Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Product Details
- Reading level: Ages 9-12
- Paperback: 870 pages
- Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (August 10, 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0439358078
- ISBN-13: 978-043935807
As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence,
complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush,
and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It’s been yet another
infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time
with minimal contact from our hero’s non-Muggle friends from school.
Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic
world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will
strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief… or will it?
The fifth book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series follows the
darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a
peg or three after the events of last year. Somehow, over the summer,
gossip (usually traced back to the magic world’s newspaper, the Daily Prophet)
has turned Harry’s tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the
Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and discount the teen.
Even Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of the school, has come under
scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic, which refuses to officially
acknowledge the terrifying truth that Voldemort is back. Enter a
particularly loathsome new character: the toadlike and simpering (“hem, hem“)
Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, who
takes over the vacant position of Defense Against Dark Arts teacher–and
in no time manages to become the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, as well.
Life isn’t getting any easier for Harry Potter. With an overwhelming
course load as the fifth years prepare for their Ordinary Wizarding
Levels examinations (O.W.Ls), devastating changes in the Gryffindor
Quidditch team lineup, vivid dreams about long hallways and closed
doors, and increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar, Harry’s
resilience is sorely tested.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, more than any of
the four previous novels in the series, is a coming-of-age story. Harry
faces the thorny transition into adulthood, when adult heroes are
revealed to be fallible, and matters that seemed black-and-white
suddenly come out in shades of gray. Gone is the wide-eyed innocent, the
whiz kid of
Sorcerer’s Stone. Here we have an adolescent who’s
sometimes sullen, often confused (especially about girls), and always
self-questioning. Confronting death again, as well as a startling
prophecy, Harry ends his year at Hogwarts exhausted and pensive.
Readers, on the other hand, will be energized as they enter yet again
the long waiting period for the next title in the marvelous, magical
series. (Ages 9 and older)
–Emilie Coulter
From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up-Harry has just returned to Hogwarts after a lonely summer.
Dumbledore is uncommunicative and most of the students seem to think
Harry is either conceited or crazy for insisting that Voldemort is back
and as evil as ever. Angry, scared, and unable to confide in his
godfather, Sirius, the teen wizard lashes out at his friends and enemies
alike. The head of the Ministry of Magic is determined to discredit
Dumbledore and undermine his leadership of Hogwarts, and he appoints
nasty, pink-cardigan-clad Professor Umbridge as the new Defense Against
the Dark Arts teacher and High Inquisitor of the school, bringing misery
upon staff and students alike. This bureaucratic nightmare, added to
Harry’s certain knowledge that Voldemort is becoming more powerful,
creates a desperate, Kafkaesque feeling during Harry’s fifth year at
Hogwarts. The adults all seem evil, misguided, or simply powerless, so
the students must take matters into their own hands. Harry’s confusion
about his godfather and father, and his apparent rejection by Dumbledore
make him question his own motives and the condition of his soul. Also,
Harry is now 15, and the hormones are beginning to kick in. There are a
lot of secret doings, a little romance, and very little Quidditch or
Hagrid (more reasons for Harry’s gloom), but the power of this book
comes from the young magician’s struggles with his emotions and
identity. Particularly moving is the unveiling, after a final
devastating tragedy, of Dumbledore’s very strong feelings of attachment
and responsibility toward Harry. Children will enjoy the magic and the
Hogwarts mystique, and young adult readers will find a rich and
compelling coming-of-age story as well.
Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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