by Dmitri Jones

Created on: May 24, 2009

All of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books are wonderful, but Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire stands out. Although the first two books in the series are best for young readers, this fourth book in the series will offer more to adult readers. It continues the shift to darker themes for older audiences begun in The Prisoner of Azkaban, but it ups the ante by introducing Voldemort as a fully formed, living character, highlighting Harry Potter's participation in the Tri-Wizard Competition, which becomes in reality a quad-wizard competition when Harry's name is entered, and exploring the teenage angst of Harry and his best friends Ron and Hermione.

In Goblet of Fire, the students at Hogwarts prepare for their first formal ball. Most readers can empathize with Harry's difficulty talking to Cho, his first crush, as well as his failure to ask her to the ball before his friendly rival Cedric Diggory. The book also begins to reveal an obvious attraction between Ron and Hermione, which Ron initially refuses to acknowledge when Hermione goes to the ball with the Tri-Wizard champion from rival school Durmstrang.

Harry's participation in the tournament allows Rowling to introduce more creatures and spells, but more importantly, it tests Harry's friendship with Ron as Ron becomes jealous of Harry's ever growing fame. As Harry navigates the tasks of the tournament, Rowling re-enforces Harry's basic goodness as he sacrifices strategic advantage on several occasions to do the right thing.

Finally and most significantly, the story becomes darker with the death of Cedric Diggory at the hands of Wormtail and the reemergence of Voldemort. After Harry mysteriously arrives in a graveyard via a port key, Wormtail makes a potion including Harry's blood that brings Voldemort fully back to life further linking Harry to his antagonist. He sees the Death Eaters without their masks before escaping Voldemort's clutches, and it becomes clear that the contest between good and evil has truly begun.

Goblet of Fire is a turning point in the overall story leading inevitably to a final showdown between Harry and Voldemort. It best exemplifies Rowling's themes of friendship, loyalty, and choosing to do good or evil. It focuses on the complexity of relationships and shows us the face of evil. By doing so, the book becomes to dark for some young readers, but it stands as the best book in the Harry Potter series for adult readers.

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