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Opening Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I felt almost like I was in fourth grade again-overly eager, attentive, and absolutely addicted to the Harry Potter series. I devoured up her books, one by one, despite the fact that they were, well, enormous. I immersed myself in Harry’s world as best as I could. Nobody could possibly pry me away from those books. I even dreamt about attending Hogwarts, only to wake up the next morning and sadly realize that I was still attending the same old school.

Needless to say, I hadn’t changed much since fourth grade-well, not when concerning Harry Potter. I finished the entire, 376-page book, in less than two hours, from top to bottom. When I finally, closed the book, one thought popped into my head. “What did I just read?”

I probably have the most unpopular opinion. I actually enjoyed the book very much, despite the fact that it was in script form. While other readers griped that the script formatting took a lot away from the book, I thought it added more to it. Instead of relying on J.K. Rowling’s descriptive imagery, I now had to think deeper and examine what was really happening-a fact that, apparently, many readers disliked. I felt like only having the character’s dialogue gave me a deeper understanding of the situations, and that, in only one book, I had established a much closer connection with all of the characters than through all seven books of the series.

Speaking about characters, one new character that J.K. Rowling introduced to me in the play struck a chord in my heart. I felt myself sympathizing with him, celebrating with him, and, at times, scolding him. It’ll probably come to no surprise to you that this character is Albus Severus Potter. Yes, he’s Harry’s son.

Albus doesn’t seem to be a particularly outstanding character at first, as he’s rotten at Quidditch and turns out to be, unlike his mother and father, not a Gryffindor, but a Slytherin. He also befriends Draco Malfoy’s son, Scorpius Malfoy, who’s rumored to be Voldemort’s son. Poor Albus has to deal with the bullying of other students, who judge him by Harry’s legacy.

You know when they say, “Like father, like son?” Yeah, forget that.

I sympathized with Albus, because his story hits a little too close to home with me. My older sister excels in all of her subjects. She gets perfect scores on every test and scores 100’s on state-wide exams. Sometimes, people judge me and treat me the way they do with my sister, even though I’m not like her. I’ve come to peace with this fact, however, unlike Albus (though he does learn to in the end of the book).

Despite being quite a good follow-up on Harry Potter’s world (it’s so interesting to see how Harry and the rest of the Hogwart’s gang has matured), there are some things in the book that slightly disappoint me. As it’s adapted for a play, it’s very short, and makes me feel as if something is missing. The ending seems to wrap up much too quickly and neatly, unlike the Harry Potter series. And in the end, instead of feeling satisfied and moving on, I still felt like there was more to the story (there wasn’t.)

In conclusion, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was an excellent book (which goes to show that J.K. Rowling never disappoints her readers). I read it three times, then some more, if you can believe it.

Now, it’s your turn.

Read it. I promise it won’t disappoint.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2017. Buy the book here and support Children's Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process!

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