Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J. K. Rowling
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Rating: 
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This book is a represents a dramatic shift from the first four, both in style and in content. This is the first book in the series that is character-driven rather than plot-driven. There isn’t as much in the way of action, but characters’ inner thoughts, feelings, and motivations are examined much more closely. Virtually all of the major characters get some extra depth. How you react to this book will depend largely on how interesting and/or believable you find each character’s transformations to be. Obviously, as a psychology person, I ate it all up.
And there are some drastic transformations. Harry and friends experience puberty full-on, which would be enough to send anyone’s emotions haywire without the added the stress of exams and their high-profile extracurriculars – Quidditch players, prefects, being The Boy Who Lived. Throw in the possibility that any of the major characters or their loved ones could die any minute in a bloodbath arranged by our favorite Dark Lord, and I’d say mood swings, rash, irritable behavior, depression, and the emergence of new personality traits are all to be expected.
I’d never been a fan of Harry. Up until now, he’s been a pretty flat character, a borderline goody two-shoes who was unrealistically unaffected by abuse, bullying, or scrapes with death. But in this book, he explodes (not literally). Fifteen years of being mistreated at home and five years of bearing the brunt of Malfoy, Snape, and Voldemort’s hatred have finally gotten to him, and he is pissed. While Rowling should have better set up the transformation from sweet child into angsty teen, the new Harry is a much more interesting, complex character and the story benefits greatly from this improvement.
Other interesting character developments include a more understandable, if not more likeable Professor Snape, a less likeable James Potter, a rather entertaining bit about the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black (which seems to have produced more Death Eaters than Slytherin House), Ginny and Neville kick some Death Eater ass, and Dumbledore makes mistakes.
Unlike the earlier books, which were very plot-driven, Order of the Phoenix is more suspense-driven. We don’t get the full story until the very end, and even then there are loose ends hanging, presumably to be picked up in the next book. Unfortunately, we don’t learn anything that would be surprising, or even exciting, to anyone who’s been reading the series carefully. In terms of major plot events, we get some fantastic pranks by the Weasley twins and of course, The Death.
After this book, I expect the action to pick up again as the series heads towards its finale. The direction the plot is going didn’t really begin until Book 3, with the escape of Wormtail. So it makes sense that Book 5 is the pivot point – Voldemort’s return is complete, but the fighting hasn’t really started.
Order of the Phoenix isn’t quite the editing disaster that Goblet of Fire was, but there are still a number of scenes, like anything involving S.P.E.W., that either should have been tied more closely to the main plot, or should have been cut. Rowling tried to do too much in these last two books; she needs an editor who knows the entire storyline and is willing to be heavy-handed with the red pen.
Overall I think Rowling is playing to an older and more introspective audience with this one. The characters are more developed, the writing style is more advanced, and the themes are darker and more mature. People who were expecting another piece of lighthearted Harry Potter defeats the Big, Bad Wizard may feel a bit of a letdown. But people who, like myself, have felt the series could do one step better, will like this book.
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