Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a masterpiece. This is my favorite book of the series so far (I'm only on the 5th book). The way that J.K. Rowling's writing draws you in and devours you (or do you devour the book?) like a black hole amazes and inspires me. This fantasy fiction novel kept me up all night in pure anticipation and excitement until 3:00 in the morning everyday during the weekends.

This time, in his 4th year at Hogwarts, Harry finds that Hogwarts isn't the only Magic school out there. At the first of the year feast, he is told that there will be no Quidditch practice, the Wizard sport that Harry has mastered and loved his entire life at Hogwarts. To his great surprise, he finds out that they will be hosting a deadly competition called the Tri-Wizard Tournament. In this competition, three schools, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Beuaxbatons Academy of Magic, and Durmstrang Institute, compete in three tasks. In the first task, Harry has to battle the fierce Hungarian Horntail dragon and wins, despite nearly getting blown off his broom and gaining severe burns and scrapes. The second task, Harry has to survive underwater in the Great Lake for an hour to save his best friend, Ronald Weasley. Luckily, Harry's faithful friend Dobby, a house-elf who feels that he is forever in Harry's debt for saving his life in Harry's 2nd year, gives Harry gillyweed, which turns Harry's hand and feet into flippers and allows him to breathe underwater for exactly an hour. The third task, he has to go through a maze, booby trapped by some of the Professors, to find the Tri-wizard Cup, which gives the obtainer privilege to 1 thousand galleons (wizard money). But, it's not so simple that he has to just navigate the maze, he runs into monsters, puzzles, and a Sphinx with a riddle to solve.

This book was a fun, entertaining, page-turner. I competed in the Tri-Wizard Tournament with Harry Potter and had gravity reversed on me while I was reading this book. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is so well written, that you feel as though you actually go on the adventures that Harry Potter is living in the books. She describes the thoughts and feelings of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in such a way that the reader connects almost instantly. Her characters are believable even though they live in an unbelievable world. The author puts so much detail in describing Hogwarts that it seems real. However, you don't don't feel overwhelmed by the details because she uses humor and wit to make them interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old. I have to warn you, though. You cannot read this book until you read the other books in the Harry Potter series or else you wouldn't get a lot of the things Harry and his friends do and say. So, read the first three before you read this amazing book! A+