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A review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by J.K. Rowling

The long-awaited fifth installment in the chronicles of boy-wonder wizard Harry Potter and friends.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Santiago

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix As with the previous Harry Potter books, I purchased this one under the guise of giving it to my 12-year-old stepdaughter. Luckily, however, my pre-ordered copy arrived from Amazon on Saturday and my stepdaughter's next visit wouldn't be until the following Friday, so I had time to surreptitiously devour it cover-to-cover before being obligated to hand it over to its rightful owner.

I promise in advance not to reveal any plot twists that might spoil it for those readers who haven't yet been able to lay hands on a copy. Not since Cabbage Patch Kids have parents fought so valiantly for so coveted an item in such short supply!

The fifth installment in the Harry Potter series once again finds Harry dragging through a miserable summer, mistreated by Muggle relatives the Dursleys. This summer, however, holds a special degree of apprehension for Harry-- cut off from the wizarding world, he is forced to sneak around the Dursley home eavesdropping on the evening news, seeking some snippet of a story that might indicate the return of Lord Voldemort and the commencement of his reign of terror. Harry's worst fears are confirmed when he and Dudley are attacked in an alley by two dementors, the sinister, soul-sucking guards of Azkaban prison, inexplicably far from prison grounds. To save Dudley's life, and his own, Harry has no choice but to produce a Patronus to fend off the dementors, earning him an immediate owl from the Ministry of Magic informing him of his expulsion from Hogwarts for once again violating nearly all the rules governing use of magic outside of school. Of course the Weasleys and Dumbledore soon intervene on Harry's behalf, but cannot rescue him from a full trial before the entire Ministry of Magic.

Suffice it to say that after much drama, Harry of course returns to Hogwarts for the school year. (The book could hardly have been 870 pages long if he had been expelled from school in the third chapter, now could it?) But all is not well. For starters, Hagrid is missing. Then to make matters worse, the Ministry of Magic installs a hateful old witch to oversee all the goings-on at the school, and she steadily begins to strip Dumbledore of his authority and revoke all the privileges that have made Harry's life worth living, including Quidditch. Of course, there's still the menacing Draco Malfoy and his cronies to deal with. They've returned to school well-armed with ammunition provided by the Daily Prophet, which unbeknownst to Harry, spent the entire summer running articles that portrayed him as an attention-seeking liar at best and an hysteric and murderer at worst. Lastly, there's Sirius Black, Harry's beloved godfather, who is miserably hiding out in London, unable to communicate freely, to do anything to stop the inevitable rise of Voldemort, and forbidden by Dumbledore even to leave the house lest he be apprehended by the Ministry of Magic.

Just when Harry thinks life can't possibly get worse, he begins having nightmares, or visions, in which he sees through the very eyes of Lord Voldemort. In a horrifying vision, he sees Arthur Weasley attacked by an enormous snake, and wakes terrified, knowing it wasn't merely a dream but that he was witnessing the attack as it happened. How can this be? How can Voldemort be penetrating Harry's mind? Why is Harry seeing through the eyes of the Dark Lord?

While this book is as unputdownable as the four preceding tomes, it's slightly less action-packed and threatens to become formulaic. The plot follows the expected outline- Harry is misunderstood at school, Harry breaks school rules, Harry is in grave peril, Harry does something heroic, Harry is redeemed in the eyes of all. What's more, Harry, at the age of 15, is no longer the sympathetic orphan but has become an angry young man, fed up with the crosses he has to bear and blaming the world for it. Nonetheless, the lovable cast of characters including the Weasleys, Hagrid, and Dumbledore continue to enrich the saga. Although this book, the longest of the series so far, is arguably the weakest, Rowling introduces characters and plot information that are sure to figure prominently in future installments. The series hasn't lost any steam, and readers will be left wanting more, though hopefully the wait won't be as long for book number 6. Whether Rowling finishes the next book in a year or in three years, Harry fans will be loyally waiting, credit cards poised for action like magic wands.

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Copyright © by Jennifer Santiago, 2003










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