Throwback Thursday: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Author: JK Rowling
First published in 2003 by Scholastic

Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His best friends Ron and Hermione have been very secretive all summer and he is desperate to get back to school and find out what has been going on. However, what Harry discovers is far more devastating than he could ever have expected...

Suspense, secrets and thrilling action from the pen of J.K. Rowling ensure an electrifying adventure that is impossible to put down.

If you ask my daughter this is her favorite book of the series.   So far, I can't make that claim.  This is the fifth book in the series.  It has a definitely different tone than the previous books.  It's a bit more harsh and serious. It's also really long.  I'm not sure half of what was on this book really needed to be in it.  Frankly, I'm surprised it kept my kid's attention long enough to finish it.  Really...there were so many scenes that were filler and useless.  How many times do we need to hear about the kids writing essays and doing homework?  The pacing was inconsistent and slow. It takes half the book to get to December.  

I'm not saying it's a bad story.  I did enjoy parts of it.  The Order of the Phoenix was interesting and it was nice to see more adults rallying around Harry.  There was also a lot more of the other students in this one. I like seeing how they are all growing and even how some of them are changing. With the exception of Harry.  He seemed to get a bit more whiny and defiant.  I do have to admit though, the decisions to keep information from Harry and his friends "for their own good" is getting a bit old.  It's the 5th year and these students have proven themselves over and over that they can handle it.  Why keep stuff from them?

One of the things that I really didn't enjoy about the story is the amount of bullying that is allowed to happen. I'm not sure if I'm more aware reading this as an adult, but it is a little disturbing.  The abuse of Harry during his detention with Umbridge (don't get me started on this character) was appalling as was Harry's refusal to tell anyone that it was happening to him. Let's not forget his friends keeping quiet about it.  There is no stop to teasing and hazing from Draco and his cronies.  I know this is the magical world, but really there why are all of the adults in this school allowing this to continue?

In the end, I didn't love it, but didn't hate it.  I'm really hoping the last two books are a bit more exciting than this one.

Throwback Thursday: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Author: J. K. Rowling
First published by Scholastic in 2000

Harry Potter is midway through both his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for hundreds of years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal - even by wizarding standards.

And in his case, different can be deadly.

I am probably one of maybe a handful of people my age who hasn't read the entire Harry Potter series.  Shocking, right?  My daughter binge read them in a month last spring in her 6th grade year. Let's not get me started on her love for Draco Malfoy and Snape...  My daughter challenged me to finish up the series, so I picked up Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire again. I had DNF'd it a lonf time ago. I managed to muddle through the book this time, but I can't say I liked the book all that much.

I really liked the first three books.  This one, not so much.  There was just too much book.  It kind of felt like the author knew what she wanted to do to turn the series more dark, but didn't quite know how to get it there.  It was way too long and really dragged on and on.  The last 1/3 of the book was pretty good but the rest...snooze. I liked the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  It would have been better with more challenges and less day to day stuff.

Incidentally, this is my daughter's least favorite of the 7 books.  She assures me the rest of the series is much better.  I really hope she is right.  I'm not sure I can make it through something like this again.