Published: July 31, 2016 by: Little Brown
Pages: 343
Rating: 4/5 stars
*highlight white text to reveal spoilers*
It has been 19 years since Harry Potter famously defeated Lord Voldemort and went on with his free life. Now, he faces a new task: facing hardwork at the Ministry of Magic and dealing with his three children. But it's his son Albus that is really finding it hard to deal with the future. Albus is annoyed that he has to deal with his father's fame, as well as finding it hard to adjust to life at Hogwarts. In this highly-awaited sequel, past and present Potters will intertwine, both dealing with new changes, and new enemies.
In truth I actually finished this book early August, but I haven't gotten around to writing this review until now, so sorry!! But, I still want to talk about my feelings because hey, this book was ANTICIPATING! Gotta say thought, it wasn't as great as the other Harry Potter books.
I really loved the new characters in this book. Albus was perfectly crafted in my head, I could fully picture him and his development was so good! I also really loved Scorpius. I thought he was funny and adorable and I just loved him to pieces. I enjoyed the returning characters, such as the golden trio we all know and love. New Hermione was exactly like old Hermione, as was Ron, so props to J.K. for being consistent.
I enjoyed the twists in this book. From the house Albus was sorted in, to Draco's wife, this book definitely filled the questions I had about the lives of the characters and provided great where are they now answers.
I guess where the book lacked was that the new villains were not as strong. Voldemort was such a strong and cunning villain, but the "bad guys" here fell flat. And because of this, the plot near the end was kind of boring.
I also did not appreciate the fact that Scorpius and Albus were not a couple in this book. That was the canon that EVERYONE WAS WAITING FOR! And instead we got a friendship that had so much romantic feelings in it that it sounded stupid for them to not fall for each other. J.K. had an opportunity to give some great representation here, and it lacked big time.
So overall, good, but not great. I loved the returning characters, but the relationships and the villains in the book needed to be way stronger for the plot to have blown me away.
Have you read Cursed Child? What did you think?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
You make such a good point about the villains! I remember reading through the play, loving the first half (bc ALBUS AND ANGST), but then the second half was just missing that something...though I will admit, the blanket trick was a highlight for me! :D
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree! The first half was a lot stronger than the first. The blanket trick was kinda cool though :)
DeleteI still have to read this, so didn't read the spoilers (thanks for hiding them!) I'm totally going to read it soon - but right now I think I'm enjoying the anticipation! ;)
ReplyDeleteWell I hope you love it when you do read it! It's really quite good :D
DeleteI haven't read this and I refuse to pick it up because - for me - Harry Potter is DONE. It wrapped up nicely and I love it. I don't need any more and I don't want to ruin what I love so much. But an fyi: JK didn't write the playscript ;) Was based on a story idea she had with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree but at the same time, I was just so curious that I had to pick it up. But for me, it is not the 8th book in the series, it's merely a spinoff. I was kind of wondering if I should put JKR or Jack Thorne + John Tiffany as the author, but then I just decided to put JKR because it was her story. You've got a good eye though, I was wondering if anyone would notice!
DeleteI have very mixed emotions on this just because it didn't quite have that Harry Potter magic that I love so much. I feel a lot happier about it when I think of it as more of a fan fic than something that's actually canon despite the fact that it very much is canon. I agree the villain's weren't as strong as I would've liked. But, I loved Albus and I loved Scorpius
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree! It felt way more like a fan fic than the 8th book in the series. It just didn't have the same tone as the rest of the books.
DeleteI haven't read this yet, but "Good but not Great" Seems to be something I'm hearing a lot... still not sure yet if I'll pick this up
ReplyDeleteI knew that I had to pick it up because I was so curious, but honestly you're not missing out on much.
DeleteGreat review! The Cursed Child felt like a good fanfiction to me. I mean, I adore the new trio, especially Albus and Scorpius. (they are gay and canon i will not accept their ending) but it wasn't J.K Rowling. I like your statement on the villains - much agreed on that. Overall, I gave CC 4/5 stars.
ReplyDeleteanna | annaish
Yeah it did feel like really well written fan fiction! But albus and scorpius deserved so much more :(
DeleteI read the first 60 pages of this and I couldn't read it anymore, it just didn't feel like Harry Potter to me. I decided that it was better to skip it. For me, there's 7 books and that's it.
ReplyDeleteI have heard so many bad things about it that I'm glad your review highlighted some good things too. Good job!
Sofia @ Bookish Wanderess
Thank you Sofia! Yeah to me there will always be only 7 books because this one was just so out of place.
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