Of all the Harry Potter books, this one was, for the past however many years, my absolute least favorite. My favorite character does not survive through this book, and at the point in my life when I first read Order of the Phoenix, I identified that character very strongly with my grandmother. At that time in my life, she was all too quickly slipping away from me. I mourned the death in this book just as truly as I soon mourned hers. For fifteen or so years, I haven't touched this book at all, even when re-reading the rest of the series.

I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago and decided to listen to the audiobook. I got to a few chapters from the end and couldn't continue listening. I had to pick up the book, put it back in my hands, and face it. I've never felt a connection with another character like that. Although I'm no longer a child, it still affects me deeply.

Despite my absurd emotional connection with this book, this time I was able to enjoy a lot of what I had forgotten. The D.A. is superb. I greatly enjoyed reading about Fred and George and their attempts to get at Umbridge. This book may very well be the best written and most identifiable in the series, as far as Harry's character is concerned.

Well, continuing on now to book six...