Pull out your Potter glasses and get ready to read, because this is one thick and highly enjoyable 5th installment in the beloved Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the best books in the series so far. It chronicles the events following Harry's horrible witness of the return of the dark lord Voldemort. In the novel, Harry and Dumbledore try to convince as many people as they can that Lord Voldemort has returned and is wreaking havoc once more. But, the Wizarding World government, the Ministry of Magic, claims that Voldemort has not returned, in fear of overwork and disloyalty. Above all this, Harry must return for another arduous fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he will encounter exams, romance, and the terrible Professor Umbridge, a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with an attitude so vile she almost outshines Voldemort himself as the main antagonist. So horrible is Professor Umbridge that we turn the book page by page, seething as Harry does. When I read the book, I could feel hate pulsing through my veins. Umbridge also works for the Ministry, so she was planted there by the Minister to keep an eye on things at Hogwarts. But Umbridge immediately rules the school, becoming “Hogwarts High Inquisitor” and provoking children into revolt, such as Harry and his friends starting an underground society called Dumbledore's Army, to fight Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and even the Ministry itself.

The book is set in two major places: London, England, and Hogwarts School. In London, Harry learns much of the current problems in the Wizarding World before returning to Hogwarts for his 5th year to learn about the fresh horrors that are in store for him.

J.K. Rowling includes so much depth and scope in this novel. Some of you might be backing away just looking at those massive 870 pages. But really, Rowling paces things perfectly and includes just the right blend of charm and action that it doesn't seem so long. Harry begins developing a relationship with a girl at school, but his relationships with friends are tightening. He also has even more detentions with his most hated professors, and of course, there's the looming fact that Voldemort is abroad, recruiting an army and a mysterious weapon. I loved this book because it has so many everyday elements blended into a mix of teenage wizard magic. It's pure and the story has no plot holes, making the book easy to understand and easy to connect to.

The major themes in this book are love and death. Harry must suffer numerous losses throughout the series, and the beloved person killed in the thrilling final battle at the end of this novel grips Harry with a huge emotional blow. In the falling action, everything ties up together, and Harry realizes his great need for his friends.

The fifth installment in the Harry Potter seven-part series, the Order of the Phoenix, is thrilling, filled with magical school memories, romance, hatred, adventure, action, and of course, a load of mythical fantasy. Draw your wands and prepare for battle in this exhilarating, stunning, and breathtaking novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.