Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

cursedchildby J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne
First sentence: “A busy and crowded station.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s nothing “objectionable” for all the Harry Potter fans out there, but know that 1) the format may make it challenging for some kids and 2) the book has adult sensibilities — even though the protagonists are 14-year-olds, there’s a lot about parent-child relationships. Even so, I’ll probably put it in the YA section (grades 6-8) with all the other Harry Potter books.

No spoilers, just thoughts.

  1. Like I’ve read just about everywhere: it was nice to revisit this world. I missed the world building that Rowling did with her prose. Rather, I spent the time wondering how on earth they were going to stage this thing and wishing I could see it live.
  2. I enjoyed the exploration of what being the child of a very famous person could be like. And how parents too often project their wants and desires onto their children. The tension between Harry and Albus, while not really explored too much, was interesting.
  3. The plot itself was kind of silly. It really was just a way to have yet another magical adventure in the world that Rowling created. Real life is kind of boring (don’t we all know), and it was fun to dream up another adventure for Harry and crew, but, yes, it was silly.
  4. M had a problem with the portrayal of Ron, and I agree: he’s not just there for laughs.
  5. I really enjoyed Albus’ and Scorpious’s friendship. I wish that were explored more, outside of a silly time traveling adventure.

So, final thoughts? It’d be a blast to see, it was fun to read, but there’s a large part of me that wishes Rowling would go back and do prequels instead of keeping up with Harry. A Maurader’s book? I’d totally be on board with that.

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