#re3 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

HELLO! And welcome to my first EVER re3 blogpost. And today, I will be attack that beast of a book aka Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling. While this isn't a review (why review a book I have reread and loved?), I am going to talk about things in the book that I like, dislike, made me want to throw the book across the room and made me want to wail a heart-wrenching scream.

So, let's start with some questions you probably want to know.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO REREAD HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX?
My other half. This, out of the series, is his favourite. And this is one of my least favourite. At the time my other half suggested this, I was wondering if I should reread all seven Harry Potter books in one year and he just said I should just read this. So... a year and a half later, I actually got round to doing it!

WHAT WAS YOUR HONEST OPINION WHEN YOU FIRST READ THIS BOOK?
When I first read this back in 2003, I... well... I honestly didn't like this. "NOTHING HAPPENED!" I cried to friends and family once I read it. "AND... AND... AND...!" [insert the wails of frustration and "She can't have KILLED that character off!" here]

WHAT IS YOUR HONEST OPINION NOW THAT YOU HAVE REREAD THIS BOOK?
I am shocked to say that, yes, it has. I do love the series! I want to make that clear, but this book wasn't one of my fave. But now, as I read this more as a political thriller rather than a action-packed wizard duel, I really enjoyed this. There was subtle things that I missed at the age of 18 (that's right, HUSH you mouth!), like the tension between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, teachers vs students, the truth vs lies... It was much more a grown-up novel in the series compared to the previous four.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY?
I DISLIKE THE GRAWP SUBPLOT! I DISLIKE it so much! And with the way Hagrid "helps" Grawp, while I didn't noticed the first time round, I read it now and it suddenly made me feel... uncomfortable. And I forgot about "WEASLEY IS OUR KING" (and that made me what to skip pages when I remembered it!) And I now realise how much I HATE Umbridge (I think ALL Harry Potter fans HATE her), and there are now several chapters I love/hate because of the emotional impact they give...

BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK, WILL YOU REREAD ANY OTHER BOOK WITHIN THE SERIES?
Yes. As I said in my previous re3 post, I am planning to reread the third book in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. But I have been wondering about reread Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...