Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter is midway through his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup. He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal - even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.

from bn.com

Nathan says 5 stars...
It's books like these that remind me why I love reading so much. Goblet of Fire may very well be my favorite Harry Potter novel: it's just that good. The Tri-Wizard tournament has been reinstated, and Hogwarts is playing host. Students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are pouring in, and suddenly, the Wizarding World seems even larger. The school is in a jovial mood, until Harry is inexplicably chosen as the fourth champion in the tournament, even though he never entered. Now Harry must deal with public dissaproval and the ardous tasks of the Tri-Wizard tournament, which obviously makes for a great plot. I do have one quibble with the book- Harry and Ron's feud stretches seemingly stretches for ages. I really hated it, but the rest of the book is perfect. Its tone, character development, and plot are genius. I also particularly enjoyed the Rita Skeeter subplot, her vicious (and vile) writing are pretty entertaining. All-in-all, another must read for J.K. Rowling.

(Note: I'm aware that these reviews are getting rather boring, but tonight I'll be posting the review for Order of the Phoenix, which should have a significant bit of snark. Stay tuned.)