From Goodreads: There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it’s haunting Harry Pottter’s dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?
Harry has a lot on his mind for this, his fifth year at Hogwarts: a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a big surprise on the Gryffindor Quidditch team; and the looming terror of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. But all these things pale next to the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named—a threat that neither the magical government nor the authorities at Hogwarts can stop.
As the grasp of darkness tightens, Harry must discover the true depth and strength of his friends, the importance of boundless loyalty, and the shocking price of unbearable sacrifice.
His fate depends on them all.
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If there was only one thing I was allowed to say about this novel, it would be this: “I hate Delores Umbridge!!!” a sentiment, I know, is shared by many, if not all, Potterheads.
Unlike the first four novels in this enticing series, I was less familiar with the many events that take place in this fifth installment, as it’s the longest book and also the worst movie, in my opinion. The movie itself was excessively choppy and off-kilter, as far as I’m concerned, so I didn’t watch it as much as the first four movies. But, where the movie is stifling and inconsistent, the novel contains in-depth detail and really brings home the many atrocities and difficulties that Harry and his true friends face during their fifth year at Hogwarts, and re-reading this novel has given me a new appreciation for the storyline that the movie so vastly failed to portray.
As much as I hated everything that was happening to Hogwarts and Harry, especially as the entire wizarding world, it seems, is so quick to stand against Harry (wow with the “What have you done for me lately” attitude, wizards!), this novel has some great themes, especially for young adults struggling through their own identity crisis as they battle their way through high school. And it really shows just how much people would rather look the other way than see the truth, or deal with anything unpleasant, which can again be equated to the real world as the entire bullying epidemic has come to the forefront.
What I found to be the most interesting aspect of this novel, however, was the way the Ministry of Magic attempted to control Hogwarts and its teachers, subjecting them to multiple unfair observations and write-ups, firing at will. This is not so different from the reforms happening in the real world in terms of education, with states and the government attempting to flay teachers based on poor student performance without taking anything else into consideration. And though I really doubt that Rowling was thinking about education reform when she wrote this novel, I found that it still had a very heavy social commentary on education and the powers that be attempting to control it with little to no knowledge of teaching or how the system really works. With the Ministry’s long-reaching hands now up to its elbows in the running of Hogwarts, the system begins to crumble. A very interesting concept indeed. Five stars.
I own this beloved novel and entire series in both hardcover and audible.
Did you know that you can listen to this novel for FREE with a FREE TRIAL of Audible for 30 days? Try it today!
Kindle | Audible | Paperback | Hardcover
Have you read the short prequel to the Harry Potter series, yet?
And if you missed them, read my review of:
Books: The Cheapest Vacation You Can Buy 