Book Review: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (Harry Potter #4), by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (Harry Potter #4), by J.K. Rowling
★★★★★ and a ♥

Synopsis: You have in your hands the pivotal fourth novel in the seven-part tale of Harry Potter’s 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 with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). 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. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal—even by wizarding standards.
And in his case, different can be deadly.
In A Sentence: A reread that still pulls at my heartstrings.

My Thoughts: The first book caught my interest, the second book made me jump for joy, the third book made me a Pottermaniac. So by the time this fourth book came out I was chomping at the bit for more Harry Potter. Those six months couldn’t go by fast enough, I was so excited. When it finally came out, I immediately grabbed a copy at the Border’s book store and rushed right through the whole thing. When I finished (didn’t take long), I then had to start the whole series over again to see the overall effect.
I think every Potter fan understands my feeling when I first read the chapters that changed everything. The shock, the horror, the fear, it was truly a pivotal moment in the Harry Potter series. It was the first time we the readers realized that Rowling was willing and able to kill an innocent person, and that by itself was a major shock.
It all came back to me as I read this book for at least the dozenth time. This book is an emotional whirlwind of action, humor, and discovery. In this story, we really see Rowling’s writing style mature into something so powerful that the story becomes almost real…and we desperately want it to be real. After reading this installment, how many of us wished that we could go to Hogwarts and learn how to do spells, or visit Hogsmeade and drink Butterbeer? Suddenly I think I understand why some people were afraid that these books would promote practicing witchcraft and therefore tried to ban them. They’re still dead wrong, but I admit they might have had a point. To them I say “Expecto Patronum!”
One thing I find really impressive is how accurately Rowling was able to depict the emotion of a 14-year-old teenager. I felt like I was in high school again as I was reading this, and re-living the ups and downs of a teenage life. The fact that we could relate to Harry Potter’s feelings made the shock and impact of the climatic chapters feel even bigger.
One of my favorite parts is when Malfoy gets turned into a ferret and McGonagall’s reaction. I still laugh out loud when I reach that part (maybe not the best thing to do if you’re walking down the street listening to the audiobook). The other favorite is the chapter about the Quidditch World Cup. That was a lot of fun to read…again.
Basically, everything about this story is amazing. No matter how many times you’ve read it, every time you open this book, you won’t want to put it down until it’s finished. I always recommend this series, and I always will, so pick it and read it! Expelliarmus!


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