No, I don't sleep with "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" under my pillow. No, I haven't read each book eight times. Neither are the shelves in my bedroom full with Harry Potter merchandise. And of course, I didn't wait seven hours in a queue, just to get my hands on J.K.Rowling's new novel. So, I don't consider myself to be a die hard Harry Potter fan. But, I must confess that once I started reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", I couldn't help but keep turning the pages, until I reached the end. The book proved to be quite an enjoyable read. Not having listened to all the hype going on for almost three years, I didn't feel disappointed that nearly none of the predictions and the theories people discussed in chatrooms and forums turned out to be true.

It's true that the fifth book in the Harry Potter series is significantly darker than the first four - and significantly longer than the first three too. Length didn't bother me as much as other people. Of course, it's not quantity that matters, it's quality. I guess the novel could've been reduced from 750 to 600 or 500 pages, some of the events were unnecessary, just "fillers". We know though that Rowling keeps leaving subtle clues all over the place and what looks like unimportant details might turn out to be important. A lengthy book with many small events is not bad for me, whereas others find it boring. It's true though that it would have been wiser to spend time resolving the important issues rather than duelling with the small and seemingly insignificant ones.

So, how exactly has the book become darker? Apart from some swear words which might not be suitable for small children (hell,damn e.t.c), what's dark and getting darker all the time is Harry's mood as a teenager and the world surrounding him. The books centers around Harry and his much-increased troubles over the summer and especially back at Hogwart's. Everyone thinks he's a nutter, the people in the Ministry refuse to believe him and it seems that everything is destined to wipe him out. Rowling has given the book a more "adult feel", you kind of think you're growing up with Harry. I'm fifteen and I think the author has mastered how teenagers feel and think. This book is the best in the series when it comes to illustrating feelings like rage, hate, pain, self-pity etc. Fortunately, Rowling has managed to put a bit of humor in the book - still, after having finished the book, I like to go over some chapters to read the funny excepts they have. It's true though that the book's heading to another direction, less likely to appeal to young children who want to read about the "Potter Adventures" rather than see a miserable teenager with a really bad temper going through a phase and having a difficult life in general. People say they were very disappointed with the new angry Harry - well, I don't think so. Anyone who'd gone through what Harry has would be acting the same I suppose. Still, Rowling could have made the book more enjoyable if she had put some more nice feelings in it. I'm not saying that there's total lack of warm feelings in the book, but it's true that compared to the first four, there's a visible difference.

We're introduced to some new characters, but nearly every old one has developed quite a lot, especially Ginny and Neville. We learn more about the childhood of Snape, James, Sirius and Lupin and that adds another dimension to those characters. And then of course, there's the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, a really interesting character, a person you just love to hate, a perfectly developed villain. What I like best about the characters is that none of them is flat, everyone has a good and a bad side, except Voldemort, who's pure evil. The fact that the characters are three-dimensional is one that alone makes the book worth reading.

As regards the elements of the plot, most of them are well-handled, except the climax. The introduction is somehow quicker than we are used to, that's true, but in my opinion that's a change for the better. The climax proves to be quite disappointing because it doesn't tell us much stuff we don't already know and it lacks originality too. I expected something better, but at least, the things revealed to Harry do make sense. The conclusion leaves an awful lot of issues unresolved, not that this is bad, but I really hope she takes her time to explain to us in the following books.

The problem with the plot is that it's weak. It doesn't seem to have a center, or it has a very weak one, or the center is actually out of this book, I mean this book might be just a "set up" or something. Or, it might be that Rowling has attempted to introduce a multi-plot system that doesn't seem to work too well. The plot in this book is not as solid as the ones in the previous books and that's certainly a minus.

As far as the author's style and talent are concerned, I think Rowling has given us no more than she did in the other books. The death in the end was very touching, I have almost learnt the passage by heart. So simply written, but in a few lines, Rowling manages to put so much emotion and pain, that you almost can't resist and start crying. Many people were disappointed with the death; they say it was unnecessary, but I am not, it was the last person I expected to die, so this means the book is still unpredictable. And the unnecessary death of a person that meant a lot to Harry makes me wonder how he'll get over it in the next book. I hope he doesn't go on whining, because then it will get old. I really hope he's forced to mature. The dialogues between the characters are effective and the feelings are described in a natural yet charming way. The fight scenes are very good too, especially the one with Dumbleadore and Voldemort in the end and the one with Harry and Bellatrix.

What particularly disappointed me were the mistakes in this book. If you've been waiting for a book for three years, you expect it to be polished to a fault. Although most of them not noticeable the first time through, if you read the books a second time, or even read a chapter of it twice, you'll notice some mistakes. Sure enough, I noticed two the first time, one of which proves to be vital for the plot. The second time I picked up a lot more. But then, this is not the first time this happens. In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" we saw the Time-Turners. Well, I ask, couldn't they have been used in many other occasions? And, in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" couldn't Mad-Eye have given Harry a book or something as a port key, instead of having him go through all the Triwizard Tournament? This does not mean though that the book shouldn't have been more thoroughly edited.

The best parts of the books were the twins, Umbridge, the lessons with Snape, the fight scenes in the end and Harry being furious. The worst bits were Grawp(a totally unnecessary character), Molly Weasly with her mollycoddling and Hagrid being really tiresome.

In conclusion, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is a good book that lives up to Rowling's standards, and although it might not be the best of the five, you've got to read it if you want to keep up with the series. It's probable though that young readers won't like it because of its darker theme and that they won't understand most of it anyway.

I enjoyed the book and I hope you will, too. I expect the next two books to be more polished and have a more solid plot. Reducing the size and making them a bit brighter would do some good as well.