​​Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Review

As promised in Monday’s blog, I’m back! Today’s review is of the latest Harry Potter “book” from J.K. Rowling. I place book in quotes just due to the format being a screenplay.  [goodreads]

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 Old friends... same adventure.
#Magic #HarryPotter #Fantasy #YA 

3 Stars
Series: Book 8: Harry Potter
Characters: Albus Potter $ Scorpius Malfoy
Setting: UK (Past/Present)

Recommendation: 
That’s an easy answer, yes, if you’re a fan of any of the Harry Potter universe, read it. There’s no way that the book would ever satisfy every one of the Harry Potter fans. You may fall in the disgruntled category, the passive affection (like me), or the fanboy to the end. Either way, it’s a worth it read.

First off, as stated above, The Cursed Child is NOT a novel. It is a two part screenplay and is written in such format. If you have trouble reading that format, or you find it jarring, this will be no different. Secondly, the story takes place eighteen years into the future and is centered around Albus, Harry’s middle child, and Scorpius, Malfoy’s only child. 

The story takes place in and out of Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and various other locations we have come to know throughout the series. Thanks to the screenplay format, we experience Albus’ first day at Hogwarts, his sorting, and the next few years in rapid succession. This lends itself to a great play, quickly moving the audience along to the meaty bits of the story and to where the action is. Unfortunately, this also means that getting to know and love Albus feels forced and given only on the terms that we loved Harry. It didn’t help that Albus’ main conflict was his growing up in the shadow of his famous father, this made the youth come off as a moody teenager and his struggle pale in comparison to his father’s previous seven books.

Scorpius and Albus are an unlikely pair and are both sweet and entertaining to read and watch grow up. They are funny, kind-hearted, fiercely loyal, and complete doofuses. The interactions between the father’s and their sons are beautiful mirrored and my main enjoyment from the story; the action and magical aspects didn’t hold a candle.