Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Complete 5 Golden Stars!
& so many more!

such a long year,
with that old toad!
full of ups & downs,
Dark times & Rebelling.
& with such an integrity,
the mystery unfolds.
(this last part is about the whole HP plot of course *winks*)

Perfection!
Another Amazing story in the wizarding world of Harry Potter!

it's strange that our favourites change when we get older. This book became my favourite after my long distance with Harry Potter (2014?). & I totally love it right now! (though I loved it before too, but that Umbridge made me sooooooooo angryyyy! & 4 & 2 are still my top favourites. but this one also been added at the top of the list.)

Probably the Darkest time at Hogwarts. Harry had hard times (from the first to the last) in different sort of ways; angry, under pressure, self-struggling, mad, sad. I understood how he felt; I was angry with him, at the ministry's reaction & how they treated him after all he'd been through, it was not fair. But he stood up for what was right, the truth, not the sweet lies, or what was easy; even if he would be punished. He didn't back away from his words, just because those idiots didn't like it. (that's why I like the heroes; strong, brave, standing up for what is right)
I was sad with him. My heart was broken for him.

the World's getting darker . more pressure on Harry. The world we know is changing.

How marvelous everything have been designed, described. Magnificent, unique choices of words. & how beautifully (& emotionally) this book ended!
graceful!
I love the whole school year, like every other books, all those lessons, interesting subjects with fun, pressure & sarcasm.

❤ Beside the concept of the story itself, I always love Hogwarts. I'm pretty sure we all do. beside walking in those spectacular corridors, eating in the Great Hall, exploring the castle & wandering on the grounds, all those interesting magical lessons.
Many secrets revealed through this book for us & for the characters.
just 'the hearing' parts was a bit dull, but re-reading in many years of being a potterhead, made me start to like it. (& by the whole fascinating & breathtaking plot, I could easily ignore that.)

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why this book is my favorite too, in details:

Ezt a kötetet múlt szerdán kellett volna befejeznem. Akkor volt belőle bő száz oldal, és megvolt a fejemben az értékelés gerince is, valahogy ilyesformán, hogy:

"KÓRUS: Ó, Harry, Harry, mit tettek veled? Megint egyedül hagytak, egy ellenséges világban, pedig csak most kezd pelyhedzeni a hónaljad! Hát ezt meg ki tette?
VOLDEMORT: Rám ne nézzenek, engem erre szerződtettek.
RON, HERMIONE: Mi meg, hát mi mit tehetnénk? Gyerekek vagyunk mi is. Segítünk, támogatunk, ha kell, erőn felül, de csodát ne várjanak tőlünk. A felnőtteket tessen megkérdezni.
A FŐNIX RENDJE: Sok a meló. Rohangászunk. Tudjuk, Voldemort feltámadott, de senki sem hisz nekünk. Alig bírjuk. Való igaz, ez a mi sarunk is. A főnökkel kéne beszélni, hátha ő. Neki kéne, nem?
DUMBLEDORE (irodája): A főnök jelen pillanatban nem kapcsolható. Mással beszél, nem elérhető, etc. Bízzon benne, hogy amikor kell, azért megjelenik. És különben is, daloljuk inkább együtt:
Mert ő egy igazi Bajnok,
mert ő egy igazi Bajnok,
mert őőő egy igazi Ba-a-ajnok,
kitől Voldemort is fél!"

Szóval itt tartottam múlt szerdán, és akkor a vesém azt mondta: na te gyarló hústorony, elgondolkodtál-e, hogy mi végre van veséje az embernek? Kettő is? Nos, gondolkodjál. Addig én leállok kicsit. Szóval kórház, intenzív, dialízis, géprekötés, új tapasztalatok. Bevallom, ezek egyben a Harry Potter-jelenség határait is jelentették: tudniillik azt, milyen körülmények között lehetetlen élvezni egy könyvet. Szárnyalna szellemed, basszus, a végtelenbe és tovább, de nem, mert rántanak kicsit a katétereden, és puff, máris megint ott vagy a porban. A tested, az az úr. De erről beszélgessen veletek Lin-Csi apát vagy Szent Ágoston.

Nagyjából vasárnapra kerültem olyan állapotba, hogy be tudtam fejezni. Addig csak hevertem. Szép, keresztény szóval "szenvedtem", de hagyjuk ezeket a keresztény szavakat, végtére is mi az a szenvedés? Nem tudom. Szerintem szenvedtem az álmatlanságtól, a csuklástól, vágytam rá, hogy valaki dörzsöljön már le egy szivaccsal, vágytam, hogy essen jól a zsemle, ne rosszul, ne jöjjön vissza, szóval mindezeket leírhatnám úgy, mint szenvedésstációkat. De igazából ha egy kicsit jól esett a zsemle (bár nem nagyon jól), ha ledörzsöltek, ha elaludtam, ha nem csuklottam, akkor máris nem mertem állítani, hogy szenvedek. Csak annyit, hogy én nem tudok a Harry Potterről írni. Mert hiába olvastam, nem az történt velem.

Most kinn vagyok az intenzívről, a hármas belgyógyon. Leválasztottak a gépekről, kinn ülök a sötét, néptelen váróban, és írok. Mert írni kell. Kinn esik. Agyoncsaptam egy szúnyogot. Meghalt, remélem, helyettem - kegyetlen világ ez. Szúnyogok, adjátok az életetek értem. Írom, mi történt velem, miközben Harry Potter 5-öt olvastam. Ami amúgy (szögezzük le) jó. Az történt, hogy a vesém leállt és elindult. Hogy úgy nézek ki, mint egy meghajszolt palesztin bombamerénylő az alapkiképzés huszadik napján. Hogy a kaja, kösz, nem rossz. Tegnap ettem egy remek gulyást, az nagyon bejött. Igaz, a másodikféle nem volt élményszerű. Tejberizs. No most. Ha a tejberizst a tesco zseniális gasztrofejlesztői meg tudják úgy csinálni, hogy 100 Ft, és finom, akkor itt miért olyan, mint valami mászkos szörny egy '50-es évekbeli őshorrorból? Az ember csak azt nézi, mikor mászik ki a szélére meggybefőtt cafrangja, hogy támadásba lendüljön. Aztán a mai menü. A leves itt is hibátlan: sárgaborsó virslivel, még Stahl Judit is csettintene utána. El is fogyott. De a második! Az nem tudom, mi volt. Illetve, azt hiszem, vadas. Vannak helyek, sötét, barbár helyek, ahol ilyen dolgokra azt mondják: "vadas", és kacagnak. Az ilyen helyeket kerülni kell. Az ilyen helyekről még képeslapot fogadni sem ajánlatos. (Hát ennyit a gasztronómiáról.)

Szóval ez van, ilyeneken gondolkodtam. Sajnálom, nem a könyvön, de ezzel nincs mit tenni. A testen gondolkodtam, meg a kis együgyű reakcióin. A szégyenen, hogy milyen gyorsan relativizálódik. Hogy mennyiré szeretnék inkább most a kórház egere lenni, futkározni szabadon, branül nélkül - árnyékból árnyékba. Vagy a sötét Szent János kertjének vén vetési varja lenni, aki most találja meg a kommunális hulladékban az általam imént leszólt vadast. Mert neki az a vadas lesz a nap zenitje, amitől opálos fényt kap az ázott létezés. Meghívja barátait is, a rókát, a nyestet és a sünt, buliznak. Hát így. De már az is jó, ilyeneken tudok gondolkodni, hát nem? Szóval megvagyok. És megleszek.

Köszönöm a rámgondolást mindenkinek.

The one with The Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge, a missing Dumbledore, O.W.L.s, giants, lots of Death Eaters and more. The first time I read this book, it took me over a year to finish it; the second time, over three years! I think it's just so Harry-focused I find it such hard work not being much of a fan of the main character. On paper it's such a good read, hopefully one day I will get to appreciate it more! 8 out of 12.

2016 read; 2013 read; 2005 read

A lot of people consider The Order of the Phoenix to be the weakest book in the entire Harry Potter series. I haven't read the last two installments yet, but from what I have read so far ... this one was my favorite. I enjoyed two other books in the series more than this one (The Sorcerer's Stone and The Goblet of Fire), but enjoyment is not necessarily the only aspect allowing a book to turn into a favorite.

Let's go on the dark side here. While the previous books were still light-hearted in the overall atmosphere in spite of certain parts of the storylines, this one consisted to approximately 95% of darkness and a lack of happiness for all the characters involved. Studying at Hogwarts is not enjoyable anymore, life has become dangerous for everyone everywhere, favorite teachers have been replaced by unlikeable ones, dangers and traps are looming wherever you set your feet. Life is not easy for Harry Potter and his friends in this book, because not only do the dangers floating above their heads cloud their moods - they also slowly enter puberty with all the feelings and emotions involved with the process of growing-up. Not only because of the darkness of the various themes, but also due to the character development is it impossible to call this book a children's book anymore.

Justice is what a lot of readers - including myself - probably missed in this book. Harry has won the Triwizard Tournament, but nobody truly acknowledges his victory. He still has to spend the summer with his merciless family, he still has to fight for his reputation and his dignity. After everything Harry achieved, life reveals itself to him in its cruelest colors, the Dark Lord's return only being one of the many aspects influencing his decline of happiness. This book also introduces one of the most despised characters in the Harry Potter universe, Dolores Jane Umbridge. Who could possibly like such a woman? Apart from imagining Imelda Staunton's inspiring portrayal from the movies which helped a lot with exploring Dolores' role in the book, her unforgiving decisions and her unforgettable appearances, it can be discussed whether Dolores Umbridge is truly a realistic character, but she supported J.K. Rowling's general direction into the dark themes of the series, and if there is one thing Dolores Umbridge's presence was good for, then it is this: It made Harry and his friends, but also the book's readers realize that life is never the way you imagine it to be. Life is cruel, life is hard, life is merciless.

I love this book because it doesn't beautify things. Death is presented as a necessary part of everyone's life. All the characters are created as human beings who are full of faults and mistakes. The perfect images everyone had in their minds of characters like Albus Dumbledore, James Potter or even Sirius Black are shattered in the course of the book, only to allow the readers to form new opinions on those characters again. Those books are set in the fantasy genre, but it all felt so realistic that it was impossible not to share the thrill and the excitement of those pages - mainly because the characters felt so realistic. They are flawed. They are full of emotions. They come to decisions, and they regret decisions. But in their essence, they are human. Which is perhaps why so many readers love this series - because it feels like you accompany people into a completely different world who might as well be your friends who are sitting at your school desk next to you.

[Major spoiler for this novel: I am not even angry with J.K. Rowling for killing off Sirius Black. Obviously, he was a character beloved by a lot of readers, and I would have loved to see Sirius being redeemed officially as not having committed the crimes he was accused of. But that's the very reason for why this is my favorite novel in the series so far: Just like in real life, it's not a given that the good people survive and the bad people die. You can't even always say who is good and who is evil, because there is a thin line because good and bad.]

A lot of fantasy authors tend to kill off the antagonists and create a happy ending with the good-hearted major characters, which is my main reason for my troubles with the fantasy genre. J.K. Rowling doesn't mind all this; with her novels, you never know who is going to survive and who is going to die, because it could be everyone. As long as you haven't been spoiled already, that is.

Yes, maybe this book is too long indeed. I needed more days to finish it than I needed for all the other four books combined (considering only the respective reading time I spent with them). Yes, maybe it could be shortened, although I am the last one who knows how that could possibly be done. Yes, it is darker than all the other books in the series so far. And yes, I loved it for all those reasons.

n  “Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.”n

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Pre-Review (4th July):

It has been three months since I finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and only now do I finally begin reading this fifth book in the series. (Which I am reading for the first time. Can this confession become even more embarassing?)

Maybe it can be accepted as an explanation that I left the fourth book feeling like this and obviously needing to recuperate:



So, let's continue my journey through the world of Hogwarts!

Review to come once I'm finished. Which might take a while, because while it's evidently Harry Potter and shouldn't take much time to get through, my copy of this book has 1040 pages. That's loooong. And, of course, a pretty good thing, considering that it's Harry Potter we talk about.



My reviews in the Harry Potter series:

1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Go to review
2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Go to review
3) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Go to review
4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Go to review

I know I overwhelmed Goodreads with my abundant reviews this week but I promise this is the last I’ll post until I finish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which will probably take a week. Lol.

The following is mostly rubbish because I was dreadfully ill when I read the fifth Harry Potter book (my faithful, loyal companion while my own respiratory tract conspired against me.) Merlin’s Beard! What has happened to my English? It has fully converted to British. Bloody brilliant! My husband will surely be gobsmacked!

I know that I should be using my days off to rest but I just couldn’t keep my hands off Harry Potter. Even though this is even longer than the fourth book, I finished it triumphantly in three days to be exact.

As usual, the ff. are my usual gibberish while and after reading HP books:

1. A crabby Harry is new!
2. Percy has always pissed me off but the ingrate! I can’t believe he’s a Weasley!
3. I always thought drawling is cool except when Lucius does it.
4. I swear Prof. Umbridge is the reincarnation of a professor I once had in college. Getting to know her is like reliving those dreadful days. Her carefully structured theory based method=blech!
5. Brilliant, Prof. Mc Gonagall. You show that Umbridge woman off!
6. When has Ginny started to become so clever and funny?
7. Romance is quite in the air but not for long really. Lol.
8. Hermione fell nothing short of brilliant and as usual, she is right. She’s always right. When will you learn that, Harry?
9. Prof. Lockhart turned up! Poor thing.
10. Woohoo! Show that old bat, Fred and George! What a legendary departure.
11. I have never taken a liking to Peeves until now.
12. Kreacher, you treacherous elf!
13. Looney, I mean Luna Lovegood has been a great help.
14. The best Defense against Dark Arts Professor Award goes to Harry Potter!
15. Oh Dumbledore! *gasps* Indeed, you got style.^^
16. Hagrid has a little brother! Graupy-lol
17. NOOOOOOOO! Please stop killing people, J.K. I don’t think I can take anymore.  Sirius!   *wails for one hour!*
18. Thank you, Order of Phoenix. It’s about time the Dursleys learned their lesson.

* I didn’t bother taking notes of the things the movie missed or gotten wrong because there are just too many but I have to say the Umbridge actress played the character spot on and so did Luna Lovegood, Bellatrix and of course Voldz. One thing I commend the movies for from the first one up to the fifth would be the choice of actors and actresses who gave justice to their characters.^^

Goodbye, real world! Hello, wizarding world! *poof!*

I know the feeling dear, Harry!

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
4 out of 5 stars for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the 5th book in the original 7 book "Harry Potter" young adult fantasy series published in 2003 by J.K. Rowling. I cannot believe this is over 15 years old, as I think about what I want to put in my review. Given it's HP, and everyone does review on it, I'm keeping it short. A few things I loved about this book:

1. Dolores Umbridge is awesome. Awesome as a villain, that is. She brings out the worst in so many people, and other then the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort, Harry needs a foil on a day-to-day basis.

2. More dementors! Those have always been one of my favorite parts. And to see Harry protect his cousin Dudley... well that's just cool!

3. The whole Pollyjuice potion usage at the trial is awesome.

4. Snape's history is slowly unveiled.

5. It sets them on the battle against the Dark One to end all battles in the next couple of books!

n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

I've gotta say, I would probably give this book a 4.5 stars just because of a certain something that happens at the end, but doing that would be cruel because despite my feelings, this book was really really really good. Like really.

I'm having such a tough time picking out a favorite of the series because they're all so good!

But in the end all I can really say is that Umbridge is a cold-hearted b-word (Can I say that word in a review? I probably shouldn't.) Although some of the characters (namely Harry) annoyed me throughout a majority of this book, the way that Neville and Ginny were more deeply developed and stepped up in the end was incredible and it made my love for them grow that much more!