Book Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

The Triwizard Tournament is being held at Hogwarts this year, a competition that hasn't been held for a hundred years. Two other rival schools of magic will take part as Harry is forced to take part following the mysterious introduction of his name into the Goblet of Fire...

"What's comin' will come, an' we'll meet it when it does."

Oh Hagrid, you sweet cinnamon roll. He has a bit of a tough time in this one (when does he not, to be honest), but still manages to retain his dignity and come out stronger on the other side. I'm really feeling more appreciative of Hagrid on this re-read. I couldn't deal with how sad I felt when he was considering resigning from his post at Hogwarts following all the scandal after the Daily Prophet article. He got all sad and upset, and when Hagrid is upset, you bet your ass I am upset!!

Anyway, I went on a bit of a Hagrid detour there... back to the book itself. I thought my big reread of 2018 would help me finally decide upon which Harry Potter book is my favourite. Four books in and I'm already feeling conflicted between Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire! I don't think I'll ever have a definitive answer to that question - and that ain't a bad thing.

One of my favourite things about Goblet of Fire is getting to learn more about the two other Wizarding schools. I am a sucker for learning and knowledge. And the whole Triwizard Tournament in general is just so much fun! Harry's preparation and studying before teach of the tasks remind me of being in school, and given that I was one of those strange beings who enjoyed school, this is a very pleasurable reading experience.

Goblet of Fire also has Molly Weasley being extra maternal towards Harry and these scenes always pull at my heart strings. The world needs more Molly Weasley's - she just reminds me of my own mum (how lucky am I!). And then we also have all the DRAMA of the Yule Ball! In particular, Harry and Ron being rude AF - their poor dates!! This one also hurts my heart in terms of the big fall out between Harry and Ron, it just doesn't feel right when those two aren't talking. It makes me sad. Trust Hermione to be the one to bang their heads together and sort shit out.

My only minor nitpick with this one is the Quidditch World Cup. I'm sorry, but I just could not care any less. Any time Quidditch comes up I'm just skimming through, skipping ahead to more important things. Sports scenes like this are much more exciting to watch than read. Don't care!

Harry Potter really brings out every emotion possible - from laughing your head off, to smiling broadly like an idiot at really poignant parts, to crying over THAT death, to getting so fucking angry at stupid Rita Shreever!! These books have it all - they're an emotional rollercoaster. But this is when the books start to get really dark - it's a tough ride from here, folks...

5 stars.

Johann
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