Rating: 
Summary: Worth it's wait in gold.....
Review: JK Rowling, (that Publishing Industry euphemism for Gold), has outdone herself again, just when we thought it was impossible. This book is a worthy bearer of the Harry Potter name, and tells all of us that when we ordered it in advance, we were trusting our instincts perfectly. More than that, it tells us that we were right in doing so- which is probably the most wonderful feeling in the world! It all starts when Mrs Weasley decides to call Harry for the Quidditch World Cup, held this time in Britain. Harry is off and running before you can say "Catch That Snitch". What follows is a Quidditch banquet that will delight any connosieur. There are a lot of international teams this time, and this almost turns into a carnival. However, this is dampened slightly when one finds that there will be no inter-house Quidditch matches. But, wait. Before you groan, there's some good news- Inter School matches! As anyone who's read Enid Blyton knows, these are THE big moments of any school year, and these show a rare display of Hogwarts spirit against two rival wizarding schools who've come from other places. There are, of course lots of other good parts here. I particularly loved ther new Defence-Against-The - Dark Arts- teacher, and Harry's sudden and much awaited interest in girls. It was a slight let down in parts, but I must admit that there are interesting moments when Harry tries to figure out what the upwardly mobile young wizard must do to get that cute little witch to accompany him to the Yule Ball. I'm not going to be a total spoilsport and tell you her name- you'll have to read it for yourself, of course- but trust me, it'll remind you of the first time you fell in love! So, just what is wrong with this book? Somehow, there was something that just didn;t gel. The plot is tight- Alistair MacLean would have killed to have a plot this nerve-wracking- , the writing style is rich, sweeping and wonderfully textured, and Rowling's imagination has only got better- if that could have been thought possible! But, somehow, the book seems a little disorienting. It's difficult to put my finger on it, but the most obvious reason is that this is, above all, a very DARK,very sinister, very ADULT book. Adult. There, I';ve said it. The first three Harry Potters worked beautifully because they were written for children. Us grown-ups- when we read them- were taken back to that wild, exhilirating ride that we called childhood. The previous books provided a gateway for us to just get out of this world- with all it's ups and downs, especially downs- and to go back to an Enid-Blytonesque innocence. This book, on the other hand,has a darker, more gloomy tinge, almost approaching that other epic, The Lord of the Rings. I'm not saying that Rowling has sold out and gone and written a book for adults instead of children. It's just that this book seems to have been written after the Harry-Potter-is-good-for-adults-too phase, when a lot of adults unabashedly declared themselves Potterphiles. Children too can relate to this book superbly, but bringing in topics like Death( well, you knew there'd be one- just whose, you'll have to wait and see...) and Teen Mushiness sort of spoilt what was an otherwise excellent series for me. Call me old fashioned, call me a purist, but I somehow wasn't too comfortable with the idea of these ADULT themes getting into a Harry Potter book. It isn;t as if the story is bad- I'm already waiting for Book 5- but there's a small part of me that wishes that Rowling had continued to write her "only for kids aged 8-12" Boarding School masterpieces....
Rating: 
Summary: Another magical dose of our hero
Review: J.K. Rowling has created a wonderful work of children's fantasy with her fourth entry in the Harry Potter series. In Goblet of Fire, the young magician's travails are intensified, and the plot this time is darker than in any of the previous novels: Harry is growing up. From fast-paced Quidditch games to suspenseful magic battles, Goblet of Fire is full of the tremendously detailed writing that we all have grown to expect from Rowling, and can be considered a worthy addition to the award winning series.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I thought this book was the best out of the four Harry Potter books. It had everything and everyone one could possibly want-- a quidditch match, house-elves, rivalry, lots of suspense, and of course, bickering between Ron & Hermione! It was long, but well worth the effort. :-)
Rating:
Summary: A glorious read!
Review: This is the much-anticipated book that had me waiting in lineat midnight to buy, even with my online order pending, and it wasworth every minute of the waiting and wondering (and hyper-active media coverage.) I flipped pages all weekend long, torn between making it last and ripping through it. Well, as evidenced by this review, my impatient side won out and I read it all in a weekend! I enjoyed this book immensely -- it felt like two books in one. I am so impressed with the author for not holding back and trying to squeeze two books out of this one -- the hard work put into this huge tome shows. Unlike her first three books, this one does not start on Harry's birthday. Instead, it starts out with a very dark and scary scene and the murder of a Muggle. I liked the fact that this book did not follow the same "formula" as the previous three. Yes, it's pretty dark and scary, but the suspense and surprises are things I've come to enjoy and appreciate about these books. What a great twist ending! The Quidditch World Cup is imaginative -- and as an American, I enjoyed the "international" feel to this part of the book. Rowling opens our eyes to every other part of the worlds -- both her Muggle and Wizard worlds. The mascot and souvenir descriptions are wonderful and so imaginative. You feel like you're there beside Harry, Ron, and Hermione, drinking the scene in. I was afraid the house-elf "anti-slavery" campaign would turn preachy but there was a nice touch (light-handed, really) on a potentially controversial topic. Long live SPEW! :) I also wondered if the Rita Skeeter commentary was about the over-active media but I laughed and cheered with the characters at it all. Great touches. I also enjoyed how Rowling worked in the pronunciation of Hermione's name -- Her-my-oh-nee. Hooray! I saw a BookTV Q&A session last fall so I was privvy to this info, but I loved the clever way she put it in the book. Run, don't walk, to your web browser and order this book! Hound your FedEx or postal worker until they bring it to you door! Then clear at least a few days free time (or weeks) and read read read.
Rating:
Summary: Fourth, but so far the best!
Review: I began reading the fourth Harry Potter as soon as FedEx delivered it Saturday morning, and didn't put it down until 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning...Excellent! The best Potter by far. Again, wonderfully drawn characters, exceptional descriptive writing, superb plot twists, and, despite publicity before release, surprises galore. I am a mother of three, but I have made it a practice to read the Potter books before my son, who is 11, so we can discuss them and I can answer questions. I have found that I enjoy them as much(or maybe more) than he does. I can hardly wait for number 5 to see what happens next!
Rating:
Summary: Best book in the Series.
Review: The Goblet of Fire was an excellent book, once i started icouldn't put the book down (except to eat and sleep.) After finishingthe book in two days i can't wait for book number five. And i recemend this book for anyone who can read.
Rating:
Summary: J.K. Rowling does it again!
Review: My son got the book (he was first in line) at 9 am and wasfinished by 2:30. I didn't read it quite so fast but I loved it justas much! Another terrific book! As a teacher, I appreciate anyone who can motivate kids to read. J.K. Rowling goes WAY beyond motivation.
Rating:
Summary: A great and important book
Review: The fourth book in the Harry Potter series makes good use ofits length. Just like the first three books, the story draws you inand is very suspenseful. New characters are great and the familiar characters grow and develop more and more. The world of Harry Potter seems to become darker and wider and scarier while still keeping its sense of humor and magic. But in the first three books, the evil of Voldemorte was only hinted at, and now you begin to see just how terrible it was and might become again. It leaves you wishing you had the next book already- even though the next one is probably going to be sad and darker still. But The Goblet of Fire is a fantastic book that kids can enjoy on so many different levels. It is an important read.
Rating:
Summary: As Harry grows up, so do his readers.
Review: This installment of the excellent series has more for adultsthan for the pre-teen audience that the series purports to target.Without giving away much of the plot, the themes of media abuse (some of the funniest scenes in the book), race relations, and class consciousness have matured the series along with the audience. I enjoyed the book, as I have the others, and I am sure that I will not be satisfied when Harry graduates Hogwarts. I want to see him get married, have a carreer, etc. The more serious themes also make me want to read more from Rowling beyond Harry Potter. Even with all of the hype, another great addition to the series.
Rating:
Summary: It is Wonderful!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I didn't think that the Harry Potter books could have gotten any better, but I was wrong. This is a wonderful book with all the special qualities of the earlier books. But, Harry is growing up, and this book is truly written with the mind of an older child. It is wonderful that she can change the style of writing enough to make us believe that Harry is getting older. It is a great book!
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