Harry Potter is a huge part of my life as most of my readers know. I always credit J.K. Rowling and her Wizarding World with the kind of adult I have become. The books played such a big role in my adolescence, when I had trouble making friends of my own, Harry and his gang were always there. Harry Potter was a guide for 11 year old Alexis Lee, being an introverted only child who was sporadically picked on Harry Potter was my escape. All of the lessons I ever needed to learn on how to be a good person I found within the bindings of the Harry Potter series. So, naturally when I heard the Cursed Child was due out I ordered it on pre-sale a year prior to its release. And for one entire year I guessed and dreamed what this installation would hold for 26 year old Alexis Lee. I diligently didn’t read any spoilers or give into any sneak peeks. When I am serious about a book series, I like all of my judgements to come from my own opinions and try my very best to not let outside variables effect my thoughts. So now that I have finished The Cursed Child I would like to share my personal thoughts with my fellow Potterheads.
The Cursed Child seemed like to many cooks were in the kitchen during its creation. As most of you know The Cursed Child is a live action play, with that being said J.K. was not the only writer on the project. I understand that J.K. is a novelist and she needed extra help transforming her vision into a theatrical production, but with help came outside influences that I don’t think helped the story. J.K. has a very distinct voice and tone that lives within her printed words, and as I read The Cursed Child it just felt like I was drinking Diet Butter Beer instead of the real stuff. J.K.’s whimsy and magic was diluted by other outside influences and what I think to be the pressure to make this into a play.
The Cursed Child should have been another Harry Potter installation. I won’t get into spoilers or story specifics, but this script deserves to be its own book. There are a couple of new characters introduced and a few new specific story lines. I personally feel these characters stories were rushed to being able to condense J.K.’s amazing vision into a very short two part play. The base of the story is perfect, the ingredients are whole, but the execution of the script is very rushed and leaves the curious reader with too many unanswered questions. I feel like reading The Cursed Child was like watching a truly gifted baker bake the most delicious chocolate cake you have ever seen but when it was all finished you were only able to have a bite and the rest was thrown away. This book just left me starving for more Wizarding World answers to so many open questions that were posed while reading the text. The Cursed Child in all is like reading professionally written fan fiction. I still recommend the book to any Potterhead and lover of life lessons, but if you are a hardcore fan just know The Cursed Child will leave you wanting more…