I grew up with Harry Potter and it got me through my teens. So when it was announced that a new Harry Potter book would hit shelves, I just knew I had to purchase myself a copy for my collection. I was not the only one who thought this was the new book. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child sold more than 2 million copies within the first two days it was released. Okay, so technically it’s a not a new novel, it’s a script with two parts. However, it is a continuation of Harry’s life as this story takes place nineteen years in the future. While J.K. Rowling was a part of the creation team for this, the story written on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’s pages doesn’t read like her previous work.

One could argue this is because this isn’t solely her handiwork, so why would the story read like the previous seven Harry Potter books? Yet, since her name was attached to this endeavor one would assume she had some hand in transcribing and/or creating this story. Therefore, it stands to reason her voice/presence would at least be seen somewhere. However, that is not the case with this piece of literature. Not to say that’s a bad thing, it’s just interesting to note before reading this continuation of Harry Potter’s journey after he grew up and left Hogwarts and had kids begin to enter Hogwarts, which is exactly where Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up.

Perhaps the live action version of this story is much better conveyed because personally the written version of this story left me confused and felt under-developed. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione are middled aged parents whose own children are just entering Hogwarts. If you haven’t read the book and you intend to read the book without judgment from others please stop reading this article. SPOILERS ARE AHEAD! Okay, if you are still reading this don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Albus Severus Potter is nothing like Harry was; I wasn’t even expecting an exact clone of Harry. However, every time Albus showed up, I still can’t believe Harry named his child after Snape and Dumbledore, he is portrayed as being a little overdramatic twerp. He gets sorted into Slytherin, which isn’t a bad thing, but he immediately becomes a moody “stick in the mud” and promptly ignores his cousin Rose in favor of Scorpius Malfoy. The rest of the book centers around their unlikely friendship while the conflict grows between Harry and Albus.

Albus and Harry butt heads so much that Harry declares, “there are times I wish you weren’t my son”. Let that sink in for a moment. Why on earth would Harry Potter state such a thought even if he was angry at Albus? The Harry I read in the previous seven books and saw in the movies would never state such a thought. The Harry I know is a survivor and is compassionate and good-hearted; he is lucky to be alive, let alone have a family. Also “he who must not be named” has a daughter with Bellatrix Lestrange! This story is sounding less like it was planned and more like it was concocted out of a hodgepodge of ideas with no rhyme or reason. I say all this not to turn away people from reading this book, just that I would never in good conscience recommend you spend your hard earned galleons on buying a physical copy of this story. However, if you feel the need to buy this story go right ahead to get your feel of nostalgia from your childhood if not for anything else.