Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

[Purple Empress]

As a MASSIVE fan of the Harry Potter series and anything to do with the wizarding world, really, I must say I really enjoyed this book. I finished it within 2.5 hours. I woke up at 5am, drove to my nearest bookstore, waited until the store opened, purchased it at 6am, was home by 7am after speaking to other fans and immediately started reading.
And it was worth it.
I agree with it feeling a little bit like fanfiction, simply because of the script format. I was a little bit disappointed that certain characters were not in it, but I feel like there was a reason for that. Read it and find out.
I've heard some people say that they could have lived without ever reading it, because it sort of disrupted their view of the characters, I don't know...
For me, I liked the story, I liked the characters and I would give quite a number of things to see the performance of it.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[psychopathycathy]

I loved the Cursed Child, but I do have to say that I loved it only because it was Harry Potter.
Speaking realistically, I'm afraid that I have to say that it could never own up to the original series, and it does feel more like a fanfiction than canon. I also feel like I didn't connect to the characters as much, but I am cutting the book a little slack because it's a script, not an actual novel, and therefore we lack the descriptions and narrations that usually add so much character and depth. I do want to watch the actual play one day, and hopefully I'll have a more positive opinion for that.

[melclarkk27]

The Cursed Child was a very different experience than the Harry Potter series, for obvious format reasons, the length, and the writing style. I still loved it though! It wasn't the same as reading the real series, it didn't have deep details and hundreds and hundreds of pages, but it made me remember what it felt like to read a Harry Potter book for the first time. Following the story of Harry's son, Albus, this book will either delight you or disappoint you as a potterhead. It delighted me

[Dr AlienTech]

I feel that reading this book was like a journey, where everyone can read your mind. I would read one page, and in it, there would be so man parts where the characters didn't listen to me and did a stupid thing, but made the story better. I'd hope Harry wouldn't argue with Albus, but he did anyways, and even though it was a stupid mistake a villain would make, it still kept the story at a good hight.
It was also good at hinting unexpected things without you noticing, like when you'd find out about Delphini being on Voldemort's side. I think that it did it's job best, it's job being to entertain you, and leave you a bigger Harry Potter fan. It is a great read, and JK Rowling, John Tiffany, and other people who worked on it did a fantastic job.

[YAbooklover]

I am a huge fan of Harry Potter. I have read all the books and seen all the movies so when I heard that JK Rowling was releasing a new book, I was ecstatic. Of course, I read it as soon as I had it in my hands. Sadly, I was disappointed. The story was entertaining but I wish it had more depth. Its been so long since the last HP book that I thought Rowling would have more to offer.

[MerryLove]

This play was published July 31st, 2016. (Harry's birthday!)


Whether you enjoy this book all depends on your expectations going into it. If you try to think of this as an 8th book to the Harry Potter series, you will be sorely disappointed. It is not at all like the books. I did, however, still enjoy it as a Harry Potter fan.

Harry's son Albus and Draco's son Scorpius both start Hogwarts the same year, and become fast friends. This play is really about them, with plenty of fan service to old characters thrown in. You will hear plenty from Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and Draco too.

Important to note is that this "book" is really a play script, intended to be performed as a play. You are not going to find rich description like you would in a book, or scenes that would be impossible or very difficult to enact on stage in front of an audience.

Is this a greatly written story? No, but it is fun to relive some new experiences with some old characters. This story is also written as more of an older children's book. It has more of a feel similar to the 1st and 2nd Harry Potter books than, say, the 5th and 6th ones. While the original books grew in maturity with their audience, this is more of a "go back to your roots" story than a continuation into new adult or adult fiction.

Because this is a play, the character development is very different. Characters were not very well developed, and I only found myself caring about characters because I knew so much about them from the previous series. This really felt like a fan service story rather than a fully developed one. I don't think that someone unfamiliar with Harry Potter would enjoy reading or seeing this play. I don't think they could get invested in the characters.

While in many places the script tries to make you feel a sense of dread or worry, it fails horribly at it. Other times it tries to feed off of corny humor, and that works some of the time. The ending was satisfying enough. It didn't leave feeling unfinished, but there wasn't a lot of suspense or unrest on the way there.

Rating

I give this book a 2.5 out of 5. If you're a Harry Potter fan and would like to read a little fan service, it's worth the one time read. I look forward to seeing the play someday too. If you're not, I'd steer clear. You likely won't enjoy it.

[smhawkins]

I have to say I'm with the unpopular opinion. I'm a fan!

Off the bat - we know it's written in a script format. Yes, this means it reads differently. It also means it was written differently. Intended audience is huge. As a reader, we also know it's NOT the eighth Harry Potter book. It's not a part of the series. That was made clear from the beginning. To top it all of quite nicely, we also know that two authors accompany J.K. Rowling in writing this book.

If you begin reading the Cursed Child expecting anything else, of course you're going to be disappointed, but I don't think this is supposed to be held to the same standard as the 7-book series.

I really enjoyed it. Admittedly, there were portions that did seem to read as fan-fiction, or seem a little far-fetched. However, there were parts of the Harry Potter series I thought to be a little ridiculous when I read them as a kid. I loved the dream scenes or scenes that would take us back to moments from the series and it was easy to tell when Rowling's pen hit the paper, as opposed to the other two authors.

There were also certain moments I wondered if they were really "in character" for the characters in the book. However, I don't think Rowling would have let this go public if she felt that way. After all, this is her creation. Her world.

Overall, I'd say it's worth the read if you take it for what it is.

[sophieee]

Haven't got the book yet, but can't wait till I do!!

[Constant Reader]

I was so excited to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling! I started reading it first thing in the morning, and by dinner time, I was finished. I was worried that the screenplay format would be difficult to follow, but I really enjoyed it. There were a few things that I didn't like, or didn't think were plausible, but for the most part, I really enjoyed it. It made me feel really nostalgic for the original series, but I loved getting to know the original characters as adults, and getting to know a few of their children.

I thought the storyline was wonderful, and really stretched my imagination. I had several friends that were skeptical of the book, but when I finished it, I called them and insisted they pick up a copy! My only real complaint is that I wish it was a longer story! I miss my friends Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.

[Lauren M]

I have mixed feeling about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

I was good, I really enjoyed the story and the twists. It was nice to catch up with 'old friends' and see how they had grown in the years since Deathly Hallows.

That being said, It was great, mindblowing or amazing. I didn't mind the screenplay set up much. I just wish there was more. I wanted to go deeper into the Cursed Child world, where as I felt I only skimmed the surface of it.

I wouldn't mind seeing the play if it ever comes to the US.

[Genaaa]

I haven't gotten around to reading this because I haven't had time to purchase it yet but I definitely will be as soon as possible. Growing up I loved Harry Potter more than words could describe; it was genuinely the first time I really started to love reading and books. Words can't even begin to express how excited I am to know that this book is out and that pretty soon I'll be able to be back in that world, so to speak.

[kjm2009]

The excitement is great! Waiting to get my hands on this book and actually opening it was monumental. I had intentionally ignored all reviews wanting to wait and see for myself. And then I opened it up to the first page and saw that it was in playwright was a letdown. I loved the story and knowing what happened to my favorite characters but the playwright text was disappointing. There were so many details that could have been painted into my mindseye that I felt that there were big gaps missing. I think the story could have been written better.

[Rachel1019]

I agree with most people’s comments on this new book by J.K. Rowling. I agree that this was a very different experience than reading the original series. I selfishly was hoping for a book the size and depth of the original Harry Potter series. I realize that this is a play, and is not meant to be the start of another 7 book series, but I still hope that there is the chance for a new series. Even if this was a slight disappointment from my high hopes, I hope that Rowling continues writing more about the wizarding world. I did love the story of this play though. I liked the characters and the plot line, and I would probably read it again or recommend it to a friend.

[authorireneholmes]

I have been reading harry potter and curse child. Very interesting just like the other harry potter series. One book hard to stop reading. Ounce I start to read Harry potter and the curse child it's hard to stop reading it. It's so fun to read just to find out what's going to happen next. I can't wsit to watch it on film.

[alyssamorgan-8]

I LOVED IT. I think that this one may be getting some bad reviews because readers were not expecting it to be written like a play. It took some getting used too, but once I got into the rhythm of it I found it to be an easy read; I finished it in about 48 hours.