In her 4th book about Harry Potter, J. K Rowling does a fantastic job of presenting young Harry as the under age wizard trapped in a contest that he did not enter and would prefer not to participate in. Unfortunately, who ever managed to change the rules to enter him without his permission and despite his being under age, did not forget that the magical clause includes a no "backing out" clause. So, unfortunately for Harry, he is an unwilling participant in the Triwizard contest.
Even worse than the contest is the lack of Quiddich for the year. The Quiddich field is being used for some part of the Triwizard contest so it is unavailable. Harry's favorite thing about school will be missing for all of his 4th year.
Adding to the stress of being the 4th champion of 3 schools, the hatred of fellow Hogwarts students, including some of his fellow Griffindors and a few of his best mates and the year really can't get much more stressful. Hermione, Neville, and Hagrid all try to help him prepare while the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher seems overly concerned about Harry's well being which makes him much more nervous about what trials await him in the contests.
Can things get worse for Harry as he struggles to figure out the clues to the contest trials, keep up with school work, deal with being Harry Potter and try to stay out of trouble? Ummm... you have to read through the book to see what happens and get to the stunning surprise ending.
Ms. Rowling does a wonderful job as always. Her book provides a riveting story that will pull the reader in and keep them engrossed through the entire thing. Definitely worth reading repeatedly.
Age range: 9 to adult
Rowling, J. K., (2000). Harry Potter and the goblet of fire . New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
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