Harry Potter #re3 2015 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

So, here we are in my trying to reread all seven Harry Potter books in one year. The big mama! The beast we call Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

Now, as you guys probably know if you have followed my blog for quite some time, I have reread this several times in the past. My opinion of it has changed somewhat. When I first read this book, I disliked it. Quite a bit. And when I reread it a few years back, I did like it but I had a lot of problems with it. The "Grawp" subplot which adds NOTHING to the overall story. The "Weasley Is Our King" that borders on and beyond into bullying and yet, NO ONE PUT A STOP TO THE BULLYING. The subtle hints of blood-purity and racism in Hogwarts (there's a scene where Pansy Parkinson shouts "looks like worms" or something to Angela Johnson, which is a dig at Angela's skin colour because she's black. Also, the way the Gryffindor ignore it and the Slytherins enjoy this shows that this isn't the first time that racial slurs have been used - I thank Oh Witch Please for pointing this out).

But the biggest thing I saw that I have never seen before is the lack of emotional support that the students of Hogwarts are given. Let me explain. At the end of Goblet of Fire, a student - Cedric - dies. He is murdered in front of Harry and Cedric's dead body was seen by the students not only of Hogwarts, but of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The students are at Hogwarts for several days/weeks then go into the summer term. No grief counsellors in sight. And then, when the students return to Hogwarts - we see several characters that would benefit HUGELY from grief counselling (Harry and Cho are two characters I can think of off the tip of my head), do they get the emotional support they need through this difficult time? No. No, they don't. And with Harry being so angry and SHOUTING IN CAPITAL LOCK FOR A GOOD PART OF SEVERAL LONG CHAPTERS, this would be hugely helpful.

And yet... nothing. Harry is left alone with his emotional struggles. Even Dumbledore, who says he cares for Harry and yet, leaves him alone because he thinks that for the best, doesn't seem to be worried about his emotional state. Instead, he is worried about Voldemort breaking into Harry's mind - and he thinks leaving a hugely emotional-damaged child (Harry is 14 in this book, by the way) is the safest course of action.

Because of this, it made me really wonder about how the wizarding world treats mental health - something we see in Christmas on the Closed Ward but when you look at the characters in this chapter on that ward, they could be classed as mentally unwell. But, they are in a locked ward in a general hospital and we don't get any information on if there is a wizarding hospital focused solely on patients with mental health issues.

But this is an extreme. What about people who suffer from grief? OCD? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Anxiety attacks and panic attacks? Eating disorders? Depression? Schizophrenia? Bi-polar disorder? What about people who live a "normal" life with this? Where is the emotional support there? Because, barring the Christmas on the Closed Ward, we see no one with a mental health problem.

I love this series, I do, but I want to be critical over the series. And this is why rereading this series is so much fun. Something new will always be discovered!

Right, I have two books to go and 3 months to read them! I CAN DO THIS!!! I THINK I CAN DO THIS!!!

#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...