I don't know why I have never re-read this book until now because as it went on, it became my clear favorite of the books I've re-read so far this year, and I am skeptical that another book is going to surpass it before this project ends.
The writing seems much stronger and deeper than in the first three books. I read one review that said this book needed a lot more editing than it received, but I actually liked that it was so thick and covered so much ground. There really is a lot going on plot-wise, but all of it is interesting and highly engaging and comes together so well.
This book runs the emotional gamut, too, from fear, to sadness, to anger, to indignation, to hope. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter further into their teen years, new aspects and layers of their personalities are revealed which also helped me invest further into this book than I did the ones preceding it.
This book is really the turning point in this series, and though some series drag in the middle, this one really just seems to come into its own as this fourth volume progresses. The ending, especially, sets up the main conflicts that inform the rest of Harry's story: the division between those who believe Voldemort is back and those who don't, the parting of the ways of Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic, the question of who might be a Death Eater, and the problem of how Voldemort is to be defeated.
I have always said that book five, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is my favorite of the series. I'm looking forward to revisiting it and finding out if that is still true!
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