By. TAMARA HLADIK
Off the Shelf
"Harry Potter Still Has the Magic Touch"
Source
It's 14-year-old Harry Potter's fourth year
at the wizard's academy called Hogwarts. For all his budding magical powers,
though, there are many things beyond his control. For starters, his parents
were murdered when he was a year old by a rogue wizard named Voldemort. Additionally,
when he's not boarding at the school during term, Harry lives with his unpleasant
aunt and her family, who once gave him an old hanger for his birthday and who
used to make him sleep in the closet under the stairs. Topping it off, he hardly
ever gets to see the only other relative he has--his godfather, Sirius--because
Sirius is constantly on the run, having been falsely convicted of betraying
Harry's parents to the murderous Voldemort.
Our Pick: A-
But Harry does experience a great deal of happiness during a typical twelvemonth. Back at Hogwarts for his fourth year, he links up again with his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The school terms are usually filled with a studious workload: Blast-Ended Skrewts, pus-filled bubotubers, jelly-leg jinxes, and an inter-dorm competition that includes Quidditch, a sport played a-broomstick. This year, though, the regular dorm competition is suspended because for the first time in 100 years there will be a Triwizard Tournament, in which one champion from each of three prestigious schools will compete for the glory of the home institution.
Because it's rather dangerous (previous champions have sometimes died), the tournament is supposed to be closed to any student under 17. But somehow the safeguards invested in the Goblet of Fire (an inanimate, impartial judge that selects the competitors) falter. It chooses underage Harry to represent Hogwarts. This is not at all a lucky break for Harry. There have been signs that Voldemort is on the move again, and he's already tried four times to murder Harry. Harry's selection may be another attempt.
But potential loss of life is a faraway specter for the
typical teen, wizard or no. Harry's mostly concerned that his being selected
has put an irreparable rupture in his friendship with Ron. Harry also has a
crush on an older student, who of course has a thing for the most handsome,
skilled and well-liked wizard at the school, Cedric Diggory. Magic may be a
joy, but it's not making Harry's life any easier, and it may be entirely powerless
against certain foes and commonplace dangers.
A very enjoyable sequel
To dispel any worries about "sequel-itis" (in which successive installments of a franchise get suckier and suckier), it must be firmly stated that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is as good as any of the volumes that precede it. Consistency is emerging as Rowling's forté, an artful consistency of style and detail from the first book through the fourth and latest.
Favorite friends (the Weasley family, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagal, Sirius, Hagrid) and beloved enemies (Draco Malfoy, Voldemort, Wormtail) return, making an enthusiastic re-acquaintance for Potter devotees and an easy introduction for first-timers. In fact, this is one of Rowling's tremendous strengths. The freewheeling banquet that is the world of Harry Potter is excessively detailed and choreographed, but the author is a skilled host. She never bores returning readers but also never shortchanges new readers of backstory.
In any Harry Potter book the plot is more like a deliciously enticing warren of obscured passageways than an overmanicured hedge maze. Even for those who might be content to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for atmosphere and characters alone, the plot remains as an underlying structure that gets fully illuminated in the final, galloping chapters.
Although Rowling seems destined to join the gallery of immortals graced by Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis, there are some nits to pick. She has repeatedly been accused of letting a dollop of unthinking stereotypes mar her books. And while many folks, tired of what they call the "P.C. police," snarlingly disagree, this is nevertheless a truth. It certainly doesn't spoil the fun or the worthiness of any of the books, but it's there. Almost all the figures in positions of power are male, whether they are close to the storylines or just scenery. And while it might be reasonable to create a wizardly English world without a minority in sight (perhaps England is not the melting pot that America is), when minorities do pop up, they are usually nothing more than exotic names like "Cho" and "Pavrati." However, in the case of minority characters, it's possible to ascribe their flatness to Rowling's one-coat treatment of most of her tertiary characters. The further one gets from the Harry epicenter, the more cardboard the characters become.
But these are small criticisms (although it is sad to think that this series, which will help shape the minds of a generation, has so few strong and compelling female characters). Rowling has created a world not intended only for children, even if it is primarily directed at them. In this light, many critics have pointed to the book's length, asking whether it is really a children's book. This question is a red herring. The book is 700 pages long because that's how many nouns, verbs, commas and periods it takes to tell this tale. Rowling knows that children are not put off by length when the story is this good and the world this magical.
By. ANN S. BOARDMAN
Teen Ink
Source
An exciting wand fight, a magnificent ball, an exhilarating race, a battle for life and mischievous teenagers can all be found in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
This fourth book in the series continues with the famous Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, the school for wizards. Through mysterious circumstances, Harry is chosen against his wishes to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Most of the novel deals with Harry's attempts to endure the ordeal. His nemesis, Lord Voldemort, also returns, with plans to kill Harry. In addition, Harry is still trying to be a "normal" teenage wizard, with a crush on an older woman.
This book captured my full attention from the first sentence with its different vocabulary, interesting story lines and complex mysteries. There are plot twists, unusual characters, magic moments and typical school problems.
J. K. Rowling has a wonderful imagination and a great sense of humor. Readers will also be able to relate to the wizard teenager's dilemmas. The suspense and foreshadowing will keep you wanting to read more. This book has a more complex and terrifying plot than the first three, but also more violence and even a death. From the first sentence, readers are in for a great adventure that sets the stage for the fifth book.