Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Book Details
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Paperback, 752 Pages
2002, Scholastic Paperbacks
ISBN: 9780439139601
Series: Book 4 of Harry Potter

Synopsis
Harry Potter is midway through his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup. He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal - even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.

Review
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the book that sets the tone for the rest of the series. We've always known that Harry and friends were in almost constant danger, but Goblet of Fire crosses the line between knowing mortal peril and actually experiencing it. This book is the first in the series to allow someone Harry had known to die in the present time. Sure, his parents died, but he was a baby and barely remembers. What's more is that the death is of someone close to Harry's age, breaking the illusion most kids and teens have that "things like that don't happen to people like me." From this point forward, no one is safe in the world of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire showcases some of Rowling's best writing. The actual match of the Quidditch World Cup was written at such a frenzied yet explanatory pace that once the game was over, I almost asked Facebook if anyone else had seen that match. It was so excitingly wonderful, that I actually forget that Quidditch isn't a real sport and I hadn't actually seen anything at all. If someone could manage to explain football to me as Rowling has done with Quidditch, I might actually care about the Super Bowl.

The world of Harry Potter is full of characters we readers love to hate. Voldemort, Draco Malfoy and Snape are three that pop immediately to mind at this point in the series. Goblet of Fire features a character that pushed all my buttons in such a way that I couldn't they immediately shot to the top of my character hate list. Rita Skeeter. That horrible woman. She and her Quick Quotes Quill embody everything evil about sensationalistic journalism.

The thing I had completely forgotten since my first reading of Goblet of Fire was the importance of Dobby as a friend to Harry. Now that he isn't trying to protect Harry by potentially killing him, he proves himself to be a real asset and ally to Harry on multiple occasions. He can offer information (freely now) about himself, other house elves and anything else he comes across. I loved that Harry and friends treated Dobby as a friend, remembering to pick up gifts for him. Hermoine and S.P.E.W. were well-intentioned but the one major dragging factor of the whole book. But even that went to show how saving people from their own cultures just because you disagree with it may not be in the people you are trying to help's best interests.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire shows the teens are really starting to grow up. The dance sets the stage for the characters to have to put themselves out there into the dating scene, if even only slightly. Romantic relationships are new territory in the world of Harry Potter and something to definitely get excited about. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire starts the ball rolling of all of the future love and loss in the series. These books truly do get even better as the series progresses.

Rating

Links

J.K. Rowling's
Website