Harry, Hermione, and Ron have become productive adults in the wizarding world, and have been throw into a whole new adventure.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne has been one of the most anticipated scripts to have hit book shelves in our decade. The stage production has been produced for almost a year now on the Oxford stage in London, England. The hashtag #KeepTheSecret had been circulating among the Harry Potter fandom to encourage the community to not release any spoilers or information of the play for those who are unable to see it live. On the release date of the book, the US had sold over 3 million copies and conducted midnight release parties across the country. Readers, young and old, were ready to embark on another adventure with Harry and the gang in the Wizarding World.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron are now adults and productive parts of the wizarding society. It is 18 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, and the main 3’s children are heading to the Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. Albus Potter, Harry and Ginny’s middle son, goes on a grand adventure through space and time with his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy, at his side. Who would have ever thought that a Potter and a Malfoy would be best friends? Amos Diggory, Cedric’s father, begs for Harry to use the confiscated Time Turner to save Cedric. Albus overhears the conversation and takes action, so he can prove to his father he is everything that he wants him to be. During Albus and Scorpius adventure through time they realize that maybe there is a reason for Cedric’s death even if Cedric’s father isn’t willing to face it. Following these fun new characters and their similarities to their parents were a joy to come to life on the page.

Firstly, the reader has to keep in mind that this is meant to be performed on stage. This is not a novel or written like the other books in the series. It is a screenplay. There have been negative comments made about this publication due to the expectation for it to be a book, although it was clearly advertised as a play. This should not discourage anyone of reading it, because it truly provides so much new information about this beloved world and it’s amazing literary characters that generations of readers have fallen in love with.

The story is filled with the same magic one would expect out of a Harry Potter book. Characters such as Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, and Draco Malfoy have important roles in the story. Learning about how the Wizarding community has changed since the fall of Lord Voldemort was nothing short of amusing, and even finding out new tidbits about our favorite characters were great. The reader has to allow his or her imagination to run wild to truly enjoy this script book. There is a huge time gap between the last time we saw the main three characters and that fateful day where Albus boards the Hogwarts Express. We do not know what all the characters have learned or endured, so their attitudes have changed. The way they react to things, how they handle issues, and how they decide to communicate have now evolved in adulthood.  With every Harry Potter novel, the pure ability to learn is what is most enjoyable. Whether it be about new beasts, or changes within Hogwarts.

Fans will be engrossed from the beginning to the very end, following Albus and his best friend Scorpius as they try to stop what Harry would consider one of his biggest mistakes.

5 patronuses out of 5 for this work of art!