“Harry, there is never a perfect answer in this messy, emotional world. Perfection is beyond the reach of humankind, beyond the reach of magic. In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe. HARRY:”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
{This review will contain Spoilers. I wanted to give a full and thoughtful review on my feelings about the book, and just about how much I loved it. I will let you guys know when it’s about to get Spoiler-y, so you don’t accidentally ruin the book for yourself if you haven’t finished it yet}
PART ONE: SPOILER FREE
I don’t even know WHERE to begin with this one. I have so many feelings and emotions over the whole thing, all of them amazing ones. It all began a few weeks ago, when I was walking by the Chapters/Indigo Robson Street location. I saw something glimmering in the window that caught my eye, and it was a little sign that said all kinds of details, about the “July 31st Midnight Magic Book Release Party”. I stopped dead in my tracks, heart racing. I HAD to be at this party obviously, and what a better place to show off my new “Harry Potter” tattoo? I immediately went home and pre-ordered the book, and arranged for it to be shipped to the Downtown Chapters/Indigo location. If you pre-ordered the book, you also got a collectible HP tote <3 So basically this event was meant for me, and I started planning my outfit right away. I’m a huge nerd, and I own over 20 “Harry Potter” t-shirts, jewelry etc etc.
What I found so amazing, was how incredibly nostalgic I felt. Immediately I felt like I was 14 years old again, staying up late to go to the Midnight Release of one of the various “Harry Potter” books that were released throughout my childhood. I remember my Mom driving me those nights, staying up way too late for a school night, all so I could get my sweaty little hands on the newest book. I had to have it the second it came out, and I would take the books home and stay awake the entire night reading. I wasn’t alone in this, most of my classmates had done the same. “Harry Potter” was a phenomenon that took over the bookstores, schools, and kids hearts all over the world (mine included). “Harry Potter” is the book series that got me into “Reading for Pleasure”. I will never forget how that first book made me feel. I know it sounds cheesy, but it changed my life. However life at 14 wasn’t very thrilling for me. Lots of braces, Dawson’s Creek marathons, and awkward unrequited crushes.
Last Saturday at Midnight, when I picked up the new book.. I felt all that nostalgia come rushing back. My boyfriend kindly came with me, and helped me fasten my “Harry Potter” suspenders (I needed a few bits of my outfit to be dedicated to Harry, without looking like I’d gone in a full on costume, haha). I wore my “Deathly Hallows” Tights & my “Gryffindor” suspenders, with a plaid skirt, and a little grey cardigan. Perfect!
We got to the Chapters around 11:30, and walked around checking out all the amazing decorations. It was so neat to see how much everyone loves Harry Potter, and there was even a poster on the wall that said “What Does Harry Potter Mean To You?”.. and there were hundreds of comments. I found that so sweet and it made me smile to see how many others lives were touched by this magical series.
Midnight finally arrived, and they began tearing open the boxes. There were two lines inside the store. One for the Pre-Order’s, and the other for just people lining up to get it that night, on a first come/first serve basis. We got into the Pre-Order line, and I was loving checking out everyone’s costumes, SO many good ones. What made me the happiest to see, was all the smiles on everyone’s faces. Everyone was so happy, and so genuinely excited.. it made me feel like a part of something. I know that sounds weird, but just being inside this bookstore past Midnight with all these huge fans, it was like we were all part of this amazing moment.
Once I got to the front of the line, my hands were all clammy and I was so excited I just signed my name, showed my ID, and then before I knew it.. I was HOLDING it in my hands! Also I wasn’t prepared for how gorgeous the book would be as well. I’d seen it online before but never so close up. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Ryan and I were so excited, we left straight away to head home and read it.
PART TWO: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD
So I got home, and read the entire thing cover to cover. It took me about 8 hours to finish, and it was every bit as perfect as I knew it would be. Wow. I hardly EVER cry during movies or books, but I cried reading this. Here is a little bit about the book, to explain it, before I get into my review 🙂 The Plot Summary below is from “GoodReads”.
GoodReads Plot Blurb
{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 and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places}
*My Review*
First off, this book is beautiful. The cover, the dust jacket, the layout.. all beautiful. I love how the back of the hardcover says “The Eighth Story, Nineteen Years Later”. Given this book is actually a Play.. it reads like a Script. Don’t let that throw you off. I was a bit worried at first about how that would look, and how it would flow. I shouldn’t have been. It all flowed effortlessly, and after a few pages I forgot I was reading a script completely. I could visualize every scene, every character, and just being back immersed in the world they have spent years creating. It felt like coming home, back to Hogwarts.. back to the magical world of Harry Potter. I think the movies/other books helped me with this as well, because it was easier to visualize the characters and settings very well, having seen them hundreds of times already.
The story is gripping right from the beginning, we see Harry Potter with his family, wife Ginny, daughter Lily, and two sons James and Albus Potter. That right there was enough to make me scream haha. I loved the series so much, and like any fan, I’ve been dying to know what happens next, where the story went next. Very soon after Harry’s arrival in the book, up shows a married Ron & Hermoine, with their daughter Rose. So cute! James, Albus and Rose are all headed off to Hogwarts, and GOD just the nostalgia of all this made me so happy. Getting to go back to Hogwarts again, felt like such a treat.
“Albus Severus, you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of Them was Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
This quote right here got the tears going pretty quickly haha. Harry names his son Albus Severus Potter, after Albus Dumbeldore and Severus Snape. This is so heartbreaking, and when he calls Snape the “bravest man I ever knew”.. just cue the waterworks. Jesus this book has just made me into a emotional wreck already. I also loved how he named his other children James & Lily after his parents.
Next we see the kids off onto the Hogwarts Express, and they are off for their first year of school. Harry’s son Albus is very worried about which house he will be sorted into, fearing what will happen if he’s put in Slytherin. He is also very worried about making friends, and he ends up befriending the GREATEST CHARACTER in this new story. That character is none other than Scorpius Malfoy, Draco’s son. I know what you are probably thinking, “Malfoy’s son, ugh he must be awful”, but hes not.. he is the most adorable,sweet, funny, and greatest thing in this book. I love his character so much, that he needs his own spin-off series, haha. Albus and him become fast friends, and Hermoine and Ron’s daughter Rose is less than impressed. She refuses to sit with them or have anything to do with Scorpius, because of a certain dark rumor about Scorpius. This rumor is that Scorpius is actually the dreaded Voldermort’s SON! Shocking and wild, but possibly true? You will have to wait and see. It involves time travel!
The “Chapters” in this book are laid out like a play, into Act 1/Act 2/ Part 1 &2.. etc. Throughout Act 1, we see Albus being sorted into Slytherin with Scorpius, and dealing with the feeling of disappointing his Dad, and the other students, who no doubt had high hopes for the son of the “Boy who Lived”. A lot of family drama goes on between Harry and Albus, and just trying to learn how to understand each other. The friendship between Albus and Scorpius is fantastic, and they are so wonderful together. Also the relationship that exists now between Malfoy/Hermoine/Ron/Harry & Ginny is a fascinating dynamic. It’s really exciting to kind of feel like you are checking in with your old friends, and seeing what they are up to.
Harry Potter is now working for the Ministry of Magic, and just GUESS who’s the Minister of Magic?? You will have to read and find out! Hint: It’s not Harry <3
I’m hesitant to say much more about the story, because it’s really so wonderful and the experience is so great.. that I want all you fellow fans to feel it for yourselves. I don’t want to spoil anymore of it. The plot takes some wild turns, and we see some old faces making some appearances. There are so many touching moments, funny moments, and heartbreaking ones as well. You will see what I mean soon.
If you are a fan of the Series, you will love this, and you will feel like you are a teenager again.. curled up under the blankets until 4 am, reading with a flashlight… desperate to find out what happens to the Hogwarts gang.
Happy Reading Guys, xo Carly.
“They were great men, with huge flaws, and you know what — those flaws almost made them greater.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
“I’ve done this job for centuries On every student’s head I’ve sat Of thoughts I take inventories For I’m the famous Sorting Hat I’ve sorted high, I’ve sorted low, I’ve done the job through thick and thin So put me on and you will know Which House you should be in ”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
“Most of the time, I think you have to make a choice—at a certain point—of the man you want to be. And I will tell you at that time you need a parent or a friend. And if you’ve learnt to hate your parent by then and you have no friends…then you’re all alone. And being alone—that’s so hard.”
-Draco Malfoy”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child