I really don’t know where to start with this review. I mean, can I even call it a review? It is not like I can go into too much detail in fair of spoiling it for others. There is one thing I am certain of though, there was no way that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was not going to appear on Joyful Antidotes.
To quote 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”. I am going to start this review by saying that, deep down, right in the bottom of my heart, I feel like this should never have been written. When I finished the Deathly Hallows, like everyone else, I felt like a huge chapter of my life was over. However, I always said that it ended perfectly and the story should finish forever. Not to say I am not happy to get more Harry action, just that maybe this should have stayed solely a screenplay.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Cursed Child. I loved meeting some of my old friends again and finding out where they are in life. I loved meeting new characters who now also hold a place in my heart, especially Scorpious Malfoy. Nevertheless, I found much of the story rehashed. Yes, there were some new shockers to deal with but, for me, the story focused too much on the past than it should have. Of course, this helped us to understand what Albus was dealing with as the son of the Boy Who Lived but, as Draco Malfoy loves to point out, Harry was bang smack in the middle of things, -too much so, in my opinion.
I want to discuss a little about the characters but this will be a little difficult to do without spoilers. The old characters were still true to themselves, more or less: Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Draco. Yet, when they interact in specific scenes and with certain characters, they seem different. I guess what I am trying to say is that J.K. Rowling spent eight books building a unique persona for each of the characters but there are ways in which they act and things which they say in the Cursed Child which contradict our original understanding. Leave a comment below if you know what I mean.
While reading the Cursed Child, the key thing to remember is that it is a screenplay. For me, this meant that at times it was hard to connect with the characters, enough background information wasn’t given and the story progression felt rushed. I think this will be a much better story to see rather than read.
Overall, as I said, I loved Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It felt like I was coming home. Still, I want to be honest and to do so I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed. Before you read the screenplay, take heed of what J.K. Rowling said before its release: this is not another Happy Potter novel. Potterheads will love the Cursed Child no matter what, but keeping this point in mind will allow you to enjoy it more.
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