Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling (8 of 10)

I read HP and the Order of the Phoenix when it first came out but reread it in honor of the anticipated release of HP and the Half Blood Prince. As with the other Harry Potter books this is an enjoyable read, even for an adult. For those who think the Harry Potter series is just about magic, you need to actually read one of these books to find out what they are really about. What JK Rowling does so well is explore the issues of childhood and adolescence in an exciting and entertaining manner. HP tells the classic story of the outsider/orphan. In this last book (the fifth) the issues of identity, popularity, reality testing and emotional control are explored. Even though the plot has a conclusion of sorts, it isn't an entirely happy or neat package (which is a plus in my book.)
originality-8
characters-7
themes-9