Book Review: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J.K. Rowling

Hello!

Well, this one took me forever to get through–mainly because for a while I was just casually reading this because of its sheer size! I seriously did not think I would be able to finish it this year, but I’m here now and we have much to discuss!

WARNING: If you have not read the books yet and want to sometime in the future, there are spoilers mentioned below so I figured I’d give you a heads up beforehand!

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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 with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). 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 hundreds of 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.

taken from Goodreads.

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After reading the previous books, I knew going into this that I would be introduced to other things that were clearly missing from the film, but I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around everything! Honestly, there was one thing that annoyed me and it was like it just dragged on with certain sections. Other than that, I didn’t have much to complain about and considering it is 734 pages long, I feel like it was a success!

I always adore when Harry and Hermione go to The Burrow at the end of the summer holidays to spend time with Ron’s family. They may not have much, but you can always feel the love in that house, and with this book we get to meet Bill and Charlie! So, it was incredibly crowded and I can imagine Mrs. Weasley’s mind going to explode with all of those people under one “small” roof–especially with the crazy antics of Fred and George! I think James and Lily Potter would be pleased with how much love that Molly and Arthur care for their son and obvious well-being! I do have to mention that seeing Mrs. Weasley and Bill before the third task was so sweet! I totally cried during this scene because for one, you’re not expecting it to happen and if Harry ever thought he didn’t have supporters outside of Hogwarts in the games, he definitely knew at that moment.

We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.

Another element that isn’t mentioned in the films very much is we get to know more about house elves. What are house elves you ask? Well, they are these strange looking characters that work for the elite families in the Wizardry world. In the second book, “The Chamber of Secrets” we meet Dobby, who has the awful job for caring for the Malfoys. Dobby explained to Harry that elves are not allowed to leave unless they are given a piece of clothing, if their master gives them clothes, they are freed. Well, Harry freed Dobby by masking one of his socks as being from Mr. Malfoy. We get to see Dobby again in this book, and we get to know who exactly creates the daily feasts in the Great Hall. Unfortunately, we get to meet a very caring but heartbroken elf named Winky once we head into the Quidditch World Cup, which by the way, I FINALLY get to know who wins that damn game! I’ve hold it off knowing the truth in case I ever decided to read the series and it was awesome!

Now I will say, I wasn’t a blabbering mess after Cedric’s death like I thought I would; the only thing I could understand it was because I knew it happens and yes, as heartbreaking it is for everyone in the book and the Potter fans, I cried more when Mrs. Weasley surprises Harry than anything else. I do know, there would have been no way in hell I’d be able to replay everything in my mind minutes after witnessing Lord Voldemort coming back and everything that is mentioned in that chapter to retell it all to Dumbledore and Sirius. I mean, that is a lot for a person but given Harry is what? Thirteen in this book? Nobody needs to see that but unfortunately it happens and we have to heal and move on. The only thing that got me through this book was a little voice telling me, “we get to meet Luna Lovegood in the next one!”

I am very proud of myself for being able to finish reading this book. So far, this one is the one trying to come out of its spine! There is a good chunk that is now loose but it tucked back together with its dust jacket in the bookshelf. The next seems to be in better shape but we’ll see towards the middle on how much my cousin loved it! I’m not mad at him on the condition, these are first edition hardbacks, so I’m not terribly upset about their rips and tears, as they remind me that somebody before me definitely enjoyed them multiple times and I am perfectly fine with it!

Have you read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling yet? If you have, what were your favorite parts of the story? For those who watched the film before reading the series, how did you handle the death of Cedric Diggory?

6 Halloween Movies For Teens!

Howdy!

So, this post will generated for the teenagers in your life that want to explore the mysterious and possibly a little blood for this Halloween! There is not a cartoon movie on it, and I did that for a reason. No teen wants to watch a kiddie film, but I also didn’t want to go too far because despite the whole rating of PG-13, I know some parents will not approve really violent movies either, so I’m hoping I’ve picked out a well-balanced batch of films to satisfy their ever-maturing tastes!

Beetlejuice (1988)

In my last post, I talked about the fact that I was influenced by my sister and our friends to watch several of the films I had listed, but for this, all but the last two, I fell in love while watching them with my mom. Beetlejuice being the main boss, and even now if one of us see it on our guide, we’ll record it. However, I wasn’t a real fan of the character Beetlejuice, he used to scare the living daylights out of me! As an adult, I enjoy the dark tones throughout the movie. The abstract art (I know) and how much black Lydia wore in the film, but my ultimate favorite part is when Adam and Barbara go down into the underworld, I don’t know why I’ve always liked it but I do.

This is definitely not a kid-friendly movie as I remember watching it before I was the age of seven, and as I said, I was absolutely afraid of it. There are still scenes that make me uncomfortable, but for the most part I can get through it in one piece! It’s really funny, all of the characters are different and add an comical element to every scene. So, this is a good middle ground film for teens.

The Addams Family (1991)

Here’s an interesting tale for you, I actually remember watching the old black and white Addams Family episodes on TV Land years ago! I’m pretty sure I watched them with my papaw but I could be wrong too. Anyways, the films are very beloved between my parents and I, I’m not quite sure about Blondie as her tastes have always been in the adults section compared to mine, but she could still love it I guess! I think the first is the best, even though I do think the attempted killings of the baby brother in the second movie are pretty hilarious! For me, I just enjoy the weird brotherly bond between Gomez and Finister, and you should already know what I think about Gomez and his wife Morticia. She’s one of the fiercest women ever!

The Addams Family in many forms is usually very fun to watch, because you don’t want to believe that there are people out in the world like that, but in reality there are! They are also in many forms all around the continent, but the movies that came out in the 90’s are still interesting despite being close to 30 years old now! They’re fun movies and should be respected as such I think.

Casper (1995)

I have never met a person who doesn’t love the character Casper! If I was a ghost, lonely as can be, I’d probably do the same thing he did and force somebody to bring me a friend! I think the film in general is so good, and definitely a guilty pleasure for sure! There are scenes that are real serious but the majority of it is flat out hilarious! My favorite scene is when Casper cooks Kat breakfast, and basically scares her for the second time!

I know if a teenager is reading this post and wondering why I’d put this on here, is because it does still have some ominous elements featured, such as death, performing exorcisms, and the downside to the haunting of ghosts. It’s a nice medium of in between being a pure kid movie to a young adult, mostly because for the rowdy and slightly mean uncles: Stretch, Stinky and Fatso!

Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire (2005)

I really adore the Harry Potter films, but I had to really think of one that could fit this list, and the only one that has always made me feel uncomfortable is Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire mainly because of the games and how disturbing and serious the ending was when Voldemort’s physical form was shown and of course the death of Cedric Diggory.

There is a lot of graphic violence in every movie, but I always thought this was probably the worst because it was the first time where a beloved character was killed off in the story. I feel it would be too much for a young kid to watch that scene because it is pretty intense. I’m not saying the death of both Sirius Black and Dumbledore wasn’t that bad, I mean, they clearly were to everyone, but this was different. The whole tone of this film was darker and got you ready for what was to come later in the rest of the movies.

Twilight (2008)

Twilight came out before the premiere of The Vampire Diaries so it wasn’t even on my radar until about 2011, and I finally gave in and watched it for the first time because everybody around me, family included, kept driving me crazy about who I liked the most and when I didn’t have an answer to their question, they’d freak out! However, I’d get away with it once they found out I liked TVD, so that was my saving grace at the time! Anyways, I think the first movie and the final part of Breaking Dawn are my favorites! They both have different directors, so there are scenes that I think are perfect to set the tones apart.

Despite for the outside vampires: Laurent, Victoria and James it is actually really clean. You do have to keep in mind that it is about vampires and werewolves, so you know there will be lots of blood and graphic violence involved. The first film is the ideal teenager fantasy based, especially if your teen hasn’t watched anything like this before. I don’t recommend letting them watch part one of Breaking Dawn for the sex scenes featured in the story!

Dark Shadows (2012)

I watched this for the first time ever last Halloween! I decided that I was going to watch all of the spooky movies that appeared on Freeform that year, and this was the only one that I actually liked out of the four films! I really liked all of the female actors, they all had strong roles but my favorite was Michelle Pfeitter as Elizabeth Collins Stoddurd, she was intimating as hell, but then again I’ve always said that about Michelle! She scares me. Johnny Depp’s character Barnabas was creepy, but I thought he was a funny guy too. I’ve always had a tough time watching a Johnny Depp film, especially when he dresses up in full make up and basically transform into this other being that you can barely recognize him.

This is a perfect vampire based movie for teens that I could find, because it wasn’t too bloody but it still had those scary moments that (maybe not) everybody loves to watch during this time of the year! It was entertaining and kept my attention, even through the many, many commercials. I also know that the network probably took out the gory scenes, maybe that’s the reason why I enjoyed it so much! If you’re worried about that too, it might be better to have your teen watch it on that channel too.

I am not going to lie, but I am happy to be done with this section! It was pretty difficult to come up with films that I’ve watched more than once and that could be counted for teenagers! I was always afraid of paranormal things growing up and I can barely get through Ghost Adventures in one piece as an adult, so you can just imagine how I was years ago! Before I finish this, I want to add a couple of spooky television shows that your teen might like to watch if they’re not into movies: The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, and Charmed. 

Do you have a favorite on the list above? How were you watching more mature scary movies or TV shows like these as a teen? Can you name any more that could fit the criteria?