author: J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
published: July 31st 2016 by Arthur A. Levine Books
pages: 327
my rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.
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.
Let me just start this off by saying I was extremely nervous starting this book. There is so much about the Harry Potter universe that I don't want to get ruined and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to read it at first.
As many will probably already know this book is written as a play and I wasn't a huge fan of that. It took some time to get used to and I think the pacing was way too fast. But other than that it didn't made reading it harder and I could soon get completely get sucked back into the Harry Potter universe once again. The feeling of reading a Harry Potter book is definitely there, even though it is very different.
It did hurt a bit to see everyone grown up with jobs and adult problems. But it soon became clear that their friendship hadn't really changed at all and they're still a great team.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Draco Malfoy played a role here as well and I feel like his character gets a lot more detailed and layered. I don't think there was anything completely new about his character but I feel like he's shown from a different perspective and lots of things that weren't as clear in the original books gets a bit more attention here.
Albus, Harry Potter's son is one of the main characters of the play and in many ways he is similar to Harry. He has problems figuring out his place in the wizarding world and feels like an outsider which in many ways, Harry did too. And like Harry he is extremely loyal and goodhearted. Unfortunately he also makes some really stupid mistakes which ,again, Harry did too.
I did think that the entire conflict in the play could've easily been avoided and it's all kind of Albus fault, which is a thought I couldn't really get out of my head. It really seems like the authors where looking for a way to expand a story that had ended perfectly and that might actually be what happened.
But other than that I loved the plot, it completely horrified me at times and there where some amazing plot twists. It came way to close to destroying the peace and happy end I enjoyed so much and I was anxious to find out what would happen next.
I think you shouldn't view this as the "next Harry Potter book" but as something completely separate from the series because the format, plot and even the characters are different. By doing that I really enjoy this book without comparing it constantly.
