Review

Voldemort is back but the bureaucracy at the Ministry of Magic refuses to acknowledge this, and does everything in its power to discredit anyone who says otherwise, including Harry. The way Rowling describes the antics used by the Minister of Magic perfectly captures the frustration felt by Dumbledore and the other members of the Order of the Pheonix. This book has one of the best antogonists ever written; Dolores Umbridge, a sadistic bureaucrat assigned to teach at Hogwarts who enjoys using her position to cause others pain and suffering. I still cringe when I think of the cruel punishments she gives to her students.

Despite the well-written villains, I have very mixed feelings about this book. In particular, I felt the teenage drama, especially between the three protagonists, to be a bit repetitive which takes away from the main conflict. The ending, which I will not spoil, more than makes up for this however.

I actually thought this book illustrated an excellent point about education, that by prescribing and adhering stricly to a pre-set curriculum, education becomes stifling and abstracted from its end goal. The felt that contrast between Lupin (from the third novel) and Umbridge very striking; personally, I've found that the best teachers I've had both in high school and university were not constrained by the curriculum and offered much more practical instructions, where each lesson felt like an exploration. I think all teachers could do well to gauge themselves on the Lupin/ Umbridge scale.

Conclusion

A story with excellent villains but a bit too much friendship drama.

Overall rating: 8.3

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(Book Review) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

# Review

# Conclusion

# Overall rating: 8.3

Review

Conclusion

Overall rating: 8.3