annbronson's Full Review: J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fir...
I finished J. K. Rowlings' Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire early this morning. With the previous installments of the series, I could read them in just a few hours. This fourth book took a bit longer, coming in at a hefty 734 pages. At first I wondered if kids would be intimidated to read, much less finish such a tome, but having gotten through it myself, I think most kids (while it may take them awhile) will find the story interesting and engaging enough to pull them to the end of the 700+ pages, and leave them with a sense of satisfaction of having tackled such a lengthy book, and a longing for the continuation of Harry's further adventures.
I had difficult time deciding how to approach this review. I didn't want to do a plot summary, nor give too many details, which meant I probably was going to be a bit vague here and there. Usually, I'd use more examples to back up what I was writing, but not wanting to spoil anyone's fun of reading the book, I shied away from going into too much detail. However, no doubt, I have strayed into that territory. It's hard not to. So, forgive me if I let too much out of the bag. I tried to avoid doing so.
Harry and his friends are growing up. No longer children, they are teetering on the edge of adolescence and beyond that, the scary world of adulthood. As such, the difficulties that they face are becoming much more serious and dangerous. Jealousy and differences of opinions now threaten friendships, which once seemed so solid. Our heroes behave almost uncharacteristically at times. At certain points in the book, I found myself not thinking very highly of Harry nor Ron, Ron especially. I also found myself sympathizing with Hermione, in that your best guy friends won't recognize the fact that you are an attractive young woman, and not just a date of last resort to turn to when all the other girls have refused them.
The tone of the book has become darker also. A newspaper reporter twists and spins half-truths, eroding the reputations of several upstanding characters. A high ranking figure, who has, up to this point, seemed the model of reliability and trustworthiness, fails to take urgently needed action when he doesn't like the truth of what he has been told. Slavery and fair employee treatment issues are explored, as is racism. A young person dies, as do several older characters. And Harry's nemesis is playing for keeps this time. No longer a wraith with little power, Voldemort regains a physical body through a gruesome ceremony and becomes once more a force to be reckoned with. I am guessing that this new Voldemort will dominate the plots of the final three books more so than his wraith did in the first three.
We also learn a great deal more about the backgrounds of the various characters. For example, why Voldemort couldn't kill Harry as a baby, what happened to Neville Longbottoms' parents, and why Hagrid is so big. Rowling also gives us a broader vision of the havoc and terror that accompanied Voldemort's last rampage through both the magic and muggle worlds. The recollection of the trials of the Death Eaters (followers and supporters of Voldemort) calls to mind the Nuremberg trials after WWII. The witchhunt trials (like those headed by both McCarthy and religious groups) may also be recalled from the character that turns from Death Eater to whistleblower to save his own neck.
Quidditch fans will like the fact that the first chunk of the book is mostly about the sport. However, that is pretty much the only Quidditch in the book, the rest being dominated by another sort of competition. More magical creatures are introduced, including several species of dragon, merpeople, veela, and Blast-Ended Skrewts, courtesy of Hagrid. Ron's family plays a bigger role in this book, (we meet eldest sons Bill and Charlie) while Harry's nasty muggle family, the Dursleys are only in a mercifully few pages.
Objections parents might have with this book (besides the on-going "we want the book banned because of its use of magic" debate) is its somewhat darker overtones, as compared to the earlier books. As I said earlier, a young person does die and there are the stirrings of attraction to the opposite sex. There is also some profanity, it is very mild though. If you've been OK with letting your kids read the books up until now, I do not think this new book will be cause for much, if any, alarm. If the reader is very young (6-9? years old) either read the book yourself first to see if you think that your child will be all right with the subject matter, or read it together. That way you can answer any questions and observe if your child seems upset or disturbed by the book, not to mention the amount of togetherness time that 734 pages will give the two of you.
My one complaint about the book...That Malfoy has not yet gotten his true and richly deserved comeuppance. That's still to come, I hope.
General Juvenile / Children's Fiction - Harry Potter is back in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and this time, the magic gets out...More at Barnes and Noble
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 Inte...More at HotBookSale
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.