I don’t know if Book Five is actually the longest Harry Potter book, but I can tell you that it certainly feels like it. I’m excited and more than a little intimidated by the 870 pages. Last month I mentioned that completely independent of my concerns regarding content, I don’t feel these books are a great fit for classroom reading especially for lower grade students. A large part of that is their length. When students read independently in the classroom we want them to be developing a wide variety of skills and we want them to be exposed to a wide variety of text styles. Even a lightning fast reader will take a very long time indeed to get through a nearly nine hundred page book working in the small time increments allowed in school. And during that time, it will be hard for those students to be reading anything else. No other authors, no other genres just all Harry Potter, all fantasy, all Rowling, all the time. Often class assignments rely on the expectation that students will finish a book (some book, any book) within a given period of time. It’s important that students be able to talk about whether or not the ending surprised them, or at what point in the book they realized they’d hit the climax. Imagine having to complete this book before answering those questions.
So. Order of the Phoenix is dark. From nearly the beginning, Harry is in danger. And it’s unclear really, whether it’s worse that he’s in danger, or worse that the government (the Ministry of Magic) believes him to be a self-aggrandizing liar and is actively disparaging him in the press. As the book continues, it looks more and more like the real enemy of the good is not the Death Eaters, but rather everyone who seeks to minimize the danger and demonize Harry and Dumbledore. This book is nothing if not tense and depressing.
It’s hard to write up because for much of the book, there’s really nothing distinctly violent, gory or overtly scary going on, it’s just a general feeling of foreboding. Rowling can certainly write mood well. But that’s not to say that the book is short on actual violence or death, because it’s got those two. As with the rest of the series, the book features a final good vs. evil showdown and as in the prior book, people will be hurt and someone will die (yes, I’ll tell you who in a spoiler below). The tone of the book is also going to affect how difficult it is to separate readers from the book. There is very much a sense that if you just keep reading you might be able to get to a point where you feel comfortable again, where you can feel safe and more relaxed. The tension and foreboding almost compels readers to keep going, because they might want that feeling to end.
Aside from the content, this is a difficult book to read based on the reading level. It is complicated to try to figure out who is really working for whom and trying to determine who can be trusted. Much like Book 4, a lot of inference will be required and if readers aren’t up to that, the book will be very confusing, particularly the final action sequences.
Age Recommendation: I would suggest that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was most appropriate for students in Grade 6 or higher. The vocabulary is varied; the plot is endlessly complex and it requires a great deal of emotional maturity.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Harry’s buttocks are mentioned. One of Ron’s brothers is spending a lot of time with a girl. A house-elf snogs a pair of men’s trousers (luckily no man was in them). A girl’s boyfriend is mentioned. A fourth year girl is dating someone. Harry kisses someone. There is some awkward asking out on dates. A coffee shop is full of couples holding hands, some are kissing. There’s some romantic game playing – people getting jealous, trying to make others jealous. There’s a boy-girl cheek kiss. A professor’s graying underpants are seen. A student wonders if a man forced a woman to marry him.
Profanity – “moron,” “ruddy hell,” “effing,” “for god’s sake”, “damn” multiple times, “git,” “dammit,” A man was “swearing,” “moron,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Dudley throws stones at children. Harry has nightmares where he begs Voldemort not to kill Cedric and where he begs his parents to save him. An agitated witch says she’s going to kill someone, she’ll flay him alive (she will not do these things). Dudley hits Harry. A previous attempt on Harry’s life is mentioned. A house appears to have the shrunken heads of house-elves mounted on the wall. An owl bites someone to the point of bleeding. A goblin family was murdered. A house-elf wants his head mounted on the wall. Voldemort has a new weapon, the kids speculate about what it might be. There is a bag of dead rats. A dagger is displayed in a cabinet. Someone’s brother died and was a Death Eater prior to death. Harry is told about many wizards that were killed before: one who was only in bits, other whose body they never found, one who it took 5 Death Eaters to kill. Mrs. Weasley faces a boggart who turns into each of her loved ones, dead (so they are not dead, but she still sees their corpses). There is much fear about the potential for future loss of life and discussion of past loss of life. A tabloid claims the Minister has had goblins drowned, dropped off buildings, poisoned and cooked in pies. There’s a ghost with a partially severed neck. There are definitely repeated references to the student who died. A type of magical creature would gouge out human eyes with their fingers if given a chance. Students threaten each other. A magical creature cuts someone with sharp nails. A student is punished by having to write something repeatedly in his own blood. A girl gets a nosebleed and then accidentally takes something that makes her bleed more and ends up covered in blood. The professor of Divination continues to see Harry meeting an early death. A student suggests poisoning a teacher. Harry talks about feeling like you are about to be murdered tortured or watch a friend die. Harry’s owl is hurt. A character’s hair is matted with blood, his face is bruised and his body is covered with cuts, many still bleeding. Some giants were killed by wizards, others killed each other. A giant is beheaded. A giant wears a necklace of human bones. Flesh strips itself from the bones of a dead animal (actually, something that is invisible to most is eating the flesh). A girl wants to know if her boyfriend could have survived if he had known more defensive magic. In a dream someone sees a snake attack a man, feels ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feels warm blood and seeing blood splatter on the floor.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Dudley smokes. A wizard smells of drink and tobacco, his eyes are bloodshot. There are empty wine bottles. Students are pretty sure they could be served underage. One wants to try firewhiskey. A house-elf drinks too much. An adult drinks firewhiskey. A professor carries an empty sherry bottle. There’s another discussion of underage students buying firewhiskey.
Frightening or Intense Things – The Dursleys go out and tell Harry he may not touch anything or eat anything. Then they lock him in his room. People are attacked by dementors which are creatures which suck all of the joy out of you and try to take your soul. The government is trying to discredit people who tell the truth. The government out and out states that those trying to put the truth forth are liars. A man on the right side of the fight is sentenced to time in prison. There are concerns that Harry might be controlled or possessed. There is copious bullying.
