Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J.K. Rowling
Book Description
When the Quidditch World Cup is disrupted by Voldemort's rampaging supporters and the terrifying Dark Mark is resurrected, it is obvious to Harry that, far from failing, Voldemort is getting stronger. The ultimate symbol to the magic world of the evil Lord's return would be if the one and only survivor of his death curse, Harry Potter, could finally be beaten. So when Harry is entered for the Triwizard Tournament - a competition between three wizarding schools to find the ultimate magician - he knows that rather than win it, he just has to get through the trials alive.
Amazon.com
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , J.K. Rowling offers up equal parts danger and delight--and any number of dragons, house-elves, and death-defying challenges. Now 14, her orphan hero has only two more weeks with his Muggle relatives before returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yet one night a vision harrowing enough to make his lightning-bolt-shaped scar burn has Harry on edge and contacting his godfather-in-hiding, Sirius Black. Happily, the prospect of attending the season's premier sporting event, the Quidditch World Cup, is enough to make Harry momentarily forget that Lord Voldemort and his sinister familiars--the Death Eaters--are out for murder.
Readers, we will cast a giant invisibility cloak over any more plot and reveal only that You-Know-Who is very much after Harry and that this year there will be no Quidditch matches between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Instead, Hogwarts will vie with two other magicians' schools, the stylish Beauxbatons and the icy Durmstrang, in a Triwizard Tournament. Those chosen to compete will undergo three supreme tests. Could Harry be one of the lucky contenders?
But Quidditch buffs need not go into mourning: we get our share of this great game at the World Cup. Attempting to go incognito as Muggles, 100,000 witches and wizards converge on a "nice deserted moor." As ever, Rowling magicks up the details that make her world so vivid, and so comic. Several spectators' tents, for instance, are entirely unquotidian. One is a minipalace, complete with live peacocks; another has three floors and multiple turrets. And the sports paraphernalia on offer includes rosettes "squealing the names of the players" as well as "tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves." Needless to say, the two teams are decidedly different, down to their mascots. Bulgaria is supported by the beautiful veela, who instantly enchant everyone--including Ireland's supporters--over to their side. Until, that is, thousands of tiny cheerleaders engage in some pyrotechnics of their own: "The leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field."
Long before her fourth installment appeared, Rowling warned that it would be darker, and it's true that every exhilaration is equaled by a moment that has us fearing for Harry's life, the book's emotions running as deep as its dangers. Along the way, though, she conjures up such new characters as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, a Dark Wizard catcher who may or may not be getting paranoid in his old age, and Rita Skeeter, who beetles around Hogwarts in search of stories. (This Daily Prophet scoop artist has a Quick-Quotes Quill that turns even the most innocent assertion into tabloid innuendo.) And at her bedazzling close, Rowling leaves several plot strands open, awaiting book 5. This fan is ready to wager that the author herself is part veela--her pen her wand, her commitment to her world complete. (Ages 9 and older) --Kerry Fried
From Publishers Weekly
In our Best Books citation, PW wrote, "The fourth Harry Potter adventure, centering on an inter-school competition, boasts details that are as ingenious and original as ever. A spectacular climax will leave readers breathless." Ages 8-12. (July)
From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up-Harry is now 14 years old and in his fourth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where big changes are afoot. This year, instead of the usual Inter-House Quidditch Cup, a Triwizard Tournament will be held, during which three champions, one from each of three schools of wizardry (Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beaux-batons), must complete three challenging magical tasks. The competitors must be at least 17 years old, but the Goblet of Fire that determines the champions mysteriously produces Harry's name, so he becomes an unwilling fourth contestant. Meanwhile, it is obvious to the boy's allies that the evil Voldemort will use the Tournament to get at Harry. This hefty volume is brimming with all of the imagination, humor, and suspense that characterized the first books. So many characters, both new and familiar, are so busily scheming, spying, studying, worrying, fulminating, and suffering from unrequited first love that it is a wonder that Rowling can keep track, much less control, of all the plot lines. She does, though, balancing humor, malevolence, school-day tedium, and shocking revelations with the aplomb of a circus performer. The Triwizard Tournament itself is a bit of a letdown, since Harry is able, with a little help from his friends and even enemies, to perform the tasks easily. This fourth installment, with its deaths, a sinister ending, and an older and more shaken protagonist, surely marks the beginning of a very exciting and serious battle between the forces of light and dark, and Harry's fans will be right there with him.
Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
From Beliefnet
There are some Christians who view these two activities as a contradiction--who think that Hogwarts is worse than hogwash, and that the magical scenarios of J.K. Rowling's imagination are inherently un-Christian. I would counter that, instead, these books have the potential to be profoundly Christian if readers can see past the medium (magic) to the novels' deeper messages about self-sacrifice, the triumph of good over evil, and the glorious possibility of human redemption. (Beliefnet, July 2000)
From AudioFile
What's wonderful about the Harry Potter stories is the believability of the world Harry and company inhabit, imagined by J.K. Rowling and fully realized through Jim Dale's portrayal. At first, we were as awed as Harry to learn about the wonders of the magical world; now we're as comfortable with what has become familiar. Dale fosters this expectation, bringing his symphony of voices back to each book even as he's adding more. There's an epic game of Quidditch, brought brilliantly into play as Dale narrates spectators and announcer alike, but overall, this is a darker adventure. As the Tri-Wizard Tournament unfolds, innocence gives way to knowledge and experience, trust is betrayed, and there's as much horror as hilarity. (Some gruesome events near the conclusion might be frightening for younger listeners.) Harry's growing up, and, with this installment, he's firmly on course to his destiny. J.M.D. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award.
The New York Times Book Review , Stephen King
I'm relieved to report that Potter 4--Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire--is every bit as good as Potters 1 through 3.... The most remarkable thing about this book is that Rowling's punning, one-eyebrow-cocked sense of humor goes the distance.
Book Dimension
length: (cm)17.8 width:(cm)11.1
