Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne
Rating: 4.5/5
Ok so it’s been a hot minute since I did a book review! There’s been a lot going on around here and I haven’t had time to read many books at all… it’s terrible and I’m dying inside. BUT I’m working hard to clear my to-do list and not take on any new obligations so I can focus more on the things I love to do, like read. I have some catching up to do!!
What better place to start than with the new Harry Potter book (!!!!!!). I know it’s not really a book, it’s a play, which means it reads differently and the atmosphere and experience differs greatly from that you would get in a novel. That said, it’s still pretty great. Do I wish it was a full length novel with the same level of detail and description as the original series? Oh heck yes. But we gotta get what enjoyment we can out of it.
It’s a HP book, so of course I loved it. It was great to be transported back to Hogwarts and see all my favourite characters again (ok maybe not all, where was Luna? Neville? Hagrid??) and to be introduced to another generation of witches and wizards. I don’t want to give away any major plot points, but I thought there were some cool ideas with the time-turner and, again remember it’s a play, that they were executed as best they could in this format. I REALLY REALLY want a movie! The whole time I was reading it I was thinking “If we can’t have a new novel can they give us more movies?” and imagining all the scenes with the full effects and costuming… and me curled up in a blanket with my Gryffindor scarf watching it on repeat forever and ever… I can’t give it a full 5 stars because it was such a fast read and 99.9% dialogue, but I’ll take what I can get from Queen Rowling. MOAR PLEASE.
Fox on an Island 
I’m so looking forward to reading this – the opinions are so mixed about it! I guess that make it all the more exciting to find out what I will think of it for me 😀
It’s Harry so you gotta love it, but it definitely has a different feel. Definitely give it a go, it’s a quick read!
Yes I was disappointed Hagrid and Neville weren’t even mentioned. The play format had me craving more of a novel, but you are right. It’s Harry Potter and I’ll take what I can get! I still enjoyed it.
I am definitely craving a novel… how much more fun would it have been with real character development and all the descriptions?!
I know! And I wonder if they will dunk the play to be released or make a movie? I know they were probably trying to be creative with a play, but it excluded so many fans.
Love your review! you got me excited to wanting to read this book sooner. If this book is more dialogues then the read must be quick?
It was super quick!! I wish it took me longer, I wanted it to last haha. It’s basically the script for a play so it’s just lines with the occasional note about what the stage is transforming into. Bit weird when you are used to reading novels but you still get into the story and absorb a fairly decent sense of the characters. It would be so amazing to see the actual play!!
Thanks for letting me know! I’m prepared to read this book now hehe
Great review! I had so many mixed feelings on this book, honestly. It was such a fun, fast paced read, and I really liked Albus and Scorpius, but I feel like it would be a lot better as a play, and I wouldn’t call it the eighth book, because it just wasn’t quite up to that level.
-Amy
I agree about the mixed feelings. I really wish it was a “proper” 8th book with all the same depth of story as the others. Albus and Scorpius were great but I kept thinking how much greater it would be if we really got to know them, rather than just reading their superficial dialogue. Think we will ever get more Harry Potter books? Rowling probably wants to move on hahaha
I do too, but honestly, it’s almost better this way because it didn’t have to live up to the first books. If it had been a regular book I feel like my expectations would have been even higher and I could have been let down really easily.
Hahaha probably not! Hey, the movie’s coming out soon, right?