RSSBook Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
May 26th, 2006 | No Comments
Author: J. K. Rowling
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Rating: 
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This book is a represents a dramatic shift from the first four, both in style and in content. This is the first book in the series that is character-driven rather than plot-driven. There isn’t as much in the way of action, but characters’ inner thoughts, feelings, and motivations are examined much more closely. Virtually all of the major characters get some extra depth. How you react to this book will depend largely on how interesting and/or believable you find each character’s transformations to be. Obviously, as a psychology person, I ate it all up.
And there are some drastic transformations. Harry and friends experience puberty full-on, which would be enough to send anyone’s emotions haywire without the added the stress of exams and their high-profile extracurriculars - Quidditch players, prefects, being The Boy Who Lived. Throw in the possibility that any of the major characters or their loved ones could die any minute in a bloodbath arranged by our favorite Dark Lord, and I’d say mood swings, rash, irritable behavior, depression, and the emergence of new personality traits are all to be expected.
