“Harry Potter and The Cursed Child” Book Review

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

J.K. Rowling knew that fans of her hit series “Harry Potter” needed more. With a wildly successful series of seven books, the author decided to shift gears in 2016 and write a playscript. As a result, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is the playscript for the original west end production that was performed on stage. The story is set twenty years after the final installment of the book series, “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.”

When the play begins, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley are married and have a child, Albus Severus Potter. However, Albus isn’t like his famous Dad. He struggles with simple spells, doesn’t fit in at Hogwarts and is even sorted into the Slytherin house. With an evil darkness rising among the halls of Hogwarts, the next generation of witches and wizards will need to learn quickly in order to save the world from a disastrous fate.

As a huge fan of Harry Potter, I picked up this book and expected a continuation of the series. The playscript delivers a large dose of nostalgia and returns the reader to the Hogwarts universe. It was lovely to read the text and see the same beloved characters come to life.

The play focuses mostly on young Albus and his friend Scorpious, who happens to be the son of Draco Malfoy. This relationship echoed that of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in the first series. I enjoyed the different take on friendship as the two young characters display more duality than their predecessors and deal with different challenges.

The play was a quick read but did take some getting used to as it is written in a different format than a typical book. Overall, it was enjoyable but it does not rival the original set of books written by J.K. Rowling. However, I enjoyed the play for what it was and it was nice to take a short stroll down memory lane with some of my favorite literary characters of all time.

Recommendations: Pick up this playscript if you loved the original Harry Potter series, but don’t expect too much in terms of world building or character development.