Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne
Published July 31st 2016
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.
Never in my life would I have thought that I would rate this book anything less than 5 stars. I never thought that I wouldn’t love it and I planned on spending a month rereading it over and over. It never crossed my mind that this book would less than perfect. However, I’m torn between giving this book 2 or 3 stars.
I’m a massive Harry Potter fan. I can’t even explain how much I love the books and movies and how much they mean to me. So it physically pains me that I didn’t like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It started off amazing. I loved every single word and I even shed a few tears. However, as it went on and the plot started to develop, I started to dislike it. By the end of the book, I wished I hadn’t even read it. I didn’t mind that it was in script format. I’ve seen a few people saying that the format bothered them but I really didn’t mind at all. The plot, however, was like reading something from a group of drunk people that decided to co-write the most insane HP fanfic the world has ever seen. None of it seemed canon at all. Everything was so crazy and bizarre and so implausible.
And the characters! This book took my favorite characters and turned them into people that I couldn’t even recognize. The only one that stayed true was Ron (and he was the best part of this entire mess of a play/book). Yes, I know that this takes place 19 years after Deathly Hallows and it’s to be expected that the characters would change in 19 years. But this was more than character development. They took away most of the best qualities from the characters and turned them into unlikable strangers.
Overall, I’m heartbroken after reading this book. I was so excited about it and it was, to be completely honest, trash. I almost wish that I never read it. I cannot and will not accept any of this as canon. I don’t know how much input J.K had in this but I pray that she didn’t think up any of this insanity.
7 COMMENTS
paperjasmine
7 years agoOh gosh 😞
Such a shame that this is your response to the Cursed Child, and I’m sure perhaps many others too. I haven’t read it yet, nor do I own a copy yet, but one is on its way and I’m still looking forward to reading it, despite what you say and despite how I’ve always thought since I heard about it that there was a chance it wasn’t going to be as good as I’d hoped, that it would ruin the HP canon, that it would likely piss me off quite easily. Which sounds extremely likely based on your review. Sigh. Still, I will read it. Your comment about Ron does give some hope. He’s my favourite, so that makes me feel a little better about it all haha. Anyway. Thanks for writing this little review, hopefully I won’t wish too much that I never read it (the play) after I do. 😶
wonderfilledreads
7 years agoAnd this is exactly why I just don’t think I will ever read this book. I just had this feeling that it would ruin the magic of the original series and follow a group of people that I would feel like I didn’t even recognize or know anymore. I was hoping I would be wrong but it’s looking like I’m not. Sad days…. :(
thebookishuniverse
7 years agoI’m so sorry you didn’t like it and I’m stil debating whether I’ll read it because I’m afraid that it will ruin the picture of HP series entirely. I think that if JKR wrote it on her own as maybe a new series, it’ll way better.
Christian Bowen
7 years agoI feel like you took the words out of my mouth. I was so excited and it completely fell short and it wasn’t even nostalgic for me because it was so off base. Glad I’m not crazy! I re read the Harry Potter series like twice a year, it’s like a home away from homes. But this “8th part” fell short and I will most likely never pick it up again.
Kara Rabon
7 years agoI completely agree with you about the characters. Nothing really seemed the same in The Cursed Child. Harry Potter has always had a touch of magic to it that this play just didn’t have. To those who are worried that the book will ruin the whole series, it won’t. While I do have the desire to re-read the entire series to plunge back into the magic, nothing really ruined the wonderful novels we already have. I’m glad I’m not the only one disappointed in this much anticipated book. :)
Harry Potters twin
7 years agoIt’s a shame that you think that, I have read Harry Potter and the cursed child and I can’t agree with your thoughts. I think that it is epic and that it leaves you quite attatched to it because a certain evil character comes and wants albus and __ to embarrass _. I am sorry you think that way but I quite firmly disagree. :) 😀😀
Richard Stephens
7 years agoI’m excited to have found a review online that has so much to offer.I read through Harry Potter & The Cursed Child in something like 4 hours because I was so excited, and had waited so long, for its release. I’m not sure that I agree with your rating of 2 stars but I can absolutely see where you are coming from.
I thought that the book had some great ideas in it. The idea that a time-turner could be used to rewrite history, especially in regard to the Battle of Hogwarts, was really interesting to me. I also liked that the realities kept stacking so that Albus, Scorpius, and Delphi were all limited to when they could travel for fear of seeing/distracting themselves.
I thought that the writers, JK Rowling included, should have more thoughtfully dealt with Ron’s character and focused more time on the dynamic between Harry and Malfoy. Ron became comic relief no matter what reality we were reading about. Harry and Malfoy showed a new level of understanding one another because they were both parents- but I wanted the inspection to go deeper. I wanted to learn what really happened to Astoria. I wanted darkness and emotion to come out in a backstory that would give insight into Malfoy’s relationship with Scorpius.
I liked the way they handled middle aged Harry and how he wasn’t able to get over his glory days. Even in the original series Harry doddle on his past exploits and always focused on his scar, his feelings, and how he was being treated. He put himself before others without realizing it and often demanded attention in ways that no other characters did. He stays true to himself in this book and treats other’s thoughts as inferior to his own.
I wanted to see more development in regard to Delphi, her power, and the real way her goals unfolded. I think they should have spent more time in the eerie climax of the play and less time focusing on friendship, literally the word friendship, because that happened too often.
Nice review!
-III
http://www.amodernvillain.com/blog/2016/6/24/slytherin-gift-guide