Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire| Book Review/Gush [Spoilers]

Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Author: J. K. Rowling
Publication Date: June 2, 1999
Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: Audible (Jim Dale editions)
Pages: 734
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Synopsis

You have in your hands the pivotal fourth novel in the seven part tale of Harry Potter’s training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that’s supposed to take place at the Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn’t happened in a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen year old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal – even by wizarding standards.

And in his case, different can be deadly.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review:

We’ve made it folks, we’re officially at the book where Harry Potter shifts from Middle Grade to YA and where shit gets real. Like the other reviews, thoughts may be all over the place, movie references will be prominent, and my status as an HP fan will be showing through.

Ah, this book was so much better than I remember. Baby Becky liked but didn’t love this book growing up and it was one that I didn’t reread a lot. But holy, this book was so rich and so good.

I was so amused at the beginning of the book with how Harry would fuck with the Durselys and did so to be able to attend the Quidditch world cup. Harry finally being able to stand up for himself and minimize the abuse he was facing was such a great bit to see. Though my heart broke when he had that first nightmare about the Riddle house and needed a parent, but didn’t have one and then thought of Sirus.

Also how amazing was Authur Weasley. Like let’s just take a moment to appreciate him. Harry was leaving the Dursely’s said goodbye and Aurthur made Harry stop, addressed Vernon for not responding, and actually made him say goodbye. Ah. Harry finally having adults that love and care about him is so underrated and both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

During the Quidditch World Cup, I love the nuance in Ron and Harry’s friendship when money and general fame are involved. Ron being self-conscious about not being able to afford stuff and Harry covering for him was actually handled so well. Being tight on funds growing up, I totally get how Ron was feeling, especially at the end when Harry didn’t even notice the leprechaun gold missing and Ron being understandably annoyed and uncomfortable.

I’m also so mad that the Weasleys and Malfoys sitting together was omitted. This was one of the few moments that the Weasleys were on equal footing (as far as funds were involved) and it was cut so Draco could make a cheap joke. Rubbish.

That being said, I love that the ferret punishment was included, along with such quotable lines like “He might’ve mentioned it.” To date, that’s still one of my all-time favorite moments and I don’t think it’s nearly appreciated as much as it ought to be.

Overall, I love how great of a character Moody is in this book. He was so compelling and reading this after knowing the twist allows for some amazing, shocking reveals. The made showing Barty Crouch, the break-in that was a “false alarm”, the reveal as to who put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire were are done so well. The red herrings were created and exposed perfectly and it really showed that Rowling would be able to give fans some great mystery, especially after the treasure trove of reveals in Prisoner of Azkaban.

I also really enjoyed how well Cedric’s character was done in this book. Cedric being uncomfortable with his win against Harry and that his father always brings it up, being cool and supportive of Harry during the tournament, and willing to share the glory with him makes his ultimate so much more heartbreaking than in the film. Don’t get me wrong, Amos cry “my boy” gets me every time, but it was such a sadder scene in the book when you actually get to know/like Cedric.

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

Ah, it was so so nice to get to see more of Dobby. I was so sad that he was cut from the movies. He has some seriously precious moments, including knitting socks for Harry, helping him with the second task, and looking after Winky. He just has my heart.

I also forgot how much time was given to the Twin’s joke shop in this book. I audibly laughed at the part where they talked about the explosions coming from their room being so normal, no one ever thought they were actually doing something. Like how can you not love the twins? I also loved Harry’s description of Bill. “Harry could only describe him as cool.” What makes Bill cool you ask? A ponytail, ~~leather~~ dragon hide boots, and an earring. We stan.

Despite still being the worst spectator sport, the tasks for the Triwizard Tournament also were so much cooler in the books. Blast-ended Scroots, Sphinxes, Grindylows, and Dragons are always cool, I just wish these things just got more screen time. Also, Harry and Victor bonding over flying and Quidditch made me chuckle.

I think the saddest thing to get cut from the movie though was Rita Skeeter and her little secret. The slander of her articles, almost making Molly hate Hermione, Hermione receive hate mail, and outing Hagrid, coupled with her reveal as an animagus was such a memorable part of this book. I honestly wish the movie was able to include more of this. Trying to figure out how she does it leads to great conversations with Ron about muggle tech that is just so entertaining to read about.

Final Thoughts:

This is the first of the books to take the dark turn and wow, it worked so much better than I remember. I still can’t believe how much I ended up enjoying this book and how much little moments made me smile. Rereading these books is honestly the best form of self-care I’ve done during this pandemic and I’m so excited to keep this reread up. Rediscovering favorite moments, such as Percy being called Weaselby, foreshadowing the Room of Requirements, learning the truth about the Longbottoms, and Ron finally swallowing his pride and getting Krum’s autograph reminds me why these books stuck out so much when I was growing up. Rowling has this ability to make you laugh, cry, and get so sucked into a story 700+ pages just feels like a day of light reading.