avalon mists / gargoyle reading
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix article by: Kessalia issue date: 9/2/03 print friendly / pdf file .......................................................................................................... Harry Potter 5 : Order of the Phoenix Genre: Fantasy, Fiction Author: J.K. Rowling Publisher: Scholastic (US), Bloomsbury (UK) Price: $17.99 - New So I launched into the book over a month later with mixed feelings. I already knew the major plot points and was seriously considering just not reading it. I got talked into it though, and I'm glad. This will teach me not to let reviews and hype decide what I read. Now I am not saying I loved the book and that it was perfect and great after all. It was long, and not much happened. Very little actually advanced plot-wise. But there were good spots. Once I got over looking at this as an individual book and more as part of a series, I liked it better. This seems to be a sort of bridge - I don't know if it was intentional or not, but depending on how future books go, this could actually end up being a major turning point in the series. There aren't many MAJOR changes, but many many subtle ones. Most of which could become major ones, depending on where Rowling goes from here. The part I found the best was the great leaps made in characterization. Most of the main characters grew, learned and changed. Harry seems whiny and angsty until one remembers he's a 15 year old boy. Giving him flaws and an attitude problem or two keeps him human and the books more real, though I admit to wanting to smack him a few times. It might have been a bit overdone, huh? Ron finally seems to get out from under the shadow of his older brothers, and Hermione discovers her rebellious side. Formerly minor characters were the best served by this book, though. Neville in particular seems to be finally blossoming. Ginny starts dating. We learn about Sirius' family and past. We (and Harry) get to know his father a bit better. And that's just a sample. Some new characters appeared and were also well done, as usual. You seriously end up hating Umbridge by the end of the book. Luna is a blast and I expect to see her around in the future. Tonks and the rest of the Order (the few we didn't already know) fit in well and will most surely be back. As far as plotlines go, you either know them already or don't want them revealed until you read the book. The big one revealed in the typical Dumbledore/Harry heart-to-heart at the end was a bit of a no-brainer in my opinion, and not nearly as surprising as the book seemed to think it should have been. The fact that most major plot issues don't strongly effect this book but should be major points in future books reaffirms my opinion that The Order of the Phoenix will serve as sort of transition from the first four books where Harry is a child, to the last two where Harry should be functioning more as an adult. If that was the point, it performed well. Scholastic (US Publisher) Harry Potter website Bloomsbury (UK publisher) Harry Potter website .......................................................................................................... Images credits & copyright: Amazon.com. (http://www.amazon.com) - August 4, 2003 Stankewitz, Daniel. Gargoyles-fans.de. (http://www.gargoyles-fans.de) - July, 2003 Toon Disney. (http://www.toondisney.com) - August 4, 2003