Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

When it was announced that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was to be released, I, like many others, was very skeptical.  Would it fail to live up to the greatness of its predecessors?  Would the fact that it was in play format make it less enjoyable?  Does the story of Harry Potter even really need to continue? 

Initially, I wasn't super-excited to find out the answers to these questions.  I didn't attend a midnight release party for the book, and I didn't even rush to read it in the first weeks it came out.  I'm fortunate enough to have grown up with the original series, and those books are quite special to me.  I was almost afraid to read Cursed Child, not wanting any of the magic from the books to be spoiled with a substandard sequel.  Even worse, as reviews began to spread around the internet, some Potter fans were clearly upset. They claimed that the play read like fanfiction, that some details didn't match up with the books, and that it didn't feel like JK Rowling wrote it. I wasn't in a rush to see if they were right.

My indecision about reading the play was decided for me when I was given Cursed Child as a gift. It sat on my shelf for a bit until I finally gave into my curiosity and read it. I should have had more faith. It was awesome. Different from the original Harry Potter novels, but still awesome.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up right at the epilogue to Deathly Hallows and focuses on Harry's son, Albus.  He struggles to live up to the task of being the son of "The Boy Who Lived," a feat made especially difficult by the fact that he isn't particularly like his famous father.  He feels like he can't measure up and these feelings of inadequacy create a sense of distance and loneliness from his family. When an opportunity to embark on a risky adventure to right a wrong from Harry's past presents itself, Albus plunges himself into a dangerous plot that threatens to undo everything Harry and his friends fought for all those years ago.

What stood out to me the most in this story was the depth of the relationships and emotions.  There is magic here, of course, but there is reality too.  This is a mature story with grownup problems that don't all revolve around wands and wizards. A son who feels like he isn't  good enough and a father that struggles to relate to him are at the heart of the conflict, and their problems feel real. I wasn't expecting such deep emotions to show up in a Harry Potter play, but there they were, taking center stage.  I was totally enthralled with the story written down - I can only imagine how engaging it must be to see this story performed. I so wish I could. 

I don't really understand the comments about fanfiction-style writing or the accusations of JK Rowling not writing this. Everything felt right to me. The characters from the original series are older, of course, but I felt like they retained their voices and personalities from the books.  The new characters were well written and interesting, especially Scorpius Malfoy, who I admit that I fell a little bit in love with. It was a treat to step into this world again, and I think Rowling's stamp is all over this.   It's not the same as getting another "real" Harry Potter book, but it didn't have to be. I appreciate that Rowling is stretching herself creatively and trying out new things in the Potter universe.

I think people put the original series on too high of a pedestal, and this made many fans overly critical of this play. Now, keep in mind, this is coming from a serious fan here. I love the original seven Harry Potter books to bits, but I can also remain open to enjoying this series in new ways and taking or leaving what I like or don't like.  Some fans have built up this world so high in their minds that absolutely nothing about this play could have ever pleased them. People wanted this story to be exactly the same as the other Potter books, and it obviously never could have been the same because it was a play.  So, many read Cursed Child with a mind to find flaws, errors, or things that didn't jive with their vision of how this world should look and sound. What these types of readers fail to realize, however, is that there really is no "should" or "right" when it comes to Harry Potter. I think it's sad that people were unable to loosen up and enjoy what was, at least in my mind, a very engaging and heartfelt story.

I'm glad that I finally decided to give Harry Potter and the Cursed Child a chance. It was fun and nostalgic to travel back to this magical world again, and I wasn't disappointed at all with the different format or older versions of the characters. I very much hope that a production of this play travels to the U.S. so I can have the chance to see it live.  For Potter fans, I feel that this is definitely worth a read.  Ignore those who were unable to enjoy it and just give it a shot.