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Summary: Amen, Barb Schultz -- BUYERS BEWARE !
Review: BUYERS BEWARE ! THIS BOOK CONTAINS UNNECESSARY PROFANITY! I agree with Barb Schultz's review. Children's books should NOT contain profanity. I'm surprised so very few readers have made any comments on this issue.
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Summary: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is very insperational!
Review: This book is written very well it has many twists and turns in the plot, and it has a supring end.
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Summary: Why You Should Try Harry if You Dislike the Fantasy Genre
Review: Holy dementors!...what can I add to about 3,000 reviews? Well, let me try a different approach, pitching this review to those of you avoiding "Goblet of Fire" (as well as the series) because you don't care much for the fantasy genre, let alone the kind that works so many kids into a frenzy. I never cared much for fantasy myself. It was always difficult to work up interest in works that created umpteen different little characters, with varying powers and talents, scattered across lands that are only clearly imagined in the author's head. Maps,appendices, glossaries -- who needs all that! But then comes this wonderful, insanely imaginative writer named J.K. Rowling. Oh J.K., what have you done to me? Turned me into a reader of books that kids are wild about! But more importantly... how? Well, here's what I suspect: Rowling, unlike many other fantasy authors, has been clever enough to capture a sense of BALANCE between her fantasy world and the real world that we all share. Hogwart's, for all it's magical passageways, ghosts, and other quirks, IS in many ways similar to the real schools and colleges that we have attended. The magic and witchcraft professors share many odd and charming traits that you DO see in their real-life counterparts (and as an academic, I can assure you, there really ARE Lockharts, Dumbledores, Trelawneys, and Snapes out there!). Every kid has in one way or another seen home as a sort of "prison" at times, and longed for some degree of power over situations. The magic of Harry Potter is the magic of our own human aspirations. And it is put forth in a world that, while fantastical, has enough similarity to our own that we can feel very much more a part of it. I know, I know, the Potter books have become a huge mass-market success... but Rowling is a major literary talent even in spite of all that hoopla. Moreover, she was clever enough to anticipate the paranoia of some readers over books about wizards and witches, and gently but deservedly parodies them in the form of certain "muggles." So if you think fantasy is not for you, please give Harry Potter a try... these books really DO live up to all the hype they've been receiving. And thanks J.K., for showing a world of readers that magic does exist in every nook and cranny of our lives!
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Summary: I Could Be Shot For Saying This....
Review: This has to be within my recent memory the most overhyped and overrated piece of fiction, juvenile or otherwise. I recall the evening of its first day, and being in a Brooklyn coffee shop and seeing single adults enraptured in a manner comparable to when "GWTW" first appeared in 1936. Back then, Scarlett was an unknown quantity, whereas Harry is now a pop icon. However I am sorry to say the hoopla attendant to his fourth appearance is not justified. The story is overwritten, taking a good hundred or more pages to really get going, it needs judicious editing, and while dark and grim in spots, Rowling is never as daring as we had all anticipated she would be. When death does occur, as indeed it does, the impact is less than I might have imagined. The first three Potters got to the point and told their stories. They held one spellbound, like serial cliffhangers, always wanting more. Book number four gives too much of a good thing, missing the mark maintained by the others. It is amazing to me how the average child will have the patience to wade through a tome larger than what the average adult reads. Will I read number5? Of course. With characters having seeped into our consciousness, there is no way Pottermania can be stopped. Too bad that number four, claimed to be the "turning point" in the series, delivers less than what seemed to be promised.
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Summary: The best so far....
Review: I recieved the lastest installment of Harry Potter 2 days ago for my 26th birthday. Needless to say I found it a compeling read as I have now finished it. I truly expected this one to be the Empire Strikes back of the Harry Potter books, and I was not disappointed. I am also very pleased that so much of it was kept secret and that I managed to avoid any spoilers until after I was done. I do think however, that due to the darkness of the book that 10 years old is about the youngest age that should read it. I found myself a little bit on edge once I was done reading it. Basically, this is a wonderful book and the descriptions go beyond fantastic. I can't wait until the next book comes out.
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Summary: The best yet!
Review: I read all four Harry Potter books during the course of a holiday in the US. I loved them from the moment I opened Book 2 (the airport bookshop didn't have Book 1), but this is the best yet! Incidentally, any scornful Malfoy-type who says Harry Potter is just for kids and sad adults who need to grow up (I haven't actually heard anyone say that) can go eat their words, because I am 17 and I think they are a considerable improvement on sliced bread. In this fourth book, JK Rowling continues to deal with increasingly adult themes as her characters grow older. These include the much-trumpeted death (I won't say whose) and typical secondary school boy/girl action, which might put off some younger readers (under-tens maybe). Older readers, however, will sympathise with Harry and Ron's frustrations as they try to find dates for the Yule Ball (I agree, Harry, giggling definitely should be made illegal!). As for the actual plot, this is elegantly crafted as in the previous three books and there are more shocks and scares than ever in the final chapters. Once again, the wealth of little details about the wizarding world helps to make it all seem real. I have only one complaint to make, which is that I will now have to wait nearly a year for Book 5! How will I survive with no new wizarding adventures for so long(unless the movie comes out before then, which seems unlikely)? Maybe I'll just have to try crashing a trolley into the ticket barrier between platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross....
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Summary: Almost as good as the others
Review: I am unfortunately a little bit dissapointed by the 4th book. I am completely terrified by the thought, Ms. Rowlins would gradually lose her devine inspiration, as this book is not really up to her usual standards...There are some mismatches that I couldn't accept, such as, in the Beginning of The School Year feast, when, after the dishes had been cleaned, Moody appears and samples a sausage. And what about his wooden leg? wouldn't you expect such a talented wizard to fix himself a better sollution? And there's more. I have anyway, a problem with Moody, as I feel his character is very stereotypic- as he is described just as your ordinary decent retired pirate. OK- so his eye's magical instead of patched, so what. Anyway, petty as I may sound, as a real junky, my heart bits very fast, I sweat and breath heavily, as I can't wait for the next one to come! Hope it will be as thick as this one! And hope Lupin's back. I really miss him!
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Summary: ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS
Review: At first, when I heard about the great deal over the Harry Potter books I wondered what the big deal was, then I read the book.... It actually takes you into the stories yourself where you share yourself with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, EVERYONE! You cry at the sad parts, you laugh at the funny ones, you get anxious and can't stop reading! I actually try to make it last as long as I can because when it's done, it's done (though I've read them over and over again) and then all the adventure and magic is gone and you're back to the stupid muggle world again! This is the best book I have ever read. Someother of my favorites are Dr.Dolittle, which is a marvelous fantastically written fantacy novel like the Harry Potter novels; the other novel that is my favorites is Harriette the Spy which is a lot like Harry Potter because it is a fantacy, mystery, etc. all mixed together in a perfect combination! And those examples, I think, explain the way I think about the Harry Potter! Sometimes you wish that Ms.Rowling's world could be real so much that you actually get yourself thinking it actually is real, and it's a real slap-in-the-face when you step back into reality. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is my favorite one of the four, but they're all very good. I MOST DEFINITELY recommend that you read the books. You get to know the people inside the book and, I must tell you, it's like making new friends! I'm sure that Ms. Rowling surely knows that so many children look up to her, but for some reason, I have to get this out. This may seem very stupid, indeed, but she is somewhat like a hero and a great friend of mine and I thank her graciously for letting me and many others take a small step out of reality for a while! It really means a lot to me. Ms. Rowling, you are a remarkable person and I thank you not only for me, but for all the children out there who look up to you! I put my heart and soul into this last paragragh and I hope you all understand the way I feel. Thank-you.
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Summary: Harry Potter, a book like no other
Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire is a book undergoing major speculation by members of the Christian society. Many will say that it is full of antichristian views and even satanic. I read recently, in an news article I recieved from a friend of mine, that the book is sparking satanism in children and that J.K. Rowling is a satanist herself who made some pretty anti-christian comments, I for one believe that this is ludicrous, a book supporting the struggle of good over evil where good always wins is not exactly a satanic view. Also there is a quote in the fourth book where Albus Dumbledor says "curiosity is not a sin." That is not satanic, or ant-ichristian, no matter how you may try to put it. This whole ,Harry Potter is wichcraft and non christian, is stupid, but you never know. The only way to find out is to talk to the woman herself. The book itself was absolutely fantastic. I read it in two days, and it, as its predecessors left just enough room for the fifth book wich will probably be recieved even more fanatically than this one. The only thing that could be a turnoff is the death, I won't disclose the information as to who, but I will say that it makes sense. It's not as if the character could have escaped, that would have been difficult to do, and their character forbids them to act differently than he did, causing them to be put into their prediciment. I always read the book to my mom and my sister and toward the middle of the story my mom asked who the person who put Harry's name in the goblet was. I asked if she really wanted to know, and told her that she would still be suprised in the end even if I did. Wich is true, the suprise twist at the end infuriates and at first confuses but only adds to the wonderfull suspense only Rowling can weave into her wrighting. I would recomend this book to a slightly older audience than the first three but it was still fantastic.
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Summary: Long, indulgent, and VERY Harry!
Review: J.K. Rowling was very liberal with her writing in this installment of the Harry Potter series. At over 700 pages, this book is a heavyweight! HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE has a different feel than its predecessors -- a bit darker, quite a bit longer (with no detail left out), and a bit more mature. Harry is definitely getting older, and it shows in this book. In Harry Potter IV, the story gets deeper, the plot thickens, and the evil is more serious. We learn a great deal about many things in Potter's world, and we get to know some favorite characters even better. Of course, there are a few new characters, most notably the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Mad-Eye Moody, who is one of the best characters to date in this series. Readers of the first three books have no choice but to read this book, and they won't be disappointed! Rowling serves up a hungry-man portion of mystery, magic, fantasy, and fun in this hefty novel. If you still haven't read the first three books, read them right away, and then tuck into the new book! If you enjoy the readings of Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, or Madeleine L'engle, the Harry Potter series is a MUST READ.
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