Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

It’s the second book review on this blog, and it is about a story that belongs to one of the greatest series of all time: Harry Potter.

It was amazing, fantastic, and wonderful (just to list a few adjectives) to be back in the world of Harry Potter and run around the Hogwarts grounds and cause mischief in the Ministry of Magic.

I feel like there is so much that can be said about this addition, but first thing’s first…

The Script
The script itself is definitely something to be talked about. Roughly a year before the play came out, I had a conversation with a cousin of mine, a fellow Harry Potter fan, where I basically pleaded to the gods, aka J.K. Rowling, to release the screenplay. Let’s face it, this little Californian was not going to be flying to England to watch the play…not on a student’s budget.

As you could imagine, I was perfectly fine with the story being released in script form. While others were hoping for a typical novel’s format, I actually preferred it as a script. I’m a little bit of a purist that way. If that’s how Jo & Co intended for the story to be, that’s how I wanted to consume it, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Draco
Can we talk about Draco for a minute? ‘Cause it’s necessary. His character developed in a way that I thought was believable. The only thing that I found to be shocking was his wife. She was always described to be such a sweet person. The Malfoys haven’t really been known for their sweet dispositions…clearly Scorpius took after his mother. Though, both Scorpius and Astoria, Draco’s wife, positively rubbed off on Malfoy.

Even though Draco may appear to have taken after his father, that was mostly on the surface. Yes, he still didn’t get along with Harry and the team, but old grudges can die hard. He did, however, have a lot of love for his son, and showed it much more willingly than his father. Towards the end of the story, he had also developed a bit of a friendliness with Harry. This seems only natural given that Draco came off as a very begrudging Death Eater in the original series. Ultimately, Draco’s character development was very fitting and even refreshing.

The Dream Team
And by “Dream Team” I mean the trio: Harry, Ron, and Hermione. As life goes, I wasn’t too surprised by Harry’s development. He’s overworked at the Ministry (as many adults are at their jobs), has three kids (which is a lot of work), and (like any child star) he’s haunted by his past. Hermione is similarly overworked, but living up to her character as the Minister of Magic. Ron, on the other hand, was a little bit disappointing as a character. There simply wasn’t any depth to him.  Ron does not have the reputation of being one of the smartest of the bunch, but in the original series, he added a lot. I always found Ron’s character to be of some comic relief. Here, it was just a sad attempt.

Albus Severus Potter
And then there’s Albus Severus, the angsty, misunderstood teen. I loved that this was his character. The combination of being Harry Potter’s son and his namesake was a recipe for angsty disaster. That’s A LOT to live up to, but by the end of the story, he did. He was mischievous with a cause, just like his father, and intelligent with the potential to become a great wizard like Snape and Dumbledore.

His friendship with Scorpius was both endearing and genius. Both boys were outcasts, so it was only natural that they befriended each other. Their friendship forced Harry and Draco to deal with their tumultuous past, and humanized Draco in the eyes of the ready and the characters. Their friendship also provided a beautiful arc for their development. They began as being emotionally closed off, only to experience turmoil and upheaval, which ultimately caused them to more openly express their emotions both to each other and their fathers.  Albus became less angsty, and Scorpius got a hug from Draco… and that’s saying a lot. :p

In conclusion, I enjoyed this installment to the world of Harry Potter. I hope there’ll be another one. I haven’t enjoyed reading this much in years.

I would also love to see the play! I heard a rumor that the play was going to travel. Do you know if that’s true? Will it come to California!

Anyway, what did you think of the book? I want to know your thoughts!

-Marisol