Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) [Paperback]

Harry begins the 4th years in dramatic fashion, a visit from the Weasley family doesn't quite go to plan, much to the dismay of the Dursley's, but this does not stop Harry from attending the Quidditch World Cup. For the first time Harry grasps the size of the wizarding world he is apart of, realising there must be many other schools all over the world to accommodate all the wizards that clearly must exist. Harry's enlightenment is short lived however, resulting in his trip being cut short, this though is forced to the back of Harry's mind as the elder male Weasley's are being delicately evasive with Harry, Ron and Hermione...

Harry returns to Hogwarts buoyed by his time at the Weasley's and just like everyone else at Hogwarts is instantly fascinated by the prospect of a replaying of an old school tournament played between the 3 greatest European Schools. Each school can only have one champion and to ensure fair play, the Goblet of Fire is used to big the entrants. Does someone have it in for Harry though?

This book really begins to highlight the strengths Harry is developing, highlighting his bravery and loyalty, whilst also showing that at times he is fallible, and when all said and done he is just a 14 year old boy...

The writing in this book is superb, the pace is spot on and although the book is lengthy you will race through it as if it was half the length. I really cannot give this book enough superlatives, the writing of JK Rowling has clearly improved and isn't as simplistic as the earlier books, maybe its because it's the middle book that this transformation has happened, or maybe it's just coincidence but whatever the reason, I am so glad it happened as this book really makes the series so far.

The reason I am writing this was to point out a lot of the little touches that turn the books from great adventure stories into classics. To begin, though, this book is great. I would not agree that it is "too long" and think the criticisms about JK Rowling moving away from her "target audience" are daft. Would these same people cristicise The Lord Of The Rings for not being for the same "target audience" as The Hobit?! Why do we have to think about classic books in terms of "target audiences"? Even The Chronicles of Narnia dealt with gradually more adult themes throughout the books, ending with the death of all the main characters!

Little things that I really enjoyed in this paticular book were...

1. The ongoing love/hate relationship between Ron and Hermione, especially Ron's phrase "Hey Hermione...you're a girl..."

2. Harry and Ron's way of talking about the magical world's equivalent of "gear" i.e the Firebolt's aerodynamic perfection-this is so like some of my best friends that I laughed out loud.

3. The cartoonish world of the Dursleys has been dismissed as "cartoonish" but hey, cartoons are fun, and these episodes of the book really are funny. ("We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git!") Without this humour, these scenes could be really quite dreary and void of hope, but we see things through Harry's eyes, and his defence against the Dursleys is to laugh at them.

4. The complex circle of relationships of Harry's parents' friends that emerges mainly in Azkaban, but develops further in this book.

5. Hermione's championing of the house-elves. I don't think it detracts from the plot. I also love the scene in which Winky becomes an alcoholic-very funny.

6. Hagrid's crush, arguement with and later friendship with Madame Malkin.

7. The whole Rita Skeeter thing-a nice satire.

8. One of my favourite scenes is when Harry goes to see Dumbledore and falls into the Pensive. Neville's background is something that most readers, like Harry and the others, would have taken for granted. Good reading.

9. The brilliant ending, of course. Can't wait to see that as a film, if it's well made. It seems silly to see the death of Cedric as a "cop-out"-if anything, the tension between Harry and Cedric over Cho throws Harry's feelings over the death into sharper relief. 10. However probably the thing that made me laugh most in the whole book was the fact that England didn't even qualify for the Quidditch World Cup but "went out to Transylvania in the first round. Bloody embarassing!".

Excellent entertainment, combined with deeper issues. Full marks.