Prepare to be charmed again by Harry Potter

• What they're saying about 'Phoenix'

By Deirdre Donahue
USA Today

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," by J.K. Rowling; Scholastic, hardback, $29.99.

A wise decision, J.K. Rowling, to allow three years to pass before publishing "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth book in your global sensation of a series. The fever-pitched anticipation, the media frenzy, the pilfered books, the leaked details. The book richly deserves the hype.

All the qualities that marred the fourth book — the loping, uneven pace of a novel that seemed churned out rather than written — have evaporated. Indeed, the faux-gothic horror of the fourth has been replaced by a return to the wonderful, textured writing of the three earlier novels. The novel does not have the frankly grisly scenes that were so disturbing in "Goblet of Fire."

For whatever reason — marriage, a new baby or becoming more comfortable with being enormously wealthy and famous — Rowling has regained the ability to create an enchanting parallel world where witches and wizards live. And we Muggles (ordinary people) can only dream of joining.

Some things remain the same, of course. Harry's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are still horribly self-satisfied with their clean house and loathsome son, Dudley, who has evolved from bully to violent thug.

One of the delights of this fifth book stems from Rowling returning to familiar characters, offering new insights. The dotty cat-loving neighbor, Mrs. Figg, takes on a new role, and the reader discovers that Professor Snape has suffered real pain related to the Potter family.

Quite simply, despite the book's 870 pages, it is easier to follow because it returns to the shape of the first three novels. It opens on Privet Drive, takes place primarily at Hogwarts School, and closes with the wise but not infallible Professor Dumbledore explaining secrets from Harry's past.

Rather than the overblown hysteria of "Goblet," which featured giant snakes and too many scenes with Voldemort, here one can appreciate magical creatures like the strange winged horses that can only be seen by those who have seen death firsthand. There is a strange, pop-eyed female student on the traditional train trip to Hogwarts who proves to be far deeper, braver and more perceptive than anyone thinks.

"Phoenix" will not frighten the under-9 crowd, but it will confuse them. The coiled serpent of teen sexuality is not unleashed, although Harry, now 15, has romantic problems and Hermione has to explain girls' behavior to the often dim Ron and Harry. Meanwhile, she can't get a handle on why Quidditch matters. It's almost a teen "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" scenario.

But the novel explores young-adult issues: disillusionment with adults, and the profound isolation that almost all teens experience, as well as death and guilt.

What they're saying about 'Phoenix'

"J.K. Rowling has fallen victim to the Stephen King syndrome. Pile on the words. Adjectives! Adverbs! The longer the book, the better! Whoopee! Well, balderdash. ... At 870 turgid pages, it is the least satisfying in the series."

"Rowling, who seems to be revising the rules of writing for children, doesn't just match the merits and pleasures that made the first four books the biggest success in publishing history. She exceeds them. Rowling establishes her relaxed yet muscular writing style in the first paragraph and never falters, never strains, never seems forced, for the rest of the very long narrative."

"It was worth the wait. And then some ... a rich feast ... deeply satisfying"

"One of the many things that makes Rowling's series so wonderful is that Harry ... is aging believably as each book covers a year of his life. And as his sense of himself expands, so do the books and the Potter universe. ... Granted, Rowling's writing style is similar to many of her fans' reading style: Put your head down and just plow ahead. But hey, there are chunks of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" that are as turgid as the fine print in a corporate annual report."