Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This book was a turning point for me in Harry Potter. There’s darkness in the books before it, but I still feel like Rowling was pulling her punches. Instead of sunshine and rainbows, this is where things got real. 

I steamrolled through it in days and don’t normally read that fast. My wife and I had to buy our own copy, and I had to outrace her so her poorly concealed reactions couldn’t spoil anything for me. 

We finally see how the wizarding world works in good and bad aspects, down to corruption and the fallibility of otherwise-squeaky-clean characters.… show more.

My son loves the Harry Potter books because the world building was so well done and interesting, and because it takes place in modern times. Book five in the Harry Potter series appealed to him particularly because the characters are taking the world into their own hands, but it gives him mixed feelings.

I guess Rowling’s world of wizardry doesn’t show very often in lists about violence. But for me, it read like it.

The saga (in particular its fifth volume, The Order of The Phoenix) is not too different from the gnarliest Kung Fu legends and bloodiest stories of Samurai. The only difference is that the martial arts practiced in Hogwarts uses Wands instead of fists or swords. So, if you liked Harry Potter, here you go: like me, you enjoy stories not only with violence, but *about* violence.

About its lure, its bliss, its improvisational intelligence, and its incredible ability… show more.

After starting out as a more straightforward magical adventure, the Harry Potter series begins digging deeper into the murkiness of good and evil in Book 5. Harry himself is an unquestionably “good” person, who makes the right decision even if it’s difficult, so he provides a fitting contrast for other characters who aren’t so clean-cut. 

Though it’s now common knowledge, I can still remember how the scene where Harry sees his father bullying Snape in the Pensieve shook me to the core. Harry’s father had always been portrayed as a paragon of good, a true hero, while Snape was nothing… show more.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m not sure you can call yourself a reader unless you’ve read the Harry Potter series. The world! The characters! The story! Oh, I loved it all! I ate up every bit—over and over. For me, like The Lord of the Rings, a world without Harry Potter is no world at all. It’s an honor to have read the books.

J. K. Rowling’s books have always been some of my favorites. She brings the Hogwarts school to life, along with the fantasy characters! This book, though midway through the series, is probably my favorite because she can create villains you hate more than the villains you already thought you hated and she shows Harry’s inner battles vividly.