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Review Text

Harry Potter : Order of the Phoenix
a book by J.K Rowling


Review by : Didik Mugiraharjo

I absolutely love the Harry Potter series , and all of the books will always hold a special place in my heart.

I have to say that of all the books, however this one was not my favorite.

When the series began it was as much of a ‘feel good’ experience as a huge mug of hot cocoa. The stories were bright, fast-paced, intriguing , and ultimately satisfying.

Order of the phoenix is a different kind of book. In some instances this works…You feel a whole new level of intensity and excitement by the time you get to the end. I was truly moved by the last page. Other times the book just has a slightly dreary, depressing feel . The galloping pace of the other book has slowed to a trot here, and parts of it do seem long, as if we are reading all about Harry ‘just hanging out’ instead of having his usual adventures. Reading in detail about Harry cleaning up an old house, for example- housekeeping is still housekeeping, magical or no , and I’m not very interested in doing it or reading about the other people doing it

A few other changes in this book- the ‘real’ world comes much more in to play rather than the fantasy universe of the previous books, and Harry has apparently been taken off his meds. I know that he had a lot to be grumpy in this book, especially with being a teenager and all, but the sudden change in his character seemed too drastic. He goes from being a warm-hearted, considerate person to someone who will bite his best friends heads off over nothing . It just seemed like it didn’t fit with his character, like he turned into a walking cliché of the ‘angry teen’ overnight.

The ’real’ story seemed to happen in the last 1/3 of the book, and this part I loved. I actually liked the ending (and yes, I cried) as sad as it was. It packed a punch and it made me care about the story even more. Still a really good book with some editing it would have been great.