupid Umbridge carried it too far)


OKay, about Sirius. I knew as soon as they entered that room with veil, it was important. I was creeped out by the voices behind... i knew something bad was going to happen. Then, when Sirius fell through, I didn't get it. WHY!? so quick, so simple... we don't even see what's behind, and afterwards i realized that this made me even more creeped out. Something's still not right about that veil... it can't simply be a gateway to death. Something gives me a nasty feeling that there might come a time when the veil opens, and something comes out...
Sirius's death is the perfect beginning. I have a serious belief that book 6 is going to be about Harry losing it... he is going dark. The need to revenge his godfather, his using the cruciatus, all the anger pent up after the stupidity and confidence of his fellow students and superiors.
....I can't wait, its too exciting!

[padfoot21]

I really like it. I wasn't as surprised at Harry's anger as many people seem to be. I completely understand all of it - from beginning to end. I think that Harry had every right in the world to be upset about everything. I do think however, that Harry should have been filled in on more of the things that Dumbledore explained to him later in the book. I know why Dumbledore didn't - he explained, but I think that if Harry knew all of the stuff he was told earlier then he would have dealt with it quite well. I guess I just don't fully understand why Dumbledore's information would have been such hard thing for Harry to deal with. I don't know - maybe I just have to reread that passage.

I also am still in shock over the death. I can't believe it!

[padfoot21]

Originally posted by ArchChancellor (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=391091#post391091))
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

... I have a serious belief that book 6 is going to be about Harry losing it... he is going dark. The need to revenge his godfather, his using the cruciatus, all the anger pent up after the stupidity and confidence of his fellow students and superiors.
....I can't wait, its too exciting!


ok, I really really don't think that Harry's going to go dark - that would be giving into Voldemort - giving him more power. It also wouldn't be in Harry's character to do that. Harry obviously needs practice getting his temper under control and I think that he'll be dealing with that in the next book, but his quite temper and all of the loss that he's suffered won't turn him over to the "dark side" - though I do think he'll have a lot of very strong emotions to deal with in the future that he probably won't want to face.

[Aelurus13]

I will keep mine short, I have mine on my own site.

http://www.geocities.com/the_golden_snitch_guild/brootp.html

[Tankin]

Ok i'd just like everyone to hear my little opinion on how book 7 could possibly end, This is abit far-fetch'd but it'd get alot of people off guard........


Well we all know that Petunia and Vernon have to make excuses for where harry disappears to, so they say he goes to that incurably criminal place, but what if at the end of book 7 we find out that harry was in fact at that place all along, and was just a looney? Someone who thinks he is a wizard?... I doubt it but I got 1-3years to waste b4 book 6 comes out and im already bored :(

[Summergurl]

I just finished and I must say, I LOVED IT! so far my fav in the series!! I loved every single part of it, so here goes my opinions


Ginny: loved her! you see more of her personality then previously and you begin to see her and neville become part of the trio. She is growing up alot specially since having a boyfriend, which because of she can talk to harry. I like this Ginny, she talks to harry without blushing and smling and truly talks back to him, for example when he is angry about the voldemort pocessing him thing and she gets angry and tells him that she does know what it is like cuz she was pocessed by him, not the same was as harry but still.

Cho: I dont know if many people thought she was useless or thought the whole H/Cho was pointless, but i didnt. I think this storyline is important because harry finally stops seeing the perfect, beautiful girl he fantasized about before, he actually gets to know her....and he sees her differently. Whenever they were together she was either wanting him to tell her about cedric and asking "Harry, did he mention me before he died", getting mad and jealous over Hermione and him, and mad because he doesnt agree with her about her dumb friend marietta. oh, and the whole thing about her crying and thrwoing her broom(something along the lines of this...) because they lost at quidditch. So, I think, in order for Harry to move on with someone else, whom we dont know yet, I think he hasta get over his Cho thing and stop seeing her as this pefect girl. I liked her at the beginning but at the end, hated her. one more thing on her....how, after the article in the quibbler got printed, she came up to him and started talking to him, when she was so mad at him before that.

Sirius death: I was devastated!! and I cried. Some have mentioned that they were more effected by Cedric's death, but im the opposite. yea, his death was quick, but look what was happening around harry...everything was going so fast. what made me sad and upset was afterwards and Harrys reaction....how he yelled and cried and lupin had to hold him back.this got me sad because even though we were only starting to know sirius it upset me becuase of how much he meant to harry. He was like a father to him, a friend, and understood him so much, it was like he had a parent in his life. He was James best friend, and if anyone could tell harry anything he wanted to know about his father, it would be sirius. I think there is more to the veil that we dont know yet.

Harrys atitude: I liked it...he seemed so real in this book and so teenage like! if he wasnt angry, id be worried. I liked how he spoke his mind, even though itd get him in detention, I like how he showed so much emotion when he was breaking everything in dumbledores office at the end. I doubt he is turning dark, i think he is angry at voldemort for ruining so many peoples lives.

someone said that dumbledore told harry stuff he already knew...but that isnt true.....we found out that mrs figg isnt behind his safeness at the dursleys, but pentunia and his mother is. we found out that either himself or voldie hasta die, both cannot live if the other is alive....GO HARRY :)

so, all and all LOVE IT 5/5 stars! to me, best book yet....tells you things, but not everything, leaves you wanting to hop back onto the hogwarts express and find out more :) another awsome book in the series...I WANT BOOK 6!!!

P.S-maybe for book six people shouldnt pick book 5 apart as much some did with book 4 and try not to give theories on every lil detail.just enjoy it! becuase obviously people had these HUGE expectations.

[Picko]

I finished it and I must say I thought it was brilliant. I thought that GoF was better than OotP but OotP was still an amazing read.

If I was to really go through my thoughts we'd be here all day but I'll just say Umbridge was awesome, Neville's character development was great and Dumbledore is truly the man :D

[too_wicked]

I finished it yesterday and all I can say is.

Wow.

Now I understand why do we have to wait for 3 years for book 5. All of them changed especially Harry. Harry is angsty. Okay the world is on your shoulders but I was a bit irritated with him when he kept on biting Ron and Hermione's heads. I was a bit annoyed with him when he got jealous of Ron for being prefect. I mean comeon! Give the kid a break. But still, I love Harry. OotP has a lot of character development from Harry to Sirius, from Ginny to Hermione, from Ron to Neville. JKR really is a genius.

I really liked chapter 2. I was laughing so hard my roommate thought I was crazy. I liked Harry and Cho's date and his reaction to Cho. It was hilarious. Cho the human hosepipe--hilarious.

Ron becoming prefect was a bit shocker but him being lousy in Quidditch is both funny and depressing. I can imagine Ron's reaction when the whole school populace sang Weasley is our King. Poor kid.

I liked Ginny's character development. At least we all know now that she isn't some whiny little kid. And I liked the fact that she is over Harry.

Dolores Umbridge. Evil, twisted, loony hag. I rest my case.

Luna Lovegood is definitely funny. Hope to see her in the next books.

The death--to be honest (call me a whiner, I don't care) but I cried. My roommate asked me why I was sobbing and I just said, "Sirius is dead!" Okay, now that was pathetic. Moving on, the death was a shocker as we all think it will be Hagrid. Even if I don't want it to happen I really think it's bound to happen. Maybe Sirius' death will be a key to something we will learn about Harry.

Overall rating: 10 stars.

JKR is definitely a genius.

[looneylupin]

Okay, had a good review but it got erased, so let me try this again.

First let me say that I loved the book. It was utterly delightful, I am thinking about reading it again (I ordered the audio books, not gonna be here for 3 or so days, but I don't think I can wait that long), because like many of you I read it very quickly.

Let me also say that J.K.R. did not let us down, I know many people were saying that she was ruining their harry, with romance/darker themes. But the romance wasn't that big of a thing at all, it was pushed to the side, never imposing upon the story.

So far as the darker themes go, I think it was dark yes, but thats neccesary. This isn't Wonderland, there is a war going on here.

I absolutely LOVED all the new places we got to see, the Ministry, St. Mungos,#12 Grammauld Place, and I loved all the new characters they introduces, Dung :) , Tonks, Kingsley, Luna

Fred and George are too cool, we got to see more of Lupin, I like Peeves considerably more, Umbridge is a witch, she is cruel, and makes a particularly good antagonist (unless Voldemort is around).

I absolutely loved when harry talked to Luna when she was pinning up notices for people to return her stuff, it was sad, but it let me in on what an amazing personality she has, heck I woudn't wear a giant lion's head :)

OMG Dumbledore and Voldemort's duel was absolutely amazing...as was the whole battle between the Order and the Death Eaters....

Sirius, my old friend, where have you gone....I was mad at harry when he didn't think of opening sirius's package to try and comunicate with him. I have to admit that, when sirius stumbled through that arch I nearly broke down, I was sad, especially when Lupin had to hold harry back...

All in all an amazing book, now I will read it again

....oh and did anyone noticed the continued reference to toads and frogs, Hedwig had one in her beak (I'm sure there are others, but like I said earlier, read it a bit too fast)

[Bouncing_Ferret]

Well, I finished OotP two days ago, and have started slowly rereading it, so that at the moment I'm just sort of mulling over it. The first time I read it, I zoomed through it, reading pretty much only every second word, because I wanted to get to the end quickly. So that proves it's definitely a page turner, huh? :D

When I began the book, I was very surprised that Harry was being, well... such a prat! I keep forgetting that he's a teenager, and that he had reasons for being a bit... snappy. But that really shocked me until I began to understand the reasons behind it!

However, once Harry joined up with the Order, I really began to enjoy reading it. The character development was excellent in characters such as Neville, Ginny and Cho, but I thought that there was a lot more of character development needed in the members of the Order, especially Lupin, who I hope is going to become a more active character in future books.

I didn't especially like the fact that we were flooded by new characters at the beginning - this was a bit daunting, but when I'd read further, I began to realise their relevance to the story's super objective.

However, I am disappointed that I didn't see much of a through line in the novel. A lot of things seemed to just happen for the sake of happening, or to build tension/drama, but really had no relevance to the plot eg. the chapter on the Woes of Mrs Weasley. I suppose these things might impact on future books, but I'm still a little disappointed.

The death of Sirius was also a bit strange. I read it, and thought "Oh dear, Sirius died" and just kept going. But then an hour later I burst into tears and got very angry at JK for killing him. I think because we all knew someone important was going to die, the shock factor was decreased a lot, so I think that perhaps JK's (or her publisher's) decision to release the information regarding the death was possibly not a great move.

I was also disappointed not to find out more about the Malfoys. I was eager to find out more about Narcissa especially, but there was very little mention of her, apart from her relation to Sirius, which I didn't really find surprising. I didn't like Draco at all - it's not that I want him to redeem himself, but it'd be nice if he showed a little more of that Malfoy charm rather than just plain thug-ishness.

The Sorting Hat song bothered me as well. Even though it seemed to promote the message that the school houses should stick together, it only succeeded in disuniting them further, by singling out Slytherin as the bad guy, and making Hufflepuff seem like it was full of students with roughly the same IQs as porridge.

But I truly loved many parts of the novel aswell. The introduction of Bellatrix Lestrange was wonderful - I hope we see much more of her in the future. She seems to rival Voldemort in evil-ness, doesn't she? I also loved Mundungus - what a lovely chap! :D

The formation of the DA was also among my favourite parts of the book - I'm in awe at anyone who can find something that they truly believe is worth fighting for, and so I completely admired the members of the DA, especially Neville!

Snape's memory in the Pensieve was one of the most shocking moments of the book for me, but I did like it very much, because I always knew that Severus had his reasons, and I never believed that James and Sirius could have been that wonderful. Lily did seem a bit like Hermione, though, didn't she? Makes you think - perhaps father like son? ;)

All in all, OotP was a great read. A little too long, and a little too dark sometimes, but excellent nonetheless. I loved the insight into some of the lesser character's personalities, and I loved the introduction of so many new magical places too!

Yay for OotP! :clappy:

-Jemma

[Jonesy]

I haven't finished the book yet.. about 2 chapters away.. my sister read it first and been blabbling a bit of the end..

if before I got the book someone told me that I won't be able to finish it in a day.. I'll laugh. but it's already the second day and I got.. bored.. reading it that I find myself taking breaks between reading, watching tennis.. I've been waiting to read it for such a long time. and since I haven't finished it yet.. well.. so far I can only say that I'm rather disappointed. of coz I blame this on the way I was so eager to know what's going to happened in the book that I read anything I could find about theories, spoilers, etc.. it doesn't live up to my expectation. I thought I'll be finding a lot of new informations and new facts.. well the book does provide lots of it. but it's just not enough.. haha.. maybe this is just me wanting so much more of Potter-world. The characters development are really interesting. the situations, etc.. all entertaining. but I don't have the build-up energy the kind I had reading the previous books.. my sister read all the books before I did and she provide me with ALL the information before I even started reading the series. but still every book was amazing to read. this book is really rather.. boring. I can't believe I'll be saying something like about this book.. I'm tad worried that after this book the whole hype will phase out. some parts I think is over-written.. should get this MUCH of pages just to get into the last really interesting part.
My sister pitied Snape coz what James did.. I still can't understand why he and the whole slytherin aren't being expelled yet.. but then again they're in a whole lot of different world. so the manners and rules are different.
There are too much unfinished parts also.. what's happening with Petunia??? just leaving us at that?? and the whole 'we'll know more about Lily Potter'? What secret Dumbledore told Harry anyway?? I think I like it more 'before' I actually read this book.. I think I shouldn't write here before I finished the book..

I hate Umbridge so much I wish I could just tear her out of the pages and choke her!! -- a very brilliant writing

[idcrisis86]

Can someone please clarify the exact definition of a half-blood? I thought it was someone w/ one muggle parent and one magical parent...but in the end of the book Dumbledore calls Harry a half-blood. Since Lily was a witch, doesn't that make Harry a pure-blood?

[Auror77]

I really enjoyed the book, it revealed many things I have been guessing the whole three years. I was a little disappointed because I thought for sure Ron was going to reveal his feelings for Hermione. He didn't, but the way they were fighting and arguing, it sounded like they were married or something. Also, you got to understand Harry's anger in this book. Alot of people thought he was a jerk but he was entitled to that anger. I do admit he shouldn't have snapped at everybody so much but he was understandable for his rage. I, unlike others, understood his pain. I hated that filth Umbridge lady, she was a sinster, old hag with an ugly face. I was hoping the centaurs would beat the **** out of her.:)

[Kevin]

I really liked this. Best book of the series so far.
I guessed that sirius was going to die half way into the book.
But Dumbledore really showed his power and why Voldemort is so afraid of him and that he did not listen to the death eater who tried to tell him Dumbledore was there. Pretty cool to know that Fawkes can take the advra kadvera curse.
Harry was as i expected him to be. Moody teenager.
Herimone was pretty good.
Ron annoyed me with his saying mate all the time.
Ginny was quite good as well. Much more developed.

I kind of expected the prophecy thing ever since i read the first book.
Overall it was a good book. Though i read it in 3-4 hours. I can speed read most books. Apart from physics text books.

10/10 :)

[Phoenix Angel]

i read the book saturday it took me most of the day and i thought it was brilliant, it's now my joint favourite with PoA .
I liked that Harry was angrier after all he's been through it's about time, glad he was a litle less angry as the book went on.
the death of sirius, i was upset but it was kinda left open as the archway and curtain thing weren't explained, i hope they will be. even though the death was quick and confusing i still cried and i didn't when cedric died, the reason i cried was harry and how he was waiting for sirius to get back up Harry's reaction made me cry more than the fact it was sirius who died, although the way the look on sirius' face was described when he died was sad as he was shocked and had been so confident a minute before. some people have said they were dissapointed by the death but i wasn't the way it happened made it sadder to me, and the whole curtain thing has made me want to know what their about which is what i love about the books things are answered but there is still things you want to know from other books.
i loved the new characters Luna is so weirdly cool, tonks is brilliant i loved how she could change her appearence, umbridge i hatd her(which is good as it shows what a good writer J.K is)kreature hted him too he lied to harry about sirius.

opinions on old characters:
Percy weasley- can''t believe what a git he was to his family i hope they never forgive him.
Fudge- paranoid power hungry fool, he's so mean and stupid
Fred and George- i love those guys even more they provided the comic relief, the book needed, always have been and always will be my fave characters.
Dumbledore- at last!!! they showed why voldemort fears him that guys got some serious power.

i liked the prophecy thing it explained why voldemort attempted to kill harry for me.

overall i loved the book it answered some questions but gave us more to be answered, the new characteres were great the old ones were developed, it was worth the wait and know i can't wait for the sixth one

[vagos]

the book was great but i was a little dissapointed.as said above it was a stupid thing to say an important character would die because when sirius died i felt nothing interesting.i cried when cedric died and felt really stupid for not crying ay sirius.i had guessed that.i had read many theories about the prophecy last year and and thought that JKR would shock us again but the prophecy said nothing at all.only the things we knew.
i liked ginny and neville,the cho thing showed us that cho is not a cute chinese girl but a little stupid,fred&george were great(leaving school just before their NEWTs) and i really liked Tonks and Luna.i hope we see more of them later.
i dont think its too big(the more harry the better),but i think that there's a plotline missing.i hope it's only this book(and not 6 and 7) because then it will be different,but i still think it's more like a middle book.nothing actually happens,like in 'star wars:attack of the clones' and 'lotr:two towers'.
weasel king should kill umbridge.
everybody says at least 2 times 'mate' in this book...is it a new hogwarts trend???

[JephReeta]

I have never been quite so emotionally involved in a book before. I was tense and depressed and completely unapproachable while reading OotP. All I wanted was for SOMETHING to go right for the good guys! I could definitely feel Harry's frustration with Dumbledore and I never thought I would be mad at him. I didn't like that feeling.

I have never hated anyone so much in my life as I hated Umbridge!:angry:
I agree with Loz on this point:
Umbridge, for instance, was in my mind, a little too evil. She was a thoroughly despisable character, and I highly enjoyed conjuring up ways to maim or kill her, but she detracted, in general, from the other despisable characters.

A good book. Definitely dark, frustrating and highly depressing. Glad the twins were there to prevent me from having an "Umbridge" Ulcer!!!

PoA is still my favorite although this one was good, and I am ready for #6 now. :rolleyes:

[xicanti]

When I first finished the book, I was completely in awe of it. Now that I've had some time to fully digest it, though, I'm feeling as though this was very much a transition book. I think it told us things we'll need to know for future installments and set up certain events, but I don't feel as though it accomplished a great deal all by itself, plot-wise.

I loved and adored all the little details, though. Small things, like the information about Sirius' family and the encouter with Neville's parents were very interesting. The characters were also fantastic; I liked seeing Ginny actually talk, and it was fantastic to see more of Neville.

Sirius' death went by too quickly. I was expecting him to pop up out of the woodwork right up until the very end, since I didn't get any read sense of his being gone.

I thought Harry was being rather pretentious in this one. Yes, it's all very well and good that he can defeat the forces of evil, but does he have to rub it in everyone's faces so much?

[pasalita]

First off, I really dig that we did get some answers in this book: Trelawney’s first valid prediction and prophecy, what happened to Hagrid during the summer, Harry and Cho, Harry’s scar and Voldemort, seeing Dumbledore in action, etc.

But, on the whole, and mind you this is based on a first reading of the book only, I felt that there was a lot of redundancy and stalling within the plot of this book itself. I understood that Harry was feeling isolated and left out by the third chapter of the book and, really, I was truly getting annoyed with the fact that we had to be reminded of this at least once a chapter.

And, as far as character development goes, I would have liked to see Harry mature a little more. Despite four years of knowing he shouldn’t keep his suspicions to himself, knowing that he has two great friends to confide in, knowing that Hermoine has a better sense of what’s going on and that it’s detrimental to everyone involved when he doesn't trust her, he still doesn’t get it. That, to me, is probably one of the most frustrating things about the book. He should know better by now!

I did enjoy the character development in Hermoine, the fact that Ron gets to share the limelight, and the surprises about Ginny being this little vixen. Okay, well, not vixen, but she’s definitely more confident than the elder three when it comes to exploring emotions and entering relationships. I also enjoyed seeing how Neville has grown to be more confident and more a vital part of the group.

JK wrote Umbridge very well. I really think she’s got a knack for creating and writing characters we can all hate with so much passion: Lockhart, Fudge, Skeeter, etc..

And, well, while JK did reveal some stuff, she, deservedly so, left me wanting at the end of the book. I mean, what we learn about Lily didn’t seem to suffice. I though it would be much more grander. And, I would have liked to delve more into the relationship aspects of being 15 and in school. Though, don’t get me wrong: I dug what was revealed about James, that Snape becomes vulnerable, and, again, the Ginny sub plot.

The action at the end was very exciting.

All in all, I think I’ll need to read it a few more times to get the gist and have a full appreciation of everything going on. It’s kind of like watching a movie you’ve been waiting to see, and only catching the superficial aspects that first time watching it. I feel like I need to read the book again with a fine-tooth comb to see where JK will be going next.

[Earendil]

Okay, I FINALLY finished it after three days of constant reading, and I am ready to get everything out of my system. I should first make it clear that I found this book to be absolutely wonderful; it meets and exceeds my sky-high expectations and even surpassed its predecessors. Before I begin, let me warn you that this will be LONG. I tried to organize it into sections to make it more readable, and I do hope that some of you will take the time to read it (Heck, it's summer vacation. I ain't goin' anywhere, why should you be? ;) ) as it would be nice to know that I'm not crazy and that some of you saw what I saw in this book.

Hem, hem. Here we go.

Harry
I remember thinking in the first two books that Harry was a pretty cool kid, but nothing too special about him. The other characters were so vividly developed; they had such sparkling personalities and well-defined characters, and then there was Harry the hero: solid, dependable, normal--your average blank-slate run-of-the-mill hero. There was nothing to say about him except that he was the main character and ran around saving alot of people. He was utterly one-dimensional in my eyes. Then came books three and four, where I saw a little more depth. He was angry at times, irrational, and sometimes just downright idiotic. I no longer saw the one-dimensionally noncomittal hero of the first two books; Harry became two-dimensional now with the changing plot. And now, in Book Five, I was delighted to see Harry finally becoming three-dimensional. As Loz mentioned in her review, his emotions made him so real that you could almost touch him. I could hardly believe that this was the Harry I had come to know and sort-of like from the first four books. He was bitter, resentful, angsty, hot-tempered, irrational, angry, and utterly real. Instead of being this character who had virtually two moods (good and bad), his emotions were complex, confusing, and convoluted. I found myself sympathizing with him at times and wanting to just wallop him over the head at other times. There were times when he was behaving so terribly that I was horrified, and then there were times that he was so heart-breakingly vulnerable that I felt terrible for the poor kid. One thing is for sure: his character was developed in such depth in OotP that I was finally able to feel like we had a hero that we could trust, identify with, and admire for this series.

The Plot
I'm not sure what I was expecting to happen in this book, but I was definitely prepared to be surprised. And I was....sort of. I was surprised that not a whole lot of progress was made in terms of overall plot. An entire year passed since Voldemort's return, and the only thing that the good guys achieve is the conviction of the rest of the WW that he's back? The story arch of this book differed drastically from the rest of the series. Instead of a slow buildup leaning toward something that the readers are lead to expect and then a sudden turnaround to reveal some bizarre and amazing twist, we have a number of vaguely suspicious instances lacking in focus that lead up to a big fight and no bizarre and amazing twist. Now don't get me wrong: I immensely enjoyed everything that happened. But if asked to summarize the plot, I wouldn't know where to begin. There is so much that happens in this book, but it can't be grouped together in a cohesive way. I guess that's the main problem in writing a 900 page book: it's easy to lose focus in the overall plot. However, I absolutely loved the ending, and it was certainly a relief to have some major things cleared up (the lost prophecy, why Harry stays at the Dursleys, stuff like that). There was definitely a lot of filler and alot of fluff to build up how horrible Umbridge was, but in terms of the central plot, I felt like I was being left in the dark for much of the book.

The Characters
Old ones
Ron: I was so proud of him in this book! Prefect AND Keeper...well, he didn't do so well at either, but he finally got his chance to be in the spotlight, and was much the better for it. My only problem was that we lost Angsty Ron and gained Big Man on Campus Ron. What happened to his bitterness at being poor, or his jealousy of always being overshadowed? It just sort of vanished without ever being resolved. Still, it was nice to see him enjoying himself a little, and becoming more well-adjusted. I do wish we had had some closure about his angsty-ness in GoF, because he seemed a little too happy-go-lucky in this one.

Hermione: Some things never change, and I'm delighted to say that Hermione is one of them. She was still the Hermione we know: bossy, supercilious, ingenious, pushy, and infallibly right about EVERYTHING. Although she did develop a little bit more, in terms of her friendship was Harry. It was wonderful to see their relationship grow and become even stronger than before, and I was a little surprised to see how much they depend on each other.

Malfoy: Here's another who doesn't change. No chance of him ever being redeemed, IMHO. He's much too deeply involved in the Bad Side to ever get out of it now, and that's no big loss to me.

Neville: Go Neville! I love this kid. He kicked some major butt in this book, and it's about time. I always knew that there was something important about Neville, and it turns out that I was right. It was terrific to see him actually developing outstanding powers and a much stronger character, and I can't wait to see how much more he changes in the future.

Ginny: Nice to see that she actually developed a personality -- and I actually quite like her now. I was always pretty unfair about her before, considering that we only saw her in CoS when she was acting like a pathetic ninny, but she actually showed some spunk and humor in OotP. And playing Seeker? I definitely didn't see that one coming. She surprised me alot, and I'm sure that she'll continue to change in the future.

New Ones

Umbridge: *vomits loudly* She made Harry carve a sentence into his hand, what more can I say about her? I'm glad that JK put her in there, but I could hardly classify her as the central villain, with Voldemort on the loose, so her presence was more of an abysmal annoyance.

Tonks and the other members of the Order: How cool were they? I especially liked Tonks and her ever-changing hair. The introduction of a group of cool, new, powerful wizards on Harry's side was a nice addition; it made the story more rich and the fight against Voldemort more real.

Luna: My favorite newbie! This girl was awesome -- not many people can wear a gigantic roaring lion on their heads without shame. Everything about her was so hilariously irritating, and she still turned out to be a loyal and dependable friend. Here's hoping that she gets with Ron. ;)

The Death
Well. I can honestly say that I was NOT expecting this. I had all my money on Mrs. Weasley, Hagrid, and/or Dumbledore that I was dead certain that Sirius had no chance. He needed more development, he needed his role to be stronger, and what's more, Harry needed him in his life. The plot needed him too. What was up with this? Was this in any way, shape, or form necessary? No, it wasn't. His death achieved nothing. And I'm not saying this because Sirius is one of my favorite characters and his death was so sad that I would have cried, had I been the type of person who allows herself to cry, which is true. I'm saying it because it was completely unnecessary. Hopefully, the purpose of killing off a character with so much potential and with such a crucial role will be explained in the future, but I still fiercely maintain that it could have been avoided.

The Romance
Oh, gag. I was pleased to see that JK didn't go overboard with the raging hormones, since they're my least favorite part of the books, but I was not pleased with Harry's first kiss. I mean, Cho practically forced herself on him. Not at all the way it should have been. And was it just me, or was there nothing to develop R/Hr's relationship? That's fine with me, since I avidly ship H/Hr, but jeez, I was expecting them to get it out of their systems by now to leave the way clear for Harry and Hermione. I'm not liking this unresolved tension at all. I'm still thankful that there wasn't too much romance in the book, but I couldn't help but feel supremely annoyed at Cho's constant neediness and then her petty jealousy. I hope Harry gives her the permanent boot and never sets eyes on her again. As for Ginny....well, I just don't know. I formerly scoffed at the H/G ship, but I can't help but worry that they may have a chance now because of Ginny's new attitude. Let's hope she stays with Dean (assuming that she was serious about that...*bites nails*)

In Conclusion....
If I had to sum up this book in one word, I would say Emotionalrollercoaster. It was wildly funny, heart-poundingly intense, disturbingly real, pleasantly quirky, astonishingly deep, and profoundly dark. There were times when I was gasping in shock and chewing on my nails in anxiety, and believe me, I NEVER get so worked up over a book. I was also laughing out loud like a madwoman and even gaping in wide-eyed horror at the climactic ending. Bottom line: they weren't lying when they said that this was her "richest" installment yet. There was just so much in this book for a devoted fan's brain to chew over that it's a wonder I didn't combust before I finished. I can't say enough to express how much I enjoyed this book, despite its sudden dark and downbeat deviation from the rest of the series. It achieved more depth than many books I've read, while still maintaining that light and quirky feel that makes the Potter books so enjoyable. I can rant and rave till next year and still not be able to convey what a terrific book this is, so I had better wrap it up here. My advice for reading Book Six, provided that it gets published while we're all still alive: Don't over-theorize. That's what almost ruined this book for me. Try not to think about it so much to the point where you confuse canon with fanon theories. These books are far too wonderful to be ruined by anything.

And now...off to re-read! OotP will go the same way that GoF went for me: it will get read and re-read almost to the point of memorization. I hope that you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and that's saying something. Cheers!

[crazychick0762]

Alright...my review.

I thought the book was good. Really, I did. Not my favorite (that's still a toss up between PoA and GoF) but still good. I like that they're growing up. I really enjoyed the humor. And it had me hooked, from beginning to end, just like all the rest of them did. Couldn't put the darn thing down, as hard as I tried.

The one thing that did really seem to bother me about it though was the fact that it didn't really seem to have a set plot. In SS it was all about the stone and the journey to find it. In CoS it was about learning about the CoS. In PoA it was about finding out things about Sirius and all that. In GoF it was about the Triwizard Tournament. But in this one it just seemed to skip around. One chapter was about the Order, the next about his dreams, the next about Cho, the next about Umbrige..it was just hard to figure out what exactly was going on with it all.

I thought a lot of it was unneccessary (especially Grawp) and it easily coulda been about 100 pages less than it was. I dunno I just expected a lot of it to tie in somehow but it didnt...maybe she'll tie it in next book, I dunno.

But even with that, I thought the book was great. Hopefully the reason of the things that as of now seem pointless will be explained to me as the series continues.

[theblast12]

I swear i think this book had a sticking charm on it or something.
I read the book and only put it down when i seriously had to go to the bathroom or was really hungry.

Anyways, I really enjoyed this book. The plot develpoment was good as always. But this book had many changes form previous installments.
Some where good while some were less welcomed. Seing the Dursleys finally come to grips on who they were taking care of was a big relief.
And finally meeting so many people outside the usual chain of parents and teachers was absolutely fascinating. I like Tonks a lot in particular.
Luna Lovegood is another interesting new character aside from the fact she is too deserving of her nickname. Professer Umbridge. I was ready to take the book and rip it into pieces. But that sticking charm kept my hands at the sides and all I could do was keep reading. That's all the new characters. Well, most of them anyways.

Now charcter development. I never actually though that Harry and Cho would ever get together. But when they actuyally did, I was still disapointed when their relationship was sliced to pieces. Harry, you tactless prat. I like Ginny a lot more than she ever did before. The fact that he gave up on Harry i guess is big part of that. But she seemed so much more interesting this time. Actually seeing Neville finally get the hang of his abilities was very gratifying. I knew all along that there must be some form of powerful magic hiding inside of Neville waiting to be realeased. Seeing Fred and George and their antics was absolutely hilarious. Finally, Harry himself. He was getting angry a lot more often then before. He starting to remind me greatly of Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. We'll see how Harry continues to act anmd whether he learns to control his emotions.

Now, plotline. The whole thing with Harry journeying through the Department of Mysteries and getting farther each time was absolutely fascinating. That was a brillaint idea. And the whole underground D.A. thing was very entertaining to read about. The only thing I can't get is how Cho wasn't able to stun anything before and now she can create a Patronus? Harry's not that good, is he?...... That could come up again.
Even if it was a lot different from Harry's previous climatic adventures. Harry's journey through the Dept. of Mysteries was probably the best and most interesting ever. Seeing Harry take on the Death Eaters pretty much all by himself just goes to prove how powerful Harry really is. I wasn't the least bit surprised when Harry used the Cruciatus Curse of Beatrix. He's certainly powerful enough. He could probably use the Killing Curse too. Now, Sirius's death. I was VERY disappointed. He was one of my favorite charcters. He just didn't seem like he was ready to go. If someone like Dumbledore or Moody died, it wouldn't be very bad because they are expecting their lives to end very soon. Seeing Sirius laughing while dueling Beatrix one second and gone beyond the curtain the next was very disturbing. *Sigh* On a happier note, one of the best things about this book is that something happens every few weeks. In previous books, we would skip as much as 4 months at a time. I liked seeing more things happen in a certain period of time.

Finally, my closing comments. This book I would have to say is, apart from the death, my favorite. Even with it's chilling atmosphere I enjoyed this book more than pretty much any I have ever read. I give this book 10 out of 10.

[In Jux Sanet]

Hey,book five was too short!

[tyro]

okay, here are some of my thoughts: -

Okay, what people must remember is that HP is a story, just a story, and what i mean by this is that it's bound by the same laws that every program, movie and book is. Who watches "24"? Even though we've come to expect major twist plots and turns, we know Jack will never die, he is the "untouchable". It's just the same with HP, there's the formula and rules which every story follows. Sure there's always darkness and death, but an equilibrium always develops, compensation if you like. So here i see the untouchables as inevitably the Trio, but also Fred and George, who were some of the best characters in the book. Obviously, towards the end these rules may well be broken, but i don't think we've got anything to worry about for definatly the sixth book, people will die, of course, but just remember, it's a story and is bound by these rules, there are always untouchables, characters, contexts etc that must remain if HP is going to remain HP.

Okay, onto my second point - The Humour.
Personally, i think the humour is second to none here, probably the funniest moment was Ron's reply as he clambered off the Knight Bus, and the Threstrals

And my third point - Hormones.
No, not Hermione, Hormones. I'm not sure how far JK is gonna develop these characters, the audiance has changed so much she'll have to. We saw the first inkling in this book, with Harry constantly losing his temper etc.

4th - The Cover
I know it's a trivial matter but the cover was, well, it could have been better. One of the best moments that i saw in the book that would have made a class cover was the moment all of the Threstrals rose up and flew out carrying some of the DA with them into the blood red sunset.

5th - Sirius
Inevtiably, the death was major, though i have not fully appreciated it yet. One thing that i really didn't like in this book was the sheer lack of dialogue between Remus Lupin and HP. Anyone remeber the end to POA? maybe it's just me, as he is one of my favourite characters. But now Sirius has popped his clogs maybe their relationship will grow, as he is the only member remaining of James' group of mates, speaking of which, where was Wormtail in that book? Maybe he's served his purpose. Also, that scene form snape's memory was amazing, just to see what James was like was brilliant, and Harry's feelings after weer classic

5 - Umbridge, Snape and Lucius
Umbridge, dear oh dear, how i hate Umbridge. I know, this was the point, and it lead to some truly brilliant story telling, the OOtP was penned in, nowhere to turn The Ministry was against them, Voldermort was against them, Dumbledore is truly the greatest.
Once again, Snape's lines were short and sweet, Lucius was just brilliant.

6- Cho
Well, previously the Cho moments were one of things i was looking forward to. I'm not sure why JK made it not work out, but she did it in style. The moment on the train at the end, somehitng about how the days when Harry was bothered about Cho seemed to belong to past that was unconnected from him, the death really has changed him, and i think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg -what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger.

7 - Verdict
Well, i feel that inevitbly GOF proved to be the turning point, OOP seemed to just consolidate all of my suspicions, you know? Nothing really, what's the word, darn i can't find one. Also, the longer the better, but no one knows how long/short 6 and 7 will be. The idea of the prophecy was brilliant, bringing consistency once again between books and really setting it up now for the big showdown, i'm pretty sure book six will set the scene and book seven will be the battle, the climax and the end.

Currently, as it stands, my preference for the series: -
POA,GOF,OOP all tie in first, unable to distingiush between them
PS is second
COS is last, i just found it caught in the middle between a childs book and the more darker, "adult" ones.

[Llopin]

Well, I must say I liked the book, but PoA remains as my favorite, although this one is very close. And I don't think this book was SO dark, at least I expected to be more dark, which is not, and there's a lot of humour (maybe more than in the other books). I read it during the whole weekend, taking breaks, because I didn't want it to finish, but I read the last five chapters wihout any pause, because I couldn't help it. When will book 6 be out?

Anyhow, I found the first pages to be good but not great. I thought the story got better and better, and I like that. It was interesting to know more about Sirius and his relatives, but when Kreacher was presented I already guessed he would do something important. Also, it was good to see moody and Lupin back (Lupin is my favourite character), as well as a lot of new characters. Tonks, Mundungus and Kingsley seem interesting, I'm looking foward to them in the next books. However, when Harry and company get to Hogwarts it's when I found the real story to begin. But all the issues regarding the OotP and all were quite good. And discovering the Ministry of Magic was also amazing, and the Fudge-Dumbledore discussion in the hearing was also well developed.

The events in Hogwarts are set pretty well, maybe there are TOO many dreams but I guess they're necessary for the plot. Surprisingly, JK found an ever more annoying character than Fudge, Umbridge, than stands as the "baddie" of the book, but of course Voldie is the eral villian. The classes are here more descrived than in other books, or I though so. But the best moments of the book, In my opinion, are the ones concerning Dumbledore's Army. I found the idea to be really interesting, and I was excited for every meeting (and the best part is that it was later useful). About romances, I was expecting more, but I think it was alright, but I'm looking foward for Ron/Hermione and if possible Harry/Ginny (that would be cool). And the dreams were mysterious as they had to be. The Mr. Weasley attack provided a big fright as I thought he could die. And it was really cool to visit St Mungo's. The Lockhart cameo was funny.

The Dumbledore disaperance was really cool, I wasn't expecting him doing that, but he did the right thing. All the Inquisitorial Squad issues were a bit boring, and Umbridge was TOO annoying for my taste. Also, Harry does a lot of stupid things. I found the centaur subplot to be important in the future, but I didn't really think the Grawp story was necessary at all , even if he helped Harry later. It was amazing to know about Thestrals, but the flight to the Ministry was a little unbelievable. From here to the end it was the most exciting read I've had. The Death Eather runaway was truly well paced, and thrilling because you didn't know if one of the boys could die. The posterior fight with the OotP was also very well written, and the death caught me by surprise, althought I didn't find it to be SO tragic. The "duel" with Voldemort and Lestrange at the fountain was excellent, a great climax. And the last two chapters were interesting, specially Dumbledore explaining everything.

Now on to short commentaries of the characters:

Harry: I thought he was overexcited during the whole book. I understand the events turned out to be bad for him, but he was too angry, specially at the beginning and in the end. But that shows he has developed, he shows a lot more emotions than in the other books.

Ron: he didn't develop as much as Harry, but it was nice to have him around. However, he was happy for most part of the book, except whwn the Mr. Weasley attack, and that's quite weird. He managed to be keeper and prefect, althought he wasn't the best for the jobs. He is usually right when he's joking.

Hermione: no developement here either, but it was clear that Harry needed her, and that she will always be next to him to help. If she wasn't around, I doubt they could have arrived so far.

Neville: wow, this boy played a very important part in the book, showing that he can be a good wizard when he wants. I was amazed for his unexpected bravery, and it was interesting to know that he could have been the Boy who Lived. He rules big time.

Ginny: Ron's sister was in a clear supporting role, but she showed she had grown up. I liked her before, but now she's better. I expect her to play a more important role in the next books. But Dean Thomas? C'mon...

Fred and George: the kings of comic relief, the twins played a more important role that in the other books, and I was surprised, but heartedly happy because they're great characters. Good to see their joke shop is running well.

Percy: I liked this Weasley, he was cool in the last books, but the fact that he abandoned his family shocked me. I really hope he returns with his relatives and gives them a big apology.

Draco: he disappointed me, apart that he didn't develop, he didn't appear as much as other characters, and he became boring and annoying at the end. "You're dead Potter". Sure.

Cho: that girl cried too much, it became tedious. It also showed that she isn't the right person for Harry. I was actually shocked when she kissed Harry, because I'm not a H/C shipper. Cool to see they aren't togheter at the end.

Sirius: a Toast for him! He was very good in this book, helping Harry a lot. Pity he had to die, but these things happen and can't be avoided, as Lupin said. But he should've remained at the headquarters.

Lupin: being my favourite character, I'm proud of his actions in the book, but he didn't do anything really important. Anyway it's good to have him around. He didn't show symptoms of his werewolf transformation however.

Luna: she's a good new character, I didn't find her to be as annoying as some people say. She was OK, he didn't develop much however, but I'd like to see her in the next books.

Hagrid: there wasn't enough of Hagrid, and he was another of my contenders to die. But with the Grawp thing he went too far, that's for sure.

Snape: althought the character didn't develop much, I actually felt sorry for him. I always liked Snape, he's necessary for the books, but here it is shown that it isn't so bad. It was also shown that James isn't like Harry so much. i'm looking foward to Snape however.

Fudge: seems like this retard has finally accepted Voldie's return. Seriously, he should be fired somehoq, as a Minister he's pretty bad. Well, let's hope that he and Dumbledore battle togheter the enemy.

Umbridge: this is the most annoying character ever, she is a complete badass. I was disappointed when he left the school, I wanted her to be punished or something, she deserves it! She is, however, a very interesting character.

Overall, I give this book a 8.5 out of 10, because there were minor errors (like the Marauders map glitch) and it was disappointing at some little parts, but it stands as a great book, one of the best of the series. I really can't hardly wait for the next book.

[v@sh]

Overall it was quite good, wouldn't say it was my fav (that'll go to PoA or GoF) but what made it hard to choose was that JKR's writing style and the mood of the book was quite different.

In the beginning chapters I though things were quite tense in Sirius's household between members of the Order. Some things during the plot was not as good as I expected e.g. how did Cho/Hermione manage to conjure up a Patronus spell in they're first few lessons when Harry took quite a while to master his (he couldn't even hardly get a silver wisp in his 1st lesson) and the spell is meant to be grown wizards have difficulty performing. I found that hard to believe as well as the end battle, how can DE be thwarted by a bunch of 4th/5th/6th yr students even if harry is there. They seemed quite weak here but were much more superior against the actual Order.

The rest of the book was quite good though and plot points fitted together. Enjoyed certain new and old characters as pointed below. I think 3 main nagging things to me during the book was Harry's constant temper problem, Cho's continous crying and Umbridge's annoying presence around the school grounds.

Harry: I thought he was a bit over arrogant, stubborn, and lost his temper too much especially at his friends. Though it was good to see some different emotions from him I thought at least he'd be level headed a little more than what he had.

Ron: Didn't seem to be the Ron of old, he has matured to some degree though and what was good to see is that he did get some of the limelight in that he was keeper (though a little rusty at keeping until the last match) and he was a prefect which was a surprise.

Hermione: Quite the same Hermione as always, though she does seem to have loosened up a little, though I emphasise a little, mainly cos she starts breaking a few rules here and there. Her friendship with Harry began to bond closer together near the end though..hmmm...

Neville: I reckon the bets addition to the novel, developed heaps more, given much of a roll and neville kicks some serious DE in this novel hahah, his genetics from his auror parents are starting to show through.

Ginny: Like neville has developed quite a fair bit and has gotten over her crush over harry.

Fred and George: Definately a good comic relief for a dark book. Very enjoyable having them lighten things up a little and seeing more of their practical jokes and they're actually making money from they're joke shop.

Percy: I thought he was a bit of an arse like harry, specially to his family hahah. Too much of fudge's influence - will prob. i hope return back to his family in the next book since fudge has finally seen the light. Molly will accept percy back in open arms dunno bout arthur and the others though.

Draco: Did hardly nething but a side thing between him and Potter going round the school cracking jokes at them. Pretty poor.

Cho: She didn't seem bad at all in GoF, but OotP changed my opinion. All she did was cry, became qutie irritating. Nothing seem to form between harry and her when together alone.

Sirius: Well the least i expected to fall, was expecting Hagrid or one of the Weasleys. I reckon he wasn't as good in this book as PoA. Less fatherly in a way, was too hasty at times and mood seemed to be similar to Harrys at times i.e. impatient

Lupin: One of my fav. characters as well, didn't do too much but it was good to see him back in the novels. No real character change though, good old Lupin as always.

Luna: this character i dunno, seemed like not a bad addition to the novel, not great either, though it was good to see a new face in the novel around the trio.

Hagrid: expected more from hagrid, didn't do much cept teach and his thing with grawp.

Snape: I personally disliked him a little in previous books, but after finding out what happened to him i can't blame him for being so rude to potter. More knowledge of him was learnt, actually thought harry and him were gonna make up after the pensive incident haha suppose not.

Fudge: Seemed a fool at the end GoF, as well as through the majority of the book. Bout time he resign voldemorts back as well. Certainly with the MoM back on DD's side it'll fair things up a bit with the giants siding with voldy.

Umbridge: Left a little something behind at the end I thought, nothing really happened to her after all she had done while at Hogwarts. She was quite annoyin with her voice and how she paraded around the school grounds as if she owned the place.

[tree guardian]

So happy to be posting, you have no idea. OK. Straight to it then.

Order of the Pheonix is a brilliant addition to the Harry Potter series. I loved every bit of it and would change it for nothing. True there were probably more questions left unanswered than there were answers to nagging mysteries but that must be the loverly JKR style.

My jaw too dropped in the first chapter and throughout the book it contiued in the drop motion and in other cases an understanding grin.

Harry's feelings of frustration, hopelessness, anger, fury, loneliness, isolation, restlessness and overall vent-mode actions had me reeling. He was so real and true I could feel him; it was unbelievable. I love JKR for giving us the pleasure of walking in Harry's shoes. I could not believe it when the dementors showed up, freaked me out. Order of the Pheonix got right to the action and didn't let up at all. I must say, I know how he felt and could seriously sympathize. His emotional torment had me in teary eyes.

I have some quotes I'd like to list to make the point compelete:

"...the feeling of hopelessness that had plagued him all summer rolled over him once again..." pg. 7 --Harry

"...he had unsettling dreams about long dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which he supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling he had when he was awake." pg 9--Harry

(That quote struck me something terrible...) :'(

"He felt as though he was siphoning off hiw own frustration ino his cousin, the only outlet he had." pg 13 --Harry

(That quote pretty much says it all and sets the stage for much of the latter rants, vents, and creepy thoughts.)

This next quote kind of made me ill. It is such a natural thought and feeling, that I can relate to.. and the guilty feelings of thinking such too.
But more importantly it reminded me of Voldemort's and the Death Eater's treatment and feeling toward Harry..very creepy...

It would be really fun..; to taunt him, watch him powerless to respond...He'd love to vent some of his frustation..." pg (?) --Harry toward Dudley aka Big D. LOL!

Okay that is all for this post.

[auror]

I finished the book on Sunday night and was amazed. With a few dissapointments (espeacially Sirius's death) it was the best HP book which answered many questions I had since the first book. After a long wait, I can't imagine how will I wait for the sixth book. I hope that it will come in less than 3 years. :))
In the fifth book, we see most of the characters develop more. Angry Harry just fits to his age and shows the desperate emotions of a boy who's about to enter adulthood.
When he learns the whole truth about the prophecy Harry's anger dissapear and his actions start to change. He no longer acts the way he did before and needs time to evaluate the situation. I really liked to see this change emphasized in the book because it brought a more realistic view to the whole story.
I am really sad about Sirius's unexpected death. When I was reading the book I couldn't believe to the death and read the whole three pages again. Even after that I waited for the moment of his return, but eventually he didn't return. I think, J.K.will give us more information about the veil in the room with the archway. But I hope that Sirius will return somehow. He was my favorite adult character in the book and I always hoped that he and Harry will live together after all this is over. But I'm really dissapointed so I'm thinking of a scenerio that would fit to his return. Maybe he was not dead, but gone to a place hard to return (something worse than that happened to him, as DD mentioned to Vol. in their conversation, so he's not dead but in a bad condition)... And because of the bad circumstance, Lupin just didn't correct Harry's words about death. Or maybe behind the veil is the place where the souls of the dark wizards are, and since sirius is innocent he is going to return from that place (I can't fit the voices Luna and Harry heard to this statement)... But something has to happen for his return. Harry even couldn't use the mirror Sirius gave him. That mirror should do something, I don't know what but I just don't want Siruis dead.
Another point I don't understand is DD told Harry that he escaped from Vold. 4 times. But he escaped from him 5 times. First when he was a baby, second when he saved the philosopher's stone, third when he saved Ginny, fourth when Voldemort returned and fifth in the ministry of magic. I am somehow wrong?
Also Pettigrew wasn't mentioned at all, I wonder what happened to him.
I was really shocked to see James Potter as a school bully, but I really liked the idea. To see his crush on Lilly and Lilly's thoughts about about James were really good. I really felt sorry for Snape :(
By the way we still couldn't learn how Potters earned their money in Gringotts... And Harry actually saw his mother's death but, he didn't see the thestrals before. I have a question mark about that too.
Along with some questions the book was fantastic. Looking forword to next one... :) and Sirius please return!!

[tree guardian]

Okay now concerning characters

Umbridge: Evil woman no doubt. I really had hoped she'd be left in the Forbidden Forest with the vengeful centars.--serve her right. I think it was a bit unclear however as to what her punishment was for having sent the Dementors after Harry in the first place.

Hermione: Many think Hermy came off too observant or grown up but she is female and females do mature faster than boys so her counterparts simply made her look good. She too however has a vent-side. Don't forget she vented her exam frustrations toward everyone indcluding the first years.

Ron: Yea! Though there were moments when I asked the air around me "He is intellegent isn't he?" but he made me happy in the end. I love his Quidditch triumph and his relationship with Ginny as older brother--so cute.

Ginny: Ah-ha! I knew she was due. No her boy-life is nothing odd for adolescent "dating" rituals. Anyone who finds this odd is odd themsleves. Wake up to the reality. (Elementary was a huge boyf/girlf exhange and the rates of exchange changed with the seasons) She really is cool and her personality was greatly developed. The strongheaded little lass.

Luna: I am so greatful to JKR for this character. She really had me laughing with and at Luna's quirkyness. Great relief. Also Harry and Luna could definitely relate on different levels and I am so glad there was at least one person...(Luna is also a realistic character. At every school I've ever been to there has Always and I mean Always been at least one person who had those funcky earings, dress code, hats, and hobbies that was so creative it made one go --Huh?)

Harry: About time. Loved him in this book more than words can really say. I could so relate it ws a bit creepy-even the more cause for deep love. There were moments though when I punched the book at his actions i.e. the Quidditch match when wacked Malfoy (I was so glad he used his fists and not his wand--even more of a natural reaction) and agian screamed at Harry when Hermione was sassing off to Umbridge and just had to butt end and land another detention. Never-thel-ess his character develpment Rocked-Major!

All for now more to come Bwahaahahahahahhha! :angel:

[Justin Etre]

Mine's really brief compared to everyone else's...
The book lived up to all of my expectations, and exceeded them overwhelmingly! I was expecting there to be a link between Harry and Voldemort, but to have a prophecized link between them, something in which they weren't related - too Star Wars.
Umbridge was so awful, it made my stomach turn every time I heard her incessant "Hem, Hem".
Also, my most pivotal moment was the memories that Harry saw of Snape, in the Pensieve. I felt so sympathetic towards him, I couldn't sleep I was almost in tears!
Cho Chang's reapppearance was expected, but her sensitivity annoyed me.
My favourite new character was Nymphadora Tonks, and her bubblegum pink hair. She seemed so genuine, and fun. Plus, any fan of the 'Weird sisters' are great in my book.
The chimaera were my favourite new creature, it was fun crossreferrencing OotP with my 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'!
Embelishing on the relationship between Petunia and Lily was a fantastic key, as these things can easily be forgotten. And readers were likely to be desperate to know why Harry was forced to go back to the Dursleys'.
Dudley was as I had expected him to turn out, but a character I was...displeased with, was Draco Malfoy. I had hoped to see a complex, deeper side to him. I wanted to see him trying to escape the shackles of his father, reputation and lifestyle. Alas, he appears he is just a schoolyard bully similar to Dudley - except that Draco has himself a lady friend.
The character I was most surprised at was Neville, who was so strong towards the end, staying by Harry and fighting the Death Eaters. I felt so inspired by him the it made my chest heave with pride.
So, in summary, I loved the book! It lived up to everything I wanted it to, and gave me a million new clues to build theories for book 6 on. I eagerly await JKR to pick up her pen and get to work on the next book!!!

[Scabbers]

waaaahhhaahahaha someone told me who died so i did get to feel for the character and be shocked. i wasnt sad at all i felt indifferent. ahhhhhh not fair usally i would be blubering all over the place and enjoying the story.....oh well.....did anyone find it strange how the deatheaters were very gentle with harry and co. (even thou he had the orby thing) they (i thought) were way too gentle they only left them with broken bones and stuff arnt they ment to be evil and just kill them they know all the BIG NASTY BAD stuff yet they dont use it on them, if i were them i wouldnt care id just kill everyone with the worst i had and get the orby thing. only when sirus and co. walked in did they start using big nasty stuff. and another thing, harry plus co. only used pretty basic stuff how is it possible to get away from the deatheaters so easily. its like getting highly trained soilders and telling them to kill some boy scouts.

[babydoll]

Well this book was worth the wait to me. Out of all the books, this has to be my favorite. I am rereading the entire series now, on GOF, and still OOTP is the best. I was really happy to see everyone have more emotions. I thought that Harry being angry most of the time really worked for the story. I know if I had gone through everything Harry has in his life, I would have a major chip on my shoulder. I thought it was great that even Dumbledore made mistakes, it showed that no one is perfect. Even someone that everyone looks up to. I am glad they showed some of the past with James in it. Showed he was not perfect either, he was a normal teenage boy. I did not expect Sirius to die..I really thought it was going to be Hagrid, even before I got the book, and then with him missing for awhile, I thought I was right. What a big relief when he came back. I was sad Sirius died, but not really shooken up about it. I feel bad for Harry since that was all the family he really had left, unless someone else comes up in the last two books that we do not know about, which would be great. Everyone should have some family. Wondering if now Harry will inherit the Black house. Loved Luna, I thought she was a great characster. Could not stand Cho, very glad her and Harry did not end up together, would have been very disappointed if that had happened. Can feel things building between Ron and Heromine, hopefully they will get together in a future book.

babydoll

[tree guardian]

Concerning other characters and character combos

Sirius: He seemed a parallel character to Harry his entire extent in the Harry Potter series. Quite complicated and I'd rather not go into that now.
But I will say I do and did like his character and I honestly think he proved his character to the very end. He was a very good godfather as he was able to be and I will accept no rebuttle.

Ron and Hermione: Interesting. There was an extreme emphasis on their being "together" at the beginning of the book which was really supposed for emphasizing Harry's lonlieness and isolation, but I wonder, really if it wasn't implying growth in Ron and Hermione's relationship.

--Note-- I think the fact that Harry told them to lay off fighting was way overdue and I give Harry kudos for telling them to shut it. Though Hermione summed it up to Harry taking his frustration out on them--who woudn't find Ron and Hermy's constant bickering annoying? Exactly.

Dumbledore: Rocked! Very cool, though I felt frustation toward him too. He still is a wise man. Yum.

Fred and George W: Absolutely brilliant. They went out the right way ( but I do hope they finish their education-seriously--I hope they find away to do at least that)

Harry and Cho: Interesting but really annoying. Cho sucked dog food! That is to say I didn't like her relationship with Harry. No I did not find her cute (all that effing blushing!) . I nearly puked when Harry said "Wet." That was so gross. Why in the name of Why would you kiss a really cute boy whom you liked for the first time with a salty wet face and more than likely a mucussy moutH!!!!!! I was totally disgusted ( so peeved can't even spell the word right!)
Why in the name of WHy would you bring up your dead boyfriend at every "romantic" opportunity?! If she wanted to chat about it she should have had the common sense to pick the right timing!!!!!!! Gobbledygook! P'kipssy! Rumplestiltskin! (So mad I'm ranting!)

Moving on:

McGonagal: Rocked! Love the character dimensions shown to us.

Mrs. Weasly (and Sirius): She really ticked me off. Her flippindo-mollycoddling but much worse was her treatment towards Sirius. Lady has some "higher than thou" issues--Major. ( I was really curious as to who would win a duel between Sirius and Mrs. W.) (The quarells between them made me laugh at both) Mrs. Weasley's woes had me in tears-Major! I didn't know I could relate but I did. Boy I have never felt so torn. That was one of the best moments in the book. (THe whole book was great but you know what I mean.)

Mundugus: Two things " 'Sup Figg" and "Some son of a Bludger"

'Nuff said.

[tree guardian]

Concerning the Death

I had no idea was to meet their maker abosolutely none.

First I was for sure it was Mr. Weasly. O-M-G. That whole senario had me on the brink of destruction. When Harry said he'd felt and tasted the blood in his mouth I nearly fainted. Nothing would have been worse if Mr. Weasly died at that point. That was some dramatic 'smack and I wonder what happened to that suspense during the actual death....

Then I was for sure it was going to be one of the Six Studens who went to rumble at the Ministry. (Even though I wouldn't have held Harry responsible anyway. He made very clear if they came it was on them.)
I was on edge-dog. I really was on edge. When the Order showed up I screamed wit relief casue I kept saying I really didn't want a student to die. I would be able to cope so much better if it were to be an adult. Any adult it didn't matter, just not a student. (Though I swear I thought Neville was done in for sure--his nobility was non stop.)

Then Sirius was done in Sirius-style. By that I mean in mid manic laughter by his cousin near the veil (Clue? anyone?). I had little time to react to this, but honestly relief that the students (including suffocating Ron) were safe settled on me. Sirius did go out fighting and taht was cool. (Must be the Warrior in me) But let's be honest he did like a fight. No I wouldn't say he deserved to die but if anyone was to go...I will miss Sirius but the manner as which he went out seemed fitting. ( I will go in to this more later.)

[tree guardian]

Nitpicking with some previous posters for measure..

Flying Pheonix: The Voldemort vision was Real and fully experienced. But Voldemort didn't realize his connection to Harry Until that experience, not before. That was stressed by many throughout the book i.e. Dumbledore and Snape. So from that point on (meaning after the vision and not before the completion of the vision) did Voldemort realize the conncection and that he could channel back.

Flames: It was not prophecied that Both Harry and Voldemort had to die. It was prophecied that neither could live at the same time
meaning one would definetly have to die. Now maybe they both will but it the prhophecy only said that one would have to die.

okay then.

*edit*

Okay I may have been a little hasty. After rereading the chapter 9, Mrs. Weasly's Woes, I think I may have been mistaken about when Voldemort realized he could get into Harry.

In chapter 9 Harry has just come out of the hearing (full criminal trial) for his delinqquent actions at the Ministry. Harry and Mr. Weasly run into Lucius Malfoy. And Lucius towards the end of the encounter says

"Quite astonishing, the wasy uou continue to wriggle out of very tight holes...[Snakelike in fact..." pg154.

Immediately I wondered why Lucius would make a reference to a snake when speaking with Harry. Because such a reference would only imply a Harry/Voldemort similarity and I wouldn't think Lucius would want to do that unless....

But I disreguarded this until I later read (pg 157) a line that totally convinced me Voldemort already knew about a mind connection between himself and Harry, and is as follows:

"He felt that it would sound highly ungrateful, not to mention childish, to say, "I wish he'd talked to me, though. Or even looked at me."

"And as he thought this, the scar on his forehead burned so badly that he clapped his hand to it."
pg. 157 --Harry refering to Dumbledore not having spoke or looked at Harry during the so called hearing.

The words Snakelike and look were italicisized in the book as well for emphasis. I know think it was clear-Major that Voldemort knew about his and Harry's connection. But of course he would, wouldn't he. After all he performed that ceremony specifically wanting Harry's blood. Maybe he thought he get something from that then...(even though Harry wasn't supposed to survive.)

Hmmmmmmmmm.

[lorna]

My first impressions after my first read WOW.
I thought JK Rowling did an excellent job keeping the spirit of the HP series but allowing the kids to grow up a little more. I'm so tired of books where the characters remain static. The author may tell you things but they don't show you. JK Rowling showed us. I liked the dark feel. Voldemort's back for god's sake, it isn't going to be sweetness and light.

What worked for me
character developments especially Harry (although I spent most of the book wanting to kick his butt), Neville, Snape, McGonagall, Mrs. Weasley,
(I got teary during her encounter witht he boggart)
new characters were great. I liked Luna and Tonks. Umbridge is pure
bureaucratic evil (the quill that makes you bleed, what a device that is)
frankly I'd rather have Snape sneer at me for an hour than spend five minutes with this woman.
the death - frankly Sirius was annoying me as much as Harry and by the time he died(?) I wanted to kill him myself.
the bullying of Snape - the more I think about that scene the more I think is in there - example Dumbledore speech about doing what's right
vs what's easy. No one in that scene does the right thing and the repercussions are still being felt

What didn't work for me
Grawp - one question Why?????? Actually the Hagrid goes on vacation to the giants thing. It just seemed shoved into the book and why would you want this people on your side, exactly. If I were Voldemort I'd be saying "go ahead. join Dumbledore."
the death - uh, did he really die. I'm always suspicious of deaths with no visible body.
Dumbledore are you never going to deal with some the stuff Harry pulls.
he had no business in that pensieve and look at the trouble it caused.
Love does not mean never giving a kid heck when he's earned it.

[Buttercup]

Hello people, I have to put in my two sickles now.

I was very apprehensive about this book. I had heard it was dark and I was afraid it was going to be too depressing and that it would put me off the rest of the series. I didn't really care for GoF and I was afraid I wouldn't care for this one. That being said I was very surprised and really enjoyed the story. It seemed to me that there was more humor in this book and I really enjoyed it.

Plot:

Well done, I was wondering what was going to happen but we now have the ministry and its refusal to acknowledge Vold taken care of. I was a bit worried about DD and the school but yes it was resolved. Now the 'good guys' can get it together to fight the 'bad guys'.

Characters: The award to best Character developement (that I liked) goes to:

Neville: I put him first because I think I have a little crush on him....sensitive and able to kick butt. I almost cried at the scene in St. Mungos and his mom gave him the gum wrapper and he kept it instead of throwing it away. Also I loved how it was him and Harry that took on 10 DE. Way to go Neville, I knew you had it in you!

and:


Ginny: I really loved her character. She is a Weasley! Humor and bravery. I also like her developement with Harry. She can talk to him and actually help him with things (and tell him when he is being stupid). She is becoming a true Griffindor.

Now back to your regulary scheduled characters:

Harry: Angry Harry, resentful Harry. I thought it was very realistic. I also like him finding out that his dad was not the perfect man that Harry thought he was. Quite a shock for him.

Hermione: I thought she was supposed to lighten up. Didn't seem to happen in this book. Still liked her though. I loved the 'Love Doctor' scenes, where she tells Ron and Harry about girls. It was great.

Ron: Yippee. He is growing up. I knew he had it in him. Still funny as ever. He faced his low self esteem playing quidditch and seems to have found his way.

Draco: More dangerous than ever. He is really going to cause problems.

Luna: Really liked her. I think I want some radish earrings. She is very different and I think that she can help Harry deal with his grief over Sirius. I think she already has a little by talking about her mother. Ron and Hermione do not know grief but Neville and Luna do and I think those two can help Harry.


Dolores: Nasty, I wanted to throw her out of the school. Loved how Peeves dealt with her.

Fred and George: What can I say? How do you talk about perfection? I hope that they are around as much in the next two books. They are wonderfully evil and I loved their grand exit.

The Death:

Was very surprised. I really thought Hagrid was going to go or Molly and I am very glad that they are still around. As the tension was building I thought either Ginny or Neville was going to go. So now it is over and I am very depressed.

Romance: Well Harry got his Cho thing out of the way. I think that the H/G ship has some more ammo though. I can picture those two more now that ever before. For Hermione I thought that she and Harry's relationship got more realistic. Harry was very protective of her like in the forest but he got more irritated at her. Now for the R/Hr ship, they seem to be getting along better, they still argue but it was not serious like it was in GoF. Little signs from Ron that he has a thing for her like the perfume but he is playing it cool. At least he isn't drooling over other girls. This IMO is probably one of the biggest thing for the ship. If Ron was coming on too strong then Hermione would probably run but he is taking his time. Again, we can't really see what Hermione has got going on. I really disliked her attitude towards Ron like he shouldn't be a prefect or dismal quidditch practices are his fault. What was with the Xmas gifts too? I am thinking she doesn't like either boy. I think that Luna has a thing for Ron. Bill and Fleur, big surprise there!!! I noticed at the big ending that there were three couples together. I wonder if that is symbolic of the final pairings, but now who will be with whom?

A couple of questions though: What is meant by the term 'Mickey'? It was mentioned several times and I have no clue what it means.

What happened to the Ford Anglia? I thought it was coming back.

[Benzo]

I noticed that the plot were misleading us about who would die, Mr. Weasley? Hagrid? Ms McGonagall and more. It was clever but I am still under the shock of Black loss. I said two years ago that I would not stand his death and here I am grieving for a fictional character:rolleyes: Only JKR hade done that to me. She's a witch....

I am pleased to see that I'm not the only one who wanted to kick Harry's butts, but I suppose he won't repeat the same mistakes again and again...

[Nymphadora]

First of all, I'm malfoy_is_hot, but just under a new alias (no I did not get banned...) anyway, now that that's done...

Order of the Pheonix. Finished it between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Sunday and frankly, I don't think I stopped reading for anything. She just kept me inside the book and I could NOT put it down. And I am now reading it for a second time. This is probably going to end up being long...so I'm sorry. But I promise it'll be worth it ;)

The book as a whole: It was VERY different. I think part of the reason why people don't consider it the best one is because it was SO different from every other book in the series. It was dark, scary (in a sense), and borderline depressing. Harry wasn't a happy little pre-teen. He was incredibly hormonal and very adolescent-like. But it wasn't just Harry being angry. The book itself was angry and rightly so, considering they're leading up to the second war. It makes sense, and yet, it's incredibly difficult to get used to. I found it very hard to adjust to it being so different. It took me a while as I was reading it to even think it was Harry Potter because of all of the change. We, like Harry, hate change and obviously he's growing up, so the novel is growing up with him. Another reason why people are being so critical of it is all of the hype and speculation about it. I'm sure if there hadn't been so many theories running around and all of the little things popping up here and there, we wouldn't have been expecting so many things.

The characters and other things:

Harry--I really liked his being so angry. It just proved that he is not human. He has as many emotions as we have and he had the right to be angry and bitter. So many things had happened to him and I honestly would have thought he wasn't really realistic if he hadn't been so bitter.

Ron--Wow! I was so *shocked* when he became a Prefect. I hadn't expected it AT ALL, but the more I thought about, the more I realized it made sense. And then Keeper! I, like those in the book, was very skeptical about his abilities, but he shined in the end! It was good for Ron in the end of everything, because this gave him a chance to be different from Harry and to stand on his own. But Weasley is our king?? That just killed me...

Hermione--No surprises here with her becoming a Prefect. Of course. I'm sure she'll be Head Girl. However, I thought it was so great when she finally started lightening up and becoming their source of girl information. It developed her character in a new direction and it worked very nicely.

Ron/Hermione development--On people's comments about their not developing, I think did pretty nicely, just not so much alongside Harry. They were becoming their own names, but more than that, Harry was shutting them out and keeping them away from him. And since this novel is from his perspective, we obviously didn't see so much of them as we had expected because he wasn't letting them into his life. About a future relationship...I have NO IDEA. They flirt ("fighting"...trust me, I do that when I'm flirting...) so there is definitley a possibility. Just as there is a Hermione/Harry relationship possibility.

Luna--Hmmm, obviously one of her main contributions was The Quibble...but if she'll have any greater contributions? I have no idea. Quite an ummm, interesting character however.

Malfoy--Still oh so nasty. I don't know if he can redeem himself. He'll probably turn into a bitter future Death Eater who will come avenge his father's imprisonment, but hey, you never know.

The Weasley Twins--I love these boys! They are great! That escape was awesome. I can't wait to see if they join the Order as they get older now that they are out of school.

Percy--What a fool!!! I knew it was coming, but still, he is SUCH a fool! Oy vey...so now the question is will he redeem himself and apologize now that the ministry has recognized their idiocy.

Ginny--What a cutie! Quite the flirt I'm sure. Hehe. She seems like a great support for Harry...now and in the future. I await to see what happens with her. I'm still not sure whether she'll hook up with Ron or anything, but I guess there is a possibility. I thought it was cute how much protectiveness Ron took over her, especially with her many boys. And it's OBVIOUS who he wants her to hook up with, but then will he become all psycho over it (Harry)?

Cho--She annoyed me. Honestly...what was her problem? I thought it was so cute when she kissed him, but then he ended up being the bucket for her to cry into. ANd her jealousy? I understand that she likes him, but the way she acted about things was so 8th grade, it was silly. I thought it was great the way she supported him with the DA, but she needs a little maturing.

Neville--I LOVE IT!! We all knew there was SOME reason as to why he was SO clumsy and inept. And now to think he was the original "one" (In Matrix terms of course...). Funny how these things happen. And I was so proud of him during the DA. He was great. It was awesome.

Tonks--Loved her.

Umbridge--What a FOUL FOUL !#^&&*#@ woman!!!! I hate her! Oh man. Don't we just love a good villain? But honestly, who knew "poisoned honey" should be taken so literally. Though, where in heaven's name was the freaking honey? Oy vey! She was just pure evil! And when saying she had sent the dementors on Harry...she really wanted to kill this kid. She tore apart Hogwarts and for a while there I was just feeling such utter despair because she had taken things apart and I couldn't stand it for the life of me. But the way everyone got back at her when the Weasley's started creating havoc. Oh it was GREAT fun. I loved it. And she deserved EVERY SINGLE THING she got, but she deserved worse. But yeah. Great character by JKR.

McGonnagol--I am in love with her! She really did show her softer side in this and proved that she really does care about students.

The other teachers--Great in the way they were oh so "helpful" to Umbridge. And Trelawney...by the way, anybody notice the amazing number of 12s in this book?

Dumbledore--I will admit that I was on borderline hatred of him along with Harry. He seemed so uncaring about everything that was going on, even though I knew he wasn't. I didn't understand how he could be such an idiot when he knew how difficult it was for Harry not knowing a single thing. But that's the beauty of this book. I was feeling Harry's emotions. But the final scene? How he cried over not making Harry a Prefect? I realized how Dumbledore was simply a grandfather to Harry.

The DA--Great. Brilliant. I love it. The ultimate preparation for the final battle sene.

The final battle scene--I really felt like I was in it. I was so taken into the scene and the pages and I was seeing what was going on. It was a great scene. You could tell that it was beginning the transition from young kids into the new future Order. I thought it was a lot stronger to have Voldemort simply give a "cameo" because it proved that while he's over things, he isn't there fighting them. He doesn't need to be. He has a whole army for him and he doesn't need to be there. It's showing his gathering strength.

Sirius--I know that not many are sad about this, but I cried so hard. Thing is, I did not cry over Cedric at ALL. It didn't even really affect me. But Sirius did so much. I had a pretty good idea that he would end up being the one to die but it was still a shock to me. To those that say Sirius is not a main character--What the heck is wrong with you?? Not only was Sirius the father Harry never had, but he was his friend. His support. The only one he could go to. And you say he wasn't all that important...gah! He was MY favorite character, even above Lupin, and it was hard for me to imagine that he was gone. I found myself wishing that he could come back too. And the way he went. It confused me too, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was brilliant. He was such a pivotal character in Harry's life and here he is gone and nobody notices. He dies significantly, and yet not. Nobody had time to run to him...they were taking care of their own problems. It was brilliant and I cried buckets.

Well, I'm SO sorry for how long this is. I'll post on my other things (Nazi Germany anyone?) later. I enjoyed the book more the second time I read it. I'm finding that I can get into it like a real Harry Potter book again. She made me feel EVERY emotion that was in that book, especially Harry's. Hats off to JKR. I had my doubts, but she did very well. BUt ugh...why can't we know more?!?!?! I just want the next book...

[FirefightingMuggle]

First things first.....I have been dying to get on here and see what everyone else had to say, and say somethings for myself....

Well, I was right about somethings, and wrong about somethings when I was theorizing, but who wasn't....but I had who would die down :)
I really enjoyed the way that JKR developed the characters, or at least most of the characters.
Harry- that angry teenage rebellion thing was cool. It made him very much more a three dimensional character, and more like a real person. I think that he has some important decisions left to make in up coming books.
James- I loved the way that the rivalry between Snape and the Mauraders was shown, and the way that Harry realized that his father wasn't as perfect as Harry first thought.
Neville- I knew that there was something with him. I was not at all shocked at the confidence that he gained with the DA, but I was surprised that he was the other "one". I never never saw that coming with him....I hope all went well with his OWLs.
Cho- I was kind of disappointed with her. I thought that she would be a bit less whiney. I got the impression that she is a little stuck on herself, and doesn't really care about how others feel. She did want to talk with Harry about Cedric, but she just assumed that Harry would want to talk about it. I didn't really care for her much as a person, but she was a good character.
Fred and George- I still love these two, and they just get better and better. Their swamp was the best. I'd love to see Voldemort wind up with one of their fake wands, and try to Adavra Kedarva someone with it!
Sirius/his family- I was surprised with Sirius in this book. I can understand him brooding about having to live in that awful house, but I thought he would be a little more, I don't know, pleased that he can at least do something to help DD and the OotP. I never saw him coming from a family like he had, especially him being cousins with that snotty Narcissia Malfoy!
Tonks, Lupin, Moody- all cool. All very, very cool. Lupin and Moody were even better the second time around.

What I really liked: the come from behind Griffindor Quidditch Team, Fred and George harassing Umbridge, The Ministry of Magic facinated me, and Ron as a prefect
What I didn't like: Cho being so whiney, Umbridge in general, and the Gwarp story line. I just didn't feel that Gwarp played a big enough part...it was like that was just thrown in there as a way to help develop getting rid of Umbridge.
Biggest Surprises: the house and family of Black, Snape's pensive, and Ginny on the Quidditch team

Over all I really really enjoyed it! I hope Book 6 comes out soon, because I still have some unanswered questions.

[majo]

I finished yesterday after two days of solid reading. First impression: WOW!

The character development was awesome.
Harry: It's definitely understandable that he's angry, but I got a little tired of him constantly snapping at Ron and Hermione.

Ron: He's growing up, he's playing quidditch. It's all good.

Hermione: She's growing up, too. I really liked her giving advice to Harry about Cho. What a good friend.

Ginny: :clappy: Seriously, I loved her in this book. She didn't blush once when talking to Harry. She seems to be taking after the twins more than anyone else in her family. And two boyfriends in one year!

Fred and George: What an exit! Even Peeves saluted them!

Luna: She's a bit odd. Not bad, just odd.

Neville: Awesome! I've always liked him and hoped that he would play a bigger part. I almost cired when he saved the gum wrapper his mom gave him.

Dumbledore: His refusal to talk to Harry for the majority of the book frustrated me.

Umbridge: Grrrrr... I wanted to smack her every time I heard that annoying hem, hem. She seemed to be a bit over the top sometimes.

McGonagall: I can't believe no one mentioned her yet! She has been in the background for the previous books, but in OotP she got to shine. Her argument about whether Harry could become an Auror was great, as was "It unsrews the other way." :D

Sirius' death didn't affect me very much, I'm sad to say. Maybe it will the second time round. I kept thinking that anyone who got injured was the one to die. Iy would have been preferable to not have known that soemone was going to die.

I'm glad that Cho's out of the picture now. I didn't mind her in GoF, but in OotP she irritated me. She seemed to do nothing but cry. I'm still hoping that Ginny and Harry end up together.

What was up with Grawp? It seemed completely unecessary.

Overall, I loved it, but I think it'lll take a couple more readings until I completey absorb everything.

[marspeach]

I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. I think it was because of all the hype, I expected more. I think I like GoF better.

Characters

Harry- Angry, but understandably so. I totally felt for him and wanted to go give him a big hug and tell him everything would be okay... I wish he would have cried over Sirius's death. He was going to cry over Cedric's.

Hermione-WOW! Could she be any more perfect? I loved her. I thought it was funny when she gave Ron and Harry(well, mostly Harry, but Ron listened), love advice.

Ron- Seems a pretty static character to me. I wish he would grow up a little bit. Hopefully he's overcome his nervousness of playing Quidditch when people are looking, it seems like he has.

Neville-Another WOW! Fantastic character development. Certainly showed us why he's in Gryffindor.

Ginny-Yet another WOW! More great character development. I finally stopped thinking of her as this little eleven year old. Now I think she stands a chance with Harry. After swearing off shipping for so long, am I becoming an H/G shipper?

Gred and Forge-Loved their exit from the school. I wish I had some of their snackboxes. Pretty convenient.

Luna Lovegood- I'm still wondering what her purpose is. Her family(well, I think) was mentioned in GoF. If that was her family, then she lives near Ottery St. Catchpole, by Ron! She had a chapter named after her, so I'm thinking she'll be important later on. Possible romantic interest for Harry? Or Ron? Anyway, I did think she was interesting.

Percy-I hope he comes around back to the good side. What an idiot.

Sirius-He was starting to annoy me, so his death didn't bother me at first. Well, partly because of that. But also, because the way he died wasn't explained! Did Bellatrix cast Avada Kedavra? Or was it just because he fell behind the veil? I still don't understand.

Dolores Umbridge-What a B****h!!!!!!!!! I wanted to kill her so bad. Why didn't Dumbledore just leave her to the centaurs?? Why did he have to save her??? Why wasn't she arrested! Surely the cutting detentions aren't legal! And even if they are, what about senging the dementors to Little Whinging? Or attempting to perform the Cruciatus Curse on Harry????

Dumbledore-Didn't like him as much as I did in other books. His explanation to Harry about the prophecy at the end didn't really do it for me. Why didn't he let Umbridge die????

McGonagall- Another great character. Why did they have to stun her??

Hagrid-His mission seemed so cool at the end of GoF, but it just sounded dumb when he explained it.

Cho- Major case of PMS... no, just joking. I understand why she was so upset mentally, but jeez... and she went out with Michael Corner??? She must like younger guys.

Snape-Felt pretty sorry for him, but he still called Lily a Mudblood.

James-What a conceited brat!

Questions I had after reading- Where was Wormtail? How did Sirius die? Why didn't Sirius tell Harry to use the mirror when he was talking to him from the fire? Were the thestrals just invented for this book? Why couldn't Harry see them at the end of GoF? How did Dennis Creevey go to Hogsmeade if he's only in second year? What was the purpose of Grawp? Do Ron and Hermione like each other or not? What was the purpose of "The Woes of Mrs. Weasley?" and much, much more.

[Virtuousdream]

Ok, my review, which I also sent in to Newsround, though I expect it will be ignored!

___________________________________________

The Order of the phoenix was definitely worth the three year wait and all the attention it received. I was amazed by the character development, seeing old friends such as Lupin and Sirius and realising whom the batty old Mrs Figg was, it added to the rollercoaster ride of emotions the book took me on. As JK Rowling told us there was a death, I was literally on the edge of my seat every time a loved character was in danger, first the Boggart pretending to be Ron dead, then Arthur being bitten, then the scare with Sirius, then Neville and Ginny and the trio going to fight Voldemort; and when the death happened, my heart plummeted.

The Defence against the dark arts teacher, Umbridge has to be the most characterised villain and holds the most innocent evil influence in the whole series. Not only did this add to the excitement, it also provoked some of the most hilarious comments I have seen throughout the book! My sides ached with laughter when McGonagall offered Umbridge a cough sweet from the constant “hem hem’s” we took to loathe so much and my eyes filled with tears when dear old Peeves saluted the Weasley twins as they made their magnificent exit! The book was filled with so much humour, adding an excellent contrast to the darkness and sinister events also radiating from the book.

Not only does JK Rowling step into unknown territory for a children’s author by killing off a well loved character, she handles this so carefully, always adding a glimmer of hope, as Luna talks about them "lurking out of sight" behind the veil after Sirius’ departure though the veil. This still enables the heartbroken reader to read on and want to read book 6, hoping that we will see a return of Sirius in some form. She also breaks away from being a stereotypical childrens writer by not showing the hero’s father in a black and white perspective; JK Rowling shows through James Potter that not everyone is perfect, but even the good people may not be proud of their behaviour. When I discovered how dear Sirius and James treated poor old Snape, my heart broke. I always suspected he had had an unhappy childhood, and the Occlumency and the pensive confirmed this. It also allowed the reader to trust Snape more, and JK Rowling carefully pointed out a lesson to her younger readers the effect of bullying, how actions at a young age influence choices, because we understand how Snape loathed James, and how he became so bitter. It also shows how a seemingly nasty character was right, James was arrogant as Snape constantly reminded Harry and once again JK Rowling reminded children to listen to two sides of an argument before making a decision.

I also loved how JK Rowling added romance to develop her teenage characters. It made the characters more three dimensional, seeing them reach pubity and also kept alive the interests of older readers such as myself, who have followed the books since Philosophers Stone was first released. However, it was not too influential on the story line, it was carefully balanced and effectively written and not made tacky. It also helps the characters develop together, working more closely with each other, therefore more likely to overthrow Voldemort in the last two books. The theme of love being ‘the weapon’ against Voldemort is ingenious, once again teaching readers just how good and powerful this emotion is.

In conclusion JK Rowling could not have balanced and crafted the book any better than the final released version I read. I was afraid that I would lose interest in the books because of the three-year gap between Goblet of Fire and I’m proud to say I was proved wrong. I’m delighted JK Rowling stood up to all the people who condemned her work, protesting about witchcraft, and was yet again able to create her own special magic. I enthusiastically await book 6 to once again be taken on that magical rollercoaster ride that the books always provide.

[H0gwartz]

Ahhh book 5 completed, what a joy it was
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, to start Harry's emotions. What an angry young fella, definitly made him feel more real, like me. Cause i can understand his pain sometimes. Then for me is Cho and Harry's relationship, i was like "thats my boi" when he kissed her but after that i wanted her to shut up and go away. I'm glad he got over her. Neville, wow, what a straight up playa, i luv the guy. The coolest character in the series. And the final battle with voldemort and dumbledore, i thought it was cool but it seemed all to simple and easy. They sounded as if they were just messing around and touching on each others abilities. meh well see. As you can see im not a writer so this review blows, but OOTP rulez! number 1 in the series! :devil:

[CrocHuntress]

Hey all! I'm.. new. But I was going insane, seeing as how only one of my friends has finished the book already, and needed to talk a bit.

Over all... I loved it. A lot of people I've talked to seem to be angry about the fact that Harry was so.. well.. ANGRY.. but I think it was only fitting. He's getting older, getting on board the puberty train, and he's had to go through a lot. I liked the fact that he was finally showing a bit of emotion, because in the first 4 books it seemed to be bottled up a bit and I figured he would eventually explode.

FRED AND GEORGE ROCK MY WORLD!! 'Nuff said.

And a lot of you seem to be confused by the whole Sirius-Going-Behind-the-Veil Thing. But to me, it made sense. At the end, when Harry is talking to Nick about death and such, Nick mentions that the Department of Mysteries is doing experiments and whatnot concerning the "mysteries of death" and the fact that Luna talked so matter of factly about hearing the voices of the dead behind the veil, and Lupin's certainty that Sirius was lost when he passed through... leads me to believe the veil is a curtain between Life and Death.

Sirius, Sirius. You poor stupid reckless beautiful man!! *sobs* What makes me upset is the fact that through books 3 and 4 I was kind of indifferent to him, and it was only in book 5 that I started to really get attached. *sigh* Figures.

[Giggling Kat]

(Hello, no you don't know me I just got here)

I really enjoyed the book. PoA is my favorite but this and GoF are tied for second.

Pacing: The biggest problem I had with GoF was how the return of Voldemort was dismissed and only known to a select few. I realize now JKR had two basic choices: Have the establishment believe Harry or not. If they had believed Harry then the defeat of Voldemort becomes inevitable. In the parallel of WWII - it represents the several early opportunities to stop Hitler before he gained all that power. It's the "best" world but not the most compelling read. So JKR sets up a world of confusion and doubt and gives Voldemort a year in his new bod to "be everywhere".

It doesn't matter that everyone believes Harry and DD now, in many respects, it's too late. Even people who should be trusted cannot truly be - DD said it in book 4, with the Imperious Curse, Transfiguration, etc - it was nearly impossible to know who was a Death Eater, who was cursed, who was really good, etc. By corrupting the media to his own ends, Fudge has made the dissemination of valid information untrustworthy.

Dumbledore's "Old Crowd" and Harry's DA are really the only loyal crowd we can accept. It keeps a large scope story contained to a group of characters we care about.

As OotP was focused on the war more than any of the novels to date, the focus was taken away from the school. It was a bit unnerving and unfamiliar. The characters themselves - well, quite frankly my mom nailed it after reading GoF - half their problem is that they are teenagers.

Harry is a noble, brave, powerful wizard. He is also a fourteen year old filled with appropriate levels of angst. I actually think this was what Ron and Hermoine were going through in GoF - so he's trailing Ron in that respect. As for the RHship - I see it and think it will happen but as the series ends when their 17 I hardly dwell on it. We aren't going to see it happen. Of course I have a bizarre notion that Luna was brought on as a future romantic interest of Harry's so feel free to ignore that.

Sirius' death v Cedric's death. I'm actually the opposite of many posts I see here. I was struck by the similarities between the two!!!! JKR consistently shows death is sudden and brutal and very seldom is it tidy. In real life, people seldom die spouting something along the lines of "I regret I have but one life to give Dumbledore." ;P Both are alive one instant and dead the next. Both are killed in the middle of the action with no time for reflection or closure. Both are killed right in front of a stunned and momentarily powerless Harry.

It is the sinister side of being the Boy That Lived. The title implies there are Those That Die. I don't think Harry's life supply of Survivor's Guilt is anywhere near done.

That brings me to the thestrals - Hermoine doesn't say see people die - she says "the only people who can see thestrals are people who have seen death." Baby Harry may have associated the attack on Lily with being hurt, but I doubt very much he comprehended what it meant. I think by "seeing death" JKR means to imply a full understanding of death. To look at something and comprehend that it was fully alive and individual and that something stopped it.

I love the links between Neville and Harry. "It could have been me."

I loved the bizarre humor throughout, and I must, MUST, have the line "Grawp's about sixteen feet tall, enjoys ripping up twenty foot pine trees, and knows me as Hermy." in a movie. It's making me laugh just typing it.

I liked that James was a bit of a prat at 14 just like his son. Although the memory was shaded by Snape's own mind (To misquote ObiWan it's the truth from a particular point of view.) I don't see Lily as "hating" James. I would love to see Draco's memory of offering Harry his hand in PS. I bet Harry would appear arrogant and dismissive. Except for Ron, it would probably be reflected in the faces around him. As the reader we know Harry was overwhelmed but from the outside it was probably a bit "I defeated You-Know-Who I don't need friends."

Umbridge needed to be that dispicable to show that fanatism is at both ends of the spectrum and can even be found in the middle at times.

hmmm... there's more but I've run out of steam for the moment.

Kat

[dyingmoon]

I loved the book! I laughed, gasped, cried and I even hid the book so my brother couldn't steal it (the evil git!). Words can't describe how good it was. I was one of the rare fans that didn't read it in the first couple of days. I've waited three years for that book and I didn't want it to be all over in a day. It was so hard to put down! I also had school to attend and I finally finished it yesterday. JKR has left heaps to pick up on. Sirius is dead, but Luna was on about the veil, so maybe Harry might be able to see Sirius again? I wonder how Remus coped with his close friends death? Oh, I remember what I was going to say now. A lot of younger fans around here are complaining they didn't like it because Harry had gone all nasty and had gone out with a girl. All I have to say is, what did you expect from a 15 year old boy?!! Fantastic work JK. Can't wait till the sixth! When does the count down start?!!

[Muse]

Well, since this is such a new book, it's rather difficult for me to determine whether this is better than the last 4, may be because I'm still on a kind of high with all the new info, the new drama, and the new twists in the book (character developments, character connections, etc.). When the spoilers and preliminary reviews went out regarding OOTP about how dark it was, that Harry was angrier and tried to alienate everyone, I thought it would be really, really depressing. However, what I found was that JKR did a good job in enabling the reader to better empathize with Harry and realize how justified some of his emotions were. I was angry when he was angry. I wanted to yell and shout when he did-excusable or otherwise. I felt this bottomless pit of sorrow and loneliness when Sirius died, and yet I also enjoyed his sarcastic moments when his frustration really pushed him to the limit, especially with Umbridge. Overall, I thought Harry's growth in this book made him really more real than ever before, because we could relate to some of the emotions he went through as a teenager, and with so much more happening to him, particularly realizing he could be manipulated and "possessed" by Lord Voldemort, and then finding out he is either going to be the victim or the murderer because of the prophecy, I think JKR captured Harry’s emotions perfectly. Harry grew up. That says it all.

I think there were still more than a few questions left unanswered from GoF, but I think to JKR's credit, I'd give her the benefit of the doubt that perhaps some answers won't come until later. There are still 2 more books to go, after all. Some minor questions, such as whether Hermione ever visited Viktor, were answered indirectly. Obviously if she's been cooped up with Ron for a month over the summer, it doesn't take a genius to guess that she probably didn't. Then again, her "impassive expression" at the end of GoF when she very briefly talked to Viktor before the trio returned home was a pretty good clue, too. We still don't know what it is about Lily's eyes that are significant. However, we did find out the importance of Harry returning to Privet Drive, and that there may still be some hope for Aunt Petunia yet in the likeable department. I think Sirius' death was so abrupt that I personally didn't feel as great a loss as I thought I'd feel, and yet to read Harry's emotions thereafter, it wasn't hard to feel what he did as he walked around the grounds. I thought Dumbledore's explanation and Harry's rage in his office was dramatic, and while we weren't privy to that closing speech like in GoF, I thought the day Harry's interview went out and its effects on the wizarding community and the Hogwarts student population was as much an affecting moment in the book to read, as well as when the DP article went out describing the MoM and Fudge's final admission of Lord Voldemort's return.

The character developments were a definite highlight of the book for me, too. My favorite character development was that of Neville. Through the previous 4 books, we had come to empathize with his personal plight as much as we did for Harry's, and I remember back in PS/SS when Neville stood up to Malfoy & Co. during one of the Quidditch matches when they fought under the benches while Hermione continued to cheer Harry on. So I knew he had it in him-he just had to find it. It was wonderful to see him come forward more so now. I liked how Ginny turned out. We caught a glimpse of her spunkier personality trait when she was with the trio in GOF. She's a stronger character that would do well to be partnered with any male character. Then there’s the staff. McGonagall, Flitwick, even Trelawney got cooler when rebelling against Umbridge. Severus Snape. He is one example of how brilliantly JKR made Harry realize that not all seemingly "bad" people are as bad as we think them to be, and that heroic figures like James are not untainted. So bottom line, JKR did a remarkable job in not only making Harry and the other characters more realistic, but she also managed to also build great underlying morals to the story, just as she did with past books.

Yet what I thought was another great thing that JKR did with OOTP was the great mixture of both dark drama and hilarious comedy. On the one end, I was feeling all those sarcasm, anger, frustration, rage, and sorrow that Harry was feeling. And yet on the other end of the spectrum, some of Harry's sarcasm made me laugh out loud and then who could forget the twins? If for nothing else than the simple fact that I laughed more because of this book than the previous books combined. Everyone from the staff to Peeves to Harry to his best friends & friends had a turn in some pretty funny scenes, and now we have some great quotes for it, too.

The ships. I think many of the ships are still sailing, so many shippers out there can no doubt take apart canon to keep their ships afloat. I think with the addition of Luna and Tonks, I expect there will be a few new ships leaving dock and setting sail now, too.

A few “holes. Yes, there were a few, as marspeach pointed a few out. Also, I thought some of the characters seemed either fanfic-stereotyped or didn’t develop when others did. Maybe we’ll see the latter in the future books.

Other issues. I liked how she brought out other issues, such as the government (MoM) handling of Voldemort’s return and public reaction/relations, and its involvement in academic environments. Or how about Hermione’s continued concern of house-elf rights? I was grinning along with Harry when he thought of Hermione and stopped at the fountain in the Atrium of the MoM to dump all his galleons in the water for St. Mungo's Hospital. And how will those religious debates go now after reading of Sirius singing, “God rest ye merry hippogriffs” at Christmas? :)

My conclusion is that OOTP was more a page-turner for me than the previous books, and now I can’t wait for Book 6. I hope we won’t have to wait as long this time.

[animagus1369]

First of all, what a book! Not my favorite in the series, but given where it fits in overall, that was maybe a foregone conclusion. IMHO, if the series is about choices, there had to be some major shaking up going on in this book, to set up for the final two. If Harry's 'dark side' hadn't shown up, he wouldn't have had much to consider in the ultimate choice--good or evil. And it had to be dramatic (though the Cruciatus curse shocked me!), so that there really WAS a choice to be made.

All in all, I don't think this book was as much about the action as it was about the setup--when you look at the overall series, there isn't as much action in this one, and what action there is revolves around the changes in the characters. Harry's finally getting angry, Dumbledore's not perfect, there's more to Ron than we've seen before, Hermione's quite the little rebel, Neville's finally taking a stand. Sirius was giving in to his frustration, the Twins are taking control, McGonagall is stronger, Cho is just as imperfectly human as everyone else, Ginny is coherent, Harry's dad wasn't perfect either, Percy's gone around the bend, the Dursleys aren't entirely as bad as you thought originally, and Snape's loathing of Harry suddenly makes true sense. If it weren't for the massive amount of character development going on here, books 6 and 7 wouldn't amount to much. Since a lot of the coming choices aren't going to be pleasant ones, it wouldn't have made sense to have everyone in OotP turn out sunny and smiling at the end.

It was rough to see Sirius go, but to be honest, as a setup it's right up there with Percy's (hopefully temporary) lapse of goodness. Harry with too many people around to protect him is Harry whose choices are a lot simpler to make--which is the opposite of the message the series supposedly imparts. For the same reason, Dumbledore's 'defection' in OotP makes perfect sense--Harry had to do a lot of choosing on his own, and it's a precursor of things to come that if help hadn't arrived when it did, things would have gone disastrously wrong for him. That's one of the best things about this book--Harry had accomplished so much so early in the series that it was beginning to feel like no matter what he'd manage to get away with anything. And in OotP he has to face the fact that, brilliant Wizard though he may come to be, he's not quite there yet. Again IMHO the loss of Sirius will make this more apparent in 6, and one of the major struggles of 7.

Overall, I probably liked GoF better for the action (though I missed the Quidditch), but OotP is in a crucial position in the series, and in terms of what it needed to accomplish, it was brilliant. Talk about suspense--I bit my nails down to the quick for Mr. Weasley, Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall (thought my prediction was right for a minute), and Hermione (for a second, anyway) and was totally surprised at who actually made the final exit.

Couple of questions, though:
(1) If a Patronus charm is such advanced, well-above-O.W.L. magic according to Lupin in PoA, how could all those kids have them floating around the room after being taught by another student, and without anything to send them after?
(2) If the MoM knows immediately about underage magic being performed in Little Whinging, how the heck did it miss Harry laying the Cruciatus curse down inside its very walls (or Umbridge using it, for that matter)?
(3) Why couldn't Harry see the Thestrals during his first four years coming to Hogwarts (second year obviously excepted)? He saw his parents die a long time ago--or is it that you have to actually be old enough to understand it while it's happening, like he was with Cedric?

Sorry so long--I got a little carried away. :)

[Raistlin_Majere]

What'd I think of Book 5 eh?
I thought it was one of the best books in the series...Some say the plot was blurred a bit in this one, not as clear as the rest. I think that's because book 5 is just a forerunner to book 6, you know, just leading into it. The angry Harry thing was cool, but the some of the things he raged at were ridiculus, even for an angsty teen (I know believe me....<.<). For an adult female though it wasn't a bad portrayal. The developement/outgrowth of Cho was also a good thing, showing Harry's finally growing up (ain't it cute?).
Sirius' death...I wasn't sure why that happened exactly. Was he just fodder to fuel the flames of hate? Was it to show that the second war really had begun? Or was it used to syphon Harry's newfound anger to an actual target? Heck if I know. I s'pose Rowling had her reasons.
Finishing it was depressing though...now I hafta wait for the next book....patience be ****ed I have half a mind to go and smack rowling into some haste...

[Carbito]

Okay, here is my rather short review. I thinught it was a great book, the best Harry Potter book...in fact its the best book ever. It got off to a good start with the dementors but then it seemed to drop off a bit when they were at Sirius' house. I mean lets fact it, 20 or so pages were devoted to them cleaning the house. I was a bit shocked to find that Harry was not prefect, I always took that for granted. I way also expecting Harry to be Quidditch captin. Looks like I was wrong. This books really developed some characters further. Not a bit of this was boring after that. It was intresting how in this books the real "baddie" was the Ministry of Magic, of coarse Voldermort still played a large part. I would give this book 10/10!

[Prof.Aze]

It was the best. This would be my favorite of the five closely followed by PoA. It was great especially the fight scene inside the DoM. It was fantastic spells flying everywhere. Nothing beats it.

[Giggling Kat]

Originally posted by animagus1369 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=394687#post394687))

Couple of questions, though:
(1) If a Patronus charm is such advanced, well-above-O.W.L. magic according to Lupin in PoA, how could all those kids have them floating around the room after being taught by another student, and without anything to send them after?
(2) If the MoM knows immediately about underage magic being performed in Little Whinging, how the heck did it miss Harry laying the Cruciatus curse down inside its very walls (or Umbridge using it, for that matter)?
(3) Why couldn't Harry see the Thestrals during his first four years coming to Hogwarts (second year obviously excepted)? He saw his parents die a long time ago--or is it that you have to actually be old enough to understand it while it's happening, like he was with Cedric?

Sorry so long--I got a little carried away. :)


I was thinking about the DA's Patronus. I don't think they really are Patronuses.... Patroni? Patrones? ER, moving on... Lupin gets the boggart to teach Harry. I don't think Harry did anything but tell them the words and explain the principle. He mentions he doesn't see how a swan could act as a protector (although I've seen swans attack - it ain't pretty). I don't think any of them - except possibly Neville or Hermoine - could produce one under proper circumstances.

2. That is actually a very good question! Maybe the Death Eaters did something? Or - more sinisterly - there is the fact that years ago Crouch authorized the Aurors to use the Unforgivables on suspected Death Eaters. Maybe the MoM simply turned off the internal sensors.

3. Hermoine says you have to "see death" which comes across to me slightly different than "seeing dead people/things" otherwise anyone who had seen a dead bug, pet, person in a funeral home, etc would see them. There was a deeper understanding of mortality implied to me. It may not have even been Cedric that triggered it. It may have been the moment in GoF when Harry realizes he's going to lose the deul and die.

4. But getting carried away's the point! :)

[tree guardian]

Okay I may have been a little hasty. After rereading the chapter 9, Mrs. Weasly's Woes, I think I may have been mistaken about when Voldemort realized he could get into Harry.

In chapter 9 Harry has just come out of the hearing (full criminal trial) for his delinqquent actions at the Ministry. Harry and Mr. Weasly run into Lucius Malfoy. And Lucius towards the end of the encounter says

"Quite astonishing, the wasy uou continue to wriggle out of very tight holes...[Snakelike in fact..." pg154.

Immediately I wondered why Lucius would make a reference to a snake when speaking with Harry. Because such a reference would only imply a Harry/Voldemort similarity and I wouldn't think Lucius would want to do that unless....

But I disreguarded this until I later read (pg 157) a line that totally convinced me Voldemort already knew about a mind connection between himself and Harry, and is as follows:

"He felt that it would sound highly ungrateful, not to mention childish, to say, "I wish he'd talked to me, though. Or even looked at me."

"And as he thought this, the scar on his forehead burned so badly that he clapped his hand to it."
pg. 157 --Harry refering to Dumbledore not having spoke or looked at Harry during the so called hearing.

Harry's scar burned when he thought about wanting to look at Dumbledore... Harry's scar burned badly infact. The only time his scar burned was when Voldemort was angry and yes it could be argued that Voldemort was angry about something else, but I don't think so. Voldemort wanted Dumbledore to make eye contact with Harry cause as far as I know, even later on in the book when other Harry/Dumbledore encounters occured, there was only intense feelings of hatred and scar burning when Dumbledore and Harry made eye contact..

The words Snakelike and look were italicisized in the book as well for emphasis. I know think it was clear-Major that Voldemort knew about his and Harry's connection. But of course he would, wouldn't he. After all he performed that ceremony specifically wanting Harry's blood. Maybe he thought he get something from that then...(even though Harry wasn't supposed to survive.)

Hmmmmmmmmm.

[Raistlin_Majere]

It was during the school year when Harry did the curse. Granted he wasn't at school, but I'm guessing they don't really care what kids do during school (they assume the school staff will reprimand them)

[Giggling Kat]

True, but it's one of the illegal "Unforgivable" Curses - supposedly anyone who performs one is criminal. Unless Crouch's ruling that the Unforgivables could be used against the Death Eaters still stands.

[Raistlin_Majere]

I think it does.
But I don't think they monitor the unforgivable curses specially anyways. If they did they could catch Death Eaters alot easier. They woulda cought Crouch's son. And Crouch. and Voldemort....you get the point.

[tree guardian]

I think the Patronae (sp?) Dumbledore's Army did were actual and valid Patronae (ya'know Patronuses...)

But the thing that separates Harry's from the D.A. Crew was the situation and environment in which such a spell was made.

Harry was trained to clear his mind and focus--mental and emotional training. I don't think most of the D.A. folk would be able to produce such patron(ae/uses) when faced with Dementors bearing down on them. That is the difference between Harry and the rest. Hands on training to the Max.

:)

[HP_SRK]

i cant believe this i have to start again! apparently i was not loged in but if i wasn't then this box wouldnt be here! :(

i wrote alot now i cant remember :(

here is a snippet...

a mature book and real in a sense.

Cried at only one part in the book and it wasnt wen sirius died that just stunned me couze of the way he was killed i guess i was expecting something like one of the unforgiveable course to kill of the character not the very eerie veil,,,*shivers* but in the chapter snapes worst memory, james was sooo mean i felt sooo sorry for snape who is one of my faviourate charatcers (the others being the wealsey twins and ron)

liked the thestrels , very clever that was

luna lovegood,,,,

the kiss that was never writtern, giggled at the part so much

the twins outstanding leave from Hogwarts

Umbridge an evil character if there ever was!

Dumbledores behaviour towards harry before we knew the 'y' was unsettling

Aunt Pertunia knowing more then she ought (althug we already knew she might but still the way it was reveled)

the best bit would have to be wen dumbledore finally reveals all, the way that whole part was writtern was absloutly wounderfull, the sun rising and the pictures all listening in....

disappointed that nothing more happened between hermione and Ron was really looking forward to finding out wat would happen next, guess were stuck in a limbo wiv them two

questions that need to be asked...

where's wormtail?

we still dont know why snape turned from voldemort and joined dumlebore?

wats the deal wiv dumbledore's bro being mentioned twice and no explaination given?

by the way ne1 bothered wen the 6th book comes out? ne1 egearly waiting as they were for the 5th?

am not....yet

[tree guardian]

Giggling Kat,

Your insights are great and I believe, to be highly on point.


However , I would very much like to point out (and I know this may be picky, but) Harry was Fifteen . OOtP is after all book 5. James, too, as seen in the penseive was age fifteen .

Every book Harry goes up a year. He was 11 in book one 12 in book two 13 in book 3 14 in book 4 and 15 in book 5.

Okay. I've had my nitpick for today.

[animagus1369]

Originally posted by tree guardian (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=395469#post395469))
I think the Patronae (sp?) Dumbledore's Army did were actual and valid Patronae (ya'know Patronuses...)

But the thing that separates Harry's from the D.A. Crew was the situation and environment in which such a spell was made.

Harry was trained to clear his mind and focus--mental and emotional training. I don't think most of the D.A. folk would be able to produce such patron(ae/uses) when faced with Dementors bearing down on them. That is the difference between Harry and the rest. Hands on training to the Max.

:)


Good point--I missed that. :clappy:

I was laughing at myself while I was reading for getting irritated that it was so easy for everyone else! How many books could make you do that?!

[Hermy]

Hi everyone, i've never posted a reply on these forums before but seeing as I've just read through the other reviews of the book i thought i'd add my thoughts.

Overall, I thought it was a great book, as mentioned by some others I thought it answered a few questions while raising a lot of others as well. I don't think it was anti-climatic at the end. I don't think we'll ever really be satisfied by the end of a Harry Potter book until the very last one, because they're all part of a series and i suppose we can't expect all the questions to be answered in this one - it'd leave no room for anything in the next one!

The characters were all really well developed in this book, especially the others children in the school. Before it's been very much Harry, Ron and Hermione as the central point, and the others pupils are just mentioned in passing. In this book we saw a considerable number taking a larger role in the story - Neville, Ginny, and (in an unexpected way) Seamus. I was glad to see that Ernie was on Harry's side for once - makes a change from CoS! Neville was an excellent character - I thought that he was going to take a major role in the next few books and he didn't disappoint. I think he's going to go from strength to strength from now on.

Sirius' death next. I must say that I understood what had happened alright and think that the reason it seems a bit strange is because we're seeing it through Harry's eyes. The fact that we don't know what falling through the curtain means puts us in the same position as Harry, and this way we can feel his confusion better than if we already knew that Sirius would be dead whilst Harry didn't. I also think it's delibrate that we don't know what spell Bellatrix performed, I'm guessing all will be revealed later on.

I was actually really surprised by Harry's use of "Crucio" on Bellatrix. I wasn't expecting that at all because to me that was always one of the spells that "the bad wizards use". I suppose it reinforces for the reader Harry's anger at that time. The fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort is also good, but I think the reason it feels anti-climatic is because, again, we are seeing it through Harry's eyes and the shock of Sirius' death is at that moment far more important to him than anything else.

I don't understand why Dumbledore is crying at the end either! It seems an odd end to that scene which I'm unsure about. As with my other queries though, I presume it'll be explained in the next book.

I really liked McGonagall's character in this book, beforehand I'd thought she'd be a minor character who didn't understand what was going on with the Order but she really turned out to have a great role. The Weasley twins were, of course, brilliant and Ginny is obviously going to become even more prominent in the following books. I also really liked what JKR has done with Snape's character. He's no longer the stereotypically evil teacher, he's become someone who has feelings and although I was hoping for some sort of new understanding between him and Harry, considering Harry's feelings at the end I'm not sure whether that's going to happen. One character I feel didn't really take a prominent role was Ron. Maybe because he was separated from Harry, Hermione and Neville at the end, but his role was similar to PoA - there throughout the book but never really taking a major role in the action.

Surprises in this book - definitely the character of James. It was really unexpected and I was shocked at the end of that chapter. I think in this book JKR has really put the cat among the pigeons in regards to the characters Harry likes and dislikes. Dumbledore's mistakes, Sirius and James' cruelty to Snape, Snape's troubled childhood...my view of each of these characters changed a lot throughout the book.

Finally, I agree that Umbridge is an excellent "baddie". A brilliantly created character who is another one the reader loves to hate. Bits such as the fireworks round the school, the swamp in the corridor and the centuars carrying her off really make you cheer out loud. Overall, although I could never pick a favourite out of the HP series, I think that this book was very well done. It didn't disappoint me and it's left me suitably excited about the next two.

A final thing that I noticed that left me wondering was the order of deaths. Although this is probably irrelevant, in the group of "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs" they're kind of dying in reverse order. Prongs first, then Padfoot, so will it be Wormtail next? As I say, probably irrelevant but who knows?

[fawkeswashere2]

First, I really enjoyed reading the book. It was dark, but then I feel it had to be.

I haven't been 15 years old in awhile. (Well, not quite that long.) However, I do remember feeling very alienated at times. I felt some experiences that I went through in life were not fully understood by my peers. Also, my parents were trying; but sometimes I felt they were clueless.

Imagine being 15 and a wizard. The most famous wizard in the world you didn't know existed until 4 years prior. Imagine being the obsession of a man that killed your parents. Imagine feeling lonely at not having parents and no family outside of the dreadfully dull Dursleys. Then imagine that your first year at Hogwarts you've come "face to face" with the man that killed your parents. You stand up to him and you are puzzled that others are so fearful of him. (Lord Voldy) Then to have four years of the same type of drama in different situations. We should be grateful that Harry isn't suicidal at this point.

I had read the interviews with JK Rowling earlier and she stated that "Harry would be angrier in this book". She did not disappoint. That's for sure. I'm glad that he's gotten angry. It tells me a few things. First, he's normal. He's experiencing his "rebellious" period where the first four books didn't allow him time to do so. Second, he's starting to fully comprehend his importance to the rest of the wizarding world. He may not like it, but he is starting to get it. Outside of Dumbeldore, Harry is dangerous to Lord Voldy.

Where some people would see Harry as a jerk. I saw him as someone who could show compassion. He wasn't just hateful towards Snape. He actually felt sorry for him. He also saw a side of his father that he didn't like. In our teenage years, our parents on the pedestal bit gets knocked down considerably. You start realizing, as Harry does, that parents have their own character flaws. That is a really harsh realization when you've put them there to begin with.

Anyone else annoyed with Cho? I actually liked Luna Lovegood. She is a bit strange, but this is the wizarding world. For most Muggles, everyone in the wizarding world is strange. Cho needed to be slapped, but I figure she'll get what she deserves soon enough. Well, I'm hoping so.

I really enjoyed Neville in this book. I often wondered what he was doing in the same house as Harry, Hermoine, and Ron; but what a great surprise. I'm also glad that Hermoine and Ron know the truth about his parents. Neville's parents are heroes in my eyes. He has nothing to be ashamed about. The only nitwits that wouldn't see it that are the idiots in Slytherin. (Who cares about those losers?)

Umbridge deserves to have her room right next door to Gilderoy Lockhart. They would be good for one another. Although, Gilderoy was full of himself. Umbridge is just a..well, we won't go there. You get the idea.

Snape is his usual self, but I actually liked him more in this book for some reason.

Am I the only one that believes that there is more to the prophecy we haven't heard? I have read many comments from other boards and I am convinced that we haven't heard it all.

I am wondering if we will find out more about Aunt Petunia and Lily. How about James family? I'm wondering if that will be resolved or at least clued in the next book. I'm hoping so.

I really hope to see how Grawp and Hagrid's really turns out. I think it's great Hagrid has a half-brother. I've often thought that Hagrid would suffer a huge hole when Harry left Hogwarts. He's been at Hogwart's for years, but he's often made comments about their "similiarities".

The best characters in this book?? Fred and George Weasley. They really provided a wonderful comic relief when the book really needed it. It was a great transition in the book. It also provided the "spark" to the rest of the Hogwarts students to defy Umbridge. I hope they will be in the next books. They are simply fabulous!

The worst character: Well, outside of Lord Voldy and the Death Eaters. Umbridge gets the hands down award for being the most vile, knucklehead in the book. She's right up Fudge's butt and didn't get out of it until she was hospitalized. Good grief. She was just evil and cruel. Perhaps she can start dating Snape.

Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy being turned into slugs for the ride home was so fitting and hilarious. I really loved that. It couldn't have happened to three most deserving slimier people.

This book did leave a lot of questions unanswered. There are definitely more questions after this book than the last one. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts. I've had many of the same thoughts. I'll have to re-read a few more parts of the book. Just to work out some of the ideas that some of you have put forth.

[SnowWhiteOwl]

Well...Overall, I thought it was fantastic. My favorite book is still "Azkaban" , but still, OotP was amazing. :) It certainly was emotional..One minute I was laughing, the next I was crying. Fred and George were hilarious. :) I really loved Sirius, and don't really understand why she had to kill him, but I guess we'll see in the later books...In the meantime, I'll probably be crying some more about that... ;)

[lilith_sha]

Until now my favorite book was PoA, but now I can't decide because OotP is...I don't have words for it, it's just amazing. I think this book is more "complete" than the rest of them, I mean, I've laughed with it, I've cried, it's got loads of action, I've got angry (a lot of times, actually), I've felt sick whenever they were in trouble... a bunch of emotions I didn't experienced with PoA.
I have to re-read the book many times, though, but the feeling you get the first time you read a book it's definitely the true one, so I have to say this is my favorite HP's book.

How many of you'd give JK the Pullitzer? She deserves it, don't you think?

Sorry if my English it's not perfect :)

[Ichigo]

I really loved HP3, 4,and now 5. This book is great! Harry seems to show more emotion, and Umbridge finally got what was coming to her! (Thank god) I was really distraught over Sirius's death. Book 3 was my reigning favorite because of Sirius. I was in such complete shock when I read it, I cried. :'( In fact, I'm still kind of upset over it.. ^^() I was talking to my friends about this last September, and we all thought Hagrid was going to die. It never arroused that Sirius might be the unlucky one... I called a few people and demanded sympathy! It's so sad! :'( :'( My favorite character got killed off! Like on Cast Away! Maybe he'll come back...? Not likely. :(

I loved the fact Aunt Petunia got a howler! Couldn't have happened to a nicer person... (except maybe BELLATRIX LESTRANGE (that :censored: whore..how DARE she kill Sirius! She needs to die.) Malfoy or Umbridge, or Fudge, or Dudley...ect ect..) My favorite chapters are Dumbledore's Army because of the defiance they show forming D.A., Snape's Worst Memory because it had James, Sirius, and Lupin when they were younger. (Wormtail..that *******..) I wish JK would write something on Hogwarts when James, Sirius, and Lupin were teens. That would be great. ^^

My questions to the general public:

1. Were you upset over Sirius's death as well?
2. Did you cry? ^^()
3. Would you like it if JK wrote about James, Sirius, Lupin, (and unfortunately Wormtail as well) when they were at Hogwarts?

and..

4. Should Bellatrix Lestrange die slowly?
(don't answer that.)

[McKinnon02]

I'm more than a bit curious about Sirius' death. The second spell Bellatrix fired at him had no color in front of it, so we don't know whether or not it was the Veil that killed Sirius or Bellatrix.

[Ichigo]

so you think Sirius by some lucky chance could still be alive..?

[Atheist]

For me, Harry Potter is the best example of the concept ‘page-turner’ that you can find. Sure, there are other interesting books, but nothing that’ll keep you reading for so many hours straight. I finished the book in just about 12 hours, which is rather fast, considering that it’s not even written in my native language (I’m Danish). But, like all the other Harry Potter books, you’ll be on the edge of your seat during every page, and, after you finish it, you feel like turning it around and start anew.

So, is it good then? To be short: yes. Fantastic might be a better word. I reckon it is to early to say if it is the best book in the series, but, along with book 4, I would say it’s among the two best. Luckily, J.K. has chosen not to mind very much about how long the book was going to be, allowing her to go into detail with every person and concept, regardless that it might be unimportant to the main plot. This creates an immense suspension of disbelief, thus making it the page-turner I mentioned. From the first chapter, you feel almost as if you was Harry, getting to know all his thoughts and feelings. And, there is a lot of feelings in the book. Harry has matured, becoming a real teenager, with all the emotional problems that follows. In a lot of the book, he’s desperately in love, and there are quite a few arguments between him and his friends, not to mention between him and his teachers. One of the final scenes, with Harry discussing, em, stuff (spoilers later) with Dumbledore, shows Harry from his most aggressive side, and a lot of the dialogue is so filled with cruelty and sarcasm that you can almost feel the tension between the characters.

But what about the main thing: the story? J.K. has always been magnificent at the art of constructing a plot that continues so surprise and shock you. Although, the plot in book five is more subtle than in many of the other books. There is no single thing that drives the story forward, like the Triwizard Tournament in book 4 or the search for the Philosophers Stone in book 1. Actually, the book starts of rather slowly. The main conflict in the book is, rather surprisingly, not between the good wizards and You-Know-Who, but between the wizards loyal to Dumbledore (the Phoenix Order) and the Ministry of Magic, who won’t believe that The Dark Lord has returned. Actually, the Ministry believes that Dumbledore is using Hogwarts to create an army of wizards, and use them to take the post as Minister for Magic. So the story is a lot more political and full of intrigues this time, focusing more on “who can be trusted and who can’t”, than on pure action. In some parts of the book, J.K. seems to have been a victim of bad timing. You find out a lot about the Order of The Phoenix in the first third of book, but in the second third, J.K. seems to almost forget the main story, and rely on Harry’s various experiences at Hogwarts. While this is, as always, entertaining, it seems to attract attention away from the more important things. Luckily, the last ten chapters are fountains of surprises and memorable scenes, starting from the point when Harry gets the dream about Mr. Weasly. J.K. explores new places in book 5. Quite a few chapters takes place in Sirius’ new residence at Grimmauld Place 12, and we’ll get deeper into the Dark Forest than we’ve ever been before. And the as the book draws to an end, J.K. uses the most amazing place she’s created sine...well...Hogwarts: The Department of Mysteries, the most secret part of the Ministry of Magic. Full of locked doors and amazing magic, this place alone good be the catalyst of many books. Hopefully, we’ll return here in the later books.

Characters:

Harry: Maybe its just his temper, but I think he was a bit too hormonal. Seems to think that he is always the natural leader, and could become a bit arrogant in the later books.

Hermoine: Loved her. Intelligence, seriousness, just plain kewl. You’d expected her to become a prefect, though.

Ron: Not much here. I hadn’t expected that he would become a prefect, but maybe Dumbledore did it to make up for the fact that Harry didn’t become one – should have seen that Harry wouldn’t appreciate it, though.

Ginny: She evolves in this book, but I still don’t think she and Harry will team up. It seemed a bit weird that every member of the Weasley family suddenly got on the Quidditch-team, though.

Fred & George: Cool. Their exit, flying on their broomsticks into the sunset, was...epic. Nice.

Luna: Loved her. Added a certain kind of weird humour to the books. Didn’t really have any huge importance to the plot, but lightened it up a bit. A new choice as Harry’s girlfriend?

Percy: J.K. described his “Ministry over Family”-feelings very well, and you really hated him. Something tells me that he will go dark side, though I don’t know why.

Cho: Everybody seems to hate her – I don’t J. She was a bit irritating sometimes, yes, bute the kissing-scene was so cute! Looking forward to see if she’s good-looking in the movies.

Hagrid: Wasn’t really a huge part of the book, and his parts seemed a bit....unnatural. The Grawp thing didn’t really fit in. Seemed to be a part of the book just to avoid disappointing Hagrid’s fans.

Lupin: If he had been the one who’d died, I would probably had cried. Very calm, seems to think about everything. I hope he’ll have a larger role in the books to come.

Snape: I’m a bit parted about Snape. I felt pity for him when James and Sirius taunted him (I don’t like James at all after this), but again, he called Lily a mudblood.

Dumbledore: Until i found the reason of his behaviour, I found him very irritating, But when battling Voldemort, he turned out to be a real badass, after all.

Umbrigde: Cool baddie. Really hoped she died.

The Death: I didn’t cry. Of course, it is sad and all that, but it could have been worse. It could have been Hagrid or Ron or Dumbledore...or Lupin, that would’ve broke me.

The Prophecy: Maybe it just me, having read an enormous amount of trash-fantasy, but a prophecy seems to be an easy way out of explaining something you wouldn’t have been able to explain otherwise. Actually, I understood the prophecy like “if Voldemort dies, then Harry will also die”, and vice versa. That would have been a cool twist to the books.

So, all in all: Good? Absolutely. Great? Got that right. In my scale, that means a score of 9/9,5 out of 10. Buy it, read it, and then read it again, and again, and...come on, you got the whole holiday! (oh, did you notice the Uranus joke? Funniest joke ever in a HP book....:)

Comments most welcome.

[Giggling Kat]

However , I would very much like to point out (and I know this may be picky, but) Harry was Fifteen . OOtP is after all book 5. James, too, as seen in the penseive was age fifteen .

Huh. Gotta admit, when I first read this I thought "What's she on? I never said he wasn't." But I reread my post and yes, yes, I did.

I have absolutely no clue why I said 14... none.

(How do you check yourself for memory spells? :banghead:

Seriously though - Thanks! I hate when I do things like that.

[tickledbytonks]

Ok, so hear are my thoughts on OoP (for whatever they're worth):

1. I was REALLY looking forward to it and new that it was supposed to be "darker" but WoW this was scary! My parents kept laughing at me as I screamed, laughed and cried out loud.

2. The death, TOTALLY made since but i NEVER would have guessed this. I understand why though. Sirius would never have been able to have had a normal life b/c of his past. This was the ONLY thing that could have happened. His death didnt really make me sad, it was Harry's DESPERATE attempts to find a connection with him that killed me.

3. I honestly walked around the entire day after I finished reading the book and cried. I don't know why, but I think it's because nothing was really resolved in this book (in my opinion). It was just like " here, take this information and make yourself deal with it" I guess that's what growing up is.........

[Padfoot'sPatronus]

Okay, ANYONE but Sirus.

But to be honest, I wasn't too upset when it happened because I thought it was another fake out. It happened so FAST.

okay, I have to admit, I was faked out in the beginning with Mrs. Weasley's boggart. I KNEW Ron had been down in the kitchen; yet, it just hit me. I gasped out loud and said, "WHAAAT?," and then proceeded to pace my room for five minutes before taking the book up again.

But when Sirius was killed, I didn't think it was real, because it was a red blast that hit Sirius, not green like the Avra Kedavra, as if it were a Stunning Spell. And, as I said before, it was just so quick. So I kept reading, expecting Sirius to step through the Veil again. It didn't hit me until the end of Dumbledore's Speech about why he didn't make Harry a Prefect. Then, I started to bawl. I proceeded to re-read the death scene and bawl some more. I'm also upset that Dumbledore wasn't given a chance to explain WHAT curse killed Sirius and whether he was dead before he went through the Veil or whether it was the Veil that just took him..and why Dumbledore never explained the Veil. In all other four books, Dumbledore has given me a bit of closure as to what's happened. This time, I feel empty. Not to mention so many things could have been done to prevent his death. If Harry had opened the mirrors (come ON, how long have any of you waited to open a present???) sooner, it could have saved his life. OR, if he would have sucked it up, and gone to Snape to apologize, and resume Occlumency lessons...

Sirius was one of my favorite characters. I've loved him since his introduction in PoA. Each book, we've gotten a little closer to finding out who Sirius was before Voldemort ruined his life. In this book, we found out about his family, and saw his happiness during the holidays. Yes, he was a bit of a prat towards Snape, as was James; however, as Ron said in GoF, "He must really love you, Harry, to live off rats." He gave up EVERYTHING for his godson, and I was hoping that the two would be rewarded by getting to live together someday.

Anyways, as for the other aspects of the book.

Umbridge just made me want to go through the book and throttle her. "Hem, Hem." Witch with a capital B. Grrr...I wish the Centaurs had ripped her limb from limb.

Luna Lovegood. I like her. Even though I'm not for romance in this series, I would rather see Ron with her than Hermoine. Their friendship is WAY too important to water down by having them holding hands everywhere. But you could definitely tell Luna had something for "Ronald."

Percy. Snip. Snip. That was the sound of your balls being attached to Cornelius Fudge's briefcase.

Ginny Weasley. Hmm...the only Weasley I like less is Percy. Like someone said, she seems to get everything she wants, and knows it.

Neville. I usually find him annoying, but I was really pulling for him in this book. The part with him keeping his mother's empty gum wrappers touched me.

Dobby, Lockheart..Good to see them touched upon. No Moaning Myrtle...darn.

Snape. I KNOW there is a lot of good in him. When is it going to come out???

Weasleys and Peeves brought very many laughs to this dark book.

Okay, I'll stop for now. Generally, I DEFINITELY preferred Goblet of Fire to this one. It was just waaay too dark. To some extent, the only one I think it beats out is Chamber of Secrets

Only two books left. :grumble:

[lufc_chic]

OK I think everyone already knew this but I've just realised that James wrote the letter L.E. on his exam paper when Harry look through the pensieve... that must be Lilly Evans....

[Mary Jane]

I think the jet of light that hit Siruis before he fell through the veil was red. I went back and looked and it described Harry watching the battle and said the first jet of light was red. Then for the following one it just said "jet of light" and didn't specify a color. I would think if it had been Avada that it would have been said - or perhaps Jo did that on purpose to drive us crazy. :grumble:

I really think it was the veil itself. :(

[raptor]

I have tried not to read any of the posts before commenting on the book.

I have finsihed it for the third time. It took the second time to really see it clearly. I was so caught up in the emotions of it the first time. I was filled with loathing for Umbridge, somewhat taken aback by Harry's anger, and too saddened by Sirius' death.

It really is a great book. My favourite is still PoA, but I realized how well written it was to make me feel all the emotions that I did. At times it was like going through my teen years all over.

I don't like picking books apart too much. JKR has said she is writing the books to tell a story, a tale. It is not allegory to take a veiled poke at something that has happened i.e. some war. It is meant to entertain us. She has done that, and she did it again in OotP. She writes about very real emotions, and occurences in way that we feel them almost as much as the characters.

I really do think that if you found it too dark or angry, reread it. I found that I had detached enough from feeling the emotions first hand to really enjoy the characters and the story.

I can't wait for book six!

Cheers

[Blurry]

I absolutely loved this book. I think I read through it so quickly that I missed certain parts... Sirius' death seemed so fast that I am not completely certain how it all came about. I'm going to re-read the book starting after I finish this post.

But I thought that the fact that Harry had his mother's eyes was going to be something huge in Book 5... I don't remember reading anything extremely important about it, though I could hav eaccidentally skimmed over it.

[Filia Tenebrarum]

OK, I just don't know where to start. I'll try beginning at the beginning.
Very slow start. She should definitely have cut some of the businness with the dementors at the beginning. However, I was delighted when I read that Mrs Figg was a squib. Somehow, up til then I hadn't quite realised that I was actually reading it. Harry said "You're a witch?" and I thought "Ah, yes, the person writing this fanfic clearly supports the theory that Mrs Figg is a witch" and then she said "I'm a Squib, as Mundungus knows full well..." and I suddenly thought "wow, this must be written by JK, only she could surprise me so much".
Far too much time spent in Grimmauld Place (yes, a very grim old place, we all get the pun), but we met some very interesting new characters.
The best of the new characters is Luna Lovegood. She has proceeded without a pause to third place in my list of favourite characters (2nd F and GW, 1st APWBD). Another hallmark of JK's writing: introducing such good new characters that I always wish she could have introduced them sooner. Backtracking slightly, the hearing: wasn't that cool when Dumbledore walked in? Three middle names? Phineas Nigellus is right, he definitely does have style. The very subtle humour of that moment is of a type I've never seen outside HP books. Oh, where would I be without HP books?
Umbridge is another triumph for JK. I didn't know she could write a character even worse than Snape (Snape's nastiness went a long way towards being justified in this book, though... He's a fascinating character). I think Umbridge should just have been abandoned at the end though, there was no point in dragging her out of the forest again. Whatever the centaurs were doing to her, I'm fine for them to carry on doing it indefinitely...

Interesting redistribution of maturity. Harry seems to have a Major Maturity Meltdown in this book (not to say it wasn't cool at some points and quite justifiable), whereas Ginny seems to have grown up hugely. Ron and Hermione's relationship also seems to be a bit more stable. (I believe its no longer technically allowed to have threads excusively about any character's love interests, but I hope I'm allowed to refer to it?) For those of you who are counting, the tally of kisses is now equal, while Harry is ahead by one hug :rotfl:. Hmione and Ron seem to have reached a sort of understanding, by which they endlessly bicker but no longer have major rows. Perhaps as Harry goes through a Adolesent Anger Age (I love aliteration) Ron and Hmione have sub-conciously grown up a bit in order to support him.

Well, I didn't actually cry over the death, in fact as many of you have also found, it went by a bit fast. Two things made it good: firstly, that there seem no plot necessity for it, secondly, Harry's agonised response.
To many deaths in novels are predictable. I came across one book in which the characters pair off throughout the series. By the end, it was obvious who would die, because they were the only person without a partner! OotP was exactly the opposite. Because there at least appeared to be no need for Sirius to die, his death was not that of a sacrificed chess piece, but that of a real person who died for the same reason anyone dies: because they lived.

The pen-ultimate chapter was the best in the book and, arguably (knowing us, this will be argued about to kingdom come :)), the best in the series. It is full of little ironies: Harry is told everything -- twenty four hours too late; Harry and Dumbledore both blame themselves for the nights events; Harry hears what he wanted to hear all year -- but is to grief-stricken to care; Dumbledore finally looks directly at him -- but Harry can't bear it; after Harry's comment earlier in the year: "My scar's the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn't it?" it turns out that Dumbledore cared about Harry so much that he went and blew his plan. And biggest of all: Dumbledore cared too much about Harry to tell him what he needed to know, and this indirectly led to Sirius' death. But then Harry cared so much about Sirius that Voldemort couldn't possess Harry for any length of time.

Right, well, I've rambled enough for now, I think. I could give you a critical score, and rank this book compared to the rest of the series, but I am firmly of the belief that nothing ruins a book like surgical criticism. So, without further ado, I rate this book eleven out of ten. I've waited three years for this book and I have not been disappointed. This is a wonderful book! I defy anybody, of any age, to act as though they are somehow above it! It _is_ good litrature, it _is_ witty, it _is_ better than Jane Austen, than Shakespeare, than anything I've ever been set to read at school and if any English teacher disses it I will set them straight if it lands me in detention!!!

[Mary Jane]

Though better than most books on the market today, I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. Perhaps that is an overstatement - I felt... I don't know, apathetic? A little let down?

There were some good parts throughout the book, too. James was a prat? I certainly didn't see that coming, but I thought it fit wonderfully and will advance Harry/Snape's relationship. It was a beautiful/poignant/heartbreaking moment for Harry to realize Snape had told the truth about his father.

Umbridge was a little overdone I thought. I did love some of the moments between her and McGonagall. However after a while I didn't like the being beaten about the head feeling. Yes she is a different kind of evil, we get it already.

LOVE the twins, they rule. I think they should be given awards for special services to the school. When Flitwick left the bit swamp under the window I laughed out loud!

I was really happy to see more of a more mature Ginny. I think she has been grossly underestimated by her brothers and has a bit of each of them in her - except perhaps Percy. I swear that one was adopted! :grumble:

I didn't mind all of Harry's anger, it helped bring a darker mood to the book and with all that has happened to Harry I can't say I'm surprised.

I was expecting more from the person who would come into magic late in life. I'm assuming it is Dudley though the book doesn't say outright. It didn't say he could see the dementors because it went dark, then when Harry's lumos spell was near Dudley good ol Diddums had his eyes closed. I must admit, I was really hoping for Dudley to perform some uncontrolled magic in front of his parents - shake them up a bit.

The prophecy - it was short and bland I thought. I expected something more imaginative from JK. As it was, most of it was a logically drawn conclusion from a readers perspective.

The death - um, yeah - so everyone can't die a hero's death, but to make it more of an accident seemed a slight to Sirius. It seemed to me that since POA he's been endeared to the reader until the beginning of OotP. From the start of the book he seems borderline irrational, chiding Harry, telling him he isn't as much like James as Sirius originally supposed. It was as if JK wanted us to dislike him and make his death less meaningful for us. I didn't even cry when he died, I did however cry at Harry's reaction.

I also thought (I guess mistakenly) that we were supposed to learn more about Lily in this book. That she didn't like James at one point seems really... not that important.

I could go on, but I won't. OotP is my least favorite Harry book so far. I can't even say I'm excited for the next one, though I know I will read it and book 7. Perhaps this is a blessing in case it takes another 3 years. ;)

[PrtVeela]

I thought this book was excellent, everything about it, I really really enjoyed. I thought it was amazingly written, and a lot funnier then the other ones. Harry's temper made me laugh and Fred George, the whole shabang.

I thought however that more would happen in regards to Ron and Herminoe but I wouldn't call that a major disappointment.

I also didn't think that when Sirius died it was real, and I must say when I realized it was, I cried...a lot...I couldn't even keep reading the tears were blurring my vision so much.
I finished it at around 2 in the morning and I couldn't fall asleep until around 3:30 because it made me so sad, I woke up my sister and I said throught tears "that book was soo good" she didn't like me too much waking her up, but I needed to talk!

That uranus joke was great!!! I could go on about how much I liked but honestly...who cares? Everyone knows it was a kick @$$ book, and Its taking my entire will power to not pick it up right again and re-read it. (I'm going to read the other four again first) :)

[bob]

OOTP was a very enjoyable book however it lacked something that had been present in the first 4. The other 4 books had very strong plots which could easily be understood (i.e. PoA There is an escaped prisoner on the loose) while OotP lacks this. I was never particularly interested in the Department of Mysteries as it just seemed so detached from Harrys life, he never seemed to be in any serious danger; there was very little tension for large parts of the book.

I enjoyed seeing the characters mature but Harrys anger although entirely understandable got a little tiresome after a while. Ron and Hermione are changing as characters but i felt that much of this was simply character development for another book which ultimately added little to the general plot. The Cho Chang plot was a bit of a let down as it did not really seem to go anywhere, Cho has been the 'love interest' for 2 books now and if this is the culmination of it then i am a little dissapointed.

Umbridge was a dreadfully vile character but sometimes a little too vile, she had none of the charisma of Snape or the humour of Malfoy. It would have been much better if Umbridge was presented as in any way rounded and not merely slightly unhinged to say the least!

The whole book felt quite disjointed, looking back i fail to see what the trial section of the book really added to anything; the whole incident was pretty much forgotten by the end and it is uneeded to show the way the Ministry was running as we soon find out.

Hagrid has nothing to do really in the book and he is becoming more of a piece of the furnicature in Hogwarts rather than a vital piece of the plot.

The book is hampered a little by acting as the bridge between the era of the first 4 books and the changed environment of the 'second war'. The Order of the Phoenix are clearly intended to be used far more fully in 6 and 7; it does not really help what is a somewhat over long book.

Luna is interesting, Ginny for me remains undistinct enough to just mere into the background, Neville's development is interesting and the revelations about Sanpe are tantalising.

My greatest gripe with the book (which although i complain here i think is excellent) was the climax. I think that the climax being a crazed melee was a bit of a mistake, it took away a lot from the threat of the Death Eaters that they could effectively be stopped by Teenage wizards. The Order saving the day was just a little predictable. The death of Sirius seemed more like an afterthought in the battle; there were no passing words for Harry just him falling through a curtain, no heroics just a curtain!; it may be realistic for this to happen but JKR is writing a book; she should milk the emotion and resolve Harrys relationship with Sirius at least so the death can be emotionally affecting to the audience rather than just a shrug. For a character that will never return Sirius's death was very ambigious. Voldemort gets less threatening the more we see him, he seems very vulnerable rather than this almost omnipotent evil figure. The confrontation did not have the horror or the power of what i believe are the finest moments in the series so far in his re birth in GoF.

Dumbledore has always been depended upon to give expostion, that is his role. It all lacked the power of what i think we had all been expecting in fact there was no real satisfying solution just a rather tacked on revelation which i feel is only part of the story.....

Ultimately this was an excellent read but it was incredibly frustrating the lack of a clear plot really hampered this book 8/10

[my_dogstar]

Originally posted by Flames (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=387565#post387565))
I'll keep it simple:
Beautifully suspenseful, completely unpredictable, and satisfying without being complete. The death sucked, the whole book seemed unreal, and I'm still in an effing daze. I'm not quite sure what to think, other than that it was awesome -- in both a good and bad way. Some things you may have seen coming may have come, but definitely not the way you expected it.


I just finished this morning. That's how I feel right now.

[go_anna40]

I can't write long posts...so I'll keep it nice, compact and simple.

Well, it was different, darker, but at the same time suspenseful and great. I enjoyed it overall though.

The first chapters were good and well planned. It was unexpected and a great twist.
Harry was a lot more 'moody-er,' but it shows he might be getting sick of the whole sha-bang and that he's grown up and can take care of himself now.
The new characters, as in Tonks and Fletcher were cool. Lupin and Figg could of had more book time. I was disappointed in the time Lupin was there, way too less.
Umbridge was very big, as in, the impact she had on Harry and co. About here banning Harry from Quidditch and all those degrees...
I would of liked the Cho/Harry thing to work out [it was way different than I expected] and some more Ron/Hermione, but Hermione seems to still be in contact with a certain Victor.
The mystery surrounding the Order was well-planned, it was great. And the prophey explained a lot of stuff.
The characters have developed a lot and that's really good and important.
The end, with the fighting, wasn't that good. I found it quite confusing, especially how Sirius dies.
It also shows that even great wizards can make mistakes.
It's still great though :D.

[Giggling Kat]

Originally posted by fawkeswashere2 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=395702#post395702))

Imagine being 15 and a wizard. The most famous wizard in the world you didn't know existed until 4 years prior. Imagine being the obsession of a man that killed your parents. Imagine feeling lonely at not having parents and no family outside of the dreadfully dull Dursleys. Then imagine that your first year at Hogwarts you've come "face to face" with the man that killed your parents. You stand up to him and you are puzzled that others are so fearful of him. (Lord Voldy) Then to have four years of the same type of drama in different situations. We should be grateful that Harry isn't suicidal at this point.



What she said...:p

Having now gone back and reread one and working my way through two - I've realized something else. In books 1-3 there's a sense of closure for Harry at the end of the school year. At the end of books 1 & 2 he's stopped Voldemort. At the end of book 3 he's looking forward to getting letters from Sirius. But at the end of book 4, he's just started the fight with Voldemort and he's pushed aside. Which is why Privet Drive is worse than it's ever been to him and top that off with teenage rebellion and angst - Harry was actually fairly calm!

[azkabanrules]

I left on a trip on Saturday, June 21, about 5 minutes before UPS decided to deliver Harry Potter to my house. So on Wednesday the 25, I picked it up. Because it is 870 pages long, I was expecting another Goblet of Fire: long with about 300 pages of pointless material and an unsolvable mystery (did anyone guess that Moody wasn't Moody and the Polyjuice Potion, etc.). However, I was surpried. For the better. A lot better.

First of all, this is the first book to cover adolescence (sp?), which makes it more believable. Although Rowling seemed to just understand that teenagers dated in this book,she put it in, along with Harry's mood swings, which I found a little sudden but welcome nontheless. Also, she added depth to some minor characters, such as Neville and Ginny. However, with Luna Lovegood, that's another story.

Rowling always has this habit of introducing important characters in the book (besides DADA techers). I don't even remember hearing Luna's name mentioned once in any of the four previous books, which makes it seem that she just appeared. At least with Sirius Black, we heard about him, however briefly, in Sorcerer's Stone.

The one thing that separates this one from the other four is that there isn't one central thing that the trio is going for, or even just Harry. There's no sorcerer's stone, chamber of secrets, finding out about Sirius, or the Triwizard Tournament. It's basically against the Ministry of Magic. I wish that at the end of Goblet of Fire they mentioned the "war" a little more.

Dolores Umbridge was a great addition to the plot. She made me hate her more than Snape (whom I grew compassion for), and she was also quite funny (hem, hem). However, there should have been more about her at the end, instead of Harry ready to Avada Kedavra Dumbledore.

I would write more, but I don't feel like it.

Sorcerer's Stone: 7/10
Chamber of Secrets: 6/10
Prisoner of Azkaban: 9/10
Goblet of Fire: 5/10
Order of the Phoenix: 8/10

[stellaluna]

I can't write long posts neither, so this'll be very short.

It was hard for me, in the beginnig, to fully understand that this was not fanfiction or anything, but actually THE book 5. I loved it, though. The only really bad thing was that someone spoiled that Sirius dies for me. I still cried my eyes out. I wouldn't have believed it was him, never. I'd have expected every other person to die, but not Sirius. He was my favourite character. Such a pity, I had the feeling the relationship between him and Harry had only just started but needed to end so apruptly.

It annoyed me in the beginning a bit that Harry had this bad typical teenager-temper; but it kind of grew less at the end so I'm very content again.

There where so many cool things to laugh about, though. I laughed my head off at the scene where McGonnagal offered Harry a bisquit. I also loved to learn more about Snape, who is one of my very favourite characters too. I expected such things had happened in his past, yet it was shocking and sad.

I can just say I loved it :).

[ERut]

I was dissapointed in the beginning. Until Harry got to school, the whole thing seemed kind of... surreal. I kept expecting Harry to wake up in his room thinking, "it was just a dream", and then the real book starting. The beginning didn't have the attention to detail that every other part of the series has.

After they got to school, however, I thought it was outstanding. The character development was awesome, I liked how we got to know some characters that we have only heard of by name before this book. The fight scenes were excellent, and as much as I tried to savor the book, I couldn't put it down.

Some of it was a little too convenient. Like Ginny suddenly being good at quidditch, or Harry's two best friends being prefects. I loved Umbridge (well, hated her), Fred and George, Cho, the DA...

Sirius' death was anticlimactic.

My post was largely negative, but I loved the book. If it wasnt for my dissapointment in the beginning, I think would be my favorite of the series.

[Doggy]

*Yawn* I read it from 12:30 at night to 06:00 in the morning. And then started rereading it...

The first time I read it, I was strongly reminded of dreams I had before I got it, where I read OotP and it turned out to be awful. But then, I read it again and it got a lot better, and I cried my eyes out over Sirius, even though I knew it would happen. It was very different from the others. Now though, I've (almost) convinced myself that Sirius isn't dead until a body is found (read: please, please don't let him be dead)

First of all; there wasn't any bad guy who was revealed in the end. The bad guys were the "known" bad guys; Voldemort, Rookwood etc.

Second of all, it became very complicated. I didn't figure out how Sirius died at first, it was very diferent from the others, where the scenes are loong and well described, here they were shorter.

Also, all the "evil" and unsureness was inside Hogwarts, they couldn't trust anyone, as opposed to the other books.

I got a bit annoyed at the bit where Umbridge came with all these rules and all the teachers tried to thank Harry without showing it. It became too much, just like when Fred and George left and when they and Harry got banned from quidditch. In those places it seemed as if J.K. Rowling just needed fill-outs, they didn't seem to fit at all.

Otherwise it was very good, it's just that we've got so high expectations.

[McKinnon02]

I think Sirius will be around, one way or another. As to if he's dead or not... I've drawn a complete blank.

[::Revolutionary::]

I liked the book...

Okay. The only real problem I had with the book was that someplaces it felt like notes stitched together in a rush, it lost it's flow.

I really think that JKR got people to really 'feel' in this book: I've heard of several people who cried when Sirius died; I felt rage when I read Percys letter, that's the first time i've felt something like that when reading HP; And I couldnt help but
feel extremely annoyed when Umbridge talked, she was a superbly written character by the way; And the times I felt like cracking up when McGonnagal got mad at Umbridge.

Some points I didnt like were, for example, the weasleys take off, alot of people have said they liked it, I just felt it fitted into a badly written Fanfic more then The Harry Potter Books.
I didnt like the Dementors in the start either.

It was also great too see Harry actually be mad, really mad, for once...
PS: 8.5
CoS: 7
PoA: 9
GoF: 9
OotP 8
This book actually made me feel like wanting to continue reading, because it is more of a 'beggining' book, unlike the three, maybe even four, first.

[JofpGallagher]

Jesus!!! Long review many of you have posted. Like Stella, I won’t write something long (I’m too lazy :p )

OK. If I have to sort the books according of which one I like the most, OotP would be in the last place. Sorry. I really enjoyed the book, but I can’t get rid of the sensation that this book was just written to fill up the Year 5 spot. I think you could make it perfectly reading five chapters carefully selected from book 5 and jump from GoF to Book 6 directly without any harm.
Do not misunderstand me. I’m not saying I didn’t like the book. I love it, but love it less than the others.
Maybe it was because I was expecting more development of other characters like Hermione, Ron, Sirius, Snape, Lupin, and Harry’s parents. This book was, IMO, way too much centered in Harry. And yes, there is something I missed in this book. Something hard to explain.. Rowling has shown a keen ability to depict humans feelings perfectly. Those feelings that make your heart to leap. There were few of those feelings in this book, probably due to Harry’s bad temper must of the time.
Also, I have the sensation that now, the churches (talking about religions-various) will find more things to loathe from these series. That thing of the prophecy sounded to me like too much similar to a messiah-coming-to-save-the-world-alike.
I have the sensation, that the biggest thing (The Second War) were due in book six, and Rowling just needed a bridge to get there. That bridge was OotP. Then, book 7 will be more peaceful, and it will show the most of human sentiments than the rest.

Maybe I will change some of my views once I re-read the book.

[yoda_fan]

I really really enjoyed it, although my fave book in the series so far is still GoF. That's not to criticise JK in any way (would never even consider it) but I personally just enjoyed GoF that little bit more. I didn't cry when Sirius died (was still sad though) but for some reason I was much more upset when Cedric died in book 4. I hated that awful Umbridge woman and was so pleased when Ron was made prefect and goalkeeper for Gryffindor (he's always been one of my fave characters). The whole book was very well written and I can't wait for book 6!!!

[Nittaya]

I think Rowling must have put a spell on the book; it was magical!
This is what Harry Potter is about!
This book is by far the best one in the series, if I haven't been reading the others blindfolded.
It was so beautiful and vivid, so perfect. i have never experienced reading like this! it was, like stepping in to the pages, using a pensieve! And I have cried my face off.
not just because of the loss of dear Sirius (I will not mention theories here) -but because the book touched me in every way there is!
I loved the way Harry has developed, I can really se things through his eyes now, he is more human than ever. The story is about him and this book has made me realise how much I care for him, that in the reading, I feel through him.
I feel tired in every bit of my body, dazed.
i don't think I can fully recover from the experience, but in the other hand, I don't want to.
It was the greatest adventure I have ever ...oh how can you say it, you weren't there but yet you where!
I have no expectations on the other two of being better, nothing can compare to this.
And it was not to long. i would have wanted it to cross 1000 pages and hopefulle Rowling takes number seven there, I heard six will be shorter (good, give it here now)



I am so in love with the Harry Potter phenomenon right now, I feel light headed. This is just what I needed, this book will become the most important of all my belongings.
The first one I'll seize if there is a fire (knocks on wood)

Thank you Rowling
But give back sirius

[my_dogstar]

I miss Sirius :'(

[Dazed&Confused]

Well I have to say that this book was a real change in style for J.K.. It was so much more grittier and even natural; Harry actually became an evolving character. However this book I felt could have been cut down in some places. I realize J.K. was trying to provide foreshadowing, but I was getting really annoyed when over a hundred pages had passed and we had yet not entered Hogwarts. I love Tonk’s though and was hoping so much that she would be the new D.A. initially. Unfortunately as soon as we met Umbridge, I knew she was gonna be the one. It was just so obvious, I would have liked it more if J.K. had played around with our heads a little more as to not make it that obvious. A lot of things in the book were heavily, too heavily, foreshadowed. I knew ____ would die by the time Harry had gotten on the Hogwarts express. Everything just clicked from a-b-c-d, very unlike other Potter books that went from a-b-c-q….
What I liked about this book, was how it made characters more empathetic and very much real. The Dialogue came off very naturally most of the time. There were certain times I felt J.K. and her editors had missed an error from her original draft. The ending also left me, more than any of the other books with a feeling of unresolved.
Overall I really loved this book, despite my immense criticism. I liked a lot of the new characters. I’m also sort of happy Firenze is now at Hogwarts, his presence is sure to promise further intrigues at the school.
However I hope the intrigue and sense of secrecy and mystery will return in the other books, its what helped to make the series so great….
Rating (of a possible 4) *** 3 1/2

[Connie]

The first thing I noticed was the change in book cover colour. Blue. As if to tell us the story was going to be darker than the first 3, which were red, and Goblet had been green, indicating that things were getting ready to change. (Pretty deep, huh?;) ) I got it in the mail on the Saturday it came out, and sat on the couch the whole weekend reading. I liked how realistically she's made Harry behave, the teen years are the toughest, and being 15, with having dealt with so much, he's bound to be angry. I loved having Lupin back, I'd missed our werewolf, and the new characters of Tonks and Luna Lovegood were a welcome addition.

I did'nt think there could be any teacher nastier than Snape, but Umbridge takes the prize. :rasp: It was great too to have some background on the characters, like Sirius' family, and finding out that Harry's dad was'nt the perfect person Harry thought he was. It was nice having more of the Weasleys, found it hard to believe that Percy would turn on his family like he did, sure to be repercussions from that, and Fred and George's exit from the school was totally memorable.

The death. I went into this book fully expecting it to be Hagrid or Dumbledore, and after looking at the chapter titles and seeing "The Only One He Ever Feared", I was SURE it was DD. Sat there in shock after reading it was Sirius, my favorite character. Could'nt believe he was gone, still can't in a way. :( I hope he's not totally gone, it's almost too cruel to have Harry never know his parents, and now to lose the closest thing he had to a father......

I keep waiting for Snape and Harry to come to some sort of truce. Too much has happened for them to ever be friends, but I would like to see them be able to talk to each other and be civil.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, it's my fave in the series now next to POA.

[*Darth Voldemort*]

To sum it all up: In my opinion OotP is the weakest book in a series of great novels. That makes OotP still a good book.

Of course, there were some big revelations: We learned why Harry has to return to the Dursleys every summer - and we we learned about the prophecy. BUT I have the feeling that Rowling had no great idea for a real plot in her 5th book. The 1st novel is the introduction; the 2nd was about that myterious chamber, and the big question was: Who opened it? The 3d book gave us a first look into the past, and we learned about a very loyal man who was hunted though he was innocence; book 4 made us wonder who wanted Harry to participate in the tournament.

And book 5? Well... There were some revelations, but if Rowling had Dumbledore tell all that stuff at the end of the previous novel, there wouldn't have been no need for OotP at all (she could tell us about the Order at the beginning of book 6, and we would be up to date).

My point is, that OotP is the biggest Potter book so far, but I am under the impression that somehow books 3 and 4 had more.

And come on: Who did NOT knew, that Voldemort WANTED to lure Harry into the Ministry Of Magic. Usually, Rowling is very unpredictable when it comes to surprises in a plot. But OotP did not contain any real surpries at all. Could it be, that J.K. Rowling has become predictable?

[missfrb]

As the most of the repliants here, I liked the plots of book 3 and 4 better. They were more complicated, had more content, and so forth and so on.
Already in GoF, JK Rowling went on this emotional and suspense tour. Each chapter was more thrilling and compelling than the one before. In the fourth book, however, there were many plotlines and at the end there was a pretty surprising, unpredictable denouement. In the OotP, the end was too predictable to me. That Voldemort had lured Harry into the ministry of magic, indeed. Only the 'weapon' was a bit of a surprise.
And I was also disappointed about the explanation of Dumbedore at the end. In al the other books, they left me with the satisfaction of enclosure, though -of course- there were enough questions left for the next books. But this time, I felt like as if JK Roweling just got rid of it. And -also mentioned before (but what isn't?)- how about the house cup? For the first time in 4 years, Gryffindor didn't win, so who did? And who has won the quidditch cup?

I was a bit disappointed to hear that Neville Longbottom could have been 'the boy who lived' as well, because I always wanted to believe that HP was not only special because of the attack of Voldemort. I wanted to believe that Voldemort attacked him with a reason. Ok, so he did, according to OotP, but there still was a 50 percent chance that he would just be an ordinary wizard, with no special magic skills.
But maybe they're getting back on that, because there is some mystery left around Lilly Potter and the green eyes. I hope there is more.

The character development was very realistic. Maybe also disappointing, but it made the story more mature. For example Dumbledore's aging. I like to believe that HP is -along with being the descendant of Goderic Gryffindor and the future murderer of Voldemort- the successor of Dumbledore. He only needs to get way, way wiser, but he will. He can't just end up, after he killed Voldemort, as an auror. The job will be less interesting then, anyway.

Harry was really nagging in the first chapters, and drowning in his self-pity. First I was afraid (but how do I dare to question JK Rowlings story-telling?!?!) that the writer didn't notice, but then she let Hermione put Harry in his place a bit. I was actually hoping that Harry would found out himself that he was acting very selfishly, but he only did temporarily at the time. But maybe, now he knows that there was a 50 percent chance that he would have ended up like Neville - also with no (real) parents anymore, but also without special powers, he will appreciate his fate a little more. Even with all the risks and responsibilities he got along with it.

Hermione was ok, of course, so was Ron. And Ginny is growing up the right way (strong girl!). Cho was a sad figure, and I felt a bit sorry for her and Harry that it didn't work out. I didn't expect that they would have such a little chance.

The death of Sirius. Actually, I was relieved, because I was really afraid that one of the kids would die. But then again, it's sad. Too sad. Very realistic character anyway, maybe one of the most serious, together with Lupin and Potter sr., at least, to me. His restlessness, his care for Harry, his recklessness, and his death, provoked and actually unnecessary.

The best thing of the book, what took away a lot of the black and white vision on the evil and the good, was the revealing of James Potter's character. And the horror Harry felt, once he found out. I hope JK Rowling writes on about that in the next book.

[jimmy06]

Started off strong with Dudley Demented and all that good stuff...but then my attention was drawn elsewhere. The whole Grimmauld Place skits I thought were quite boring. But don't get me wrong I loved the book and the other 780 pages of the book weren't nearly as boring as the ones about Grimmauld Place.

The only other thing I want to talk about it Sirius' death. Really caught me off guard. When Sirius and gang showed up at the Department of Mysteries I knew that someone was about to die-but i didn't know who. And that was very keen of JKR to put the veil in the book just a couple of pages before the death. Wow, I was so shocked when Sirius fell through the veil that I didn't even time to cry-just a huge pit in my stomach.

An in my opinion, the book was waaaaay too short! I mean come on, 3 years and all you can give us is 870 pages! What a joke! No i'm just kidding I could never do what JKR does, but when I was getting toward the end all i wanted was more more more!!

But anywho, I loved the book and hopefully I won't have to wait another 3 years to appease my Potter addiction!

Final Rating out of 10: 12!!!

[deatheater4life]

I found this book dissapointing. The plot seemed a bit weeker then in the other books, and it just seemed to babble on about alot of teenage angst. She overloaded it with Harry's worries and basic stuff but did not even lead a hint of anything between Ron and Hermione. I personally believe she has lost her touch a bit in the one. and she killed off Sirius! He died in what seemed to be a wimpy way. I mean, he was there, then all of a sudden he fell over and was dead. :angry:

[hermeeownninny]

OotP is unlike the other books of the series, and some may say, a little disappointing. While OotP seemed to give us more questions than answers, I say it is AWESOME and well worth waiting 3 years for. From the moment you start the first page, you seem to be on a high-speed train ride to the end. So much happens, and yet as far as action goes, it does not have nearly as much as CoS or GoF. What it does have, though, is character development. A lot of the characters grow up (Harry, Ginny, Neville) and at the same time it is reassuring to know that some people will always stay the same (Ron, Hermione, Weasley twins). JKR created sympathy for Snape, and even more for Neville. I found it to be more touching than the other books. It explored human emotions and the startling revelation that even Dumbledore is human and makes mistakes. The Department of Mysteries studies the mysteries of life- death, time, compassion. It is a powerful book with many powerful messages- such as the Statue of Magical Brethren and the Sorting Hat song. Beautiful.

In response to deatheater4life, I don't think she "lost her touch" with Sirius's death- I think she was trying to show the thin line between life and death and how quickly you can pass over the veil to death. It would be too predictable if everyone died by avada kedavra, or whatever. And the Ron and Hermione stuff, it isn't really important is it, with all the other stuff going on. It's not Hermione Granger and Her Romance with Ron Weasley. And after all, there's still 2 more books for that to happen.

[Lilly]

This was a wonderful book, it really was a great interpertation of the changes that will soon come to the series. The book did not have the same feel as the previopus four, but I like that fact, becauese Harry is not a boy anymore, he's growing up and has to deal that, plus the larger threatt of Voldermort.

I was truely debastated at Sirius death, he was one of my favorite characters. The way he and Harry depeded on each other was a truly beautiful bond. Although I must admit that I did suspect he would be the one to die, J K gave us throughout the book clues, for example the way he was acting, sort of reckles, you just new he would do something he wasn't suppose to. I also loved the was she showed Him and James as younger kids, they weren't nice and that made them more real, because they got over the big flaws to become people that everyone loved. As she showed with Sirius death that life can go in a heart beat, she also showed that people change, and hopefully for the best.

Cho... bother me, but I understand the way she acted, it was a perfect imitation of the teenage year, where all channels get cross no matter what you do.

Harry's attitude was soo that of a teenager. Odly enough it didn't really bother me, just because I completly understood him. He had to deal with his normal teenage hormones, plus deal with his very unreal life, it's about time he lest some of that anger he has bottled up go. He had been acting too young in the previous book, in the way in which he delt with what happen to him. Personally I'd be pretty upset and would want to let so steam go.

Umbridge...she was a great character, now don't get me wrong I hated her, truely hated her. But how many character can make you feel this strongly towards them. J K just did an unbeleivable job with her.

Luna, Tonks, Ginny and Neville, were awsome character. I think she did such a great job with them. She has this amazing abilitly to bring them to life, I feel like they are my frieds. Neville was the greates surprice, he really came through when his friends most needed him and showed some serious back bone.

GREAT BOOK!
Lilly

[cloak12]

century
i know you've seen that sirius was blasted with a jet of RED light not green as the one of avada kedavra's one!!!
surely he must be in some kind of in-between of life and death??
i need to know whats happened to him!!, he is one of my favourite caracters , besides he's the only family harry is got left , (i mean without the durleys of course...)
I only hope he is really alive for us to find out in book 6...
sarah.

[fairygirl]

I was so depressed after finishing Ootp that I had to call my best friend at 3am and cry to her. Why did it have to be Sirius? I know a lot of people don't feel like he was a main character but to me thats what made PoA. (which happens to be my favorite of the series) Finally, after feeling alone for so long Harry has someone to relate to, to find out more about himself, to confide in when he's feeling down. Now that person is gone and I'm just so sad. :'( Like others I feel that his death was not done justice, but unilke others I did not cry over Cedric. I honestly can say that after finishing it I would have rather had anyone else die than Sirius. Now who is Harry going to turn to? :'(

[ldymalfoy610]

Wow! Finally finished the book! I really enjoyed it even though I fought to stop reading it, saying "Enough!" aloud in my head so many times because I *hated* having to read about the sort of treatment that Harry was really subjected to. All that anger bottled up inside him.. I'm glad he was able to release it, especially when Sirius died. How it felt to lose the last person you knew but weren't able to really get to know.. **** those Death Eaters!

I hated so many characters that I desperately wished I could jump into the book and strangle them myself.. Malfoy, Parkinson, and the Slytherins (as dumb as they appear?), Bellatrix (I could "hear" her laugh in my head, what with all that stupid baby-talk) and the Death Eaters, Fudge (ignorant, cowardly.. FEAR OF A NAME INCREASES FEAR OF THE THING ITSELF: Dumbledore), Umbridge (especially her! :angry: ), Percy (traitor!), and some others (I can't remember, I was so angry).

But in all, I enjoyed the book through it's heart-wrenching journey. I can't wait to see the movie, if there will be one. Please don't flame me.. I *just * finished the book.. More to comment on later. By the way, I'm not sure if I missed it, but whatever happened to Percy? I thought he'd be right at Fudge's side when Voldemort appeared at the Ministry..

(Don't let my name fool you even though I despise Draco [the Books version].. Got a thing for bad boys, I guess. :crush: )

[Amadeus]

undescribable

[Oddfellow]

I give it Several Extremities Up!

In my opinion OotP is one of the best in the Series but not my favorite. The reason being is that it does somewhat repeat itself. There were several times when J.K. chose a dull road.

But... J.K. also has shown that she has improved with a more dominating prose and a keen eye for storytelling. With this book her characterization of Professor Umbridge was amazing. She was very easy to hate. 'hem. hem.' The fight scene at the end was spectacular including the showdown between DumbleDore and Voldemort.

One reason why this book is not judged as somewhat "liked less than others" is that we are given more information than ever. I am still somewhat overloaded.

J.K. just keeps Rowling

[Strobe]

OotP was certainly not my favorite book- but it was so emotional, so important, that I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, it has managed to sort of dampered my impression of PoA (my favorite book!) because now I know the fate of poor Sirius.

Sirius's death was so terrible. Although I didn't cry (I never do when reading) I spent most the day in this dull stuper, and only after repetition of "it's not real; it's just a book" to myself a hundred times over did I awake from my little funk. Sirius was incrediably imperfect, and oftentimes hard to like, but he was Harry's godfather and a sort of father to him. After all, it was the thought of Sirius that helped Harry to stir up his first full-formed Patronus to battle the swarm of dementors.

What caused Sirius's death to be even more sad was the fact that as the reader I saw so many ways in which it could have been prevented: if Harry had worked at his Occlumency, if he had talked to Snape to reach Sirius, or if he had remembered the two-way mirror... all of these might have saved a life. And still, if only Dumbledore had told Harry why the Occlumency lessons were so important.

One thing's for sure- it left me longing for Book Six and Seven. I can't wait for the next two years of Harry's life (and I need to know what he got on his O.W.L.s!)

-Strobe *

[Maydeleat Greenly]

Now I'm going to write my own before reading the others.... so if i repeat stuff... sorry ...
Characters

Harry: whooooo booyyy! He was really angry in this one! I expected him to be angry from all the rumors of it, but he was just horrible in some parts. At many times, he was too worked up to take time and think. However, his character is maturing rapidly. I must say he is human after all! And after hearing the prophecy... well he took it quite well.

Ron: Ron seemed kinda far distanced in this one. He was doing his own thing with quidditch and being a prefect (I wish DD wouldn't have told harry that he should have gotten it.), but other then a few wise jokes there was barely interaction between him and the other people around him.

Hermione: She remained the same smart girl that we all love! The only thing that was sort of different was that she didn't seem as moody as she did in the last one.... which at times was well needed.... but when Harry got out of control I was happy she was there to either deflate his ego, or calm him down a bit.

Dumbledore: A bit disappointing. He wasn't around very much and some of his explanations seemed farfetched. Did he even give us any answers? He just raised more questions!

Ginny: She didn't have much to her character before, but she's really got one now! There's nothing I can say that I don't like about her! She's becoming like the twins.... and seeing as how I love them....

The Twins: I am so happy they got their shining moments! They deserved it so much.. and brought me to tears strangely enough. I'm so happy all the teachers really supported them.

Umbridge: Love to hate her! She kind of took off all the heat from Fudge though.

Percy: Could strangle him! He's so smart... but sometimes he only thinks about authority .... he doesn't really have his own opinion on things.

Luna: Cool strange new character. I loved her, and I'm sure she will be back. There's something about her that makes us all think she'll be important later.

Neville: This boy was amazing! I think surprisingly he was my favorite character in this book! While he was fighting in the DoM I was at tears around every page afraid he was going to die. I really feel for his character a lot. He's just someone we all can identify with in away. And in my opinion, he had the most reason to kill Voldemort before Sirius went. I still hope he ends up killing him. I really hate Bellatrix.

Sirius: His character did not suit the one we knew in the other two books.... he changed drastically... he was always kinda of foolish though. His emotions got the best of him in some ways.... enough said.

The Malfoys: Glad Lucius went to jail. Too bad there wasn't more of Draco.. I don't like him much... but I love his one liners! They're always so witty! But, he wasn't around much at all when I needed that sort of crazy devious relief.

Lupin: Didn't change much. He will probably be more important with Sirius gone.

Snape: He always rocks! Those memories were just awful! I was totally on his side until he called Lilly a mudblood, but all the same, you had to feel bad. James really was arrogant! However, I'm still wondering whether or not James is really that arrogant or if, since it was snape's memory, that's just how he was being portrayed....

McGonagall: always loved her, but she was excellent in this book! So supportive of Harry! She really showed her spine against Umbridge! I think I'll always appreciate her.

Hagrid: Not around much... but I think his story was kind of weak. Grawp was nice, but just seemed like and added character used only to save hermione and harry. However, I do think he will get more play in the next book.

Good Things:
The book was altogether wonderful! Certainly one of my favorites, but not as entertaining in my opinion. Some of the characters just evolved wonderfully! The D.A. part of the book was just nice all around. The fact that Ron got so more glory is always good. Neville as a whole was one of my favorite factors of the book. The Occlumency lessons were Snape... need I say more? The D.o.M towards the end had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! Props to JK! She never lets us down!

Bad Things:
We over hyped way to much in my case. I think I was expecting too much and that is unfair to the book. However, my biggest problem was all the loose ends. We had so many questions, and though touched upon... they were never really resolved. So many dealing with snape and harry's back ground and the color of the eyes....all that good stuff (lol)... we just got ahead of ourselves. The content of the book just seemed a bit rushed... there were many little plots... but they never went as deep as I wanted them to go. The year at Hogwarts seemed to whizz by in little clumps. The beginning, quidditch time, christmas, owls, time to leave. There didn't really seem to be much teacher interaction unless it was speaking against Umbridge. (No offense at all to JK.... but we already hate Umbridge .. enough is enough..she went way over the top... but she did her job of making us loathe her verrrryyyy well!) The thing that unsatisfied me the most was probably the ending with Sirius and the prophecy (the romances weren't that great... but that's a whole different conversation.) Sirius' death lets just say was unfitting for him. Not very emotional ( I was busying being scared for Neville), and though I didn't care much for Cedric.... I felt worse off for him because I understood it better. I just couldn't really picture the veil.

Then the prophecy
....well I just was wondering if we actually learned much more. I think the best thing that came out of it was that Neville could have been the boy who lived as well. (I wonder what posessed Voldemort to torture his parents, but not go after him? ) I think the rest of DD spiel was a little .... unreal.... I don't know how Harry's 'heart' saved him... and quite frankly, I thought it was a pretty crooked answer coming from DD. It just seemed like all these pages amounted up to nothing except the death of a person who... well in the end got what he was asking for. ( I love sirius lol don't get me wrong in any of this. If it's worth anything...I was starting to tear up during the mirror part.)

I just wish the weapon could have been huge! Lol I was thinking it was going to be a gun lol so I guess I didn't really have any better idea ... but eh... it the prophecy was such a huge thing... why didn't Voldemort just take a polyjuice potion and go and get it himself? If the MoM let Harry in with his gang of friends on a mission for who knows what (in the womans point of view) then who's to say that Voldemort couldn't do the same thing! So many questions! I'm sure I'll think of plenty of other things to say.. but I really bashed the book and really.... I liked the book a lot.

romance: so-so kinbda dull, but then again, the book is from harry's point of view and he doesn't talk much to ron or hermione all though their love tention was still there. as for cho.... stupid stupid stupid I didn't like cho from the start before cedric even died and Harry was rather dumb to not know some basics about girls... puhhhhhleaaaasssse even an idiot would know!


My ranting:
The biggest problem I have with this book is that it was rather dull until the last 5 chapters and a few good chapters in the middle. I agree with people who believe that though this book had a lot more pages, the other books had a lot more to offer then just boring filling and discriptions about how Harry feels about certain things.... lol but maybe Im just crazy because my favorite Hp book is The Chamber of Secrets and I have yet to find someone who thinks the same.... I just don't know though. A lot of the side characters : Grawp Hagrid Ron and others just all feel tacked on to try and give the book that old time feel. I understand that the book is maturing rapidly because there was a rapid change in harry's life with the death.... but give us some warmth pleaseeeeeee. I guess I speculated way too much. I mean... who wasn't waiting for Jk to reveal that Harry is the heir of Gryffindor or perhaps Neville now? I just don't know it was rather predictable. It was easy to guess Sirius might die because he was so careless. And I know that's how wars leave people but.... I dunno his character just seemed weaker then usual. And Kreacher? Dang it all I hated him and all of Grindewauld place (sorry if its spelt wrong) it was kinda boring. I could care less about Sirius' mom's portrait screaming..... I guess it'll play a part later on though blahblah.

After reading it for the second time.... the book got a little better... but I think Jk was relying too much on the media around the supposed death. I think her biggest plot was: Who is going to die in the end? Why else would she tell everyone that someone was going to die? If people didn't know this rumor then the book might not have been as enjoyable or suspenseful. And the prophecy is just so vague..... I can't take it!!!! I know I sound greedy but I wanted more plot and less on Harry's feelings I know character development is important but for god's sake I don't think we need 700 pages just based on that!!!!!! daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... sorry I love htis book I swear!

All in all
It wasn't the best, but it was up there with them. Some things seemed rushed, but they were made up for by the characters. all those new characters: Tonks (loved her... too bad she was a bit clumsy. There's going to be more to her with the morphing!) The Real Mad Eye Moody & Luna... all of them are great for the book. I love the new darker feeling! It sets the tone for the next two! Harry will have to be angry enough to want to kill, and that's just what JK is doing! She did a wonderful job.

[kaoru]

My impression on book 5:
I'm still depressed, sad, angry for the death of Sirius. I can't wait for the next books, and I expect Rowling to give a very (best) explanation for her decision killing Sirius. (I still wish he's not dead)...

Very glad that Cho and Harry relationship doesn't work out.

Still curious why Harry's eye color that is similar to Lily plays an important role and why Lily (according to Voldemorde) didn't have to die.

Love Snape even more... and I think Harry is not fair for blaming the dead of Sirius on him... Everything went wrong when Harry didn't realise that there is one more teacher in Hogwarts that is also a member of the Order.

[phoenixgrl]

New here and this is my first post other than the intro.

I have to say that I was dissappointed. If this was the first book I had read I would have liked it, but after PoA and GoF, I was let down.

I think the website forums and all the theory posturing did make me expect some info that I may never had if I hadn't been online. I just think on a whole that we know no more now than we did at the end of GoF. When they released the quote when Dumbledore says he will tell Harry everything, I thought we would have found out more about his parents and their past. Other than they can only kill each other, there was nothing new.

I think it started off slow and left things unfinished. For example, I was waiting for the explanation about Petunia and how she knew of the dementors. I was waiting for the feeling that JK said we would get that would make us not hate the Dursley's so much. Neither came.

From the beginning the tone of the book was different than the other four. It didn't seem to me that I was reading a Harry Potter book. I understand that he is getting older, this has nothing to do with that, but I did miss the style that the other books were written. I think it was too aggressive of a change rather than a gradual one. Harry's anger was good but at times uncalled for and overplayed. He seemed to snap senselessly at Ron and Hermione.

I think the whole Cho thing was stupid. First of all, why would Cho be that interested in Harry so soon after Cedric's death? I think it would have been better if they would have gone from barely talking to friends finding a common ground in a loss of a friend to maybe liking him in book six. The whole thing was handled poorly. Her reactions were that of a girl who has had a fight with her boyfriend of a few months, not of a guy she has one date with. And is Harry that stupid that he doesn't know any basic girl ettiquette? And why is it that Ginny is playing the dating field and acting like the typical teen but the three of them are so out of touch with this segment of life. At their age it should be a big segment of life.

I have to admit that I was sad/happy when Mr. Weasley is attacked because I thought that was the death and I could see how that would have been very sad and "horrible to write". Frankly, Sirius' death was over in a second, very unemotional, and sterile and did not leave me sad at all. I think it would have been better if Harry was holding him when he died and Sirius said something at the end. The whole veil thing was confusing and it was almost as if there were a few sentences missing. Especially when Luna talks about the voices and then JK just moves on to another topic.

What happened to finding out about Lily's eyes and why it is important she ws good at charms? Weren't we supposed to find that out? What about what the Potters did for a living? Wouldn't it make sense that Harry ask this question especially when he gets career advice this year? Why wouldn't he ask this or how he has all that money? Some of these common sense questions that he never asks make her writing inconsistent, and drive me crazy.

What was Snape doing for the Order? What of his past? Why does DD trust him so much?

There are still too many unanswered questions that I was hoping to have resolved. I think I was let down because of my expectations which is my own fault,but I do think that alot of people feel the same I do.

[phoenixgrl]

I forgot to add that I don't think this was any darker or scarier than GoF. I think that GoF was MUCH scarier than this book. I don't think this was scary at all. Am I missing something?

[desire]

Since finishing ootp I can not stop thinking about it. At first I was a little disappointed then quite a few issues in the book started to sink in. Now I am just confused.

First I could not wait to see who died so I read the end first.:( Then when I finally started the book from the beginning and actually read the death seen I was not impressed. I had to reread it because it was so quick. I guess I was expecting him to go out with a big bang. But now that I have thought more on it JK did say "this is the beginning of war” and what happens in war? One minute people are standing next to you talking and then boom the next minute their dead. You don't have time to let it sink in, you friend or partner is now gone, no time to think, you have to just continue with the battle. Then comes the denial, and thinking that maybe just maybe they were just injured and did not die. I think this is what Harry may have possibly gone through.

I did not cry or get upset about Sirius's death but the more I ponder the sadder it is.

I’m glad Harry is going to get over Cho. For some reason I was sad that he had a crush on her in the previous books.

I love that Ginny and Neville are stronger characters. I wonder if the spell that affected Neville as a baby is finally wearing off because he seemed able to remember more this book.

I am now rereading it because I want to find the hints for the next books.

[Snowangel]

I really enjoyed the book and I'm not really sure yet where it fits. I don't know which book is my favourite yet but I try not to compare them too much. There seemed to be, in my opinion, a lack of buildup in the plot. I wasn't really sure what the focus of the plot was. This seemed different from some of the other books. There was not as much suspense, in my humble view, but I still had fun reading the book because there was so much detail and character development to savour.

I'm glad to see that other people were not affected too much by Sirius's death. I felt awful about it but the description of his death was not emotional for me. I feel bad that Harry has lost the last member of what we could call his real family but his death actually hit me far less than that of Cedric. I'm not sure why but it wasn't as emotional a scene. I began to suspect that Sirius was going to be the one to die because of all the warnings surrounding him not leaving his house. I somehow thought that that might be foreshadowing. The death was so quick, because it was set amongst all kinds of confusing action. It just passed in a blink of an eye and the whole fight wasn't over yet. It was rather anticlimatic and, in fact, so much happened after his death, that there really wasn't very much time to absorb what it would all mean.

I was also rather expecting to find out more than what was revealed in the book. Being on these forums certainly does seem to take away some of the surprise when any secrets are revealed because people on this forum are very good at theorizing.

But, I must say, I really did enjoy reading the book and I'm looking forward to the next one.

[ekramer_2007]

I liked the book, I wouldnt call it my favorite in the series, but it is a great book. It really stunk that Sirius died, cause Harry really loved Sirius as a parent, and Harry only knew Sirius for two years. Everyone liked Sirius. But other than that the book was really awesome.

[Drusilla]

To anyone reading,I have only one thing to say:this book is AMAZING.It's gone so far beyond brilliant,it's unbelievable.Umbridge-she made me so mad,I actually had to shut the book about 5 times so I could calm down and then continue reading.About the Thestrals,the reason why Harry couldn't see them before was probably because Cedric's death hadn't really sunk in before he went back to Privet Drive,and he couldn't really remember his parent's deaths(except through the Dementor-induced feelings)-you have to let it sink in first,accept what you've seen,which is what he was doing with the nightmares,in Privet Drive)The Map may have been given back to Harry when the impostor's office was cleared out,so no real issuses there.About the marauders,it was a shock of the worst kind for Harry to see his father and know that James wasn't the perfect person he thought he was;he had the proverbial feet of clay.As far as the plot goes,I LOVED the bit with the DA-it was great to see the students working together,being united-not something we've seen much of so far.And the final battle,involving Neville,Ginny and Luna was great;I liked Ginny telling Harry she was 3 years older than he'd been when he went after the Philosopher's Stone.Overall,I love Ginny's newfound spunk:she's truly proven herself to be the sister of Fred and George.And I like her being on the Quidditch team,and good at it-I hope JKR does more with her next year,perhaps in the role of Hermione's friend.Also a bit of teenage grumpiness here;remember her raging when her mum sent her upstairs Harry's first night in London?It's clear Ron is a lot cooler with the idea of Ginny dating Harry than anyone else.I'm really,REALLY glad Ginny wasn't killed off,though it doesn't make Sirius' death any less painful-I was really scared when those Death Eaters showed up in the ministry.Speaking of Ron-tension with Hermione.Definitely there.And nice character development-Prefecthood,Quidditch.As for Hermione-I like her becoming rebellious-she's reminding me of me a lot now.If you notice,the 3 spend loads of time sniping at each other now-it's not just Harry.I nearly died when she got knocked unconscious by Dolohov-thinking,oh PLEASE WHATEVER'S GOOD IN THIS WORLD,NOT HERMIONE!Nearly collapsed in relief when Neville said she had a pulse.It's good to see more of Neville,but the hospital scene at Christmas was really sad-when he takes the sweet wrapper from his mother.And did anyone really notice he saved Harry's life?AND was the last one left standing with him?The twins.I'd marry one of them,only they'd probably turn me into a canary first.Their exit had me cheering,and I'll sorely miss them at Hogwarts next book.They've been beyond brilliant,and they went out the way they deserved.I'll miss Lee Jordan too,but maybe there'll be more from the joke-shop.I also liked the new characters,esp. Mundungus ,Tonks and Luna.Lupin's return was welcome.I hope we'll see more of him in the next 2.Dumbledore -I won't talk about him now.And Harry's anger and angst makes him far more real than he's ever been before.My heart breaks for him.He's lost his parents,his only remaining blood relatives hate him,he's had to endure ostracism from his schoolmates,watched a student get killed and now he's lost the closest thing to a parent he has.And that's not even a fraction of it.Sirius's death was all the more horrific because it wasn't a grand spectacle,it was almost throwaway,it happened just when we thought 'it's all okay now'.And death is like that .It won't turn itself into a drama ;the world goes on as usual;you brush your teeth,do laundry and homework,get parking tickets.It's horrible.

[Drusilla]

Should've added this;it was love that saved Harry this time around,just like the first time:love and humanity,which Voldemort can't understand because ,in Hagrid's words,'he didn't have enough human left in him to die'.And I think it's significant that Hermione has started saying Voldemort's name,and that Dumbledore called him Tom.Has anyone wondered just HOW terrifying he must be,if people who weren'taware of his existence till they got Hogwarts letters(e.g.Muggle-borns,like Hermione)and don't remember him are afraid to say his name?

[pegoheart144]

I have an observation regarding Harry/Cho. She displayed her jealousy of Harry's friendship with Hermione. Don't you think most girls might feel uncomfortable with it.

The Hermione/Ron tension was still there. It just wasn't as odvious as in GoF. They still bicker all the time.

How about Neville/Luna pairing? That could prove interesting.

[SABuffalo786]

Bought it on Friday, finished it about an hour ago.

Wow. That's all I can say. I've never had a book raise the kind of emotions I've had while reading it, especially towards the end. Hands down, best book in the series. Book 6 is going to kick some serious ***.

[Canucks_Fan]

The book started and ended the great. However, having only read it one time, the middle bits of the book is a whole big "huh?" to me. I don't really remember much happening during the middle portion of the book...

I hated the ending in some ways just because I didn't want Sirius to die... he's one of my favorite characters!! Why couldn't one of the Weasley's die? There's a lot of them anyways, I'm sure it would have been alright if one of them died. It wouldn't make much of a difference. Like if Ginny died, I really wouldn't mind that much. Or Percy for that matter.

Why Sirius? I just don't understand.

[Veritaserum]

I was just bloody fantastic, the best books I've ever read.

I'd have to say that my favourite part was Harry and Cho's kiss, that was a classic!

Veritaserum

[LEO2033]

Hi everyone, first post here.

I am writing about OoTP off the top of my head so correct me if I am wrong with anything.


For me, the book started slowly that is until the dementors show up. I believe it was near the beginnning anyway. It is after this the book gets going for me.

I don't like how Percy has all of sudden become, well, mean. I used to like all Weasleys. It seems he's become stuborn now.

I like how Ron is growing up. He is trying is best to play quidditch. I dont know how he could stand those cheers. He was still nervous but tryed his best anyway. He is becoming a stronger character.

Fred and George are 2 of my favorite characters in the series. I liked their exit which really upset, hem hem, Umbridge. As long as she is mad, I'm enjoying watching her get angry becuase she deserves a dose of her own medicine.

I have always liked Hermione in these books. She is smart and someone you can rely on. However, she doesn't always agree with you on whatever the subject may be. Harry and Ron took advantage of that those traits for homework sometimes when they really needed help with a pile of HW. Maybe she will want to regroup Dumbledore's army after thinking about the battle at the end of the OoTP.

I understand how Harry could be so grumpy in this book. Yet, I still didn't like how he reacted to some things. He even started yelling at Hermione because he thought she had said Dumbledore was only interested in him because of his scar. I guess thats a typical teenager under those circumstances.

Finally Neville gets his big break. I am glad he was their for the battle to try and try to pay Bellatrix a visit. He didn't get her this time though. I hope he finally gets a chance for revenge.

Overall, I thought the book was very good. All of the books are good but the last 3 have been the best. I will have to reread the series to find things I have missed when reading them last time which I hate to say was a while ago.

[phoenixgrl]

Was reading the book to my daughter last night and thought about how JK does not address the fact that the Weasly's drop out of Hogwarts. She never explains how Mr. and Mrs. W felt about it and you know they had to have flipped. they don't mention it at all which I felt was weird.

I also thought that Cho was possibly working for Voldy. Why would she be so interested in Harry so soon after Cedric's death? A few times when reading about them, this thought came to mind. Is she trying to get information out of him? Is she trying to get him to trust her? But, then at the end when she is dating Roger Davies I thought I was wrong. Did anyone else get that feeling?

[Shi]

I loved OotP. It isn't my absolute favorite book of the series, but it was fantastic none the less.

I absolutely loved Luna, Mrs. Figg, and Tonks, they were great! One of my favorite scenes was when Harry saw Mr. Weasley being attacked. Well, not favorite as in I was glad it happened; favorite because it was exciting and gave us a lot to think about. Of course, I hated Umbridge... Her detentions were very interesting though. I also thought the sudden appearance of the Thestrals was great. Fred and George's antics were incredebly amusing, but even more amusing was how the teachers didn't help Umbridge, and in fact, helped make matters worse for her.

[Nebulosa]

sob just finished! Oh Rowling why oh why did you do it!?

:'( Wonderful I really love it

[SeriusBlack]

I must say i wasn't as impressed as i thought i would be..... What the heck did i miss? What big thing was revealed about lilly? I should probobly read it again. I mean we already knew that she put love on harry but yeah we knew that. I was seriously pissed when she killed sirius.... Sirius was the best he was all harry really had... now he only has lupin as the closest thing to his dad. O and on that note wtf was up with his dad? Naive i guess. So anyway i hope that maybe we can have lupin back as DADA teacher??????....... So ne wayz it goes behind #4 with me. Still POA is my favorite with GoF right behind. So ne wayz thats just my opinion. id likede to hear more from u guys.....

[Black Butterfli]

This'll be short, but sweet (like me!!:D )
It was wonderful, I loved it. JKR is a genius. She can make ppl laugh and cry through her writing, and that takes pure talent. I give it ***** stars.

[blaze12685]

Alright, I do have a few choice things to say about the book but I believe that I will probably post a more in-depth review after reading the book 1 or 2 more times. That may be a while as I have to read 3 books for school first. However, on to what I have to say.

The book was, shall we say...interesting. I do believe there were strong points but there were also points where I was disappointed. I'll say the bad first since people tend to like to leave on a positive note.

First off, and this is what disappointed me the most, is there wasn't a really intricate, no-way-you're-going-to-guess-the-end plot in this story as there were in the others. For example, in SS we were surprised that Quirrel wanted the stone and not Snape. In CoS we were surprised to learn that Tom Riddle was Voldemort. In PoA we were surprised to learn Sirius wasn't really a murderer and that Ron's pet rat was. Finally, In GoF it was a complete shock that Moody was the bad guy.

In OotP there was no major surprise. Most of what was told could've been guessed or was just reiterating our assumptions. Dumbledore's speech basically just made us relive some of his old ones. Not to mention that I thought we were going to learn a great deal about Lily's past and we really didn't. And Mrs. Figg seemed like an afterthought. There wasn't really too much more new information given out.

Second, Sirius's death was so...so... I can't think of a the right word, it was very incomplete shall we say. I was confused after it happened and reread a couple of times to see if I missed something. But just falling into a curtain? That seems so beneath him. I think it would have been much better if he died like Cedric facing his attacker and fighting valiently. But just to plunge to his death seemed so cheap. Not to mention that I, like other people, didn't really see Sirius as that big of a character. Granted, he was bigger than Cedric but not as big as say Hagrid or the Weasleys. His death was very anti-climatic and I felt cheated...I finished the chapter and just thought "So that's it?" I mean I hardly felt saddened by it. And Harry's reaction seemed why overdone. I mean I would see why he was saddened but not to the extent that it was drawn out. He wasn't really all that close except for a few visits and some owls. But that's just my opinion, please don't bite my head off.

Also, and this is something else that really bugged me, when the DA was fighting the Death Eaters why is it that no one can ever save Harry? I mean I know the books are about him being the hero and all but I feel as if Ron, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and especially Hermione got the short end of the stick when they were fighting. We all know that Hermione is much more clever and smart than Harry and yet she fell and he did not. I just hope that in future books some of the other characters really come through and get to share the hero's light.

All right, with all the nasty negatives out of the way here's what I liked. I do think that JKR did a great job with showing how adolescense looks and how teens act. Always angry and snappy, excellent job. Also, I liked how she kept us on our toes about who was going to die. It looked like so many others were going to before Sirius finally did. When Mrs. Weasley was taking care of the Boggart and we thought Ron was dead. When Hagrid returned late and had many bruises we thought he may die. When Mr. Weasley was bitten by the snake. I thought Hermione had bit the dust when she was hurt during the battle scene (and this really would've bothered me and ticked me off, the least of reasons being that she's my favorite character). I mean she just knew that we were expecting someone to die and she kept us reading just to see who would. I for one it seems, thoroughly enjoyed the fight scene. I had adrenaline pumping through the whole thing. It was nice to see people other than Harry fighting. And I have to hand it to the DA people that fought, they did well.

All in all, that's all I can really think to say about it. I do believe it was a good book but I still like GoF much better just from it's plot and information. Like I said, I'll probably give a bigger review later (although this one seems to have gotten away from me) and will point out a few more things. I hope to hear what you all think of my review. Don't be shy to reply but please don't cut my head off, these are only my thoughts :) !

[SeriusBlack]

Ok my first one wasnt thought out so here i go...

Why is it that Ron and Hermoine dont hook up???:love:
Why is it that Harry Has to be the HERO!!!!!!!!:angry:
Why did Sirius Have to die!!!?!!:angry:
Why is it that I seemed to miss THE BIG revelation about lilly?!:??:
So will someone answer my QUESTIONS!!!?!!!:censored: :devil: :angry: :??: :cool: poke:
THANX!! no one is going to answer them are they:??: :yawn:

Bryan

[beautifulAuror]

I'm sorry I can't answer your questions because I am not JKR and I have absolutely no idea what she was thinking but I agree with your 1st, 3rd, and 4th question.
The thing that made me mad and sad at the same time was Sirius dying. He was a great character, and after book three I was thinking that Harry would clear his name and live with him after he graduated from Hogwarts and everyone would live happily ever after (I like happy endings).
Overall, I think JKR did an awesome job on this book, creating suspense and tenseness with Umbridge's character, and I give it ***** stars!

[HPButterfly]

So, I'm REALLY happy that Book 5 is FINALLY here; I mean, this is absolutely the highlight of my summer. I enjoyed reading it very much, but for some reason I still have this hole in me that this book should have filled. It's like I just ate a huge meal and it was quite tasty, but I ate everything and I'm still hungry. Here are a few things that I think are making me feel like this:

1. I was disappointed with Dumbledore in this book. He totally did not fulfill his omniscient, everpresent grandfather figure role this time. He, of course, gave his reason, but I wasn't comfortable with the fact that he showed weakness. He is human, yeah, I know, but he's always so calm, so composed, and comes up with a clever solution to everything. So why was this time different? Clearly he wasn't all too concerned with his demotions and whatnot; he proved that when he bailed Harry out for the DA thing. He had more important things to worry about, so why was Harry's situation not one of those priorities? He totally should have told Harry why he was distant in the first place; then Harry would have put more effort into his Occlumency lessons and *sniff* SIRIUS WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!!!

2. Speaking of Occlumency, what's going to happen with that? Is he going to practice over the summer or something? Voldemort succeeded in possessing him, even if it was for only a second, but that's like, a HUGE danger right there. Now Voldie knows he can possess Harry, the kid who beat him, so what's to stop him from doing it again, offing him just to get rid of the potential threat? Yeah, he didn't hear the prophecy, but I'm sure he has a hunch that Harry is the only one that can bring him down.

3. I didn't like how Harry didn't know his mission until after it was over. He didn't know the importance of the prophecy or why Voldie wanted it until after it was destroyed. Yeah, the plot wouldn't have worked if he knew that he had to get it, but why was the prophecy so important in the first place? Voldie wanted to know what it said, but he totally could have just went and got it himself. Which brings me to my next point...

4. Voldie went through all that trouble to get the prophecy when he could have just went in there to get it himself. Yeah, it would have been a strategical boo boo, but heck, when Harry went in, NO ONE WAS THERE ANYWAY, EXCEPT THE DEATH EATERS!! One could say that the Death Eaters got rid of the security guard, but then why couldn't they do that for Voldie, or even better, why couldn't Voldie do it himeself? He ended up going to the Ministry of Magic anyway; if he'd have went sooner he could have saved himself a whole lot of unwanted publicity.

5. Umbridge seems more obsessed with her Ministry position than Percy! Goodness, she set dementors on a fifteen year old boy because she loves her job so much! *shudder* I think we will see her again, maybe in a "Barty Crouch, Sr. right before he kicked the bucket, half sane half not" kind of way.

6. Usually, JKR mentions the minor Hogwarts or Ministry characters before she brings them into the plot more, but Luna's entry was just like, "Hello I'm here!" It was a bit difficult to get used to her presence, although she is pretty cool and was a pretty vital piece of Book 5. I'ma be mad, though, if she just falls into the background in future books.

7. I dunno, but Sirius's death seemed... too sudden. It totally just hurt my heart when he was just... gone... but I didn't cry. That made me mad that I didn't cry. I hate the fact that I didn't cry because I was EXPECTING a death. I wish I had never read that someone was gonna die; I know I probably sound stupid, but I feel like I'm not giving Sirius the respect he deserves because I was just kind of like, "Oh well. It's sad that he's gone, but she did say that someone important was going to bite it." *sniff sniff*

8. Last thing: I didn't like how she just left Tonks's being a Metamorphagus hanging. I thought it was going to be important for the plot, but it seemed like more of an introductory, trivial thing. I suppose it will be important in Books 6 or 7 or both, but still... I would have liked it better if it wasn't so open-ended.

9. I lied. This is the last thing: I was disappointed that Ron and Hermione's relationship didn't really go anywhere, especially after gof. *sigh* There's still hope though!

Don't get me wrong, the list of things I enjoyed is WAY longer and much more satisfying than this, but I don't know. I guess I want to know that I'm not the only one out there feeling this way. *shrug* Maybe I just need to read it again, but more slowly this time.

[Euthrel]

Yes.. You did a very long list of intelligent notes about your dissapointments...

The thing about Voldie got me quite confused as well.. That he did not get down there and get it himself...

But the thing of how sudden Sirius death came, Rowlings wanted to show people how sudden death can be... Actually I cried.. When Harry Realised that he was not coming back..
¨
I dont have the book here but it was written something like
"Sirius who had always risked his life just to see him, and now when Harry was shouting like his life was depending on it, he didn´t come.." and so fourth...

That made me sad.. And then afterwards when he was so angry at Dumbledore....

[Lee]

I just finished reading OotP last night at 1 AM, and I have to say that I loved every minute of it. It isn't my favourite book in the series, but it is still brilliant. J.K. Rowling cerainly hasn't lost her touch in keeping you reading even though you have better things to do (like sleep, for example) and I enjoyed learning more about Harry's past.

Sirius' death came as a big shock, as I was expecting a more well known character, ie. one that had been there from the start, to die. Nevertheless, it was reasonably saddening for Harry's last parent-figure to die... well, except for Dumbledore...

She also maintains the power of making you love and hate characters, playing with your emotions. This is shown really well during Umbridge's inspection of Trelawney, where we find out sympathy resting with Trelawney, whereas normally we don't really like her. (Did that make sense? lol)

[Doggy]

Yes, I loved the book as well, but it felt as if half of the characters had been brainwashed over the summer...

Percy - I know, I know, he's always been very ambitious, but it went too quickly...

Sirius - From being the calm, caring, worried godfather in GoF, he became an exitable, babyish, "toying-with-death" sort of person. Hermione's explaination was plausible enough I guess, the whole "living through Harry", but it seemed so uin-Sirius like.

Dumbledore - Just like HPButterfly said, the explaination he gave at the end of the book is not good enough. The Dumbledore I knew from before wouldn't have let that stop him.

Cho - She suddenly became very flirty with Harry, and I never saw her as that sort of a person, even with Cedric. We don't know her that well, I know, but I always thought of her as more quiet.

Trellawny - The whole bursting into tears and saying that Harry wouldn't die, but become Minister of Magic was so fake. She was completely different in the other books, always misty-eyed and mysterious, even when people thought she was a fraud, which she must have noticed.

[Nebulosa]

Ok Rowling,


I have finished reading OotP last night at 3 AM….and I was…..speechless…I loved it but yeah I couldn’t understand what had just happened to Sirius….. I read and re-read it and still I couldn’t understand. Sirius’s death was so CHEAP! A bloody curtain? That’s all?!!?? I loved that character I think she made a wonderful job with Sirius. Just a dream of man :rasp: all the effort made in PoA just to let him die that way?!
English is not my mother tongue so maybe I didn’t understand …..:devil:

And what was that about James?! And the great secret about Lilly? I only hope (PLEASE) she doesn’t kill Harry. I don’t want a tragic hero I want a living Harry ok!? Yeah maybe I want to be naïve maybe I need that but I want him alive. Let Ron have Herm take his powers away but let him alive ok!?


:coolblue:

[blotch76]

Hello, Im new here and I just wanted to share my thoughts on the new Harry Potter book. Ive written a poem about what it felt like to read to book knowing that someone had died-and trying to read it for myself before someone else told me who it was. 2 things I thought you might like to know before reading it is Im and Aussie so its winter here and also i live in south australia so the embargo on the book was lifted at 8:30 am on sat morning. Hope you like it.

Who will it be?

It was Saturday morning, when my heart filled with glee,
As I braved the cold weather to get my book at eight thirty,
It was not long at all before I was home,
I settled down with my book and a nice cup of tea,
My mind was annoyingly obsessed with one thought,
A death we knew so who will it be?,
Very soon we see Harry facing mortal danger,
Along with Dudley, they were facing dementors,
Could it be Harry’s cousin who dies so early,
Sigh, unfortunately, it was not to be,
Sometime later someone is injured,
Oh no its Hedwig, we really need Hagrid,
Left in the Hands of Grubbly-Plank,
That Professor Umbridge, she gave her a good yank,
But Hedwig made a full recovery,
And now she is back in the owlery,
For quite sometime Hagird was missing,
Please come back, I had been wishing,
But suddenly he appeared a bit worse for wear,
Why was he injured?, for Hagrid we care,
Late one night Harry had himself a dream,
Mr. Weasley with a bite to his neck it would seem,
This was followed by much panic and frustration,
Are we facing possible devastation?,
But that great muggle lover was found in the nick of time,
A warning to OotP, it should be seen as a sign,
But all went quiet, where was Voldemort? No one knew,
I really wish Hermione would give up on S.P.E.W.,
Oh what a surprise Harry has his first kiss,
But after that it all went amiss,
Hogwarts this year was not quite the same,
That Professor Umbridge was much to blame,
Hagrid it seemed has a brother,
And they shared the same mother,
But soon things start to look up,
When Griffindor wins the Quiddich cup,
Once more those children are facing great peril,
When they fly to the ministry upon a Thestral,
Again we are faced with what we don’t want to see,
Oh no J.K. Rowling, Who will it be?
Soon Harry is separated from Luna, Ron and Ginny,
Could it be one of them, no don’t be silly,
Rons turns up with his head in a muddle,
Lunas O.K., Ginny a sore ankle,
I gasped when Hermione fell unconscious,
Is it her? Urgh I feel very nauseous,
But all is well, Neville found a pulse,
We need her as she has a lot of nous,
For quite some time I thought it might be Neville,
I really wish he would be more careful,
Constantly throwing himself into the fray,
Please Neville go back and stay out of the way,
Lucky for him he escaped with a blood nose,
We see in this book he is brave from his head to his toes,
Caught unawares, it is Sirius who perished,
A tragedy you see as he is most certainly cherished,
Oh how I wish he had re-appeared,
And also to have his name cleared,
It was his cousin Bellatrix who caused his demise,
I will miss his sad haunted eyes,
And what now for Harry, no godfather to speak of,
To Dumbledore he talks to, its answers he seeks,
But here Harry finds no relief from his grief,
The future for Harry, Oh my looks bleak,
For Harry and friends, another year is done,
Another battle with Voldemort but the war is not won,
For what happens next we have to wait and see,
But for now I ponder that prophecy.

[snitch14]

I agree with the cheap death of Sirius. It was kinda sudden and you'd think that Sirius could last longer, being such a strong and brave man...

[Daveydee]

blotch76,

:clappy: Great first post - loved it.

:welcome: to CoSforums

[Nebulosa]

Once JKR said that she wanted to show us that death can be sudden, I sadly know that, but hey not that way please not so.

I am shocked yeah but not because my preferred character died but because of the way she did it. I know really little about JKR but she knows how it feels when you lose suddenly someone you love and the way she described Harry's feelings afterward shocked me. His mute despair and anger were so...true.

It's a great book but it can be really painful for some.


BTW....another newbie here ;)

[snitch14]

yep, harry's feelings weren't farfetched. anyone would feel that way...

[Enigmatic Persona]

i thought the book was great but... i couldn't figure out sirius's death... why'd she make him go out like that? why didn't he go out bravely like his best mate? i mean if she had to kill him off... that was like, 'huh? what happened?'

but i don't think harry over reacted to his death- remember sirius was his last link to his parents, esp his dad, no matter the length of time he'd known him there was going to be an attachment, a bond straight away. for sirius as well because it was his best friends son. and harry turned to sirius for advice often not to mention the fact that sirius was his out from the Dursley's.

i thought some of the best bits were the D.A and fred and georges escape from umbridge and a few others.

also loved the way she developed certain characters like ginny and neville and i loved to hate the bad guys- umbridge esp.

one thing though, for book six i'm gonna make sure i know nothing at all. i think knowing some of the stuff spoils it, people end up over analysing and it leads you to expect way too much. that may have been the reason some people were slightly disappointed with some parts. i don't like over analysing anyway, did enough of that for english lit and it really spoils reading. sometimes books, whichever type, should simply be enjoyed as they are.

anyhow, overall great book, i'm just sorry that after waiting 3 years i finished the book in 2 days! :( :sigh:

[summergrl5]

This book was just wow. How anyone can write like this without being tedious and boring is beyond me. The characterization, the emotions, the humor, the revelations - all left me in a whirlwind once I was done.

I'll say right now that I'm not a big reader, and especially not a big fantasy reader by any means. I like characters, and real, basic human interactions - and that is what I get from this series. Harry's emotions were so real (although I didn't necessarily agree w/ some of his actions) - I know what it feels like to have your friends be somewhere without you, I know what it feels like to not have things told to you, I know what it feels like to think that people don't think you can handle something. When Sirius died (sob, I'll get to that in a minute) I knew the feeling of having that empty void. It was just too real.

The book itself seems like a transition book. While there was no real straight up plot, there were a lot of little things going on that made it such an enjoyable page turner. I loved the scenes at Grimmauld Place - it was just so wonderful to see most of my favorite characters under one roof. I loved Sirius's character development (I could understand his frustration) and Lupin although it was dissapointing to not see as much of him as I would have liked too, I still saw him as the strong, tragic werewolf we all love :angel: ('specially loved the part where he wandered over to talk to the werewolf in Mr. Weasley's ward...awwww). Tonks was priceless, as were the looks that Mrs. Weasley gave her when she would break yet something else. And all I need to say about Moody and Dung - buttless wizards and "S'up Figgy?"

Umbridge was delightfully nasty as was Fudge delightfully carrying through on his spinelessness. I really just want to drop-kick Percy :angry:

I loved the DA....the future OotP'er's with a kick-butt name!!

And speaking of kicking butt's...although I was frustrated with him through much of the book...who can deny that DD is majorly slick??

Two of the most outstanding developments of character were Neville (how could you not just love this kid (the gum wrapper thing was SO heartwrenching) and Ginny (d*** I love this girl!!!)

I loved going back to Hogwarts during the time of the Marauders, even though that teen arrogance got the best of Sirius and James. At least they turned out OK ;D And I did feel sorry for Snape...I felt embarrassed for him!!

Sirius's death was just horrible. I had kinda expected it during Harry's vision, and then it was confirmed by someone who had already read it...so unfortunately for me I spent the rest of the book on pins and needles waiting for it. It was so sad. I was a waterfall. Fitting though it was for him to die being his loveably arrogant self, I just did not want it to happen. He meant so much to Harry..and it was Harry's reactions that killed me the most. His anger, his emptiness, his "wiping his face w/ his shirt"...it had me sobbing for the entire rest of the book. Lupin almost getting choked up and Dumbledore telling Harry that he was the one Sirius cared most about in the world didn't help matters much. And Harry's desperate attempts to contact Sirius afterward were to me the most heartwrenching...I had remembered that Sirius had given him something and was practically yelling at Harry to use w/e it was until I would remember it was a fictional book and I would look really stupid. But Harry's conversation w/ Luna and the various hints about the veil that I reread gave me some glimmer of hope that we haven't seen the absolute last of Padfoot.

A couple more things...

Fred and George's exit - priceless and absolutely fitting. I love those boys.

Cho - a basketcase, but somewhat understandable all the same. There are always girls like that. I flipped out over the kiss though.

The humor - above par - "Potter, what are you doing?" "Trying to figure out the best curse to use on Malfoy, sir"

McG - gotta love that woman...she's great

Grawp - a bit unnecessary to say the least, but you still had to love the "HERMY! Hermy, where Haggar?"

Ron and Hermione - always dependable..."Weasley is our King" broke my heart and I liked the prefect angle.

Luna - Everyone knows a Luna. May turn out a bit more perceptive than we think (or so I am hoping in the case of the veil).

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley - love them both, but it was hard to see Mrs. Weasley act so vulnerable.

This book was also amazing in the fact that I gasped, laughed, cried, was surprised...all in the space on 870 pages. I'm not a very perceptive reader (hey, what do you want from a science major??) so things that people have so far said were predictable I found completely surprising and satisfying in their explanations. I found the prophecy to be surprising and even though it did leave some open ends we still have 2 more books to close them. I think I benefitted from not overanalyzing the book b/f it came out. I knew a few things and occasionally me and my roommate would get into out dorky discussions about it, but overall I had no idea what to expect. I'm also not one to read something fast so I read slowly and carefully through the space of 4 or 5 days, and I think that helped with my understanding too.

Well there's my totally longwinded "review" Although I still have a place in my heart for PoA (although it will be tough to read this considering what we know will happen)...this is definitely a close close runner-up.

[112092]

Where did sirus get his wand from. I was under the impression that he didn't have one when he came out of Azkaban. He was hunted by the ministry, so he probably wouldn't have been able to by himself a wand without being recongnized by the shopkeeper.

[andreadelacour]

Wow, I just finished it. Wow. Um. Don't know what to say, I'm speechless. Need to re-read it again. Going to get other 4 books and re-read them again. Wow.

[snitch14]

Originally posted by 112092 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?postid=423399#post423399))
Where did sirus get his wand from. I was under the impression that he didn't have one when he came out of Azkaban. He was hunted by the ministry, so he probably wouldn't have been able to by himself a wand without being recongnized by the shopkeeper.


maybe somebody got it back for him?? i wonder where they put your wand if you're to be imprizoned in azkaban

[Drusilla]

A lot of people are saying they don't see the point of Sirius's death,or the great tragedy in it.Well,here's the tragedy:THERE WAS NO POINT !It was all the more tragic because (as a lot of people have said) there was so much more that Sirius could have done for the story,for the Order,for Harry.And now he never will.That was the sad part about Sirius:unrealised potential.His death was all the more horrific because it happened so suddenly-and just when we think everything's all right,Dumbledore's there,they're saved.I can only hope that Sirius's name will now be cleared,and his memory honoured as it deserves to be.That said,I think this book is far more about growing up and discovering reality than any of the previous ones.Harry has to find out that his dad wasn't all wonderful,that Cho-his dream girl-is far from perfect,that Dumbledore is no more the one person in the world who can make just about anything feel all right with a twinkle and some words of explanation.And that's just for starters!Talk about having your world turned upside down.