Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by J.K. Rowling

[Odie]

This will be my 26.A book everyone is talking about. This is coming out on the 31st and I've already pre ordered. Anybody reading this book soon?

[Silvia]

I will!!! I am very excited to read it, but at the same time I am a little bit afraid to get disappointed... I really hope to enjoy it :-)

[[deleted user]]

I really want to read this one as well. I could use it for a few categories, but I haven't decided which one yet. Is there going to be any buddy read for this one?

I hope it doesn't disappoint, but I think as long as I read it with an open mind I'll be safe... :D

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Mods have talked about implementing a buddy read system but we probably won't roll that out until next year. But you could always do an informal one through this topic :)

[Sophie]

I'm really excited for this book too! I'm trying not to hive too high hopes, but I just can't ;)

[Odie]

I don't know what to expect now. I talked to the guy in the bookstore when I pre ordered and he said maybe there will be a lot complaints. it's a script not a novel. so...i'm dreading not liking it. i hated love rosie because it was all letters. i didn't even finish reading it. hope this one is good. oh well. i collect all j.k. rowling books, so if ever...anyway, will be reading this right away when i will pick this up on sunday. let me know how you guys go with it.

[Silvia]

I was a little disappointed when I found out the book was a play, but is Harry!! So I am excited to know a little bit more of his story in any format :-)

[Sophie]

I don't know why but at first I thought it was a book adapted from the play script. Maybe they're going to do that if they receive a lot of complaints about the format?

[Silvia]

I thought the same. Sophie! I think is because the first new I read about it said "New book by J.K.Rowling" :-P

[Odie]

i just finished the book and it was amazing. it took me back to the wizarding world and the characters i loved. i didn't mind that it was a script. i didn't even get a chance to think about that when i was reading it because it just naturally played in my head. there was a character that i did not expect who i came to love. as i was reading it, i kept on wishing i had somebody to read and enjoy it with. it's really good to have a person who passionately loves harry potter with you, enjoy the book and reminisce with you. i loved it. i really loved it. i hope i get the chance to watch the play.

[Anastasia]

My local book store already has this on the discount rack :s I thought it would be flying off the shelves not 40% off.

[Krysta]

I just finished this book. I used it for week 38. I thought it was great. Took me right back to the Harry Potter world.

[Aglaea]

I'm interested. How does buddy read work? I have the book checked out for 14 days (12 or 11 left now I think) and have yet to start reading.

[Rachel]

I have to say, I really enjoyed this. I knew going into it that it would be very different from the original series. I think a lot of the issues people are having with it is that it doesn't "feel" the same to them. And the truth is, it doesn't feel the same but to me it was just as strong in a different way.

Reading the script really made me interested in seeing the play. I don't think it was as strong plot-wise as the novels were, but it was really interesting to catch up with the characters in the future and find out more about their lives. Some of the scenes were hilarious!

[Jasmine]

I decided to start reading this for week 25 (main character in an interesting profession). Because, I mean, who wouldn't want to work for the Ministry of Magic, amirite?

[Anna]

Read for week 52

I preordered this and boy was I disappointed. I see most of you liked the story, but it didn't feel like it was Potter enough for me. I didn't mind the play format though, it made it go faster.

[Nicole]

Anna I agree with you. I was extremely disappointed. I knew it would be different, but it didn't feel like Harry Potter at all.

(view spoiler)[Ron was completely useless, I really don't think Harry wouldn't be a family man..I mean, all he wanted was a family. And there really wasn't much depth to the story. It almost felt like someone told a child to write a play about what would happen 19 years later: how Snape wasn't nasty anymore, how Draco acted, etc. (hide spoiler)] I'm happy that I read it, but when I think about Harry Potter, that will not be the future of the characters that I envision.

[Rachel]

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised by how many reviews (not just on this board, but almost anywhere that I check) comment about how this doesn't feel the same. It doesn't, but I don't really get why everyone was expecting it to be the same as one of JK Rowling's books when it was a different format, and had co-writers. I think a lot of the reactions to this book have to do with expectations, whether positive or negative.

[Nicole]

I knew it would be different because of the authors/format, but the character's personalities and traits didn't seem to match what they were in the books. Maybe it was just my interpretation of the books/characters. But even as a stand-alone play, I didn't really enjoy it. However, that being said, I'm sure that actually seeing the play in person would be a completely different experience. I'm sure I would like it better if I saw it acted out.

[Jody]

If it's an official part of the Harry Potter series (which it is), I expect it to have a similar feel to the rest of the series. It's absolutely possible, regardless of format or co-authors.

I won't say I was disappointed because I didn't have very high expectations. I wasn't all that interested in reading it, and I found it to be just ok. But that said, I didn't like the epilogue in Book 7, either. I would have preferred it without. I hope they just leave it alone now.

[Pam]

I gave it 3* but I wasn't crazy about it. I didn't like the play format and the story seemed silly to me. I didn't dislike it but it didn't have the same magic, to me, as the previous books.

[Jasmine]

Finished! I would have to ditto Jody. Not a huge fan, but I couldn't say I was disappointed exactly...

My review here.

[Michelle]

I thought this was an enjoyable read, but not amazing like the previous books were for me. It was missing some of the elements and complexity that I loved so much in Harry Potter books. That being said, it was nice to meet some of the characters again.

[Amanda]

I read this for the 2017 challenge: 24. A book written by at least two authors

I really enjoyed it. I knew going in that it would be very different and so wasn't expecting it to be just like the 7 novels. I thought it was a lot of fun and left satisfied with a good story. Hopefully I can see the play someday.

[MJ]

I really enjoyed it as well. I wasn't expecting it to be like the others, and had very low expectations. I would have preferred it in novel format rather than as play, but, I'll take what I can get!

[☔ Lene ☕]

What a great read!

[Dante]

When I read the book "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne I was very disappointed as I was reading it. The whole story just seemed off. It was kind of off because no one acted the way they should have, and the entire story didn't feel like a Harry Potter book. The title has Harry Potter in it, but it is nothing like an actual Harry Potter book. For example, Harry is a complete jerk to his son and does not act how you would expect am adult Harry to act. I was very surprised when Albus Potter became best friends with Scorpius Malfoy. Another detail that upset me was that Albus and Scorpius are in the Slytherin house but are good people. It is well known that people in that Hogwarts house aren't supposed to be nice and should be bad people. The entire story seemed like it was written by a fan of the Harry Potter stories. It tried to shove so many events and details into a short amount of time. While reading the story I just kept thinking to myself that this is not a Harry Potter Story. The book had many new aspects and showed things that weren't shown in the original seven stories, but I was displeased and feel like that this should not be part of the actual Harry Potter story line and it should just be a spin off.

[Astrid]

"Another detail that upset me was that Albus and Scorpius are in the Slytherin house but are good people. It is well known that people in that Hogwarts house aren't supposed to be nice and should be bad people."

In my opinion this is 100% wrong.

It's true that most dark wizards came from Slytherin, but not all from Slytherin went Dark. Correlation does not equal causation as they say ☺

The characteristics of Slytherin house are cunning, ambition and great loyalty towards their own. The characteristics are not in themselves bad, but ambition is one of the traits most easily corrupted and turned to evil.
This would explain why many in Slytherin turned to Voldemort, but it does not mean all of them are bad. If you look at Pottermore, Merlin was actually in Slytherin as well as Andromeda Tonks and Regulus Black - two key members in the resistance against Voldemort.

I was lucky enough to see the play, and I thought Albus' and Scorpius' friendship was marvellous (as well as Harry's and Draco's status as what appeared to be reluctant frenemies ☺)

[Jessica]

I think that the play was very interesting, and definitely had some issues, but it was mostly okay. I think the fact that it touched on the time-turner issues is pretty awesome, as I know a lot of people touched on the whole time turning thing to try to save lives (I've seen it in many fanfics).

I do have to disagree with the whole Slytherins being bad. Look at Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, and Regulus Black. Just because they were sorted into a house that was supposed to be "evil" doesn't mean they all were. Especially Regulus Black (underrated character in my opinion, he should have been there more!) who basically knew he was going to die, and yet he still switched the lockets just to bring down Voldemort down.

Going back to the book, I personally loved Albus and Scorpius' friendship, as it paralleled what Draco and Harry's friendship could have been had they not been separated by a bunch of bias. This was well accented by the fact that they were both outcasts of a sort, and yet still had one friend that they could count on.

Overall this book was pretty good however I'm very mad that when I'm in London the tickets are sold out. I do think that this doesn't read very well, but that's most likely because its a script, not an actual book. It was still good though!

[Sophie]

Thanks Astrid for writing exactly what I wanted to say! ;)

I really want to read this book, I really don't know how I'm able to wait that long ;)

[Barbara]

Reading this right now.

I'm loving it! :D

[Dilip]

don't expect the magic of old books, it's nothing like that.

[Corina]

I'll read this book for Week 1 in this 2017 challenge "A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016". I won't read the books in order so I actually don't know when I am going to read it precisely.:)

[Barbara]

♣ AROUND THE YEAR WITH 52 BOOKS ♣

✔ 1. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two

Well, this book is so amazing that I can't understand why so many people didn't enjoy it! I just loved it (: It made me laugh (out loud) and cry (out loud too). I think is because I could feel the magic again, dream about new possibilities, daydream with some imaginary friends one more time :P

When Draco says he was envy with the Harry-Hermione-Rony's friendship and Ginny agreed, I agreed too hahaha I was so envy when I was younger!!!! But this time, after getting older, I didn't feel jealous, but happy with their new adventure. Ok, I'm crazy, but all potterheads are! :P

I loved Harry-Scorpius' friendship. It is so pure! But I missed Hagrid in this one, I wish I could see here again...

Favorite Character: Scorpius is soooooo cute!!!

[Bryony]

I read this for week one - a book from the Goodreads choice awards. I loved the Harry Potter books so I was excited to read this and it mostly lived up to my expectations.

I thought the plot was good, it certainly captured my interest and I read quickly as I was always keen to see what would happen next. I thought the dialogue and characterisation were weaker than in the novels, but it was still an enjoyable read.

I don't read a lot of plays so I also enjoyed trying to picture how some of the scenes would actually play out on stage. I'd quite like to see the play but I've heard tickets are like gold dust so for now I'll have to settle for just having read the play.

[Melinda]

I also read this for week 1. A book from the Goodreads choice award. I enjoyed the plot, even though I thought that it was a little ridiculous. I didn't really enjoy any of the character's though. The adult characters were not how I expected them to be, particularly as parents, and I didn't like Albus and Rose as much as I thought I would. I did love Scorpius though and he was the best part of the story for me.

I would love to see how they brought this to stage. Well I was reading all the magic and everything I had no idea how you would bring it all to life and I think it would be fantastic to see it!

[Sophie]

I really liked the story (why couldn't she have written is as a novel ??!!?!), but I didn't like the play format and the caricatural dialogues and characters.

I still gave it 4 stars because I had a blast reading it and now I want to re-read the entire series ;)

I'm sooo curious to see the play, for the magic parts but also the decor, how do they change it every 2 minutes???

[Francesca]

I was not a fan of this book. I will not accept it as canon. Personally, although there were parts/things I enjoyed, I thought there were far too many plot holes and pretty much all the characters we know from the series were all out of character. Scorpius Malfoy and Draco were the only saving graces for me (and I did love Scorpius) but even they weren't enough to make me like the book any better than I did. I don't doubt that it's probably amazing to see on stage and the actors/actresses probably do a great job but it still doesn't stop the plot from being ridiculous (riddikulus, sorry couldn't resist).

I also get that it's a script/play and I wasn't expecting it to be like reading a novel but I find the argument of 'it's a play it's supposed to be watched' really irritating (not that anyone here has said it but I have seen it said by a lot of people). First of all, if that was the case then no one should ever read any Shakespeare or any other plays. If a play is that good then it can stand on its own even without seeing it performed. Secondly, Harry Potter is a worldwide phenomenon with millions of fans all over the world. The stage show is in one country (soon to be two), not only that but it is incredibly expensive and also incredibly hard for people to get tickets to (even if they do live in said country). If this really is supposed to be a canon follow up to the series, it is incredibly unfair to expect all the millions of fans to have to somehow see the show to fully get the experience.

(Sorry, for the rant!)

I wrote a full review here, if anyone's interested (I solemnly swear that I did not rant about the play for the whole review and did just stick to my views on the book itself and I didn't just completely bash it, I did include positives as well):
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Francesca]

Dante wrote: "Another detail that upset me was that Albus and Scorpius are in the Slytherin house but are good people. It is well known that people in that Hogwarts house aren't supposed to be nice and should be bad people. "

I actually agree with most of your comment but I could not disagree more with this statement. Slytherins are not all bad people. They have the highest amount of dark witches and wizards that come out of that house but they're not all bad or 'evil'. Their house traits are ambition, cunning, and loyalty to their own. These things don't make someone inherently bad it's just that they're the easiest traits to corrupt (ambition can be used in a good or a bad way). Not all Slytherins are bad, just as not all Gryffindors are good. The houses have stereotypes but that doesn't mean that those stereotypes are true. If that were the case then all Ravenclaws would be stuffy and snobby and all Hufflepuffs would be ditzy and useless and neither of these are the case at all. There are good and bad people in all the houses.

[Maple]

I read this for my 2017 Topic Discard Challenge, a play or script.

Meh. I'm over the Harry Potter fandom. After 20 years, I finally got around to the series, and made it through all of them in two years. I'm just not a die hard fan and do not get excited whenever something HP is mentioned. Plays are usually a bit more difficult to read than books, they just don't have the same flow, which may add to my feeling of blah.

3/5

[Joan]

I read this for the 2019 challenge for a book you have had for over a year #33.

I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I rated it 4 stars. I didn't think the Harry, Hermione and Ron's personalities came through like they did in the original books when they were young but it was still fun to read. I liked to read about them having kids and the time travel was a fun twist.