July 15, 2003

• Review:
  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

  
  

  My kid got me hooked on the Harry Potter books long before the first movie came out.  Jan Rowling is my hero, would be my role model if I could write fiction… maybe if I study her enough I can learn how.  I’ve gotten into verbal battles with people who claim she writes “children’s books.”  She writes books that are genre benders, books that satisfy readers of all ages. 

  
  

  I would have been disappointed if my all-time favorite character, Dobby the house-elf, had been left out of this book, but of course, I wasn’t disappointed.  Poor Dobby, with his butterbeer-addicted wife, forced by Hermione Granger’s well-meaning but misguided philanthropic efforts into doing all the cleaning by himself.  (How does one write a review without spoiling the fun for those who haven’t read the book yet?)

  
  

  This time, Dobby’s role is small compared to that of Kreacher, the aged and cranky house-elf of Sirius Black’s family.  How can I put this?  Kreacher is no Dobby; that’s for sure.  He is fiercely loyal to his now-dead former mistress, Sirius’s late mother.   There’s even a bit of lovable cuteness in the description of his pathetic little nesting area, if not in the elf himself or his bigotry and treachery.

  
  

  Some of our old favorite characters get a chance to display heroism this time around, notably Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom.  I’ve always liked Neville (and it goes without saying, does it not, that I love the red-haired Weasleys?) and wished that he would get bigger parts.  This time, his part turned out to be all I could have wished for.  Likewise for George and Fred, Ron’s twin brothers.  For me, they provided more laughs in this book than any of the other characters, I think.

  
  

  

  
  

  Unless I just failed to notice her before, the girl pictured at left, Luna “Loony” Lovegood, is a new character this time.  She has personality, that girl, and provides some surprising insights for Harry, too.

  
  

  Other new characters showing up for the first time in Order of the Phoenix include Hagrid’s little brother Grawp, a despicable old witch named Professor Umbridge, and another, more likable, witch with whom, for some reason I find hard to articulate, I identified strongly.  I don’t really know what it is about Nymphadora Tonks that I like, but I really do like her.  Maybe it’s a fantasy thing… I’d like to be like her.  That WOULD be fun.

  
  

  Reading this book was fun.  As with all the rest of the series, it is well-plotted, with good character development.  From chapter to chapter through most of the book, I was looking forward to getting back to it each time I put it down.  Then, toward the end, I couldn’t put it down.  I stayed up long past my bedtime, turning page after page, speeding through the climax.  And that’s all I’m telling you about that.

  
  

  

  
  

  Just FYI, anyone who has been following my personal love story and who doesn’t sub to my darlin’ Greyfox, he has blogged today about some of the recent details of our story, from his angle.

  • 10:18 pm
  • 7 Comments