After seeing Cedric murdered and announcing to the whole wizarding world that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, the Ministry of Magic is now calling him a lunatic; the Daily Prophet labeled him a phony, attention-seeking, hero wannabe. He will take his O.W.L. exams this year (the wizard version of the S.A.T.), and has a new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher who is the biggest, most evil bitch ever to appear in a Harry Potter book. And of course, there is always the looming threat of an attack by You-Know-Who. These are some of the many worries plaguing Harry Potter’s mind, plus, now in the peak of adolescence, uncertainties about puberty.
Now, finally, the long wait is over. After three very long years of staying in Privet Drive, we finally get to take the Hogwarts Express back to the castle. Harry and the others have matured a lot, and so has author J.K. Rowling’s style and technique. The plot is subtler: Instead of the usual whodunit mystery, Rowling focuses more on revelations and emotions; unraveling and answering many of our often asked questions about Harry’s and the other characters’ pasts, and at the same time, establishing even more mysteries.
The novel’s tense, taut plot gives it a unique feel for a Harry Potter book. And just like its very mysterious, shadowy jacket (which I think is so beautiful), it is the darkest, most adult Harry Potter book so far. The Order of the Phoenix, a group of very powerful wizards, suspects that Voldemort and his Death Eaters are planning an attack, but the wizarding world is divided: Some believe that the Dark Lord has returned, but others, like the Ministry of Magic, refuse to believe this fact. Professor Dolores Umbridge (the Minister’s Undersecretary), Hogwarts’ new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and Ministry-appointed High Inquisitor of the school, has a bias against Harry, and is determined to do everything but the Cruciatus Curse to torture the boy wizard. (But I’m somehow doubting that she wouldn’t even try.) She sends him to a detention that will make you cringe, and passes all these school decrees that almost literally prohibits Harry to do anything but breathe. I wanted to even grab into the pages and strangle her to death. She’s the most sinister, most wicked woman I ever had the misfortune to read about (in second place is Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada), a bitch even bigger than the size Aunt Marge had become in book three. Harry also experiences his first kiss with Cho, which he describes as "wet," then goes on a date with her at Hogsmeade. Promising relationship? Not quite – they break up right after. And, as you all probably know by now, Siri... I mean someone will die in the end, making it a very emotional experience for Harry.
It won’t take anything short of an Imperius Curse to stop every Potterphile in the world to grab a copy of Phoenix, and that was proven after it sold 5 million copies on its first day in the US alone. (That’s $150 million on its first day!) The 870-page novel (it’s actually 890 if you count the Table of Contents, Acknowledgments, etc.) may look as thick as Dumbledore’s beard, but Rowling’s style, which flows like butterbeer, will make you breeze through it as fast as you can say "Diffindo!" Her textured layering of the dialogue gives this very fantasized series a realistic spark. The flawed, beautifully written characters defy the cardboard, two-dimensional ones in many other novels, and most of all, Rowling’s very own creative imagination is a wonder all in itself. Her ability to create all these characters and creatures is amazing; I’m fighting the temptation to make her gulp down a gallon of Veritaserum and make her tell me what will happen in the two remaining books.
Bottom Line: The Phoenix has risen. The best (and darkest) Harry Potter book yet is filled with even more surprises, suspense, and depth.
Grade: A
TO DO LIST TV
Watch the second season of Six Feet Under on HBO. This addictive, beautifully written dramedy follows the lives of the Fishers and their funeral home. It shows every Tuesday at 10 p.m. with repeats every Saturday right after the HBO Saturday Nights.