This is the first of the long Harry Potter books. Though the earlier ones had surprisingly dark elements, this one takes an even bigger turn. There's the scene of terrorism at the world cup, the underlying threat of the death eaters, and of course the scene at the graveyard. It was more horror-iffic than I remember. There's still a few good zingers in this one, but overall not as much levity. This one may also be the best of Jo's mystery plotting. Several of the best plot twists of the series. There were so many threads that all came together in the end in such a satisfying way. The characters really start to grow in this one too. This time the character who stuck out the most was Fleur Delacour. What a great character! She's feminine but still ends up the champion of her school AND her most precious possession is her sister, Gabrielle, and not one of the many goofy guys around her. Looking forward to revisiting the rest of the series.

This is the first of the long Harry Potter books. Though the earlier ones had surprisingly dark elements, this one takes an even bigger turn. There's the scene of terrorism at the world cup, the underlying threat of the death eaters, and of course the scene at the graveyard. It was more horror-iffic than I remember. There's still a few good zingers in this one, but overall not as much levity. This one may also be the best of Jo's mystery plotting. Several of the best plot twists of the series. There were so many threads that all came together in the end in such a satisfying way. The characters really start to grow in this one too. This time the character who stuck out the most was Fleur Delacour. What a great character! She's feminine but still ends up the champion of her school AND her most precious possession is her sister, Gabrielle, and not one of the many goofy guys around her. Looking forward to revisiting the rest of the series.