Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne
328 pages
Genre: Fantasy - HP #8?
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Source: I bought it of course.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

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 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.

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My Review

Full Disclosure: I have been a Harry Potter fan since the beginning. This is going to be a very random/rambling review just like my thoughts. I wish you luck in trying to follow along. Sorry!

There are a whole lot of reviews of HP and the Cursed Child floating around the internet, among friends, between co-workers; and mine will just be another one in the pile, but I still want to throw my two cents out there. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child wasn't perfect. It wasn't exactly what I imagined it would be. I still bought it. I still read it. I still enjoyed it. I just wish I could see the play in real life.

I have heard a lot of people say that The Cursed Child reminded them of fan fiction, but I didn't really get that vibe. I will however say that I had a problem getting connected with everyone and such because of the format of the book, which made me think of this addition to the HP world as not quite official. With that being said, I think to me personally I am going to keep this separate than the rest of the books. It just didn't flow the same. I wanted more.

I did love reading about Albus and Scorpious though. That was an interesting friendship. I loved them! As for the original characters, you know our favorites... The Boy Who Lived and his best friends, they were not as well fleshed out and different than how I thought they were going to be. I did enjoy getting to meet them again while they are older, but how Ron was portrayed was the worst. I think I knew what they were trying to do, but it didn't quite work. Instead of coming off as a fun and dorky Dad, he came off as an idiot. Just saying.

The plot was fine. I liked parts of it and I was frustrated by other parts. I won't say more because I don't want this to to be a spoily review.

In the end, I am glad I read HP and the Cursed Child. It was still a solid read for me, even if I thought it could have been better. It wasn't really another book in the Harry Potter series but more of a semi-companion, if that makes any sense.

Did you read it? What did you think of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?

The Bookish Report

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News

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ARTICLES

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I'm not a huge fan of this one.

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