The fourth installment in the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is a classic read. Full of suspense and action, the book details Harry’s adventures in the Triwizard Tournament, a competition at Hogwarts between the host school and two other wizarding institutions, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. During the tournament, Harry faces dragons, mermaids, and a huge maze with the goal of becoming champion and winning the Triwizard Cup. He competes against three other students, one from Hogwarts, one from Beauxbatons, and one from Durmstrang. With plenty on his mind, including his crush Cho Chang, Harry tries to gain a competitive edge in the tournament while maintaining friendships with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

The Triwizard Tournament is divided into three tasks, each with an objective the participant must complete in order to advance. The first task is to retrieve a golden egg from a dragon’s den while avoiding being burned to a crisp. The second task for the participants is to free one of their friends from the depths of a lake, where their companions are tethered to algae and guarded by mermaids. The third and final task is to find and grab the Triwizard Cup by navigating through an enchanted maze. Whoever finds the Cup first is declared champion. When both participants from Hogwarts find the Cup at the same time, they become co-champions by mutual agreement. Everything goes awry when the Cup is not what it seems to be and a certain noseless dark wizard is reborn…

Anyone who has read this book will probably agree it is a masterpiece, like many of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. If a reader has above par prediction skills, the end of the novel can easily be foreseen three-fourths of the way through the story. The sole fact that there are two participants from Hogwarts (Harry and Cedric) gives rise to suspicion, considering only one participant is allowed from each school. The Triwizard Tournament is only open to students who are seventeen years of age and older, making Harry, a fourteen year old, ineligible. More ambiguities are left unanswered when Professor Moody is continuously seen drinking a mysterious liquid out of his flask. “Goblet of Fire” is a superb novel that combines elements of horror, mystery, romance, and action into one tale of unrivaled excellence. “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is my favorite book in the Harry Potter series, and I highly recommend everyone to jump into the magical world of Harry Potter and discover the mysteries of Hogwarts.
Coming soon: A review of the latest book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two.