Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.
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.
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.
Rating: 4/5
It takes a little getting used to reading this book, because as the cover says it is a script for the play which began in London on 31 July 2015, which was incidentally "Harry's Birthday" and also launch day of the book.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child centers around not Harry, but his younger son Albus Severus Potter. Harry, is of course, a primary character - but not THE primary character. We see lots of familiar faces within the story, from Harry, Ron, Ginny and of course Hermoine to Professor McGonagall and Draco.
I have to confess that I haven't actually read the other books in the Harry Potter series, but I have seen the movies and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ties up a lot of loose ends. There are some surprising twists and turns within the story, which makes it different enough to be interesting - but lots of people and places referenced from the previous books to make it familiar.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Harry Potter or of J.K. Rowling's work.
Publisher: Little Brown UK
Publication Date: 31 July 2016
RRP: $45.00 AUD
I purchased this book for my own collection and was not required to do a review.
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