Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the novel that took this series to a whole new level. Not only is it more complicated, dramatic, and suspenseful than the first three, but it is also the foundation for the rest of the series.

Let me explain that remark. The first three novels were all about Harry Potter and his time at Hogwarts, the wizarding school. Yes, they all had a dramatic conclusion but they didn't build on each other as much as the final four do. Each ending was complete in itself. The reader was left to feel as if it the book was concluded; Goblet of Fire is left open-ended. This is a new beginning for the series; this is now a story of Lord Voldemort's return and the fight for good over evil.

There are so many important details in this novel, that I cannot possibly do justice to it in this review. The main action is centered around the Tri-Wizard Tournament that is being held at Hogwarts this year. The tournament is filled with dangerous and challenging events that the champions must face. While all this is occuring, several disturbing events are also taking place.

Harry's scar starts to hurt: a blinding pain that seems to indicate when Voldemort is near, or that he is getting stronger. Harry enters the pensieve (a magical storage device in which to store memories) and while he is in the pensieve, he revisits the trials of Lord Voldemort's supporters. The pensieve becomes an important element in the rest of the series: this device of Rowling's for flashback information is truly, dare I say it, magical. It is these tiny, but significant details in her novels that meld this world together for those of us who do not normally read fantasy novels.

In Goblet of Fire, the action never ceases - this is a book for adult readers to love and enjoy as well as child readers. The final, climatic scene at the graveyard is well written, and poignant. When this edge-of-your-seat action finally ends, the reader will feel as if they need a rest too, but this novel doesn't provide rests. We are then whisked away into the confusion with Harry as he learns some more disturbing information. While Harry is trying to make sense out of the events, the reader is also trying to make sense out of the events. Rowling effectively creates a bond between the reader and Hary; we can truly empathize with our hero.

Will Lord Voldemort rise again to power? Can Harry and the rest of the wizarding world stop him? These are the questions that linger when this novel ends. The final four novels of this series work as one integrated novel that answers these questions. In Goblet of Fire, Rowling lays the foundation for a continuous story that unfolds in her next three novels.

I highly recommend reading the Harry Potter novels, and then reading them again. Once you know how the story plays out, it is intriguing to re-read these novels and see how Rowling built upon detail after detail to ensure that the realistic element of the novels stayed intact. That seems like an oxymoron: realistic fantasy, but that is what the Harry Potter novels are. They are about a magical world, but everything is so detailed and realistic that we are allowed to suspend our disbelief in magic and just enjoy.

Keep on reading!