Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2003, British hardcover Bloomsbury first edition, American hardcover Scholastic first edition
J. K. Rowling
American edition illustrated by Mary Grandpre
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
British edition possibly bought later for 16.99, American bought new for $29.99
British edition in good shape except for torn dustjacket, American possibly water damaged
B

Although Snicket fluctuates from B+ down to B-, with occasional trips back to B, Rowling continues to earn B's.  This book is of course even longer, so that at the point that Stone was wrapping things up, Harry has just earned his first detention with the "sweet" but really malicious Dolores Umbridge.  She's one of several memorable new characters, mostly female, that are introduced surprisingly late in the series.  One is a villainess of a very different sort, Bellatrix Lestrange.  (Yes, Bellatrix appears in Goblet, but it's much briefer.)  Nymphadora Tonks and Luna Lovegood are both unconventional but brave and loyal.  And we see more of Cho Chang, which is a mixed blessing, as she spends most of her time crying over Cedric.

I'm keeping notes on Rowling's mathematical errors to a minimum here, since as I said, there are plenty of sites that track these.  But I must note that it's not just the movie version of this book that puts Cho into Harry's year, after it was very clear in Goblet-book that Cho was a year older.  Here she refers to a Quidditch match in "the third year," meaning hers as well as Harry's.  Rowling could've avoided this by saying, "a couple years ago."  Still, I thought she did a nice job of showing the awkwardness of a first date, where Harry can't think what to say, when to hold Cho's hand, or even how to move his own limbs.  (And, yes, Ron and Hermione continue their tension, without getting it at all resolved.)

Unfortunately, Grandpre is drawing the characters as if they're about three years younger than the 15 or 16 that they are.  I know Harry is small for his age (though getting taller), but even Ron doesn't look like he's too far into puberty.  I did like seeing what she did with Tonks, Sirius, and Lupin though, and I do think this is her best cover so far, not so overcrowded, and with the nice blue tones.

This book continues the "darkness," with more violence and death.  It also shows a distrust of government, in the form of the Ministry of Magic, that wasn't as strong in the pre-9/11 days (although the book is set '95 to '96).  The parallels to both British and American Muggle governments will be more obvious in the next book.

I mentioned in my Goblet review that this contains a weak chapter, one I think could've been omitted or at least quickly summarised (as it is in the movie, but then that's notoriously short as a whole).  "Hagrid's Tale" of befriending giants is inconclusive.  They may or may not help Dumbledore's side.  And it could count towards the building of Hagrid's romance with Madame Maxime, except that Rowling later said that that fizzled out.  Yes, the journey leads to Hagrid bringing home his full-giant half-brother, but even that's not really necessary to the saga.  I consider this the weakest chapter in the series.

On the other hand, I've long regarded the sixth book as the weakest overall, so we'll see if I revise that opinion when we get to 2005....

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2000, British hardcover Bloomsbury edition that's not the first but at least pre-Order-of-the-Phoenix, American paperback Scholastic edition from 2002
J. K. Rowling
American edition illustrated by Mary Grandpre
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
British edition possibly bought for 14.99, American originally $8.99 but purchase price unknown
British edition in good shape except for torn dustjacket, American worn with broken spine
B

Before the release of Deathly Hallows, this was my favorite in the series, but I'm finding the books to be all roughly on a level, so far.  Yes, this moves us into YA territory (although I'd say more middle school than high school), and the Yule Ball stuff is still among my favorite sections-- the Skrewts made me laugh out loud, too-- but I'm not entirely sure it was a wise choice to make the books longer.  (It's not till Chapter Eleven that we're "Aboard the Hogwarts Express," 140 pages in, and we were almost up to Christmas at that point in the first book.)  It's not that there are any seriously weak spots (unlike a certain chapter in the next book), but I don't know that we need to go into so much detail on everything.  On the one hand, it's nice to spend extra time with the characters, especially anything with Percy (the "Weatherby" stuff is great), but on the other, you've got Voldemort doing a Villain Monologue, and there's probably too much of logistics overall, like exactly how to get to the World Cup.  That's right, too much is explained, or over-explained anyway.

As for that move to young-teen territory, there are the first serious hints of romantic tension between Ron and Hermione.  (He now 14, she now 15, although I don't remember if her birthday is ever explained in the books.)  Ron continues his crush on Madam Rosmerta and also falls for quarter-Veela Fleur, although she's eying his brother Bill later on.  (Grandpre's illustrations are again mostly forgettable, although the one of Ron and Fleur is funny.)  And Harry gets tangled in romantic triangles, real and imaginary.

Also, while there is violence and "darkness" in every book, the torture of Harry, and of course the killing of Cedric, are more intense than anything in the first three books.  Even Dumbledore's look of almost-triumph is disturbing.  (Not explained till late in the last book.)  When he says that Snape is no more a Death Eater than he is, I once had a theory that Dumbledore would turn out to be secretly evil.  (The truth about him, and Snape, would turn out to be more complex.)  As a symbol of this being the midpoint of the series, we don't have Gryffindor winning the House Cup-- Harry not only doesn't take finals, but he doesn't play Quidditch except at the Weasleys'-- and instead black banners hang for Cedric.

I was hooked by the series when I read this book in I guess mid-2001.  It would be another two years, very long it seemed then, before the fifth book came out.  Much would change in the interval, partly as a result of September 11th.  On a brighter note, we got the first two movies, and I could finally visualize Quidditch.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

1999, British hardcover Bloomsbury edition that's not the first but at least pre-Goblet-of-Fire, American paperback Scholastic edition from 2001
J. K. Rowling
American edition illustrated by Mary Grandpre
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
British edition possibly bought for 11.99, American originally $7.99 but purchase price 25 cents
British edition in good shape, American in surprisingly good condition especially considering the price
B

I found this equal to the second book (with probably Grandpre's weakest illustrations so far), although the characterisation is getting even more complex.  This is symbolised by the second title character going from "Black" to "Sirius" in the narration.  Harry changes from seeing Black as the man who betrayed Harry's parents to his kind, protective godfather.  Similarly, Ron's rat Scabbers turns out to be the real traitor.  And even Hermione has a secret that she hides all school year.  As for Harry, he contemplates murder!

The kids are growing up in other ways.  Not only fifteen-year-old Lee Jordan but thirteen-year-old Ron swears, although we're not told what specific words.  Ron has a crush on "curvy" Madam Rosmerta, and Harry has a funny feeling in his stomach when he meets pretty Cho Chang.  And Hermione actually mouths off to a teacher, several times, not to mention slapping Draco Malfoy.

This is a moment that became a punch in the movie version (probably the most popular moment in the film, the times I've seen it), affecting Rowling's own memory of the moment when she wrote of it again a few books later.  Even here, when the movies were not yet in production, she's remembering earlier events incorrectly, as when she says that Ron went to the Forbidden Forest twice before.  (In the first movie, Ron replaces Neville on that detention.)  And although I haven't commented on it before, but of course many have throughout the Internet, Rowling's maths and calendar skills are off in all her books, here notably with the dates for Buckbeak's criminal case.  On the other hand, I can't say I've really noticed a problem with her adverbs, notorious though she is for them, but that doesn't really bother me as such, especially in a children's book.

Is this a children's book, or have we hit Young Adult now?  I'd say it's on the border.  There are some innuendos (a fortune-telling book about "broken balls" and security trolls who compare the size of their clubs), but even with the swearing and violence and all, it's still a relatively innocent story.  And we get the usual pattern of Quidditch and classes and of course Gryffindor winning the House Cup again.  The next book of course will be a game-changer in many ways....