Book Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
Rated by 6 members
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that brilliant plotting and pacing and
increasingly rich characterizations will keep kids enthralled
for weeks. This pop culture phenomenon will challenge even
advanced readers, stretching their imaginations to anticipate
the twists. Kids will be quite upset when a teen character
dies, and sensitive readers may have trouble with the idea of a
hand being severed and Harry's capture and torture. Since the
characters are 14, they're starting to notice the opposite sex
as well. J.K. Rowling handles this well, with age-appropriate
awkward moments asking girls to dances and getting rebuffed for
jealous outbursts. This fourth in the series keeps the positive
messages of friendship and loyalty going strong.
Families can talk about what they saw coming and what was a complete surprise. Many kids say this book is their favorite in the series -- if so, why? If not, which book wins out? Cheating is rampant among the teachers and judges involved in the Triwizard competition, but not among the competitors. Why do you think this is? Does Ron have a right to be jealous if he didn't ask Hermione to the ball? Do you stand behind Hermione and her SPEW movement or do you think it's a lost cause?
Common Sense Media Review
The question on everyone's mind: can
J.
K. Rowling, who has turned the publishing world upside
down, pull off a 734-page book for children? The answer:
yes.
This author is one of the great masters of plotting. Throughout the incredible length of this novel (the table of contents alone takes five pages!) the pace only flags once, during the Yule Ball. Otherwise this is a page-turner from beginning to end, filled with Rowling's customary plot twists and imaginative play.
Once again the story seems to go in a dozen different directions at first, with many seemingly unrelated characters and events, but hardly a word is wasted. All comes together in a heart-pounding series of climaxes that are breathtaking, brutal, and, at times, moving.
Only Hermione's House-Elf Liberation Front seems to come to nothing, but it seems likely that this is setting up a thematic element for a later book. Meanwhile, Rowling makes some powerful statements about fairness and diversity, the nature of courage, and true friendship.
Children in the 8-10 age range who loved the first three books will find this one tougher going -- not just for its length but also for the convoluted plot, quantities of untranslated British vocabulary, and some horrific and deadly scenes that may concern parents. Older readers will love the satires on politics, the media, and professional sports. And the heroes' entrances into adolescence -- tentative, funny, and very real -- will have readers squirming in sympathy.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
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