Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Rowling, Tiffany, and Thorne

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Author: JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne
Year Published: 2016

Genre: YA/Adult fiction (fantasy)--screenplay

Pages: 319

Rating: 5 out of 5

Location (my 2016 Google Reading map): UK

FTC Disclosure: I bought this book with my own money

Summary (from the back of the book): It was always difficult being Harry Potter, and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Based on an original new story by JK Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne. It is the eighth Harry Potter story and the first to be officially presented on stage.

Review: Another installment in the Harry Potter series! I was giddy with excitement when I heard about it, knowing I would rush out to buy it and read it right away. Then I stopped and thought, "what if it isn't as good? What if I don't like it? What if it goes places I don't want it to go?" Whenever we love a series, an author, or certain characters, we run the risk of being let down. Did the sequel disappoint, feeling like it was made just to capitalize on the money train? Not in this case.

I do think JK Rowling had more "Harry" in her. She had so thoroughly thought out every detail of the original series and been so steeped in the characters for so long between the books and movies, that it must have difficult to let them go. So it isn't a surprise that she had one more story in her about all things Harry, Hermione, Ron and Hogwarts. And I am totally in.

To read new lines in the same voices was really fun and it made me realize how different each character's voice really is. I am sure the fact that I've seen the movies many times contributed to this as I had images and sounds in my head that played along while I read this play. And it is a play, not a novel, but that was easy to adjust to.

I liked the storyline that gives us alternate endings and toys with the idea of what happens if you go back in time and change one event. What is the impact of that change? I also liked that we see the adult side of the characters, especially Draco. We see them dealing with their own choices, demons, and family histories. The authors made them into adults.