Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Review

As my Harry Potter Rereading Marathon continues, I have just finished reading the third book on my list and the fourth of the series. Here are my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Synopsis:

As Harry enters his fourth year at Hogwarts, he is surprised to find out that the Triwizard Tournament – a tournament where three schools are competing to establish a champion – is said to be hosted at Hogwarts. But when the other schools arrive, Harry’s name has been put into the Goblet of Fire, the magical object that decides the contestants. Not being old enough to enter and with no idea who would want to frame him, Harry is being forced to compete against three older and far more experienced candidates, when all the while mysterious things are happening at Hogwarts…

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publication Date: September 22nd 2002

Pages: 734

Rating: 5/5 stars

My thoughts:

I am very happy to say that this turned out to be my favorite book to reread so far! While the other books were obviously also not short on brilliant stories, this one had a different atmosphere to it and that was a very pleasant surprise!

The atmosphere was dominated by the Triwizard Tournament being hosted at school which made the story faster and more intriguing. I loved to learn some more about the other magical schools and the characters that were introduced were wonderful. Overall, the book was filled with buzzing excitement that was caused by the three tasks and that was just brilliant.

The story proved itself to be quite different from the other books and that was the aspect I especially valued. Again, I loved that the daily-life scenes were so beautifully incorporated into the big story, which is what makes this series so special and different. What I couldn’t help but notice, which is probably because it’s been so long that I originally read the book, is that the movie contains far more suspense than the written story. The tasks were far more stretched in the film and Harry had to overcome more obstacles on the first task. I didn’t mind that the tasks weren’t the main focus of the book because the suspense isn’t why I read and love Harry Potter, but it just came to my attention once more that JK Rowling might not be the best author to read when you are looking for suspense. But that didn’t bother me one bit, just to be clear, because the atmosphere and small scenes are what make the story and world stick out!

The characters were the same as ever. However, we didn’t get to see much of Cho Chang in this book – which again didn’t bother me because I don’t like her very much and NOT ship her and Harry -, but that makes me wonder why he likes her so much if he doesn’t talk to her at all. Another aspect which I really enjoyed was the Krum – Hermione – Ron constellation that added a special touch to this book and was the cause of some funny and hilarious moments. My only little critical aspect would be that I’d love to see more of the other Weasleys, so Mr&Mrs Weasley and Fred and George, who played a much larger role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – but I guess that’s arguing on a high level.

So, all in all, the book was as enjoyable as all the others and I am very excited to continue my marathon, probably with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!

Recommendable as a reread: That’s a yes!

This book is made to be read as a reread because that way you are able to suck in all the small but precious scenes that I missed the first time around!