Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous Fantasy! But Don't Bite Me For a Few Observations
Review: The Harry Potter books have been pursuing me. Like Tom Riddle's diary (*Chamber of Secrets*), they just won't go away. Finally I peeked at *Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone* (which had been slyly lurking by my desk just waiting to be found) and I was lost. Over a thousand pages later, I had negotiated all the books, going without sleep to finish *The Goblet of Fire* -- even eating as I turned the pages (I got chili all over my shirt). These books are *good*. These books make me want to be fourteen again (what more could I possibly say?), and to go to Hogswarts. Heck, I want it all! I want an owl. I want an invisibility cloak. I want a broom. I want to marry Bill Weasley even though I'm old enough to be his mother. But most of all, like the children who read these books, I want the family romance to come true. Surely my true parents were witches and wizards -- how could it not be? And how can I get a lightning bolt scar without cheating?But I have some minor (don't send me Howlers!) quibbles with all the books. Like Hermione, I'm not pleased with the care of magical creatures, and I'm pretty darn uncomfortable with those house elves who are happy being slaves and can't handle their freedom. It's a little too much in bad taste (I'm avoiding the "r" word like crazy). Then there's the hippogriff that's going to be executed for scratching a disobedient and nasty student. We have benign garden gnomes that are swung until dizzy and then thrown a distance of fifty feet. There's an illicit trade in dragons' eggs -- though we know in book 4 that dragons are protective of those eggs. Stores sell dragon liver by the pound. Unicorns have their tail hairs put into wands (so do phoenixes) and Unicorn blood drunk by you-know-who. Mandrakes seem very human indeed, but their fate is to be chopped up into bits. Spiders are nasty. Snakes don't do well in this world. The bottom line is that the wizard world of Harry Potter treats its magical creatures the way our human world, for the most part, treats its unmagical creatures. Which is to say, not well. They appear to exist only to be used by the wizards and witches. I don't like that. But I love the book. Will it stand the test of time? I don't know. But I do know that this dark, nightmarish, funny, quirky book makes for a great read. Read it, read it more than once. But consider wearing some of those seemingly silly pins that Hermione hands out to help the house elves.
Rating:
Summary: IT ONLY KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER
Review: I thought Book 1 was good, but Book 2 was better, I thought book 3 couldn't get any better but it was better than 2, and Book 4 GOBLET OF FIRE is INCREDIBLE! You've got to read it and join the legions of us that read it in record breaking time and waiting with baited breath for Book 5. Please hurry Miss Rowling!!!I've never read anything so mesmerizing!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Is this book a bit long, or is it just me?
Review: This book shows the talents of an extremely good author, and a very imaginative plot. Actually, this would be a superb book, if it werent for the hero himself, Harry Potter. Harry is a mean, lucky, and rather snobbish character who never deserves the fame he gets. In all four books of the series, he defeats his enemy through luck or the help of some other character. He recieves presents anually, but NEVER GIVES ANYONE ANYTHING BACK! He is rich, yet won't spend a cent on his 'friends'. I say, keep up the good storytelling, great plots, and fantastic use of imagination, BUT GET A NEW CHARACTER! Sheesh! PS: Lets not make too many more 700 page books, ok? PPS: Somehow, I dont think those binaculars count. what was that he said? "I just wont get you Christmas gifts" What a JERK!
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST!
Review: THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I THINK I HAVE EVER GOTTON AS A GIFT IN MY LIFE! THE WAY THAT JIM DALE CREATES A DIFFERENT VOICE FOR EACH CHARACTER AS WELL AS A WHOLE PERSONALITY! BUY THIS AUDIO BOOK! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: This is Rowling best book yet! It starts with a bone chilling and misterious begining and it moves on to tell of the last month or so of Harry's summer (with much fun for harry and readers alike). A third of the way through the book Harry finally heads of to school where he has many adventures (including the cancelation of all Quiditch matches to make room for the Tri-Wizard Tournament.Rowling craftily leads the plot to an incredibly exciting climax that will have everyone reading it no matter what the time or place is. I really enjoyed this book and I think other will to. I wish Rowling would tell us more about McGonagle,Dumbledore, and especially Snape, as their parts in the story are so big and crucial to Harry and many others. All in all; an awesome book!
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I couldn't put the book down. Although it was MUCH longer and darker than the last three it always makes me think "How is he going to get out of this one?" The amount of detail J.K. Rowling put into this book is incredible. You can clearly picture everthing. The book does have an extremly shocking ending. Rowling does a great job of covering up the plot. There are plenty of humorous and interesting parts, so it's not all scary. Giving away even a little bit of the plot would ruin the suspenece, but I can say it's a must read book!
Rating:
Summary: J.K, You did it again
Review: J.K, I love you! This book kept me wanting more. I didn`t want to let it down it was sooo good. I read till my eyes hurt. This book is good, all through the 734 or 32, whatever pages. The end is soooo werid. I didn`t expect it at all. I can`t wait till the movie comes out. Buy the book !
Rating:
Summary: This is magic at it's best...
Review: ...and I'm not just talking about wizarding magic! I am 12 years old and in the last few years have had some bad experiences with fantasy books. All of them were totally predictable, and I ended up counting the pages until the end. When the world started raving about the Harry Potter books, I was doubtful. Surely they would turn out like all the others? Finally I gave them a go, and read the whole series from Book 1 to this one in the space of about a week. Harry, in my opinion, is one of the greatest characters ever created, and I agree with another reviewer that JK Rowling has planned these books well. Now enters the opportunty for many more books filled with the same mortal magic as the first four!
Rating:
Summary: Simply Superb
Review: The sequel to the sequel to the starter story shows strength and suspense . It sends one up sinister staircases of spectacular (though seeminly simple) storylines. ... I sincerely say that there is no substitue for it. Seriousness segues silliness, but scandal is certainly seen in the scores of events. Sieves, spies, and sinister villians are scattered to send clues to the single-minded readers. A superb sense of intimacy is sneaked into a setting one can only synthesize from imagination. Secrets and scatterbrains are reprieves from the severity of many situations. There is seldom a slow moment.
Rating:
Summary: Unsettled grown-up
Review: When my daughter took her own money, bought Goblet of Fire and read it twice in four days, I decided I needed to read these books myself. She insisted I start with number one and read through, which I did. I enjoyed the books but I found number 4, unsettling. I notice the suggested age range is 9 to 12, but I would not give this book to a child under 12 or 13. Its not the reading level that bothers me, it is the content. There is real cruelty in this book, fratricide, and the death of an admirable character essentially because he is so admirable. Also, I wonder why we read so much about James Potter and how much Harry resembles him, and Lilly Potter gets almost no credit for Harry, other than his eyes. Maybe I notice that more as a mom. Again, I like the books. And so does my 14 year old. But I would not give this book unhesitatingly to a middle schooler, unlike the first two. P.L. Travers is a better choice for that age.
| 
