Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a fantasy novel by J. K. Rowling and the fifth and longest book in the Harry Potter series. It was published on 21 June 2003 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic in the United States and Raincoast in Canada, and it sold five million copies in the first twenty-four hours after release.

The novel covers Harry's fifth year, which includes the open return of Lord Voldemort as an antagonist, the Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations, and a Ministry of Magic that obstructs rather than helps. A Dementor attack on Harry and his cousin Dudley opens the story and forces him to defend himself with the Patronus Charm, which brings him into conflict with the authorities even as the larger threat gathers.

It won several awards, among them the American Library Association Best Book Award for Young Adults in 2003, and it was adapted into a film in 2007 and a video game by Electronic Arts. The length matters to the reading experience, because Rowling uses it to develop institutional obstruction and adolescent frustration alongside the ordinary business of a school year.