Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (2000, Hardcover)

The main plot centers around the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where the three most prestigious schools of witchcraft and wizardry select a champion to compete. The tournaments are extremely dangerous and this year's is no exception. The events include stealing an egg from a dragon, rescuing a loved one from the bottom of the lake and the guardian mer-folk and finding the winner's cup in a maze made up of carnivorous hedges.

Harry wants no part of it, but the Goblet of Fire, which chooses a champion from each school, spat his name out. The tournament is supposed to be only for sixth and seventh years, but Harry is forced to participate anyway.

I said in my review of Prisoner of Azkaban that Harry comes of age at the end, when he decides to bring his parent's betrayer to justice rather than kill him out of revenge. In Goblet of Fire, Rowling has the world treat him like an adult as well, despite his age.

The new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts shows the class the three most horrible curses known to the wizarding world, which is pretty mature stuff. It is also the last real lesson a teacher gives Harry for the rest of the series. Never again does Harry learn a new spell in school, at least not one that is specifically mentioned in the books. He either uses spells he already knows, learns on his own or gets from his peers. There is only one more effort for a professor to teach him something (Snape teaching Occlumancy in Order of the Phoenix) and it fails.

The theme of adults no longer being able to help Harry does not end in the classroom. In the earlier books, tough questions could usually be answered by adults, or at least enough information as to form a helpful clue. Although Harry does continue to receive advice from adults in this book and the rest of the series, it is no longer very helpful. Much advice turns out to be wrong and often the adult admits to not knowing. When anything useful is received, it is of very marginal value.

The final demonstration of manhood comes when Harry must face off with Voldermort one on one. When it is over, he has completed his rite of manhood, regardless of what the Ministry says about his age.

But more than just Harry is developing. Although a mega-plot has been hinted at in previous books, this is the first time we see more than just shadows or vague references. Voldermort is alive, he has a plan and he is able to get his minions to execute his wishes. The attack on Harry wasn't a target of opportunity like the three times before, it was pre-meditated.

And Voldermore has an unwitting ally in The Ministry. The Ministry unwittingly joins the side of Voldermort when they force Harry to compete. One law says that the goblet chooses the champions, but another law says the underage should be protected. Any judge with a sense of fairness and decency would choose to protect the young over a rule to a game, no matter how important the game was. This should especially be true when it was clear that the goblet was tampered with.

Yet the Ministry didn't. It made a conscious decision to pervert the intent of a tradition for the sake of preserving the past and, in doing so, ignore the perils of the future. Like many decisions made in life, this choice has far reaching and disastrous consequences for wizards and muggles alike, but we don't see them right away. You have to read the final three books for that.

John Holland-author of The Necklace of Terrersylvanous

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth installment in the popular book series. And what a surprise to see how large it is, compared to the first 3 books! They averaged 300 pages and this one tops in at over 600!

Harry and his friends are beginning their 4th year of magical instruction at Hogwarts school. Although the school year starts with an ominous sign (a terrorist attack by Death Eaters at a huge international sporting event), Harry is sure that this year will be a good one for him. He is starting this year on a "high note"...after discovering who ther real snitch was who "ratted" on his parents to Lord Voldemort (which led to their deaths), and saving his godfather from being wrongfully re-imprisoned. Even school seems really neat this year, as they have a new Professor who is teaching them some amazing stuff in Harry's favorite class (Defence Against the Dark Arts).

But alas for poor Harry, a happy and carefree school year is not in the cards. Under very unusual circumstances, his name is drawn to compete in a magical tournament...one that he is underage, underskilled and underprepared to compete in. Everyone is mad at Harry for "cheating" to get his name in the competition...even his best friend Ron. Like in his second year, (when many Hogwarts students feared harry was the Heir of Slytherin) Harry faces months of being shunned, rejected, friendless and alone. Luckily things pick up for Harry when he starts winning in the competitions and at least most people are not mad at him anymore...but he has other problems...such as the very awkward position of having to ask the girl he has a crush on, to the school dance.

Even though Harry is in the middle of a literally life-and-death competition, the book still takes time-out from the action to include humor, and bits of teenage experiences to be thrown in for greater realism and empathy. We may not be able to relate to the experience of dragon-battling, but we all know the sting of rejection from a teenage crush, or worries about not being able to dance.

I found this book to be easy reading, and generally, not "scary" until the end...when Voldemort returns. The end of this book marks the 'end of innocence' in Harry's world...the war that was brewing has begun and the series takes a darker turn from here as the main characters find themselves growing up in a ever more dangerous world.

Please do yourselves a favor and read this series from the beginning, and also be sure to READ the book, not just see the movie. The movies are fine, but the books are spectacular.

J. K. Rowling reeled my daughter and I in with her amazing ability to draw us into every detail of Harry Potter's life. Following him through learning he was a wizard and developing a relationship with him over six books now, has us on pins and needles. These books contain a story and an inspirational hero most children need today. Frankly, Goblet of Fire delivers the best Harry Potter by far for us.
Not only is Harry coping with his typical wizarding challenges such as avoiding schoolmates who think he's insane or the antagonistic Professor Snape or the usual fear of Voldemort and Dementers; he has to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. On top of that he faces losing his best friend, Ron, disappointing Dumbledore, and trying to understand the many fits and visions he keeps having of Voldemort's killing sprees.
The Triwizard Tournament meant only for 17 year old wizards leaves 14 year old Harry, feeling sick and numb over every challenge. If it weren't for the loyalty of his friends (despite Ron's initial rejection of Harry before the first task), Harry never would have made it to the final task. And Aaahhh... The final task leads Harry to a reckoning worth reading.
Never has Rowling developed her characters beyond the children they are. In the first three books, Ron, Hermione and Harry are on the brink of becoming something more than mere mortal children. But in these three books they are simply a lucky team. A group of heroic characters searching to become the wizards, they are meant to be. In Goblet, they evolve into those heroes. Characters with passions, talents and knowledge that affects the very lives of every one they love and cherish. Instead of random acts of bravery, they must choose to be brave, choose to do what is right and choose above everything else, to protect those around them first and foremost. Finally, they learn that the truth hurts and can be more painful than any wound, especially when you and a select few are the only ones who recognize or choose to recognize it.
This book pertains to the very structure of society today. Children and Adults alike face similar issues of denial in all aspects of our culture. This book gives children a glimpse of what it means to mature, develop ideas beyond something they were taught and to finally take a stand for beliefs they have developed from their own experiences.
Parents might be surprised to find that while these books have been hailed as "evil" or "promoters of witchcraft", in actuality teach the very morals every parent wants their children to learn. Morals that center around doing what is right, searching for the truth and acting appropriately when discovering it, and understanding that doing what is right is not always easy nor is it always beneficial but something that must be done.
Many people feel this book is too long. Also, others say it revealed too little new details. Over 700 pages, could be. Yet Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince seemed more that way to me; not Goblet. It was the turning point in the series and needed to be long. Like I mentioned, the main characters had major life changes.
Also, don't be fooled, this book is by far the most action-packed of the series. Spell-binding, Goblet easily outpaces all the books so far in the series. And do not use that joke of a movie titled the same to make an opinion on Goblet. Any true fan owns Goblet and thinks highly of it!

Jk Rowling's fourth book features Harry, Hermione, and Ron at a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After the exciting Quiddache World Cup, they return to school and are immediately informed that a tournament that has not been in existence for over a century has now been reinstated. Three of the top magic schools compete against one another for the Tri-Wizard Cup along with a thousand galleons (a load of cash). Only students from age seventeen and older can enter, but Harry is the mysterious fourth chosen to compete.

This edition is full of the usual fantastic writing, characters, and plot. It's a riveting an excellent read.

harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the 4th book in the Harry Potter Series. It was written by JK Rowling and released in Canada in 2000.

This book starts off on a happy note as Harry and the Weasley's head off to the Quidditch World Cup. They have a grand time there marking the major high point of the book. At the end of the championship game you get a glimpse of Voldemort's old power as his Death Eater's are introduced and they attack the camp.

The 4th year at Hogwart's is highlighted by the Tri-Wizard tournament. Two other school's of wizards are sent to Hogwarts to participate in this great tournament.

Harry end's up in this tournament and he has a miserable time because people think he cheated to end up in it.

The book is full of the danger's of the tournament and the tension between the contestants, Harry, and the school who think's he cheated. The ending of the tournament also has a death occuring!

The real pay off is at the end of the book when Harry Potter has to confront a Reborn Lord Voldemort! It is a very tense and exciting scene!

A great book.

5/5

Latsyrhc
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