Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Part 2
I seem to like Harry more this time around than I did as a younger reader. When I was younger, I for some reason thought Harry was kind of dumb and helpless, always lucking out in bad situations. But here, he was completely alone in the graveyard with Voldemort. He was alone in the maze, even with Moody-Crouch blasting obstacles out of his way. He also learned a lot of spells to prepare for the third task, which he then used effectively, which I can respect. And, Expelliarmus isn’t the only spell he knows. : ) I also felt that, somewhere between the moment he warns Cedric about the Acromantula headed his way and him letting Cedric take the Triwizard Cup, Harry really grew up and pretty much became a man. This was sealed in the graveyard, where he went through some true suffering and had the courage to face Voldemort, and death itself. Up to this point, Harry's dialogue had been filled with lots of "Ers" and awkward pauses, very teenager-type speech. I don't see any after that, but I'll have to keep my eye out in the next book for them.
We also see some changes in other characters, or perhaps more accurately the way in which Harry perceives these characters. In GoF we first hear about Dumbledore as being old in an almost detrimental way, in a way that implies weakness or at least fragility. He first starts to realize that Dumbledore isn’t a superman, although he’s still seen as surprisingly powerful and strong “for one so old and thin”. Snape too becomes less one-dimensional, although this is only at the tail end of the book. Even though it's proved in SS that Snape isn't the "bad guy", it's only in GoF that Harry stops seeing his world as so black-and-white, and he's clever enough to wonder if the mysterious mission Dumbledore sent him on, that gives them both looks of apprehension, is that he went to make contact with the Death Eaters to take up his old spy position. Although, I'm really confused why it wasn't such a big deal that Snape was a convicted Death Eater in the first place. I would have thought that Harry would have had a major reaction to that in the Pensieve, but mabye Sirius' explanation had prepared him for that? Speaking of Sirius, he was quite wise and knowledgeable in this installment, going into the history of the last war and the Death Eaters. Ron's comment is sweetly appropriate, that Sirius really cares about Harry to be eating rats and living in a cave in order to be close to him.
I LOVED the fact that FINALLY there was magic in this book! Spells, spells everywhere, spells to advance the plot, spells just for fun, spells in Hogwarts, spells at home, spells that became important later and spells that I think were only mentioned once or twice and never again in the series (perhaps "Point Me"). Although the book felt a bit draggy, there were some random moments I liked. I for some reason got really happy reading about the trio in the kitchens with all the house elves waiting on them, giving them tea and cookies, and them being delighted at Ron's "nice service!" comment. I loved all the Weasley stuff, and Molly and Bill visiting Harry at Hogwarts and being shown around after many years away. I am kind of confused that "OH NO SIRIUS BLACK" was totally ignored this book. The idea of the Dementor coming down and sucking out BC Jr's soul sounds terrifying, and McGonagall's anger at Fudge is palpable...she's so feisty. Overall, I enjoyed the book (of course, it's a Harry Potter book), but I would have liked even more a more condensed version.
We also see some changes in other characters, or perhaps more accurately the way in which Harry perceives these characters. In GoF we first hear about Dumbledore as being old in an almost detrimental way, in a way that implies weakness or at least fragility. He first starts to realize that Dumbledore isn’t a superman, although he’s still seen as surprisingly powerful and strong “for one so old and thin”. Snape too becomes less one-dimensional, although this is only at the tail end of the book. Even though it's proved in SS that Snape isn't the "bad guy", it's only in GoF that Harry stops seeing his world as so black-and-white, and he's clever enough to wonder if the mysterious mission Dumbledore sent him on, that gives them both looks of apprehension, is that he went to make contact with the Death Eaters to take up his old spy position. Although, I'm really confused why it wasn't such a big deal that Snape was a convicted Death Eater in the first place. I would have thought that Harry would have had a major reaction to that in the Pensieve, but mabye Sirius' explanation had prepared him for that? Speaking of Sirius, he was quite wise and knowledgeable in this installment, going into the history of the last war and the Death Eaters. Ron's comment is sweetly appropriate, that Sirius really cares about Harry to be eating rats and living in a cave in order to be close to him.
I LOVED the fact that FINALLY there was magic in this book! Spells, spells everywhere, spells to advance the plot, spells just for fun, spells in Hogwarts, spells at home, spells that became important later and spells that I think were only mentioned once or twice and never again in the series (perhaps "Point Me"). Although the book felt a bit draggy, there were some random moments I liked. I for some reason got really happy reading about the trio in the kitchens with all the house elves waiting on them, giving them tea and cookies, and them being delighted at Ron's "nice service!" comment. I loved all the Weasley stuff, and Molly and Bill visiting Harry at Hogwarts and being shown around after many years away. I am kind of confused that "OH NO SIRIUS BLACK" was totally ignored this book. The idea of the Dementor coming down and sucking out BC Jr's soul sounds terrifying, and McGonagall's anger at Fudge is palpable...she's so feisty. Overall, I enjoyed the book (of course, it's a Harry Potter book), but I would have liked even more a more condensed version.