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ivernetroyer's review against another edition
Rowling awkwardly turns up the prose almost to the degree of being purple at certain points. The sudden romantic interest between characters is at times contrived, as is the bipolar relationship between Ron and Harry.
Nonetheless, it is still fun, well-paced, and action-packed.
Nonetheless, it is still fun, well-paced, and action-packed.
09lbrook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kjcottem's review against another edition
5.0
Most fun book ofthe series...which is good since it is also when things start to get the darkest.
isabelle_grey97's review against another edition
4.0
Actual Rating: 4.5
I'm back for Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, this year isn't as typical though as his previous ones. Or as typical as things can be at a school for wizards anyways. This year, along with the normal academic year an exciting event is taking place between Hogwarts and two other European schools of magic.
Yup two other magic schools! Cool huh! And given the title, a flaming goblet plays a role.
That flaming chalice above is what selects which single student from a school is chosen to compete in what is known as the Trizward Tournament. In the past, several people died, so this time around, there's a rule, no one under 17 (that is the legal adult in the world) can submit their name for consideration. But be warned, once you're selected, you cannot turn back, magical contract just got created.
So, what should've been a really cool year for our trio quickly turns sour as our hero, Harry somehow, has his name come out of the goblet.
As with her first three books, Rowling crafts her characters well, keeping some of what we remember from book one, such as Hermione's intelligence, Harry courage or Ron's practical know-how of the magical world, but we see them grow up as well. We see Hermione's fervent desire for social change (even if in this case, it was rather misguided). We see Harry, brave as ever, but we also glimpse how he's still just a kid. We see that Ron struggles with insecurity which was hinted at in eariler books, but it becomes more obvious here in this installment as well. But beyond her well-done characterization, is once again her world building.
For me, this book is the highlight of the series in terms of world building. Before now, the Wizarding world was limited to the Burrow, Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, but now it's expanded. It's not just a few places in Britain anymore, it's across a freaking continent.
You have Beauxbaton's in France.
And Durmstang somewhere in the North, likely Bulgaria but the headmaster Igor kind of guards the knowledge.
And, now that Harry is a little older, the book starts to show a bit of that darkness we first glimpsed in book three. In the third book, the heavy themes and events ahead were merely hinted at with the change in tone going from childish to a more middle grade feeling. In this book, we get that again, but not as a taste. We learn about how times were before Harry somehow beat Voldemort. How people would come home and find the Dark Mark-that is Voldemort's mark shot into the sky and knowing they'd find their families dead inside.
How so many people were cursed, forced under what was known as the Imperious Curse, a spell that forces the victim to do literally anything you command. Part of a trio of spells known as Unforgivable Curses. Not knowing who to trust, what was coming next or when it would end.
The raw, vivid way in which these times are recounted in the story give people a scope for just how evil Voldemort is, how powerful he was and what's to come should he regain power.
So, in summation, this book is where were really get an idea of just how complex Rowling's world is. We already had the fantastical elements in the first three books, and we get that now, but in this one, the heavy, serious themes and battles to come take center stage as
As per usual, Rowling's brilliant plotting is on full display with twists that caught me completely by surprise when I read the first time, but when I re-read again later in life, I saw that thanks to Rowling's incredible foreshadowing, that the plot twist was painfully clear. You just had to put the pieces together.
Now that's the mark of a good storyteller!
As with my previous reviews of the series, the only reason this one didn't get a full five stars is again, because the quality of these books only go up with each entry for me and for that reason, I just can't hand them all five stars.
I'm back for Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, this year isn't as typical though as his previous ones. Or as typical as things can be at a school for wizards anyways. This year, along with the normal academic year an exciting event is taking place between Hogwarts and two other European schools of magic.
Yup two other magic schools! Cool huh! And given the title, a flaming goblet plays a role.
That flaming chalice above is what selects which single student from a school is chosen to compete in what is known as the Trizward Tournament. In the past, several people died, so this time around, there's a rule, no one under 17 (that is the legal adult in the world) can submit their name for consideration. But be warned, once you're selected, you cannot turn back, magical contract just got created.
So, what should've been a really cool year for our trio quickly turns sour as our hero, Harry somehow, has his name come out of the goblet.
As with her first three books, Rowling crafts her characters well, keeping some of what we remember from book one, such as Hermione's intelligence, Harry courage or Ron's practical know-how of the magical world, but we see them grow up as well. We see Hermione's fervent desire for social change (even if in this case, it was rather misguided). We see Harry, brave as ever, but we also glimpse how he's still just a kid. We see that Ron struggles with insecurity which was hinted at in eariler books, but it becomes more obvious here in this installment as well. But beyond her well-done characterization, is once again her world building.
For me, this book is the highlight of the series in terms of world building. Before now, the Wizarding world was limited to the Burrow, Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, but now it's expanded. It's not just a few places in Britain anymore, it's across a freaking continent.
You have Beauxbaton's in France.
And Durmstang somewhere in the North, likely Bulgaria but the headmaster Igor kind of guards the knowledge.
And, now that Harry is a little older, the book starts to show a bit of that darkness we first glimpsed in book three. In the third book, the heavy themes and events ahead were merely hinted at with the change in tone going from childish to a more middle grade feeling. In this book, we get that again, but not as a taste. We learn about how times were before Harry somehow beat Voldemort. How people would come home and find the Dark Mark-that is Voldemort's mark shot into the sky and knowing they'd find their families dead inside.
How so many people were cursed, forced under what was known as the Imperious Curse, a spell that forces the victim to do literally anything you command. Part of a trio of spells known as Unforgivable Curses. Not knowing who to trust, what was coming next or when it would end.
The raw, vivid way in which these times are recounted in the story give people a scope for just how evil Voldemort is, how powerful he was and what's to come should he regain power.
So, in summation, this book is where were really get an idea of just how complex Rowling's world is. We already had the fantastical elements in the first three books, and we get that now, but in this one, the heavy, serious themes and battles to come take center stage as
Spoiler
You-Know-Who is back to life As per usual, Rowling's brilliant plotting is on full display with twists that caught me completely by surprise when I read the first time, but when I re-read again later in life, I saw that thanks to Rowling's incredible foreshadowing, that the plot twist was painfully clear. You just had to put the pieces together.
Now that's the mark of a good storyteller!
As with my previous reviews of the series, the only reason this one didn't get a full five stars is again, because the quality of these books only go up with each entry for me and for that reason, I just can't hand them all five stars.
kaperovich's review against another edition
3.5
way too long. I can’t really tell you what happened but it was cool i guess
brandyryann's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ivito's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
justine12388's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0