New Dark Secrets Surfacing in: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

 When I saw that this book was coming out, I actually didn’t have high hopes for it. I’m not the sort of fan who is desperate for a favourite author to keep writing and writing. I suppose I’m a “quit while your ahead” person, and I’m always quite cautious about picking up a sequel to something when you were quite content with the way it ended. So the Harry Potter series – yeah, I was happy with the ending, but curious about the content of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. So curiosity got the better of me and I picked it up… and read it. Because, at the end of the day, what was there to loose?

Well, er, my faith in JK.Rowling, the ‘magic’ of the previous seven books, my perspective on the series…

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is set nineteen years after to the events in the original seven books. It is, of course, in the format of a script (why, by the way, did not put me off  in the slightest – I’ve read scripts before, and I love how quick and easy to read they are) so I enjoyed that.

But for me, it is the storyline of this play, which was the most important thing. And frankly, I just couldn’t see it meeting the standards of the earlier books. I also couldn’t understand how a Harry Potter play would work on stage, I mean, how are they going to get away with flying brooms and extraordinary spells without the special effects that the films had?

So, I had my doubts, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. This book, I mean play is actually really impressive and exceeds any expectations I had for it. The storyline is equally as mysterious and complex and the original storylines, and the characters are just as interesting.

So a majority of the play is set in Albus Potter’s (Harry’s son) fourth year at Hogwarts, and is about Albus’ escapades with his best friend, Scorpius – the son of Draco Malfoy. Although it is emphasized that he is in fact the son of Malfoy, there are rumours that Scorpius is the son of Voldemort, circulated by many characters, including Harry Potter. I have to admit, I was disappointed by the way Harry Potter was portrayed in this play. In my eyes, he had lost what made him such a likable character in the original series; his adventurousness, his kindness, his modesty and his patience, and had become an irritable, careless father who didn’t seem to have time for either his kids or his friends. He was obviously very overworked at the Ministry of Magic, his workplace, but my argument to that is: Hermionie, who had a much higher position at the Ministry – as in, the actual Minister, still had plenty of time for her child: Rose.

So anyway, regarding the actual storyline, this book was very good, in my opinion. It surrounds the death of Cedric Diggory, who died in the graveyard in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Basically, Cedric’s father, Amos, comes to Harry, begging him to use a timeturner to go back and save his son, however Harry says no, but his son, Albus, had overheard and becomes desperate to deal with the suggestion, himself. He and his best friend Scorpius team up with Amos’s niece, Delphini, to delve back into the past and recover Cedric Diggory from that terrible evening when Voldemort ordered him to be killed, and called him the spare.

But when they go back in time back to the Triwizard Tournament, small changes that they make in order to try and save Cedric, make enormous differences in the present day and it turns into quite a creepy adventure, in the end, certainly full of dark shocks and chilling surprises!

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Harry Potter. It is witty, very clever and really interesting. Wish I could see the actual performance of it, but that isn’t likely to happen, I don’t think, ahaha! I’m giving this book four stars out of five, just because I was disappointed that Harry didn’t really resemble his original character in the first 7 books, but other than that, it was really good and I was very happily surprised. 🙂

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What did you think of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?

• Did it meet your expectations?
• Was there anything you were disappointed in?
• Are you going to go and see it at the theatre?

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Thank you for reading my review!

 

 

Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K.Rowling

All aboard the Hogwarts Express for another journey through a magical, dark, thrilling and hilarious Harry Potter book! Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is just as good as it’s predecessor, if not better, in my opinion. It’s always been one of my favourite films, so I was excited to read the book, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s another enchanting journey through the wizarding world and I was excited to enter it. Again, on the long dark days, it was a treat to look forward to. An idyllic escape from the recent horrific world events involving Paris.

At the beginning of this book, Harry is back at the Dursley’s family home on Privet Drive, wishing away the holidays in his impatience to be back at Hogwarts. He is paid a visit by a strange house-elf called Dobby, who forbids him to return to the school, and gets him into all sorts of trouble, resulting in Harry’s bedroom being turned into a highly secure prison cell. Yep, bars on his window and everything.

Which leads to the excitement involving a flying car belonging to Ron’s father – Mr Weasley, featured on the front cover of the book. Harry and Ron’s form of transport to Hogwarts.

But before term starts, Harry is treated to a couple of weeks staying in Ron’s house which was fantastic to read about! It was great to get a bit of background in how witches and wizards live outside of school. We read about de-gnoming gardens, unusual wizardry furnishings, and another magical visit to Diagon Alley!

Before term even starts, Ron and Harry are plunged into deep trouble when six or seven Muggles see them flying the magical car. As underaged magic is forbidden outside of school, the situation is addressed severely, and at one point, Harry and Ron think that they might be expelled! Thankfully, they aren’t, but Ron does receive a letter called a Howler from his Mother, which makes great reading!

So the story centres around the focal-point in the title – the Chamber of Secrets, a mysterious, untraceable hideout located somewhere in Hogwarts, only known to have been opened once before. When it is opened again, pandemonium descends on Hogwarts, which is nolonger considered to be a safe place to be. As always, Harry, Ron and Hermione embark on a quest to uncover the truth, resulting in Harry facing his worst fear – yet again…

A phenomenal read. Such great fun, yet creepy and frightening. I can’t wait to read and review the third book in the series Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban. Thanks for reading. 🙂