Though Harry is a wizard, he also enjoys sports like any other fourteen-year old boy. Only the sports he enjoys are magical sports—the sport called quidditch, to be precise. So he is understandably elated when he gets the chance to attend the International Quidditch Cup with his best friend. But then the event is crashed by Death Eaters, the servants of the evil Lord Voldemort—not a promising start to a year that sees the first Triwizard Tournament since Voldemort died.
The Triwizard Tournament—a magical competition between the three main wizarding schools—is only open to those seventeen and older, so Harry expects to relax, focus on his studies, and enjoy the competion. But when his name is inexplicably chosen from the Goblet of Fire, Harry is bound to the tournament and must compete. This, and other sinister events at Hogwarts, lead Harry to confront the fact that Voldemort, though he has been dead for fourteen years, may be rising stronger than ever.
Harry must grow up in a hurry in this book; forced into a competition that he is technically too young for, he struggles to keep up with his more mature competitors. He must also come face-to-face with some darker issues; the slavery of the house-elf race, the cruelty of the Death Eaters, and the horrible and evil things that went on under Voldemort's reign of terror.
But he also begins to grow up in another way; he develops a crush on a girl named Cho Chang, and his friends begin to wake up to their growing attractions as well. Still, being fourteen, their dreams go no further than a first kiss and asking their crush to the ball. Though in Harry we still see traces of the little boy who ran around Hogwarts breaking rules, he begins to mature in this book, especially when he must finally confront his enemy. Darker than the previous installments, this book explores themes of pain and love, life and death, sacrifice, friendship, and courage.
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Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews here.
|
Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews
here.
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