Tuesday Reviews: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child- Parts 1 and 2 (Harry Potter #8) by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child- Parts 1 and 2 (Harry Potter #8)

Author: J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books

Release Date: July 31, 2016

Format Read: Hardback

Rating: Four Stars

Description from Goodreads: 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.

Many of you know that I, like so many others, cannot get enough of Harry Potter. What you may not know is that I actually haven't read the books. I read DEATHLY HALLOWS, because I didn't want to wait a year to find out what happened in part two of the movie, but other than that, I was already reading YA when the movies made the franchise big enough to get the books introduced to me. I had wanted to read them, but as I already knew much of the stories from the films, I felt like there was so much more as I could read-- stories that I'd never read before-- and I didn't want to take the time to read the Harry Potter books at that point in my life. 

Fast forward to now. Last year, I asked for the Harry Potter books for Christmas. I ended up with every single one of them, as well as FANTASTIC BEASTS, etc. It is now my plan to take a month out of the upcoming semester (probably November) and binge the series. You can expect my reviews for that month to be solely Harry Potter. #SorryNotSorry.

But I made the decision to read CURSED CHILD, even having not read the first seven books. I may have missed a few references or things like that, but I definitely think it was a great decision on my part. Reading the script was great for me, as my favorite parts of a book are the dialogue. My own manuscripts are always dialogue-led, and so the script form really worked for me.

One of the things I loved most about this book were the roles and appearances of the characters we've grown to love. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Professor McGonagall, and even Dumbledore show up in CURSED CHILD-- some more often than others, but they're there. There's also another cameo that gave me all sorts of feels, but I think I'll let you discover that one for yourself.

And then there are our new characters: Albus, Scorpius, and Rose. Scorpius was definitely my favorite of the three. I loved him in every single scene, and also loved getting to see so much of Draco as well. 

Plot wise, CURSE CHILD bothered me a bit. The plot revolves around a time turner, and I really just don't like stories that mess with time. It seems very obvious to me how things are going to turn out, I mean, the butterfly affect is real you guys. Changing things in the past will always change things in the future, even if it's only a small action. So that really messed with me. 

And then there's the characters. I always felt a bit like the adult characters, the Golden Trio and such, were so... odd. They felt really distant for me, and I couldn't figure out why until I watched JesseTheReader's review of the book, where he talked about how the characters felt off to him, and the only reason he could think of is that there's a 19 year gap in the story. Things have happened to our beloved characters that we weren't there to witness, and life certainly does change people. So I felt a bit better after watching that because at least someone else felt the same way as I did. And I actually agreed with every single thing Jesse said about THE CURSED CHILD. We had identical opinions on this one.

All in all, I give THE CURSED CHILD four stars. I liked it, and I'm super glad I decided to go ahead and read it, because now I'm doubly psyched to start the actual series. As soon as I have a slow month, I'm tackling it, and I cannot wait. If you've read the HP books, or you've even just seen the movies, you should definitely read CURSED CHILD. While it may not be exactly your thing, coming into it with an open mind and getting to experience the (quick) journey with ALbus and Scorpius is the best decision.

What houses are you guys in? #Ravenclaw

Happily,

Stephanie