Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J. K. Rowling)

This fourth volume in the Harry Potter series takes a decided turn toward a darker narrative, as Harry has to deal not only with the dangers of the Triwizard Tournament, with events that killed champions in the past, and the increasingly dire threats of the evil  wizards, but the more mundane but equally painful challenges of asking a girl to the big dance. In this story, various wizards pay the ultimate price in the war between good and evil, including one of the young wizards. I'm not convinced the elaborate plot for  Harry's life was justified, but the book is definitely worth it for its creativity and its staunch celebration of courage, loyalty, and friendship.

Nightwatch (Sergei Lukyanenko)

This contemporary vampire story, by a Russian author, is interesting but not fully engaging, perhaps because of the cultural differences. Walking among us are Others, humans who have magical powers that make them more than human. These Others take sides in an eternal battle between Light and Dark, in which the agents of the Night Watch represent Light and agents of the Day Watch represent Dark. An ancient treaty constrains their battle, but still they struggle for the souls of the humans who surround them, oblivious to their powers. In this book, which is the first of a series, a powerful new Other arises and the opposing forces struggle for his soul. I enjoyed it to a mild degree, but won't be following more books in the series.

The Tiger (John Vaillant)

This carefully researched true story about the hunt for a man-eating tiger in far-eastern Russia is engrossing and moving. Woven in with the story of what made this tiger stand out and how it was hunted is the history of Russia and particularly its far East rim, the natural history of tigers, and the complex and changing relationship between humans and tigers in the ancient forests. What was most amazing, aside from the sheer nail-biting adventure of it, was that the author managed to portray all sides in the story with even-handed empathy. Highly recommended.