Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I love Goblet of Fire, probably because it's darker and a bit more mature. I love that the books grow up with Harry, and this one is where that growth really becomes evident. This book is another one with a major twist that Rowling planned beautifully. You never would have guessed it while reading the book, but the revelation doesn't leave you thinking, "Wait, what? How does that add up?" There is so much depth to this novel, and the way it is framed by the Triwizard Tournament is brilliant.

The Good: The Weasleys' arrival at Privet Drive ending with Uncle Vernon throwing china knick-knacks at Arthur; meeting Bill and Charlie; the Quidditch World Cup; "I like a nice breeze 'round my privates, thanks"; learning about the Unforgivable Curses; meeting the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; Harry beating the Hungarian Horntail and Ron talking to him again; Harry's nervousness about asking someone to the Yule Ball; Dumbledore's complete faith in Harry; "You fail to recognize that it is not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!"; "What's comin' will come, an' we'll meet it when it does"; Harry giving Fred and George his Triwizard winnings.

The Bad: Harry's name coming out of the goblet; Ron's silence toward Harry (I always have to read the 92 pages where Ron isn't talking to Harry in one sitting because I hate it so much); Rita Skeeter and all of her ridiculous articles; Harry's incredibly stressful near failure at the second task; Cornelius Fudge's refusal to believe that Voldemort has returned.

The Ugly: Everything that happens after Harry touches the Triwizard Cup: Cedric's death; Voldemort's temporary body; bone of the father, flesh of the servant, blood of the foe; the duel—Voldemort is a grown man who is torturing a fourteen-year-old boy—how sick and twisted is that?; Voldemort in general—I know he's not real, but he's still one of the scariest and most brutal villains I have seen—it's quite brilliant how Rowling manages to make him feel believable even though his complete lack of conscience is so extreme.