Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)

Readers, we will cast a giant invisibility cloak over any more plot and reveal only that You-Know-Who is very much after Harry and that this year there will be no Quidditch matches between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Instead, Hogwarts will vie with two other magicians' schools, the stylish Beauxbatons and the icy Durmstrang, in a Triwizard Tournament. Those chosen to compete will undergo three supreme tests. Could Harry be one of the lucky contenders?

But Quidditch buffs need not go into mourning: we get our share of this great game at the World Cup. Attempting to go incognito as Muggles, 100,000 witches and wizards converge on a "nice deserted moor." As ever, Rowling magicks up the details that make her world so vivid, and so comic. Several spectators' tents, for instance, are entirely unquotidian. One is a minipalace, complete with live peacocks; another has three floors and multiple turrets. And the sports paraphernalia on offer includes rosettes "squealing the names of the players" as well as "tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves." Needless to say, the two teams are decidedly different, down to their mascots. Bulgaria is supported by the beautiful veela, who instantly enchant everyone--including Ireland's supporters--over to their side. Until, that is, thousands of tiny cheerleaders engage in some pyrotechnics of their own: "The leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which was making a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field."

Long before her fourth installment appeared, Rowling warned that it would be darker, and it's true that every exhilaration is equaled by a moment that has us fearing for Harry's life, the book's emotions running as deep as its dangers. Along the way, though, she conjures up such new characters as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, a Dark Wizard catcher who may or may not be getting paranoid in his old age, and Rita Skeeter, who beetles around Hogwarts in search of stories. (This Daily Prophet scoop artist has a Quick-Quotes Quill that turns even the most innocent assertion into tabloid innuendo.) And at her bedazzling close, Rowling leaves several plot strands open, awaiting book 5. This fan is ready to wager that the author herself is part veela--her pen her wand, her commitment to her world complete. (Ages 9 and older) --Kerry Fried

Product Description
The fourth book in this wildly popular series finds Harry Potter back with his muggle relatives, the Dursleys, where he has just had a very disturbing "dream" involving his mortal enemy Voldemort, the sorcerer who killed his parents years earlier. When he finds his signature lightning bolt scar aching, he suspects it was more than just a dream, so he sends a letter to his godfather Sirius Black, who remains in hiding. As usual, Harry can hardly wait for the school year to begin so he can escape his mean and exceedingly nasty relations and return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Relief from the Dursleys comes two weeks early when Harry is invited to attend the Quidditch World Cup as a guest of the Weasley family. New adventures await Harry at the World Cup and back at Hogwarts, where once again he faces mortal danger from Voldemort. When Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger arrive at Hogwarts, they soon discover that surprises are in store: Quidditch matches have been canceled in lieu of a very special international tournament, they have a new Master of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hagrid has obtained some new and rather disgusting specimens for the Care of Magical Creatures class, and Harry develops a crush on fellow Hogwarts student Cho Chang.

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