Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by J.K Rowling discussion (FEBRUARY)

[Hollie]

This is where we share our thoughts and feelings about this months book.

[Dana]

Can’t wait to start this book!!

[Hollie]

I know you have been looking forward to this one Dana! Lol x

[Dana]

I really have been, I am starting this tonight!

[Dana]

So I'm a little over half way through this book at this point. And I just have to admit that this time around it doesn't have the same spark for me that it always had in the past. I don't know if it's me or the book to be honest. I am actually very much looking forward to the next book in the series, it could just be that as I've gotten older the later books which are a bit darker pull me in more. I still very much like this book and the story totally has me pulled in. I just wanted to share this, as it's been weighing on me a little bit because this has always been my favorite but this time reading it it isn't feeling like that anymore. It'll be interesting once we read all of them to see which one feels like a favorite to me this year.

[Dana]

I finished the book over the weekend. I am still having mixed feeling about the book, because honestly I love it so much but I just think it's no longer my favorite. I will say (view spoiler)[ I am entirely amazed and still knowing what and how things are going to happen I found myself being surprised that Moody wasn't himself this entire time. It is so well written and never has me guessing. I remember the first time ever reading this, I was 100% in belief that Snape was the spy that Voldemort had back at the castle. I also have to say I hate Rita Skeeter, so much, when reading these books I never thought it was possible to hate a character, I just hated how she was a liar and sneaky. However then I met Umbridge in the 5th book and honestly I have yet to find a character that I hate more than her (maybe Joffrey from GOT but they might be equal to me) anyways, getting side tracked, there were so many parts of this book that I forgot about and poor Winky just has a piece of my heart. I totally want her to be like Dobby but now that I am older I can better understand how it's not a forced thing its just literally how she's wired that serving a family is her life dream. (hide spoiler)] I don't think there will ever be a time in my life when I don't enjoy these books. I love how each time I go back and read them I see them in a new way.

[Kendra]

Finally have a chance to sit down and write my thoughts on this one!

Dana, you and I must be on the same wavelength because I've had a lot of the same reactions this time around as you did. It's so interesting how every time I read these books I come away with a different experience!

I've also had mixed feelings, but in the opposite way: The Goblet of Fire has always just been middling for me, but this time I realized just how much world-building she puts into it and really fell in love with that. There was also a lot I had forgotten (or forgotten context/that it happened in this book), and it was fun to read those parts with fresh eyes.

(view spoiler)[ I 100% agree with what you said about Mad Eye Moody, Dana...one of my first thoughts during this read was what a phenomenal actor Barty Crouch Jr. was. There's NO way I would have ever guessed it was anyone but Mad Eye...even though looking back it really is the thing that makes everything else in the mystery fit into place. I don't think I fully appreciated just how good of a twist ending she achieved until this time reading. Since I knew the twist, I loved picking up on all the little clues she drops too.

Another part that was different for me this time was Cedric's character. Although his death was always sad of course, I still thought of him a bit as a throwaway character and treated his death as shocking but sort of forgettable compared to everything else. I think now that I'm older though, throughout the book I kept picking up on what a truly kind hearted and unassuming person he was, and was actually devastated knowing he would die--to the point where now I find his tragedy on par with later ones in the series. In addition to appreciating him more, I could also really see the potential for him and Harry to become close friends. I think having these feelings made Harry's effort to get his body back to Hogwarts way more meaningful for me too.

It's true--Rita is a totally nasty piece of work and is still just a warm up for Umbridge, arguably the worst person in literature. Rowling is so good at progression in this series because everything in the previous books gets you a little bit more ready for the next...even the villains! (hide spoiler)]

I can't believe we're already over halfway through the series now! Now we're getting into the ones I've re-read less (because I re-read all the previous ones every time a new one came out, meaning the early ones got re-read a lot). Based on how fresh this one felt, I'm really excited to see all the new things I'll take away from the next ones. :)

[Hollie]

Finished!!! Ok I am going to write a first post about my thoughts and feelings regarding this book, then I am going to read your posts and see if our views relate...I LOVED this book! It is interesting because I often find that I don't always like books with lots of characters as I get confused, but for some reason it is not bothering me in this series. I am really enjoying getting to know each character as they are introduced, maybe because they are not just ordinary people like in a lot of books. They all have such interesting qualities such as Madame Maxime being a half giant, or Mad-Eye Moody having half a wooden leg and a magical eye that doesn't miss a trick! (view spoiler)[ In this book I must say that I really noticed the change of genre from young readers (about age 7-10) to young adults (about 11-15). Not only did I notice a lot more romance but also a much more higher level of macabre, for example earlier on in the series, we met Moaning Murtle, who's death seemed to be seen as almost comical the fact that she died in the girls toilets and liked to chill out in the you bend of the toilet of the cubicle she died in. Then we had Cedric Diggory's heart-breaking very serious and tragic death, very different! (hide spoiler)] As I have said before though I am really enjoying how the books are getting darker.

[Hollie]

Dana wrote: "So I'm a little over half way through this book at this point. And I just have to admit that this time around it doesn't have the same spark for me that it always had in the past. I don't know if i..."

Totally agree that J.K Rowling is the absolute best at throwing surprises into her plots! And yes Rita Skeeter is so so awful! I don't know who's character I found more annoying her or Gilderoy Lockheart as both are just so unlikeable! In "Order of the Phoenix" where I am right now Harry Ron and Hermione are literally just about to arrive at their first lesson of "Defence of the dark arts" with Umbridge and I feel like I have forgotten but am about to be reminded how truly vile she is.....im excited! lol