28/100: Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

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Harry Potter is back for another year of Hogwarts, and this one might be the most exciting yet. The Triwizard Tournament is coming to his school, and with it, comes students from two other magical academies. When his name is put into the Goblet of Fire, declaring him a Hogwarts Champion, alongside three other students, he quickly realizes someone has it out for him... again.

I looked forward to diving into Goblet of Fire because the movie was such a fun ride; mazes and mermaids and dragons, oh my! I was curious to see how Rowling would tell the adventurous story of Harry competing in the Tournament.
Man, this book was a CHUNK! And it's not even the longest one :) I think this was the first book where I read significant portions that were not included in the movie. I mean, I can't blame the movie writers; like I said, the book is enormous, something had to be cut.




Despite the excitement of the plot in this installment, I felt like the story really dragged in places. On the one hand, I appreciated getting a wider peek into the wizarding world, outside of Harry and Hogwarts. We got familiar with other wizarding families, traditions, and past events. On the other hand, however, sometimes I found myself reading passages and wondering, did this really need to be included?

This was also the first book where I really began to dislike Harry. Ron, Hermione, and Harry get so caught up in their own lives that they aren't paying attention to the other friends around them. Like, c'mon guys, it never occurred to you to ask Neville why he lives with his Grandmother? I think I just got weary of hearing the boys discussing Neville as if he were a complete idiot, instead of attempting to help him or make friends with him. He comes off as an annoyance to them, rather than an ally. Honestly, I could really start to see where Snape was coming from.

Another great installment; definitely not my favorite, but not bad. I gave it four stars so that's gotta mean something :) Let's see how long it takes me to read the next one, because that is the longest one in the series.

Stats:
Completed: Apr 10
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 734

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