Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was indeed a terrific book!

How does it hold up to expectations and to previous installments? Read on...

Of course, I don't want to spoil anything for those that haven't read it yet, so here's my spoiler-free review:

I really loved that we get to start with some action right away in the first chapter!

Harry is finally starting to show his emotions and act human about some of his experiences.

Harry's feelings are covered quite well, as he shows anger and resentment about Cedric's death in book 4, and other things that have happened in his life.

Lots of questions are answered. Here are some of the interesting ones:

• Why does Harry always have to go back and stay with the Dursleys? Why do they keep taking him back instead of just throwing him out?
• Who is Mrs. Figg & what is her role?
• What were Harry's parents like at age 15? Were they the "angels" Harry imagines them to be?
• Why does Snape hate Harry so much?
• Why does Dumbledore allow Trelawney to teach Divination? (She's obviously no good at it.)
• What exactly is the Ministry of Magic? How big is it? What do they do?
• What do Aurors do and how do you become one?
• Why do some wizards become ghosts?
• What happened to Gilderoy Lockhart?
• What happened to Rita Skeeter?
• What happened to Nevill Longbottom's parents?
• What's the Knight Bus like by day?
• What are giants like?
• Does Hagrid have any living family members?
• Why did Voldemort want to kill Harry (as a baby)?
• Why can Harry see visions of Voldemort?
• What are Centaurs really like?
• Not to mention, What is the Order of the Phoenix?
• And lots, LOTS more!

I really like they way the "romance" stuff is handled. The relationships between Harry, Cho, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, etc. is done very well. It's nice to see a book handle these things so realistically. I remember having the same confusions and feelings when I was around that age (14-16): Crushes, first-kisses, boys not understanding girls, etc. Very nice job.

The editing could have been better (imo) because it seemed there were quite a few (6 or 7 at least) places with incorrect grammer during narrative parts (not speech parts).

I was also confused by the sudden use of the word "jinx" in places where "curse" was previously used. In fact, it seemed she has tried to replace "curse" with "jinx" in nearly all cases. Not sure why.

The new characters are really terrific!

I love Luna Lovegood, Doloris Umbridge (love hating her I mean) the DADA teacher, Nymphadora Tonks (goes by Tonks) the Metamorphmagus, Kingsley Shacklebolt the Auror, Kreacher the house elf, and the cruel Death Eater: Bellatrix Lestrange.

The new spells, plants, rooms, shops, characters, places, and creatures really expand our knowledge of the Wizarding World even more, and expands our imaginations to an ever wider fantasy world.

It seems to me that each book in the series is an improvement from the last, and this one is no exception: In many ways, it is superior to it's predecessors. It certainly exceeded my expectations, and that's as much as (if not more than) one could possibly hope for.

So far, I have to say that I think that Goblet of Fire remains my favorite, but Order of the Phoenix is without a doubt an excellent addition to the series. I can't wait for more!!

I give it a score of 8 our of 10.