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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

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Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Author: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Scholastic

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 734

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: HP

How I Got It: Own it!

This one is a reread for me.  It's been awhile since I read the series.  I remember reading the first couple of books out loud to the boys when they were infants.  SO that's what eight years ago?  I read the last few books as they came out, but overall it's been awhile.

Instead of doing a traditional review, I thought I would just give you some of my reread thoughts.  Things I noticed, things I loved, quotes I like, etc.  And then I will have a mini review of movie vs. book.

Book fun:

Favorite scene:

  • Ron and Hermione's row at the Yuletide Ball.  I love that we get to see their love blossoming this early in the series.  They're so cute.
  • Harry-Hermione-Krum love triangle nonsense.  The hate mail in the lunch room was beautiful.  Hee hee.
  • Amazing Dumbledore speech at the end of the movie.  So moving!

Favorite character(s):

  • Definitely Fred and George.  I just adore those two.  They pop up from time to time and always say the right thing.  I love their' backstage antics and wild dreams.  I really wish we could have gotten more from them.  As a side note, I also really enjoyed Bill and Charlie in this novel.
  • And as little as she's actually in it, Rita Skeeter makes an excellent villainous figure.    I love that Hermione traps her as a beetle at the end.  Hee hee!

Favorite expressions: Loads of Ron's "blimeys"

Other odds and ends:

  • Forgot how much time we spend with the Dursleys at the end of the summer.  They are so icky.
  • And how much we get to see of the Quidditch World Cup.  I really love those scenes.
  • The explanation of the Dark Mark's appearance at the World Cup makes much more sense than in the movie.
  • I felt like we already knew Hagrid was half-giant, but guess I was wrong...

Favorite quotes: 

  • "Why do they have to move in packs?" -- Harry in reference to having to ask a girl to the Yuletide Ball.  Love the uncomfortable match making.  (pg. 388)
  • "Aren't you two ever going to read Hogwarts, A History?" (Hermione) "What's the point?" said Ron, "You know it by heart, we can just ask you." -- Hee hee.  I love Ron's little comebacks.

Movie fun

My favorite scenes:

  • All three tasks, especially the lake task.  I love the visuals on all three tasks.  They really put me on the edge of my seat every time I watch.
  • Final showdown with Lord Voldemort.  It was amazing to see Voldemort in the flesh.
  • All the scenes with David Tennant as Barty Crouch Jr.  I just love David Tennant.

Things I wished to see, but didn't:

  • Nifflers, blast-ended skrewts, unicorns, and all the crazy magical creatures Hagrid takes a fancy to.  They're so real in the book, I really wanted to see them in the movie.
  • Sirius.  He has a couple of great scenes in the book that just don't make it into the movie.  Boo!
  • The stunning of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle on the return tain.  Man, I really wish I could have seen that.

Other odds and ends:

  • They really cleaned up Krum and Karkaroff for the movie.  I liked them much more in movie than the book.  Hmm.  Interesting...
  • While slightly interesting, I am glad they didn't include the House Elf Liberation Front in the movie.  It gets a bit tedious towards the end of the book.
  • Miranda Richardson is delightfully evil as Rita Skeeter
  • Trivia from IMDB: In the first draft of the script, a subplot featuring the Weasley twins and Ludo Bagman, the head of the Ministry's sports department, was featured prominently. In fact, it was reported that Martin Landham was cast as Bagman. In the subsequent drafts, the subplot was dropped, and the character of Ludo Bagman makes no credited appearance in the movie. -- wish they had kept it

Harry Potter:

  1. The Sorcerer's Stone
  2. The Chamber of Secrets
  3. The Prisoner of Azkaban
  4. The Goblet of Fire
  5. The Order of the Phoenix
  6. The Half Blood Prince
  7. The Deathly Hallows
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