Yes, Harry Potter has returned, and along with him a whole new cast of characters along with the old favourites. But this book has more darkness and emotion than the previous ones and it really does seem that young Harry has really lost the plot, on several occasions throwing tantrums, and again breaking laws, school rules, etc. He alienates several different people on several different occasions, including his close friends, Hermione and Ron. Has Harry finally snapped, or are these emotion outbursts the outcome of hormones raging?

But Harry isn't just restricted to Hogwarts this time. We see him visiting the Ministry, St Mungo's and the Secret Order of the Phoenix HQ, so more of the wizarding world is revealed to us. Much of Harry's holiday is spent at the HQ, his godfather Sirius' house, a murky and frankly depressing dwelling that belonged to the late Mr and Mrs Black who were dark wizards themselves. He then goes on to his fifth year at Hogwarts, and as the blurb of the book promises, "what Harry is about to discover in his new year at Hogwarts will turn his world upside down."

Basically, Harry and his two side-kicks, Hermione and Ron, are starting to grow up and are running into several hardships. First of all, they're all on edge as Harry has been rather bitchy as of late, accusing them of being inconsiderate, taking him for granted, abandoning him and leaving him in the dark all summer. His mood doesn't improve much, however, must to the irritation of the reader. After a while you just wish he would get a grip and stop overreacting all the time. As well as all this emotion Harry has suddenly acquired, he has also become quite arrogant and big headed; "And the same feeling of ill-usage that had overwhelmed him on the night he arrived rose again. I've definitely done more, Harry thought indignantly. I've done more than either of them!" So it seems that Harry does indeed have a dark side to him, which he shows more than ever before.

Of course, he does have reason to be so grumpy, as there's a new menace is on the block; Umbridge. Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge (a.k.a. the High Inquisitor) is a Ministry Official who is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and a bully, born and bred. She is the source of many of Harry's problems, her punishment methods are certainly unorthodox and at times, just cruel. She too becomes rather big headed when she acquires more and more power, and finally the power to rate and sack any teacher she wishes on a simple whim. The Ministry is meddling at Hogwarts, and this results in Dumbledore leaving the school, and Umbridge becoming Headmistress. Of course, the school makes her reign as top dog as hard as possible for her, making trouble and causing mayhem, while teachers turn a blind eye. But of course, she gets what is coming to her in the end, and Dumbledore does return eventually.

But, unfortunately for Harry, Umbridge is not his only problem. His arch nemesis has returned and is searching for something that could make him more powerful than ever before, a weapon that could end it for good. Harry, acting foolishly, somehow convinces himself that he is the weapon, but feels like an idiot later when he realises he is really not (arrogance again?) . Voldemort lures Harry and several others to the Department of Mysteries, situated in the Ministry of Magic. There, the party of kids come face to face with a haggle of Death Eaters (Voldemort supporters) and eventually, help arrives. Lupin, Black, Tonks, Moody and the rest come to their aid, and all seems to be well until there is a sudden death. Dumbledore then suddenly appears and duels with Voldemort and everyone is saved. Harry and the rest return to Hogwarts.

When the book first came into my hands I was reluctant to read it, but I felt obligated to. After a weekend of leisurely reading I had not quite finished it, mostly because I didn't feel like rushing. But when I was back at school on Monday morning, some inconsiderate people had told everybody who the person who finally kicks the bucket. I found out when I was only a chapter away from finding out myself, and this spoilt it for me. However, that night when I read it for myself it was hard to decipher how he did, in fact, die. That chapter was rather confusingly written, in my opinion, much of it descriptive punctuated by the thoughts that skittered through Harry' mind. It really lacked narrative drive. Nevertheless, it did stir some emotion in me, but probably only because he was my favourite character.

So is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a success or not? This certainly is debatable, as it does have some merits. A deeper and darker side to Harry Potter has been revealed which is a much appreciated change from the previous books which were all painfully predictable. For me, Harry Potter has always had its moments, but there are also things which cannot really be praised too highly. Though it is good to see that Harry has more emotional capacity than a goldfish, I felt his anger was over the top at times. I know we teenagers are known to have a strop from time to time, but this is ridiculous!

You either like Harry Potter or you hate it, and sometimes it's easy to see why. This book is aimed at a higher age group so I don't see how seven year olds are going to comprehend some of the story lines, but to each his own, I suppose. Perhaps it will be more entertaining watching Daniel Radcliffe attempting to portray this angst filled character in five years time.

(Hannah Čulík, 13, is a pupil at Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow, Scotland.)