Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Throne

“Do you know there is a new Harry Potter book out?”  I have been asked this countless times over the past couple of months.  I did know there was a new Harry Potter tale out, but I knew it was a play that was opening in London and the script was being published as a hardcover – not as a narrative book.  I also know that J.K. Rowling said that the Harry Potter series stopped by book seven and I felt unwilling to move on from what had been promised.  Then I kept hearing snippets of all sorts of intriguing things happening in the Harry Potter world and I could not resist anymore and ordered the book.

I first fell in love with Harry Potter in my undergraduate years at Michigan Tech in the late 1990’s.  The first two books had been published and I heard great things about them.  I received them for a Christmas present and soon found myself engrossed in the tale.  Friends would laugh to find me in cubbyholes between engineering classes reading furiously.  I preordered each of the following novels and loved the entire series.  Was I ready to see what happened to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger 19 years later?  Yes.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child starts off right where book seven ended – with Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione dropping their kids off to take the Hogwarts Express to school.  Harry’s middle son, Albus, worries that he will be sorted into Syltherin and his worst fear is realized.  He also befriends Draco Malfoy’s young son, Scorpius.  Harry and Albus struggle with their father and son relationship, especially when Harry tries to ban the friendship between Albus and Scorpius.  Albus feels adrift and decides to correct what he feels was his father’s greatest error by stealing a Time-Tuner with Scorpius and a new friend, Delphi.  They travel back to the Triwizard Tournament that was held in Book 4:  The Goblet of Fire.  Things don’t go exactly as planned and time goes amuck.  I thought of this as Back to the Future 2 after Biff goes back in time and screws up the future.  Will Albus and Scorpius be able to remain friends?  Will time go back to what it was or will dark forces be unleased?

I really enjoyed this play, and it really made me want to see it on the stage.  I hope it comes to the United States one day and/or gets turned into a fantastic movie.  It was a very engaging story.  I missed the great detail that is found in a Rowling novel and wished that she could turn this story into a full-fledged novel.  As it was a play, it was a very quick read.  This was welcome as my oldest son (10-year old Kile) started the Harry Potter series at the end of July and just finished book six today.  I realized I better get this review up as he will be reading this play before I know it!

My favorite quotes:

“Meet the once-great Harry Potter, now a stone-cold Ministry man.  I will leave you in peace, sir.  If peace is the right word for it.” – Mr. Diggory

“The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing and should therefore be treated with great caution.  Dumbledore.” – Harry Potter

“I don’t care what you did or who you saved, but you are a constant curse on my family, Harry Potter.” – Draco Malfoy

Do you enjoy reading plays?  What is the play you’ve enjoyed the most?

Are you a fan of Harry Potter?  Have you read The Cursed Child?  If so, what did you think?

Overall, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a great story.  I would have loved the detail that a novel would have contained, but the storyline was intriguing. I also loved the growth and different three dimensional view the storyline gave many of the characters, in particular, Draco Malfoy.

Book Source:  Amazon.com