Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Review

As my Harry Potter Rereading Marathon continues, I have finished the fifth and longest book in the series! Here are my thoughts on the book I thought was my least favorite when I first explored the Wizarding World five years ago!

Synopsis:

After seeing Lord Voldemort return at the Triwizard Tournament, Harry struggles with the fact that nobody except his closest friends are willing to believe that the Dark Lord has returned. When he is brought to the Order of the Phoenix after a dementor attack, he discovers that Voldemort is searching for a weapon he didn’t have the last time. Although eager to find out more, Harry has a lot on his mind during his stay at Hogwarts: Dumbledore is staying silent, his dreams are haunted and the Ministry of Magic is interfering at Hogwarts…

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publication Date: September 1st 2004

Pages: 870

Rating: 5/5 stars

My thoughts:

I had already mentioned that this book used to be my least favorite of the complete series in my First Impressions post, but my opinion has changed – immensely. I undoubtedly extremely enjoyed this reread and it helped me to realize a lot of stuff concerning the Harry Potter franchise!

What makes the books so special is the Wizarding World and the way Rowling can make simple lessons and the daily life at Hogwarts special and interesting. This book deals a lot with the fact that Umbridge is destroying what Harry valued and loved most about Hogwarts and therefore we get a very detailed overview of his daily life, the lessons and the atmosphere. And that may mean that the book isn’t always full of suspense or that not all the scenes are extremely relevant to the story but plainly are to be enjoyed – and that is what I wasn’t able to enjoy the first time around. I didn’t have the reading experience I have now to value that this atmosphere and simple description of the life and thoughts of wizards are what makes this series special and wonderful. I used to discourage the detailed descriptions of the lessons, his long conversation with Dumbledore at the end and the stays at the Order- but now I noticed that I enjoyed this slow development and that, had the book been any less than 800 (OMG) pages, I wouldn’t have been able to love this book as much as I did!

The writing was, not much of a surprise I guess, wonderful and intriguing as always. Rowling might not be the one I would pick if anyone wanted me to list my Top 1 author for suspenseful writing and creating a creepy atmosphere, but she is definitely a wonder when it comes to the day-to-day life, which, as explained in the paragraph above, what makes the series worth reading!

The characters were, as always, super brilliant. I especially loved that we got to see some more of Sirius and Harry together and also really enjoyed the character development concerning the DA. I never understood, tho, why people like Cho, I have always been one to dislike their relationship and after reading this particular book I am, more than ever, that we have Harry and Ginny happily married and with three kids! What annoyed me the most was her outburst (and the ones following…) during their date in Hogsmeade where she got super jealous of Hermione. And also not understandable, why she simply moves on at the end of term without explanation – anyways, it’s better.

Recommendable as a reread: Of course!

If you love Harry and the Wizarding World, this book is especially made for a reread as it takes a lot of time to describe and give us insight into the daily life at Hogwarts! And there are always details to be revealed that you missed the first time around, some stuff really surprised me that I had forgotten!