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Harry potter and the cursed child |book review.

Posted by: Editor September 20, 2016 in Books , English Leave a comment Updated: September 21, 2016

Is there such a thing as ‘ Happily Ever After ‘?

When J K Rowling showed us a glimpse of the life of older Harry Potter on the platform 9 3/4 long after the battle of Hogwarts was over, it did give an impression of being something very close to a happily ever after, if not perfect. But, life at its best is episodic….every generation seems to inherit the moral quest of their ancestors in some way and have to go through similar emotions and questions before they can make peace with their lives.

So, when the introduction to J K Rowling ‘s latest work starts with : “It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employed of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children….” we do get into it with a sigh of apprehension. Yes, we are talking about ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, released with a world premier in London’s West End on 30/07/2016.

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child – Book Cover

She thought of this prophecy as the center thought of the new book:

When spares are spared, When time is turned, When unseen children murder their fathers, Then will the Dark Lord return…

As has been widely advertised, while the original story is by J K Rowling, it has been adapted by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne into a script for a new play by Jack Thorne . Both John Tiffany and Jack Thorne are well-known names in the world of theater. However, since the audience for this play on stage would be limited, the rehearsal script has been now published as a hardcover book with a beautifully haunting front page design. Predictably, the book has already been widely sold as the Harry Potter fans couldn’t wait for the next episode into the saga that held them mesmerized over a span of more than a decade.

The book starts with the epilogue from “ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows “, and we soon discover that Ron is now running a joke shop and Hermione is the minister for magic. Harry is the head of magical law enforcement squad and Ginny works as Sports editor at “ Daily Prophet “. What’s different is that the epilogue gave us a distinct impression of Harry being a good father and on very good terms with his children, including his younger son Albus Severus . But, here Albus soon grows into a troubled teen who is best friends with Scorpius Malfoy of all people and whose relationship with Harry Potter is very strained.

While for Harry, Hogwarts was the place where he felt at home, for Albus it is hardly so, especially when he ends up in Slytherin and does not seem to have any marked talent for Quidditch to say the least. It doesn’t help of course that Scorpius has been the center of one of the most widespread rumors in magical world since the Battle of Hogwarts. It is widely believed that Voldemort had a child and that Scorpius is that child. While Draco vehemently rejects these rumors, if Voldemort did have a child, who is it and if the child has survived, what would its outlook on the world be?

If it was difficult to be friends with famous Harry Potter without being jealous, it is nearly impossible to grow up in shadow of a father who destroyed Voldemort and has always been bit of an enigma. Having grown up in limelight, it also means everyone knows everything about Harry’s mistakes and also has an opinion on how he could have done it different, better, how his mistakes cost lives…

So, when a chance seems to present itself to Albus, that looks like an opportunity to right his father’s mistake and prove himself, he takes it. It seems so simple, so appealing, an age old solution: go back in time and change what you did or in this case, what your father did. But, can you really change past? The answers is ‘May be, but not without changing the future and the present’.

Because every decision, every act has long-term consequences. A small change in the course of events may lead to an entirely different future. All Harry’s battles with Voldemort had always evolved around a slim chance, a small and brave decision that eventually led to Harry winning in the battle of Hogwarts. So, if Albus changes any of that- will he also change the outcome of the final battle and the future of their world? And what about the actions of people around Harry, including Albus Dumbledore, who put all his energy into laying out the path for Voldemort’s destruction?

On the other hand, Albus and Scorpius’ disappearances results in strained home lives at all fronts, including Harry’s and Ginny’s. When centaur Bane tells Harry about existence of a dark shadow near his son Albus, naturally Harry thinks of Scorpius as the shadow.

For Albus and Scorpius, the journey proves to be something like an adventure Harry himself would have had and the biggest lesson they learn is the factor of inevitability in all things we do. There is not always an absolute solution / action possible in a human life, especially when fighting an evil. Mistakes are made, chances are mulled, lives are lost and hearts are broken, but sometimes that’s the only way. Sometimes, the whole pattern is so important and yet ambiguous that the simplest action can convert it into either a tangible reality or turn it into utter chaos.

The story essentially has all classic Harry Potter elements – love, friendship, betrayal, victory of good over evil, interconnections of lives, cause and effects, inevitability of the course of every human life. But, the stage adaptation does introduce some new dimensions like dialogues about moody teenagers and so on. The bookworms will also find it a fast read and will miss some of the beautiful and rich detailing by J K Rowling in the original books.

As with other harry potter books, there are some fantastic quotes in this book as well. Here are some of them (however we have tried to not to included the ones which contain the plot spoilers, but you may find some 🙂 )

Friendship, the most favored form of love by the author is mentioned as:

That’s the thing, isn’t it? About friendships. You don’t know what he needs. You only know he needs it.

A teenager’s dilemma:

My father thought he was protecting me. Most of the time. I think you have to make a choice – at a certain point – of the man you want to be. And I tell you that at that time you need a parent or a friend. And if you’ve learnt to hate your parent by then and you have no friends…then you’re all alone. And being alone – that’s so hard. I was alone. And it sent me to a truly dark place. For a long time. Tom Riddle was also a lonely child…”

Words of wisdom, which are grounded to reality:

“They were great men, with huge flaws, and you know what – those flaws almost made them greater.”

Character defining lines:

He’s Dumbledore! He can cope with anything.

About love:

Those that we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannont touch. Paint….and memory….and love. Love blinds. We have both tried to give our sons not what they needed, but what we needed. We’ve been so busy trying to rewrite our own pasts, we’ve blighted their presents.

The book could have been much better and can explore the story with more integrity and versatility if written as a story book rather than a play. The canvas of the book gives even more opportunities (than the explored ones) to explore.

The book price is the only factor which is discouraging to buy it. It is very costly. So it is advisable to wait for a couple of months till the paperback edition is available at cheaper rates.

A must read of course for all Harry Potter fans and whoever wants to add a bit of magic in life …

Tagged with: Books English Harry Potter j k rowling Literature Reviews Views

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Harry potter and the cursed child: parts one and two, common sense media reviewers.

Engaging time-travel play satisfying for fans.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Readers are re-immersed in Harry Potter's world, p

Even as only an imprint of his former self in a ta

Albus and Scorpius are oddball, outcast friends li

A student dies from a killing curse, a boy's mothe

Adults kiss and flirt.

"Bloody hell" and "damn."

Talk of Ron drunk at his wedding and out drinking

Parents need to know that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two is the script of a play performed first in London in 2016. The story takes place 19 years after the big Hogwarts battle in Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows , the concluding Book 7 of the core Potter series. It's hard to…

Educational Value

Readers are re-immersed in Harry Potter's world, past and present (19 years after Book 7 ), thanks to a Time Turner and some flashback dreams. They can think about how well moments remembered from the book series aid in the storytelling here. Also, readers used to Rowling's fat fiction novels full of detail will need to adjust to the play format and imagine the sets and dialogue performed, a challenging transition for some that takes slower, more careful reading.

Positive Messages

Even as only an imprint of his former self in a talking portrait, Dumbledore offers the best advice, about teaching kids resilience instead of constantly trying to protect them from harm. Professor McGonnagal reminds her charges with her usual candor that "bravery doesn't forgive stupidity." And the lesson in every book about time travel: Don't mess with time travel. The consequences are always dire, no matter the intention.

Positive Role Models

Albus and Scorpius are oddball, outcast friends living in the shadow of their famous parents and some pernicious rumors. Their friendship keeps them grounded most of the time, but Albus' need to be something more than the weird middle child and his impulsive streak cause the pair to make a string of serious mistakes. Both Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy grow here and endeavor to parent without their own issues and needs keeping them from understanding their sons' needs.

Violence & Scariness

A student dies from a killing curse, a boy's mother dies from a long illness. Souls are sucked out of bodies by those nasty black-cloaked Dementors. A curse inflicts pain, an arm is broken and repaired magically, and some magical fighting with wands results in minor injuries. Talk of muggles blown up and tortured and people burned alive. Much talk about the student Cedric Diggory's death from Book 4 and the deaths of Harry's parents from a killing curse.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Talk of Ron drunk at his wedding and out drinking Firewhiskies with Neville (both as adults).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two is the script of a play performed first in London in 2016. The story takes place 19 years after the big Hogwarts battle in Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows , the concluding Book 7 of the core Potter series. It's hard to assign the best age for this play for a few reasons. The play format may be a hard transition for some readers who aren't used to slowing down and imagining characters on a set. Also, with near constant references to the past, readers need to be familiar with the entire Harry Potter series to keep up. We recommend Book 7 for ages 12 and up because of its intense battles and themes. While many of these themes are still present in this play, they get a lighter touch because of this dialogue-heavy format. There's still some violence, however. A student dies from a killing curse, a boy's mother dies from a long illness, Dementors suck out souls, a curse inflicts pain, an arm is broken and repaired magically, and some magical fighting with wands results in minor injuries. Flashes to the past or alternate presents talk of muggles blown up and tortured, and there's much talk of the death of the student Cedric Diggory from Book 4 and the death of Harry's parents at the hands of Voldemort when he was a baby. Despite Harry Potter hogging the title, the main characters here are his son, Albus, and Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. Their friendship keeps them grounded most of the time, but Albus' need to be something more than the weird middle child and his impulsive streak cause the pair to make a string of serious mistakes. Even as only an imprint of his former self in a talking portrait, Dumbledore offers the best advice to floundering parents Harry and Draco about teaching kids resilience instead of constantly trying to protect them from harm.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (7)
• Kids say (82)

Based on 7 parent reviews

Parenting- the ultimate HP adventure

How though, what's the story.

IN HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, middle child Albus Potter just doesn't fit in at Hogwarts. For one thing, who could imagine a Potter in Slytherin? And how could anyone imagine his best friend would be a boy named Scorpius, a Malfoy? Albus' dad just doesn't get him and doesn't get what it means to be in the shadow of the famous Harry Potter -- Albus never wanted any of that. The night before the train back to Hogwarts, Albus overhears his father arguing with a now elderly Amos Diggory. Amos heard a rumor that a Time Turner was found and implores that they use it to go back and save his son Cedric, whose murder was ordered by Voldemort decades ago. Harry won't even hear him out or admit that the Time Turner exists. Albus, sure his father is lying, thinks it's unfair and wants to be the one to help. On the train to Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius make a break for it, intending to find the Time Turner in his Aunt Hermione's office and go back in time to the Triwizard Tournament. If Cedric doesn't win with Harry, he can't be killed and Amos gets his son back. But, of course, with all plans to alter time, even for the right reasons, things can go horribly, horribly wrong. Like, Voldemort-never-died horribly wrong.

Is It Any Good?

Once readers get accustomed to the more sparsely detailed play format, most will come away happy to have spent more time in Harry's world. Reading scripts is a slower business, taking time to imagine how each scene is set before digging into the dialogue; a lot happens with only a few stage directions and scene changes. This story really plays with time, moving forward in Albus' first few years of Hogwarts, exploring Harry Potter's nightmares of the past, and eventually visiting scenes from past books and scary alternate presents. (Voldemort is back? Nooooo!)

Seeing it all come together onstage would be a marvel. Getting to the climax of the story without actors in front of you is still nail-biting. It's always hard to imagine how any time travel screwup can really be fixed, and the stakes are pretty high here. Mix that with a bit of humor (one alternate present isn't so kind to Ron and Hermione) and some poignant parenting lessons (even for Draco!), and there's quite a bit to take away from four acts. Plus there are plenty of "how on earth would they do that on a stage?" moments to ponder until readers get lucky enough to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child performed onstage.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the Harry Potter world in play form. Was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child easy to follow as a play or much harder? Did you feel as engaged as you were with the book format? Did you have to change the way you read the play versus the novels to take it all in?

How have Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Draco changed as adults? Are you still interested in them as adult characters, or has your focus shifted more to Albus and Scorpius? Parents reading along: Who are your favorite characters?

Does this script make you want to see this play performed onstage? Are there some stage directions in the script that seem too hard to translate to a stage -- such as, say, transfiguration? How do you think they did it in performance?

Book Details

• Authors : J. K. Rowling , John Tiffany , Jack Thorne
• Genre : Fantasy
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Friendship
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Arthur A. Levine
• Publication date : July 31, 2016
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
• Number of pages : 320
• Available on : Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
• Last updated : October 5, 2018

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

By j.k. rowling.

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' is a very interesting and engrossing play for some fans of the Harry Potter universe, but many purists see it as a not so satisfying addition to a much-beloved book series.

About the Book

Article written by Mohandas Alva

M.A. Degree in English Literature from Manipal University, India.

‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ by J. K. Rowling is a joyride that combines several elements from the Harry Potter book series that readers love with some entirely new stories and consequences that came to be long after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts. However, as interesting as its plots are with several time-travel attempts and alternate realities, ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ are also considered by many as a not-so-fulfilling play that only tries to live up to the reputation of the Harry Potter books but doesn’t.

‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ is perhaps the only Harry Potter book that has divided its readers and fans as much, yet remains to be a well-received play in both London’s West End Theatre and Broadway.

Echoes from the Past

The story of ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ delve a lot deeper into the events of the past that occurred in the Harry Potter books than it probably does with its present. While there are only four instances of time travel in this play, most of the material is directly linked to either discussing the past or trying to repair and even uphold the past.

Harry and Albus are constantly in the turmoil of misunderstanding each other and only come to terms and make peace with each other when Harry admits that his legacies and the past should not carve the path for Albus. He himself should. Furthermore, it is evident that it is this realization that actually ends the differences between Scorpius and Draco have, too, in the alternate reality where Draco is too deep into the legacy of his family. It is this relationship that the past has with the present that continues to echo throughout the plot of ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘

As is evident, most of the story and plot deal with Albus and Scorpius going back in time to prevent Cedric Diggory from dying in the Triwizard Tournament, another event that occurred in the past. The antagonist Delphini, as is revealed later, is solely driven by the need to prevent Voldemort from making the mistakes he did in the past that led to his defeat at the hands of Harry. In its entirety, the fact that there is a time-turner in hand and that there are several legacies to uphold makes ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ a plot that dwells more on the effects of the past than its present day, which in turn is a lesson in itself.

What most characters in ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ,’ and especially Harry, realize, in the end, is that they must eventually move on from what happened in the past and live in the present. They must not forget to value their past or pretend it didn’t happen. They should, however, also value their ‘present’ and acknowledge that it is happening.

Primarily, the major conflict in this play is that between Harry Potter and his son Albus. Despite having a lot to do with saving Cedric Diggory, the friendship between Albus and Scorpius, and the possible return of Voldemort, a major part of ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ solely deals with the difficulties Albus faces with being forced to mold himself to be in par with Harry’s imposing shadow and the difficulties Harry himself faces in understanding and parenting Albus properly due to his lack of experience and first-hand knowledge of what the role of a parent is actually like.

Harry had to struggle a lot in his life due to the lack of parents, and now that he is finally assigned the task of becoming a parent himself, it turns out to be way more daunting than most of his adventures in his early years. But then again, he wasn’t trained for any of his adventures, and he just had to become himself out of necessity. So, he rose up to those occasions and bravely faced every challenge. However, the task of parenting is not so easy for Harry and tends to take a major toll on him.

Similarly, in the alternate reality that is created when Albus and Scorpius prevent Cedric from qualifying in the second Triwizard Tournament task, Draco and Scorpius display similar tensions and have some difficulty in seeing eye to eye. However, the moment Scorpius mentions his mother Astoria, Draco’s demeanor significantly changes, and he remembers how wrong he is to value the legacy of the Malfoy family over his son, which is why Draco accepts his shortcomings and asks Scorpius to do whatever it takes to end the reign of Voldemort.

Is it worth it to read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ?

‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ is definitely the most interesting book from the Harry Potter franchise in how strongly it has divided its readers. Despite many fans of the Harry Potter series claiming it to be not living up to the expectations of the book series, it is totally worth reading as it takes much less tie than any of the other books and has a lot of new and interesting plot details that bring about new and unexplored avenues. It features fan favorites like Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape and also has interesting alternate realities that make the book worth reading.

Is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child canon?

Yes. ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ is considered canon by J. K. Rowling, and it was marketed when published and premiered as the eighth Harry Potter story. While many Harry Potter fans do not consider ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ as canon because of how different and underdeveloped it is in comparison to its prequels, it still remains an important addition to the canon of Harry Potter stories told because of how closely related it is to the characters and events of all the previous books.

Why Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is bad?

While ‘ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘ is not necessarily bad, it does have a lot of problematic elements in it that make it a mediocre piece of work in comparison to its predecessors. Despite being a play that focuses significantly on how the events of the past affected the present day, it delves way too frequently into the events from the past, causing the play to be lacking its own voice. It uses time travel too much and heavily relies on events and the plots of the previous books to set up a plot of its own. It also disregards several details from the plots of older books and adds details that seem to be inconsistent with that from the previous books.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review: An Interesting Sequel

Book Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Book Description: 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' set years after the Battle of Hogwarts, explores Harry's challenges balancing ministry work and fatherhood, alongside Albus grappling with his legacy.

Book Author: J.K. Rowling

Book Edition: First Edition

Book Format: Hardcover

Publisher - Organization: Little, Brown and Company

Date published: July 31, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-338-21666-0

Number Of Pages: 322

• Writing Style
• Lasting effect on the reader

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is an interesting sequel to the much-loved Harry Potter book series. Written almost 10 years after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , this play, written by Jack Thorne in collaboration with J. K. Rowling and John Tiffany is an interesting take on what happens long after the Battle of Hogwarts. With Harry now working in an important position in the Ministry, he has to make time for his family and has to become a good parent. However, the events from his past continue to haunt him and cause several complications in his life. His son Albus, on the other hand, is grappling with the immense weight of Harry’s legacy and shadow. This in turn makes it a difficult and tense relationship between the two, the major theme that this play delves into. 

• It brings back a lot of characters that readers from the Harry Potter book series love.
• It explores the trope of parenting really well.
• It creates room for interesting alternate realities that make it a fun read.
• It lacks an original voice beyond its plot influenced by the Harry Potter books and time travel.
• It is repetitive at places with similar events occurring frequently, especially during the time travel sequences.
• It doesn’t live up to its prequels and didn’t satisfy a major population of its fan base.

About Mohandas Alva

Mohandas is very passionate about deciphering the nature of language and its role as a sole medium of storytelling in literature. His interests sometimes digress from literature to philosophy and the sciences but eventually, the art and craft of narrating a significant story never fail to thrill him.

The Harry Potter section of Book Analysis analyzes and explorers the Harry Potter series. The characters, names, terminology, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros ©. The content on Book Analysis was created by Harry Potter fans, with the aim of providing a thorough in-depth analysis and commentary to complement and provide an additional perspective to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

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Harry Potter and the Curse of Continuation

The newly published script of Jack Thorne’s play is a compelling read but an uncomfortable fit within J.K. Rowling’s series.

( This review contains plot information regarding Harry Potter and the Cursed Child but only very mild spoilers.)

In 2013, J.K. Rowling wrote a short post (since deleted) on Pottermore, the official Harry Potter website, detailing her thoughts about using time travel as a device in literature. In the third book in the Harry Potter series, The Prisoner of Azkaban , Harry’s friend Hermione Granger uses a device called a Time-Turner to attend multiple classes in a single school hour, and the Time-Turner later factors into the plot when Harry and his friends use it to battle Dementors and help Sirius Black escape execution. “I went far too light-heartedly into the subject of time travel in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ,” Rowling wrote. “While I do not regret it … it opened up a vast number of problems for me, because, after all, if wizards could go back and undo problems, where were my future plots?”

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After Azkaban, Time-Turners were eradicated from Rowling’s magical universe. Hermione returned hers to Professor McGonagall, and all remaining instruments were apparently destroyed in a climactic battle in the Department of Mysteries in the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , ruling out any more time travel. Rowling concluded the Harry Potter series with a natural leap forward, showing Harry and his wife, Ginny, saying goodbye to their second child, Albus Severus, on the platform at King’s Cross as they sent him off to his first term at Hogwarts. It seemed as definitive an ending as any, but it’s at that exact moment that the newest installment of Harry’s story picks up.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , the script of a two-part play that recently opened in London’s West End, is a faithful continuation of Rowling’s series that simultaneously breaks many of her rules. Although Rowling was involved in writing the story, the script is written by Jack Thorne, and the plot hinges on time travel in a way that prompts the question of how much Harry’s creator was involved, with wizards seeking to undo problems in a way that inevitably backfires. While almost all the major characters from the series return in some form or another, they’re less compelling than the two young heroes of the play, Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, the sons of Harry and his former rival Draco. As Albus and Scorpius struggle with living under the shadows cast by their fathers, Cursed Child too seems to wrestle with its legacy, borrowing heavily from older stories while simultaneously challenging the confines of their world.

Reading the next Harry Potter story in script form rather than in Rowling’s fluid, vivid prose was always going to be challenging for readers, so what’s most remarkable about Thorne’s work is how smoothly it flows. At its best, it’s as gripping as many of Rowling’s books were, with suspenseful plotting and twists that are just predictable enough to be gratifying. The stage directions are sometimes sparse, sometimes remarkably descriptive. (Here’s one after a Hogwarts student is drafted by the Sorting Hat: “ There’s a silence. A perfect, profound, silence. One that sits low, twists a bit, and has damage within it. ”)

The awkward hero of the first half is Albus Severus, Harry’s middle child, dwarfed by both his cocky, popular older brother, James, and his father’s impossible fame as The Boy Who Lived. The fourth scene of the first act, set in “a never-world of time change,” reveals glimpses of Albus’s increasing unhappiness after he arrives at Hogwarts, shows a disappointing lack of magical fluency, and is shut out by his fellow students. His one friend is Scorpius, a disarmingly sweet boy (in his first greeting with Albus, he literally sings about candy) who’s also an outcast because of outlandish rumors that he’s actually the son of … well, you know who.

It would be impossible to come up with a villain as cruel, malevolent, and outright fascinating as Lord Voldemort for the Cursed Child heroes to battle, so it’s almost poetic that Albus’s biggest enemy instead is his father. Thorne’s Harry Potter, all grown up, features prominently in the play, and the tension between him and his son is one of the most frustrating plot points, born out of dramatic necessity and riddled with cliché and angsty platitudes. “I didn’t choose, you know that?” Albus glowers in one scene. “I didn’t choose to be his son.” Later, Harry echoes the sentiment, saying, “Well, there are times I wish you weren’t ...” Although he immediately apologizes, why he feels this way is never really made clear; readers are left to intuit simply that the relationship is a troubled one.

Without revealing too much, Albus responds to his father’s outburst by conspiring with a mysterious young woman, Delphini, to go back in time and save one soul lost along the path of his father’s story. His motivation is shaky at best, but the decision pulls Albus, Scorpius, and Delphini into a montage of moments from Harry Potter history: The Tri-Wizard Tournament, a caper involving Polyjuice potion, the Forbidden Forest, a fearsome encounter with dementors. It’s familiar and well-worn territory at this point, and it might seem yawningly predictable if not for the shocking revelations that come in part two, many of which seem to destabilize Rowling’s universe rather than expand it.

Cursed Child , for one thing, seems fixated with chance, and the extraordinary power of twists of fate. The Harry Potter series always seemed to be a firm believer in free will—the power to change destiny by making specific and often difficult decisions. In the first book in the series, the Sorting Hat ponders whether Harry belongs in Gryffindor or Slytherin: “Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes—and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting … So where shall I put you?”

“Not Slytherin,” Harry thinks, gripping his chair. The hat goes along with his request. But Albus, by contrast, is given no such choice. And as his tweaks in the space-time continuum play out, futures are similarly reshaped and lines redrawn in the blink of an eye. Good characters go bad. Terrible characters reemerge. “It feels like we were all tested, and we all—failed,” says Scorpius.

The discombobulating influence of going back in time and making tiny changes is one Potter fans are well aware of by now. For years since the release of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , Rowling has proffered hints and facts and tidbits that range from the remarkable (the beloved Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay) to the banal (Teddy Lupin became a Hufflepuff). “The more Rowling enhances and embellishes her Harry Potter universe,” my colleague David Sims wrote last year , comparing Rowling to George Lucas, “the less room she leaves for readers to fill in the gaps with their own imaginations.”

Cursed Child , by this measure, is an act of overreach that feels mandated not by Rowling’s desire to fill out details but by an entertainment industry intent on reviving and rebooting anything that’s ever made money. Already, Warner Bros. (who produced all eight Harry Potter movies, which grossed more than $7.7 billion) has filed a film trademark for the title. The West End production is reportedly considering a move to Broadway. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II is expected to become the bestselling book of 2016: an extraordinary achievement for the published script of a play.

Reading Cursed Child , for all its compelling twists and turns, at many points feels like reading well-crafted fan fiction—the names are the same, and the characters feel familiar, but it’s apparent that they’re imitations nonetheless. It’s entirely possible that seeing the stage play, directed by the monumentally talented John Tiffany ( Black Watch ), is a different experience, and certainly there’s no sign of anything but a furious demand for tickets. But for readers, in agreeing to revisit characters whose stories have already been deftly wrapped up, Rowling risks undermining the powerful legacy she gave them in the first place.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: EW book review

The Potter series has always stretched the imagination, but a narrative mind is charmed to work overtime in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , the new stage play from J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, billed as the eighth Potter story, 19 years later. Released in book form for both posterity and audiences who lack proximity to the current sold-out West End production, Scholastic’s publication of the Cursed Child rehearsal script manages to throw a wild new wrench into the Potter series, unlocking a rarely tapped portal of the reader’s imagination in a way no Potter book has before.

Much of that belongs to the medium of the story: A play which whizzes through locations and tableaus over four disorienting acts. It’s a beast to behold, but Thorne (from a story he conceived with Rowling and Tiffany) writes without limits. The playwright never dares to let the bounds of a proscenium performance limit the magic (or the set pieces) conjured up in the just-enough stage descriptions he includes, and the result is a script that demands to be seen. For perhaps the first time ever, the ceaseless wonders of Rowling’s wizarding world now come accompanied with an indescribable “How?” that cascades over the entire narrative. It’s theatre, plain and simple, and this interrogative purview of Harry’s existence is not a distraction but a gleeful new challenge tasked to readers and their imaginations. (Cynically, it’s also the ultimate marketing tool in getting thee to a box office.)

Heads inflate, bookcases eat, duels detonate in grand fashion, and centaurs and Dementors abound — all the markings of non-restraint on Thorne, Rowling, and Tiffany’s part, and thankfully so. Cursed Child teems with the clever, cerebral thrills we’ve come to demand in a Potter tale, especially one following in the line of succession behind the ur-mature Deathly Hallows . And all this, regardless of the story’s meta medium. Stage directions have been chosen with laser focus, and although the onus to perform the dialogue falls heavy on the reader, the force to think in this classic form does in fact wash away fairly quickly.

On a purely narrative level, this new story introduces captivating arcs and bold theories that immediately place this sequel squarely in Rowling’s world of simmering, slow-burn machinations. Even before the introduction of a byzantine layer of time travel (which admittedly dominates more of this story than is ideal), it’s clear the stakes here have not done much shrinking 19 years after our last encounter with the Potters. If Deathly Hallows offered the series’ most exciting and discombobulating array of back-to-back chapter action, Cursed Child does the same feat with twists and deductions between scenes. Some stick, and others exist perhaps more for shock, but once the (occasionally maddening) time-turning plotline sets in, the story kicks itself free of any assumed direction. By act three, all hell has broken loose, and it’s manic Potter madness. Voldemort may be gone, but all isn’t well — in the most delightful way in which that declaration can be true.

Thrills aside, the emotional core here is a deeply human one, which Rowling should consider a huge achievement decades in the making. As Harry struggles to find his footing as a parent, his youngest son Albus struggles even more to extract his own identity from the shadow of his father. One early, pivotal argument between the two is cutting on its own… and decades of familiarity with our wizened hero only twist the knife deeper.

Such is the case with the other core players. Hermione, now the Minister for Magic, is professionally uneasy but masterfully at home in her new role. Ron, her husband, is more carefree than ever in his freedom from Death Eaters and academia. To Thorne’s credit, his approach to seeing these characters function in the adult world miraculously avoids cynicism and what could have been a jarring leap of faith; they’re grounded here in the gems of familiar personality they get to display (like Hermione checking Harry’s paperwork at the Ministry of Magic). It’s only Draco whose evolution appears the least impactful and believable, owed to an off-stage tragedy that is a key yet unseen impetus for his behavior.

The introduction of primary protagonists Albus and Scorpius is, largely, perfect. Both characters immediately spring from the page and stake their claim as the wizarding world’s greatest new (yes, new) creations. Albus is rebellious, inquisitive, and foolhardy, but lovable despite his Order of the Phoenix levels of angst; Scorpius Malfoy is dryly funny and winningly sanguine, despite having every reason not to be. Rose, the daughter of Hermione and Ron, is underused but finely crafted, and a handful of other new characters are smartly conceived.

Cursed Child bears its flaws openly, but the lightest offenses are excused; forgive it its exposition, and its frequent returns to such language when the plot demands explanation as shock (which is often). Thorne offers some fine tributes to Rowling’s biting humor, but also strays on occasion; most noticeably, he errs in his homages to fallen characters. With such limited stage direction guiding the dialogue, the premise of figuring out emotion falls on the reader more than previous Potter books, but still, some exchanges read as sterile and unnatural. Of no fault to the playwright, that straight-play trope of awarding a meaty monologue to every character doesn’t quite lend itself to every arc in this tale; similarly, a handful of act-four scenes are detrimentally heavy-handed.

As is the nature of this modern age of revivals and reboots, Cursed Child reads — maybe even exists — as a field guide of cameos and surprises. Each one bears delights and induces smiles, but the play’s story device and its ability to summon up familiar faces feels like the likely reason Rowling and company felt the piece could and should in fact work now, here, in 2016. On that note, Cursed Child is also the series’ least standalone entry. It’s almost akin to Rowling’s complement works ( Quidditch Through the Ages , Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , etc.), serving more as an experiment in hypothetical world development than in definitive measure. The punch of its revelations about the happenings at Hogwarts would no doubt have hit harder had Rowling not continued the story to such lengths on Pottermore or through her social media unveilings of character details.

Admittedly, it’s tempting to write off the work as Rowling-approved fan-fiction, rather than her own defining mythos. Certainly with time, fans will accept the story as canon, but some of the Cursed Child finality feels presently dubious — not insomuch as where characters have ended up, but in why their fates have almost been perfunctorily defined. It’s almost the Potter series’ response to the nostalgia-mania that’s defined this generation of regeneration — a condition Potter surprisingly subscribed to just nine years after its purported end. On one hand, the reprise helps uncover important new layers that only serve the greater, grander story; but on the other, certain moments in the series have been untied and hastily re-packaged here. (Coyly: Some portraits are best left silent.)

One wonders what Rowling would have done had Cursed Child manifested itself in her home medium, with her inimitable mode of description guiding readers rather than leaving them to fill in the acting blanks in their vision of how this piece operates on a stage (which, to be sure, is an adventure that Rowling, Thorne, Tiffany, and rights-holders Warner Bros. should be commended for embarking upon). But then, we have essentially already read these scenes in Rowling’s prose, and Cursed Child is all about ingenious experiments in the unseen. Here, the reader dares to enact a stretch of logic, imagination, and ethos, borne from Harry’s arrival in both the real world and the “real world.” This is Harry Potter like you’ve never experienced it before. Welcome to the theatre, where participants are asked to fall deeply into the hypnosis of a narrative while also being made wholly aware that they’re watching from the outside. It’s a dastardly strange, magical beast, but it’s one Rowling’s readers have been known — trained, even — to conquer. A

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HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD

The official script book of the original west end production.

by Jack Thorne with J.K. Rowling & John Tiffany ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2016

Rowling’s name on the cover will guarantee mad sales, even for an unadventurous spinoff like this.

The Boy Who Lived may be done with Voldemort, but Voldemort’s not done with him.

Blocked out by all three co-authors but written by Thorne, this play script starts up where Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) leaves off, then fast-forwards three years. As the plot involves multiple jaunts into the past to right certain wrongs (with all but the last changing the future in disastrous ways), the last Triwizard Tournament and other already-familiar events and locales figure prominently. Also, many favorite characters, even Dumbledore and Snape, trot back onstage to mingle with the now–school-age offspring of Ron, Harry, and Draco. In a fan-fiction–style stretch, the child of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named also plays a part. In the early going at least, the authors faithfully recapture the series’ lively character interplay, and one scene aboard (and atop) the Hogwarts Express particularly echoes some of the original cast’s heady misadventures. And there are measures of banter, tongue-in-cheek dialogue (“HERMIONE: Who are you calling intense?”), and evocative if skimpy stage directions: “[Harry] feels intense pain in his forehead. In his scar. Around him, Dark Magic moves .” But the spellcasting and dramatic crescendos don’t play as well on the page as they might on the stage; the dozens of short, quick-cut scenes chop up the action for readers rather than building dramatic tension. Moreover, the bonding between classmates Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, two self-described “losers,” and the adult Harry’s labored efforts to connect with his alienated middle child distract from a dark-is-rising-again storyline that already leans on unlikely contrivances as it makes its way to a climactic wizardly duel.

Pub Date: July 31, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-338-09913-3

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2016

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PERCY JACKSON'S GREEK GODS

by Rick Riordan ; illustrated by John Rocco ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014

The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories.

Percy Jackson takes a break from adventuring to serve up the Greek gods like flapjacks at a church breakfast.

Percy is on form as he debriefs readers concerning Chaos, Gaea, Ouranos and Pontus, Dionysus, Ariadne and Persephone, all in his dude’s patter: “He’d forgotten how beautiful Gaea could be when she wasn’t all yelling up in his face.” Here they are, all 12 Olympians, plus many various offspring and associates: the gold standard of dysfunctional families, whom Percy plays like a lute, sometimes lyrically, sometimes with a more sardonic air. Percy’s gift, which is no great secret, is to breathe new life into the gods. Closest attention is paid to the Olympians, but Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning—so readers will also meet Makaria, “goddess of blessed peaceful deaths,” and the Theban Teiresias, who accidentally sees Athena bathing. She blinds him but also gives him the ability to understand the language of birds. The atmosphere crackles and then dissolves, again and again: “He could even send the Furies after living people if they committed a truly horrific crime—like killing a family member, desecrating a temple, or singing Journey songs on karaoke night.”

Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4231-8364-8

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014

More by Rick Riordan

BOOK REVIEW

by Rick Riordan

by Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro

by Rick Riordan ; adapted by Ethan Young ; illustrated by Ethan Young ; color by George C. Williams

PERCY JACKSON'S GREEK HEROES

by Rick Riordan ; illustrated by John Rocco ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2015

Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live.

In a similarly hefty companion to Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods (2014), the most voluble of Poseidon’s many sons dishes on a dozen more ancient relatives and fellow demigods.

Riordan averts his young yarn spinner’s eyes from the sex but not the stupidity, violence, malice, or bad choices that drive so many of the old tales. He leavens full, refreshingly tart accounts of the ups and downs of such higher-profile heroes as Theseus, Orpheus, Hercules, and Jason with the lesser-known but often equally awesome exploits of such butt-kicking ladies as Atalanta, Otrera (the first Amazon), and lion-wrestling Cyrene. In thought-provoking contrast, Psyche comes off as no less heroic, even though her story is less about general slaughter than the tough “Iron Housewives quests” Aphrodite forces her to undertake to rescue her beloved Eros. Furthermore, along with snarky chapter heads (“Phaethon Fails Driver’s Ed”), the contemporary labor includes references to Jay-Z, Apple Maps, god-to-god texting, and the like—not to mention the way the narrator makes fun of hard-to-pronounce names and points up such character flaws as ADHD (Theseus) and anger management issues (Hercules). The breezy treatment effectively blows off at least some of the dust obscuring the timeless themes in each hero’s career. In Rocco’s melodramatically murky illustrations, men and women alike display rippling thews and plenty of skin as they battle ravening monsters.

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4231-8365-5

Page Count: 416

Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book review: How the script compares to the Palace Theatre production

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For every Harry Potter fan, the release of The Cursed Child is a dream come true. Who thought an eighth part to the Boy-Who-Lived’s story would actually materialise so soon after the main series finished? However, it quickly transpired this was going to be no normal book release.

JK Rowling chose to release The Cursed Child as a play, one ‘tailor made for the stage’ as noted in The Independent’ s five-star review of the Palace Theatre production. Critics, including myself, were blown away by the magical performance, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany helping Rowling create something of immense wonder.

So, how does the script, released to the public in book form, compare to the theatre production? Is the magic still there? Already, fans have devoured the story, taking it apart bit by bit, uncovering inconsistencies in the story telling, particularly regarding a certain time-turner paradox. Could it have ever lived up to expectations?

Unfortunately, as fantastic as the production was, racing through the script was never going to compare. Where stage theatrics sparked imaginations, now there are brief lines quickly explaining huge set-ups; everyone knew the script couldn’t compete with the stage production, begging the question, should this have ever been released in this format?

First look at Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

An example of the script being unmeasurable against the production comes in act one, scene four. It starts with the explanation: “And now we enter a world of time changing. And this Scene is all about magic.” In these few pages our hero, Albus Severus Potter, goes from being sorted into a Hogwarts house in his first year to rushing onto the Express in his third. Along the way, we’re treated to a brief Quidditch lesson, Great Hall assembly, and a Potions lesson, but they’re all so brief we hardly get a flavour of what is actually happening.

On stage, it was one of the play’s greatest scenes; fast pace but with vivid imagery. If The Cursed Child was perhaps written as a book this could have been built on but, in these pages, we barely get a taste of these formative years. It’s so quick, so little is said, readers will race through, given little direction as what is happening.

Another example comes when the new generation of wizards drink a Polyjuice Potion. In previous books and on stage, it was utterly hilarious as Rowling’s heroes transformed, yet, as a script, the scene passes by rapidly, the humour and magic lost.

Of course, this is the problem with releasing The Cursed Child as a script, and one we must all be resolute with. For those who are unable to see the stage play, there’s still a lot to enjoy in the script. Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco Malfoy, is the highlight of the script, funny throughout. Meanwhile, the titular hero, Harry Potter, has evolved into a slightly grumpy father and one who lacks some basic parenting skills. It’s a natural progression for an orphan thrown into the spotlight that is interesting and will no doubt anger some fans.

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Without giving too much, the first half is quite innocent, while the second takes a dark turn thanks to a time-twisting plot that - when read at a reasonable pace - can be quite confusing, at times reading like fan-fiction, particularly when cameo when cameo after cameo rolls in.

If you do have the luxury of being able to attend the Palace Theatre production , I highly recommend it. If you’re unable to do so, perhaps wait until the inevitable three-part film series comes.

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Harry Potter made a return to the forefront of pop culture at the end of July with the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a screenplay of the new stage play that takes us back to the magical wizarding world. It’s a bold new direction for the story, taking place nineteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (please note that this review will assume that you have read or, at the very least, watched the final entry in the series), and the world is a very different place for Harry and his friends.

Almost two decades have passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. Since Voldemort’s defeat, our original heroes have attempted to move on with their lives. Harry is a Ministry of Magic official now, head of the Office of Magical Law Enforcement. He’s happily married to Ginny, and father of three children. Hermione is Minister of Magic, and married to Ron, who has taken over operation of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. At the outset of the play, Harry and Ginny’s second child, Albus, is bound for his first year at Hogwarts. While on the train, he meets his fellow first year, Scorpius Malfoy, and despite their fathers’ history, they become fast friends. In short order, the boys arrive at school and are both sorted into Slytherin, much to Albus’s surprise.

The following years pass quickly (we are only shown hints of events during the first three years that Albus and Scorpius are in school), showing the lack of real communication between Albus and his father. Being the son of The Boy Who Lived, it turns out, is not easy. Albus has Scorpius as a friend, but neither of them seem to be the children their fathers hoped they would be. You see, a rumor has been flying about the wizarding world that Draco Malfoy isn’t actually Scorpius’s dad. Gossip is that Malfoy wasn’t able to have a child, and so he illegally used a Time Turner in order for his wife to conceive a son with Lord Voldemort. This rumor is given more credence when the Ministry of Magic confiscates what is believed to be the last Time Turner in existence, one that doesn’t appear to have the one-hour-back limit of previous ones. But if someone could go back more than one hour in time, what would they seek to do with that power?

In their fourth year, Albus and Scorpius learn about the existence of the Time Turner and ask themselves that question. When Amos Diggory arrives at the Ministry to implore Harry to go back and save his son, Cedric from Voldemort, Harry refuses, for fear of what disrupting the past might do. When given the opportunity, though, Albus and Scorpius leap at a chance to change the world in the hopes of finding their place within it. However, the threat of Lord Voldemort doesn’t only linger in the past.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child isn’t a Harry Potter novel. It’s a play based on a story by J.K. Rowling, but the heavy lifting of the writing was done by Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. It’s a vastly different sort of read because of that, and we don’t get anywhere near the level of insight into each character. It doesn’t move in quite the same way, but it is no less magical. Cursed Child is to the Harry Potter series what The Force Awakens was to Star Wars: a return to a beloved world that retreads some familiar moments while still laying the groundwork for a younger generation. New perspectives on classic moments left me feeling more connected to the characters than I had since first finishing Deathly Hallows.

Having read through the entirety of the screenplay, I only want one more thing from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I want to see it on stage.

(Note: This review orignally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2016/08/10/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-… )

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Book Review

Harry potter and the cursed child.

• Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne; a new play by Jack Thorne
• Adventure , Fantasy , Play

Readability Age Range

• Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
• Goodreads Choice Award, 2016; Holden-Crowther Award Nominee, 2016

Year Published

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine . It is the eighth “Harry Potter” book, but first play, and comes after the seven books in the “Harry Potter” series.

Plot Summary

Nineteen years have passed since the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. Harry is now a grown man and an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic. He’s married to Ginny Weasley, and their children are James, Albus and Lily. As the story begins, the Potter family is taking the nervous Albus to catch the train for his first year at Hogwarts.

The school’s students are divided into four houses, and Albus fears he may be chosen for the Slytherin house. Represented by a snake, Slytherin is known as a house of Dark Magic. Albus doesn’t believe it is a fitting place for brave wizards. At the train station, the Potters run into Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who are now married and have two children. Hermione is the Minister of Magic. Their daughter, Rose Weasley-Granger, is also attending Hogwarts for the first time.

On the train ride, Rose lectures Albus about the importance of falling in with the right people at school. She’s distraught when Albus immediately befriends Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius is the son of Harry’s Hogwarts rival, Draco. Rumor has it that Scorpius may be the biological son of Voldemort, the evil wizard who killed Harry’s parents and tried to kill Harry.

Some suggest Draco and his wife couldn’t have children, so they used a Time-Turner to send Scorpius’ mother back to Voldemort’s time. They supposedly did this to provide a powerful heir to the Malfoy line. At Hogwarts, the sorting hat chooses both Scorpius and Albus to be in the Slytherin house.

The next few years are only briefly depicted. Albus continues to dislike Hogwarts, where he repeatedly fails to live up to his famous father’s legacy. The relationship between Harry and Albus grows increasingly tense. When a man with an illegal Time-Turner is arrested, Harry and Hermione secretly ponder how to handle the situation. Hermione hides the time travel device in her office.

One evening, an elderly Amos Diggery comes to visit Harry at home. Nearly two decades earlier, Voldemort killed Diggory’s son, Cedric, simply because Cedric was with Harry. Amos plays on Harry’s guilt by mentioning he’s heard the ministry has seized a Time-Turner. He asks Harry to allow him to use it and get his son back. Harry denies the Time-Turner rumors. Albus overhears the conversation. As he eavesdrops, he meets Amos’ niece, Delphi, who is also listening.

As Albus starts packing to return to school, Harry gives him a small blanket. It is the last thing Harry has from his mother. Albus complains that it’s a useless gift. In anger, Harry and Albus tell each other they sometimes wish they weren’t related. Albus runs from the room as Harry pleads for him to come back. Harry begins having bad dreams, and his scar begins to ache again.

On the way back to school, Scorpius tells Albus about the Triwizard Tournament, which hasn’t taken place in two decades. Scorpius says during the last one, Harry and Cedric Diggory were transported to Voldemort. Voldemort called Cedric a spare , or a useless extra person in the situation, and killed him. Albus grows indignant, convinced his father lied to Amos about the Time-Turner. He decides he will help right one of the wrongs of the past by saving Cedric. Albus and Scorpius sneak off the train and make their way to St. Oswald’s Home for Old Witches and Wizards. They find Delphi and Amos and vow to get Cedric back.

Delphi makes a potion of Polyjuice for herself and the boys. After drinking it, she looks just like Hermione. Albus looks like Ron, and Scorpius is the spitting image of Harry. They enter Hermione’s office to search for the Time-Turner. They’re almost caught by the real Harry and Hermione, who are discussing what to do about Hogwarts’ message that Albus and Scorpius are missing. Albus (as Ron) keeps them from discovering their look-alikes. Then the kids rifle through Hermione’s magical bookshelf until they find the Time-Turner.

Based on a dream of Harry’s, the adults head toward the Forbidden Forest to search for the boys. There, Harry runs into a centaur with whom he fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. The centaur tells Harry there is a black cloud around Albus that could endanger everyone.

The boys use the Time-Turner to go into the past. There, they begin to watch the 1995 tournament. They have just managed to disarm Cedric when they are sent back to their normal time. They discover the Time-Turner only allows them to spend a few minutes in the past. They find themselves back in the present with their parents. Albus, who has broken his arm, collapses.

In the next scene, Albus sleeps in a hospital bed with Harry at his side. Professor Dumbledore’s image visits Harry, and Harry asks for advice about how to protect his son. Dumbledore urges him to discover what is wounding Albus. When Albus wakes, he lies to Harry about where he had gone. Harry tells Albus what he’s heard from the centaur. He vows to set measures in place to monitor Albus’ movements. He also says Albus may no longer associate with Scorpius.

As Albus becomes indignant, Ron enters. Albus discovers he and Scorpius have somehow changed the past. In this timeline, Ron isn’t married to Hermione, and Rose was never born. Albus also learns he is now part of the house of Gryffindor.

Harry makes good on his vow to keep Albus under surveillance. A sad Albus and a hurt Scorpius continue to pass each other at school. Delphi convinces Scorpius to talk to Albus and restore their friendship. Together, the boys make another trip to the tournament in 1995 to save Cedric. Scorpius returns to the present, but Albus isn’t with him. Scorpius learns that, because of their actions in their latest time travel, Harry died years ago. Albus does not exist, and Voldemort rules.

In part two, Scorpius tries to get his bearings in his current reality. He learns his father, Draco, has been involved in torturing and killing Mudbloods. He finds out Severus Snape is still alive in this reality, so Scorpius visits him. Snape takes Scorpius to Hermione and Ron, who are members of an underground rebellion. They piece together the reasons the most recent time travel went awry. Snape, Hermione and Ron travel back in time with Scorpius. Dementors appear, and Ron and Hermione distract the creatures so Snape and Scorpius can finish their mission.

The dementors suck out Ron’s and Hermione’s souls. A little later, dementors kill Snape as he helps Scorpius escape. As Scorpius emerges back into the present, Albus is with him once again. Scorpius says the Time-Turner is gone. The headmistress lectures the boys for breaking so many rules and chides Hermione for keeping the Time-Turner in the first place. Scorpius later tells Albus that he still has the Time-Turner. As the boys are deciding how to destroy the device, Delphi appears. They learn she is Voldemort’s daughter. She breaks their wands and steals the Time-Turner.

Harry and Draco visit Amos Diggery and learn Delphi was not his niece as she had said. Meanwhile, Delphi kills one of the boys’ classmates and takes Albus and Scorpius back in time with her. She informs them that she wants the rebirth of the Dark in the form of Voldemort’s return. She wants them to help her humiliate Cedric so that he will become evil and pave the way for Voldemort’s victory. They thwart Delphi’s plans, so she destroys the Time-Turner and traps the boys in 1995.

The adults, having discovered Delphi’s plan to resurrect Voldemort, try to determine what’s happened to the boys. Draco confesses to Harry that his father had a Time-Turner built. They talk about using it, but they realize it won’t do any good since they don’t know where or when to find their sons.

Albus and Scorpius decide they must get a message to their fathers in the future. They leave a magical note on the blanket Harry’s mother gave him, telling Harry where to meet them in the past. Harry discovers Albus’ message. He, Ginny, Ron, Draco and Hermione travel back to the time at which Voldemort killed Harry’s parents.

There, they meet the boys. They believe Delphi will try to meet her father there and change the course of history for the worse. To draw her out, Harry takes on the form of Voldemort. They battle, and he captures Delphi with the help of his friends. Harry must decide whether to change the course of history by stopping Voldemort from killing his parents.

Ultimately he decides to let history play out as it did originally so he and his friends and family can go home. It’s painful for him to watch. Back in the present, Harry and Albus begin to mend their relationship. Harry also starts to deal with some of his crippling memories involving Voldemort.

Christian Beliefs

Other belief systems.

The Harry Potter stories take place in a magical world where people frequently cast spells, transform into other things or people and perform magic. They learn these things in their classes at Hogwarts. Hermione’s bookshelf includes some banned and cursed books. Scorpius is surprised to find books on Divination because he knows Hermione hates Divination.

In an alternate timeline, Hermione is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. In class, she talks about a magical charm called Patronus, which takes the shape of an animal. A person can conjure one to protect him or herself from the world. On several occasions, characters spar using incantations and wands. Harry is transfigured into the form of Voldemort.

Authority Roles

Harry and Ginny are loving parents, though Harry struggles to connect with his son. Draco cares deeply about his son but sometimes has difficulty expressing himself. Harry often has dreams about his Aunt Petunia. In one dream, she mocks Harry for wetting the bed at night.

Profanity & Violence

The words d–n , h— and frigging appear a time or two.

Sexual Content

Ron kisses Hermione once.

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Stealing: Albus steals an invisibility cloak from his brother, James. The boys steal the Time-Turner from Hermione’s office.

Alcohol: Ron says he would like to marry Hermione again because he was too drunk to remember much of their original wedding. He says he’d like the opportunity to be sober and tell others how much he loves her.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

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Review: ‘Harry Potter’ Back Onstage, Streamlined and Still Magical

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” returned to Broadway, now in one part instead of two. It may feel smaller, but is no less dazzling.

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By Alexis Soloski

Like a lot of children, Harry Potter grew bigger as he got older. J.K. Rowling’s later novels in the series came in twice as thick, or more, as the first. The lengths of the film versions peaked with the adaptation of that final volume, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” split into two parts running a combined four and a half hours. In 2018, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” — an original play by Jack Thorne, based on a story by Thorne, Rowling and John Tiffany — opened on Broadway at the lavishly remodeled Lyric Theater. Also split in two, the total experience clocked in at more than five hours.

But now Harry seems to have shrunk. After a pandemic closure (and reported problems with production costs ), “Cursed Child” has returned, shorter and more streamlined, its two parts collapsed into a single one and its length reduced by a third. The creators have kept quiet on the mechanics of this revision; call it “Harry Potter and the Mysterious Abridgment.” I assume someone pointed a wand at the published script and shouted, “Brevioso!”

The new version, which opened on Tuesday , does feel smaller — its themes starker, its concession to fandom more blatant. But as directed by Tiffany and choreographed by Steven Hoggett, with an essential score from Imogen Heap, it remains diamond-sharp in its staging and dazzling in its visual imagination, as magical as any spell or potion.

The essence of the plot hasn’t changed. “Cursed Child” still opens where the epilogue of “Deathly Hallows” leaves off, 19 years after the book’s climactic Battle of Hogwarts. On their way to that school of witchcraft and wizardry are Albus Potter (James Romney) — the second son of Harry Potter (Steve Haggard, in for James Snyder at the performance I attended) and Ginny Potter (Diane Davis) — and Rose Granger-Weasley (Nadia Brown), the daughter of Hermione Granger (Jenny Jules) and Ron Weasley (David Abeles).

Aboard the Hogwarts Express, Albus meets Scorpius Malfoy (Brady Dalton Richards), the son of Harry’s former nemesis Draco Malfoy (Aaron Bartz), who offers him sweets. Albus and Scorpius’s burgeoning friendship upsets both of their fathers, complicating already fraught relationships and imperiling the entire wizarding world. Because what is Harry Potter without a threatened apocalypse and the occasional chocolate frog?

The audience experience begins long before the lights go down, through the sumptuous lobby and into the auditorium. Every carpet, curtain, light fixture and wallpaper strip helps to immerse you into the Potterverse. It’s a marvel of imagination, and more shows should think about extending design beyond the stage. Even the reminder to wear a mask is presented as a boarding announcement for the Hogwarts Express.

In the opening moments, that train seems to have been refitted as a high-speed rail. Everyone moved and spoke so fast — Jules and Richards were almost unintelligible — I was briefly worried that this new version was simply the old one played at 1.5 times speed. I once counted two consecutive seconds in which nothing happened onstage. Once only.

Yet there are excisions, most of them so surgical you would never notice, though I did slightly miss the beloved Hogwarts groundskeeper Hagrid. Other changes are more pointed, like the rendering of Albus and Scorpius’s relationship as explicitly romantic, which has a knock-on effect of flattening the father-son conflict. Gone too are the dream sequences that bolstered the play’s mournful tenor and provided much of its exposition.

With a lot of that context missing, the show is now more difficult to recommend to anyone not already versed in Potteralia. (Surely there must be someone left?) The most audible reaction I heard came when a character announced herself as Dolores Umbridge, a revelation that means nothing without knowledge of the books and films. Luckily, I had brought along my daughter, an 8-year-old who has made her own butterbeer and strongly identifies as a Gryffindor.

At intermission, she turned to me, eyes bright and round as golden snitches. “This movie has great special effects!” she said. She often calls plays movies, a beautiful way to troll her theater critic mother. Still, I couldn’t entirely disagree. The original “Cursed Child,” with its luxuriant running time and hyperfocus — for better and worse — on the emotional lives of its characters, felt explicitly theatrical, the wresting of a real work of dramatic art from a massively popular franchise. This new version remains ravishingly entertaining, but is also, like the movie adaptations, a more obvious attempt to cash in on Pottermania.

Yet there are loads of films — even those with the extravagant C.G.I. budgets of the “Harry Potter” movies — that come nowhere near approaching the magic of Tiffany’s staging, enhanced by Christine Jones’s set, Katrina Lindsay’s costumes, Neil Austin’s lighting and Gareth Fry’s sound. Jamie Harrison’s illusions, the stuff of phoenix feather and unicorn horn, are an absolute astonishment. (Were fire marshals ensorcelled into approving this show’s pyrotechnics?) During the sped-up beginning, I wondered, darkly, if the show could now exist as just another theme park attraction. It’s more than that. Besides, three and a half hours of enchantment is still a hell of a ride.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child At the Lyric Theater, Manhattan; harrypottertheplay.com . Running time: 3 hours 30 minutes.

• In My Own Words
• Younger Readers

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two

Being Harry Potter has never been easy. And it isn’t much easier now, as we catch up with him nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts.

These days, Harry is a husband, father of three school-age children, and an overworked employee at the Ministry of Magic.

While he struggles with a personal history that refuses to stay in the past, his youngest son Albus must grapple with the weight of the family legacy he never asked for.

As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, the play was scripted by Jack and directed by John.

It received its world premiere in London’s West End on 30 July 2016.

Publishers: UK Print – Little, Brown US Print – Scholastic eBook – Pottermore

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Book Review: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” 

By Ciara Anderson, ‘16

“Harry Potter” fans rejoiced this past summer as the eighth installment of the series was released. J.K. Rowling joined forces with Jack Thorne to create a play and a book to add to the Wizarding World. It was an exciting idea that answered many questions that were left unanswered from previous installments.

The book is simply a script from the play that has garnered much attention. The last we saw Harry was in “The Deathly Hallows.” This book introduced the characters Albus Severus, James Sirius, Lily Luna, and Rose and Hugo Granger-Weasley that are revisited in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” The basis of the story surrounds Albus Severus Potter (Harry and Ginny’s son) and Scorpius Malfoy‘s (Draco’s son) quest to save Cedric Diggory. Or rather, simultaneously fix everything they ruined in the process.

Cedric Diggory is a main character in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the fourth book in the series, who (spoiler alert) dies and leaves Harry feeling guilty for the rest of his life. Cedric is a loveable character, which is why his appearance in this new book was exciting. Book fans knew of Harry’s guilt throughout the rest of the series, but to base an entire script off of that—stroke of genius.

The unanswered questions: what’s going to happen to the children? Where is Harry and the gang now? Has the wizarding world stayed peaceful throughout this entire time?

This is 19 years’ worth of questions of course not in real time, though it feels like it. All of them were answered somewhat and the book was action packed, bringing old characters back to life and making us fall in love with the new ones!

Unfortunately, this book only reached my expectations, it did not exceed them. The other releases left me excited to read the next book, while this one only made me feel content that there was another Harry Potter continuation. I wish the father and son relationship between Harry and Albus was more concise. When we first met Albus it seemed like he and Harry were the closest out of all his children, then this relationship became hazy. They didn’t want to be related at one point, and then Albus suddenly wanted to save Harry’s reputation with Cedric Diggory’s death? Of course this makes for an amazing plot and shows that Harry’s stubbornness that fans have grown to love did not fall far from the tree, but a bit more clarity with their relationship would have made this book an A+.

I would recommend this book to everyone, the only requirement I have is to read the first seven books and fall in love with the greatest pieces of fiction of our time.

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Book review: harry potter and the cursed child.

Priyali Prakash

Priyali is an ardent lover of chocolates, coffee, chicken, mountains, the colour purple, MS Dhoni and Chandler Bing, she is curious and not-so-sensitive, but at the same time knows how to appreciate life in its sheds and forms and all that there is to see, to travel to, to eat and to imbibe. LESS ... MORE

The much-awaited Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was released three days ago and all those who solemnly swore by the ‘Boy who Lived’ till now have a chance to relive the magic.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is definitely the eighth book in the Harry Potter series, picking up from where we left – nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts. This book, written by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne is based on a story written by our queen, JK Rowling.

Released as a special rehearsal edition script, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is divided into two parts and is spread across four acts and various scenes. As is common knowledge for the Potter fandom, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child traces the tumultuous relationship between Harry Potter, a thirty-seven-year-old ‘overworked Ministry of Magic employee’, and his son Albus Severus Potter, who has to carry the weight of unwanted popularity and history that comes attached to his last name.

But, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has more than that to offer. It brings our favourites Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny and the much-hated Draco Malfoy together in situations where they can’t escape each other. It also has mentions of many dead characters – Dumbledore, Cedric Diggory, Lord Voldemort, James and Lily Potter – and all of them have something to contribute in their own unique ways. The book is compelling enough, like its predecessors, to force you to not put it down. At the same time, it is a light-reading book with less text, which adds to the ease of reading.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child traverses through our pleasant and unpleasant memories of the wizarding world – students boarding the Hogwarts Express at platform nine and three-quarters, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, Ministry of Magic, the treacherous floo powder mode of travel, the Godric’s Hollow, the Triwizard Tournament and what not! It juggles between the past and the present in ways that could change their future to extents that are unimaginable and unforeseen.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child brings to the fore the troubles of dealing with both famous and infamous legacies, of fragile human relationships, of having a shot at altering your life and deciding who to put first – yourself or others.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is very much a Potter book – it has all the plot twists and turns and characters and quotes that stay with you long after you have read the book. For anyone who tells you otherwise – don’t let them. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a beautiful rendition.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child review – duel of dark and light carried off with dazzling assurance

Palace theatre, London It’s convoluted, but the latest expansion of the Potter universe is thrillingly staged, with time travel and age-old quests given a dash of post-Freudian guilt

“K eep the Secrets” is the injunction on badges handed out as we leave the theatre. It’s a motto that makes life hard for us hacks, but I am happy to divulge that John Tiffany , as director of this pair of two-and-a-half-hour plays, has masterminded a thrilling theatrical spectacle.

It is also one that will make much more sense to hardened Potterheads than to anyone who is not a member of the global cult. What we have is a brand new work by Jack Thorne based on an original story by himself, Tiffany and JK Rowling : a venture that I approached in a state of benign semi-innocence. I’ve read one of the seven Potter books and seen a couple of the eight films, and enjoyed them without becoming an addict. At times during the day, I felt as if I had wandered into Henry VI Part II without having seen the preceding plays.

I relied heavily on the expertise of my 11-year-old grandson, who was able to explain to me the intricacies of a Triwizard Tournament , sat enraptured through the day and who made a basic critical point: “If you’ve read the books, you’ll get more out of the play.”

But what can one safely reveal? It is no secret that the story starts where the seventh book leaves off. Harry (now 37) and Ginny, accompanied by Ron and Hermione, watch as their offspring set off from King’s Cross for a new term at Hogwarts. This is the cue for the first in a remarkable series of wonders by in-house illusionist Jamie Harrison, where the conventionally clad kids magically acquire school uniforms.

It is also clear that the story is going to take an unusual turn. Harry’s son, Albus, is an isolated, unpopular kid living under the shadow of a famous dad. His one true friend is Scorpius Malfoy, the son of his father’s arch enemy, Draco. But is Albus, as Harry suspects, an innocent dupe? And is there any truth in the rumour that the blond Scorpius, who looks like a thinner, adolescent Boris Johnson, is really the child of the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort?

I will disclose little more except to say that the two plays rely heavily on a knowledge of the fourth book, The Goblet of Fire , in which Cedric Diggory was killed during the Triwizard Tournament and Harry escaped. But what struck me was how Thorne, like Rowling , knits together a series of mythical strands. There is the quest motif, which is as old as Arthurian legend. There is the idea of time travel, which has been a standard part of sci-fi from HG Wells to Doctor Who. On top of that you have a Manichean world in which good and evil are locked in perpetual combat. Underlying all that is a mix of white magic and Christian theology that leads Harry to say, at one point, “A child died to save the world.”

If Thorne has added yet another ingredient to an already complicated brew it is that of post-Freudian guilt: much of the story revolves around the adult Harry’s angst at his past actions and Albus’s need to prevail over his father. But, just as things start to get a bit heavy, Thorne adds a touch of leavening humour and reminds us that a smile is as good as a myth. At one point, Scorpius reminds us, with a smirk of self-congratulation, that “It’s time the Time-Turner became a thing of the past.”

If I’m honest, I got as much pleasure from the staging as from the convoluted story. Tiffany and his designer, Christine Jones, have created magic out of the simplest ingredients. The set is dominated by Victorian gothic arches, more reminiscent of St Pancras than King’s Cross, and by the brilliant use of suitcases and portable stairways. An exciting escape on top of a moving train is evoked through a line of luggage and the estrangement of Albus and Scorpius is suggested by flights of steps that move as nimbly as Fred Astaire. Harrison’s magic, Katrina Lindsay’s costumes and Neil Austin’s lighting achieve triumphant fulfilment in the creation of the Dementors, dark forces who suck the souls out of humans and who float through the air like wraiths.

Any danger that the effects would upstage the actors is overcome by a set of strong performances. Anthony Boyle as a wonderfully quirky Scorpius and Sam Clemmett as the Oedipal Albus carry the bulk of the story and even hint at something stronger than friendship. Jamie Parker as the adult Harry is a suitably distraught figure haunted by the death-count he has caused and Noma Dumezweni , as an authoritative Hermione who is now Minister of Magic, and Paul Thornley, as a bluntly commonsensical Ron, suggest a couple bonded by love. I’d liked to have learned more of their daughter, Rose, but watch out for Esther Smith as the delphic figure of Delphi Diggory.

Occasionally, as fans gasped at new pieces of information, I felt like a teetotaller at a convention of licensed victuallers. But, while it helps to be a paid-up Potterhead, Tiffany and his team stage the piece with such dazzling assurance that I finally began to see the point of being wild about Harry.

• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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• John Tiffany

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After Reading The "Harry Potter" Series 20 Times, Here's Why I'll Never Touch "Cursed Child" Again

J.K. Rowling has cursed us all with this terrible book. 😒

"All was well."

Those were the three words that ended the epic 7-part Harry Potter series when the final book was released in 2007. The three syllables brought closure to millions of fans after years of watching our hero, Harry, suffer unimaginable loss.

Flash forward nine years to the first announcement of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, when fans found out that, actually, all is not well for Harry Potter .

Even though we thought J.K. Rowling had closed the door to the wizarding world, the fandom – me especially – welcomed the new Harry Potter installment with open arms and I pre-ordered it faster than a Firebolt with a nice tailwind.

When I finally got my hands on the play-turned-novel, I actually cried into the crisp new pages – I couldn't believe that after nine years I was finally going home.

As soon as I cracked it open, my excitement deflated. These characters – this world – was nothing like I remembered. It's like J.K. wasn't even a part of the literary process – which, according to the author byline, she wasn't. The bold print clearly states the book was written by Jack Thorne, based on a story he created with J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany – but I still thought J.K. would make sure Harry was done justice.

As I worked my way through the chapters, I got the feeling Thorne didn't read the books thoroughly before writing it. Instead, it seems like he watched two or three movies, then decided to make a farfetched fan fiction based on what he incorrectly thought Harry Potter was.

As a result, the characters aren't true to themselves – it's like Thorne turned the Resurrection Stone thrice in hand and conjured pale imitations of the witches and wizards we love.

Cursed Child- Ron tells jokes, because that's what people who work at joke shops do, don't you know? Draco Malfoy is weirdly affectionate towards the trio he despised. *SPOILER ALERT* Snape is honored that Harry's son is named after him, even though he absolutely despised Harry and anything to do with the Potter name. And Harry can barely have a conversation with his own son, Albus — something I know Harry would never, ever let happen.

Unlike the rest of the Harry Potter books, the entire plot of Cursed Child is random and shallow.

Because he's angry at Harry for a reason that was only lightly touched upon, Albus Potter develops a fixation with Cedric Diggory, which becomes the premise for the entire book. He overhears Amos Diggory talking about his son Cedric's untimely death once (I repeat: ONCE) and suddenly decides that his sole purpose in life is to go back in time and stop Cedric – a stranger who has nothing to do with him and died before Albus was even born – from dying. (Refresher: Cedric accidentally went to the graveyard in Goblet of Fire and was killed by Peter Pettigrew under Voldemort's orders.)

The whole thing leaves me with one question: Why would Albus, who knows nothing about Cedric and has not been effected by his death in the slightest, decide to undergo this random mission to revive him?

Albus gives some feeble excuse about how saving Cedric will make up for the people who died because of their association with Harry, which seems like a disconnected attempt on the author's behalf to invent a dangerous plot line. In the original books, Harry's missions were always 100% necessary (ex: Saving the Sorcerer's Stone from Voldemort, saving Ginny Weasley from the basilisk, saving Sirius from Voldemort, hunting down Horcruxes). But Albus' ridiculously risky decisions could never have a successful outcome, which makes it impossible to root for him. The whole book I was just thinking GO HOME, ALBUS.

Alongside the Cedric narrative, there's a side plot that reveals Delphi, who enters the story as a new friend claiming to be Cedric's cousin, is Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter, making her the 'bad guy.' It's a desperate attempt to create an antagonist and to a die-hard HP fan, it just doesn't ring true. There was nothing in the first seven books that implied Voldemort and Bellatrix had a child, in fact quite the opposite – true Potterheads remember that Bella is married to a fellow Death Eater.

It seems lazy that Thorne opted out of developing a new character and just decided to keep playing off of the Voldemort's-the-villain story line. Since he couldn't believably revive You-Know-Who, Thorne just settled for the next best thing: Voldemort Jr.

There's a scene in Order of the Phoenix where Harry's beloved pet owl Hedwig gets hurt, so Harry is forced to leave her with the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Grubbly-Plank, for treatment. As the professor walks away with her, Hedwig stares at Harry "as though unable to believe he would give her away like this." And that's exactly how I feel.

I am hurt and angry that J.K. would hand my beloved series away to someone who doesn't even know it or understand it. Thorne didn't grasp that what makes the Harry Potter series a world, and not just a story, is its depth.

In the seven books, three official spin-offs, and countless Pottermore stories J.K. Rowling carefully crafted, each and every plot turn had a rock-solid reason behind it, which often wasn't revealed until four books later. Even now that Harry's story has ended, Potterheads are still finding information about the wizarding world hidden in the tangled web of information J.K. created.

She could have used her own special kind of magic to bring Harry alive again in Cursed Child , but instead she let an outsider conjure up a ghost.

Kelsey is Seventeen.com's fashion expert and resident Harry Potter nerd. At the office, she spends her day writing about style, beauty, and literally every move Kylie Jenner makes. On the weekends, you can find her sifting through vintage shops and hunting for the perfect burger. Follow her on Instagram at @klstieg.

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West End Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’

By Matt Trueman

Matt Trueman

• London Theater Review: ‘A Very Expensive Poison’ 5 years ago
• West End Review: ‘The Night of the Iguana’ With Clive Owen 5 years ago
• U.K. Theater Review: ‘Invisible Cities’ 5 years ago

It is, quite simply, spellbinding: The Show That Lived Up to Expectations — and Then Some. Three years after J. K. Rowling announced her boy wizard would hit the stage, “ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ” — no mere rehash, but a whole new chapter — proves a proper theatrical blockbuster. Not just at the box office, but onstage as well: a captivating story given a spectacular staging and — Rowling’s specialty — a big, big heart. Twenty years ago, Harry Potter turned a generation onto reading. “The Cursed Child” could do the same for theater.

Its secret is simple: Rowling’s fantastical world is realized not with high-tech wizardry, but through the rough magic of theater. Broomsticks hop into their owners’ hands. Wands spit green jets of fire, blasting wizards ten feet into the air. Bodies vanish, balloon and transfigure. Ears shoot steam. Objects levitate.

Director John Tiffany ’s staging is full of tiny impossibilities, but it’s big on imagination too. Suitcases spring into shape as the Hogwarts Express, and two shifting staircases make a maze of school corridors. Huge iron arches, the ribs of the roof at Kings Cross station, slide in to become the Forbidden Forest. Even scenes changes proceed with the swish of a cloak. The whole thing seems motored by magic.

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Rowling’s sequel picks up where the books left off, with that coda at Kings Cross, 19 years on, as Harry sees his second son, Albus Severus Potter, off to Hogwarts for the first time. He is, as the book suggests, an anxious kid, nervous about leaving home, uncomfortable with attention and scared of being sorted into Slytherin.

If the originals showed one side of adolescence, “The Cursed Child” presents another — not the golden boy fighting for good, but the misfit battling with himself. Sam Clemmett’s Albus is a meek young thing, forever in his father’s shadow and preferring Hogwarts’ dark corners to its limelight. He finds an unlikely friend in Scorpius Malfoy, Draco’s son: geeky, gawky and, in Anthony Boyle’s hands, all fingers and thumbs. The more the pair try to ingratiate themselves with their peers, the more they end up isolated.

It’s the friendship of two bullied boys bound together, and it’s a beautiful, tender thing. The script by Jack Thorne (“Skins,” “Shameless”) recognizes that rejection breeds resentment, and outsiders stew into outcasts. No one’s born a villain, nor sees themselves as such, and where the books gave us stock baddies, “Cursed Child” fleshes them out. Albus and Scorpius only ever try to make good, but their efforts tend to lead to bad.

This is, however, still Harry’s story as much as his son’s, and if, 20 years ago, Rowling shepherded a generation through their teenage years, now she provides parenting lessons. An orphan abused by his foster family, Jamie Parker’s Harry struggles with his son. Their conversations always come back to him; their relationship is stern and serious, never playful or affectionate. The Boy That Lived has become The Man That Frowns — his hero complex is a burden and his childhood a barrier to letting others in. Parker’s superb. When he folds his arms, he seems to hug himself. His own frustrations rebound on his son.

Rowling has found a neat way to revisit her original, allowing for both novelty and nostalgia. Without giving those secrets away, her plot has shades of fan-fiction to it, revealing the past anew and prodding at its possibilities. It’s built for aficionados, of course, and while flashbacks and (clunky) exposition fill in the key plot points, you do need a knowledge of the world itself, from floo networks to Dementors’ Kisses.

Where it retreads old ground, the “Cursed Child” sometimes stutters. Familiar faces make welcome returns, but they’re pale imitations of their old selves. Theater butts up against its limitations too: the evils that seemed so vivid in your head or on screen stray into high camp on stage. That holds back Part Two of this five-hour-plus epic. When plot kicks in, it doesn’t yield the same wonder as the world that’s pulled together in Part One.

The show is far better when it moves things on. As adults, Ron and Hermione are the same as ever. Noma Dumezweni adds a cool authority to the latter’s racing mind, and Paul Thornley finds humor in the old Weasley haplessness. It’s Boyle, though, who really stands out, and his Scorpius is bound to be a new fan favorite, a lovable geek with wits as quick as his voice is screechy.

Beneath the surface, “Cursed Child” is absolutely contemporary. It shows a generation that has known only peace and certainty on the cusp of chaos; its villain isn’t an overlord with an army at hand, but a lone terrorist acting in and out of isolation. Even run by good people, the Ministry of Magic makes mistakes, and the Marauder’s Map, once a mischief maker’s friend, has become a surveillance tool. The answer this time is not solo heroics but collective action.

That’s true of the show itself. Its every element pulls together. Christine Jones’s shapeshifting space, all oak paneling and wrought iron, seems to ripple with Finn Ross’s projections. Jamie Harrison’s illusions, sleight of hand and misdirection would be nothing without Neil Austin’s exquisite lighting. Steven Hoggett’s movement makes the most of Katrina Lindsay’s costumes. It’s total theater. And, yep, it’s magic.

Palace Theater, London; 1,400 seats; £65 (£130 for both parts), $85 ($170) top. Reviewed July 23rd, 2016. Running time: 5 HOURS, 15 MIN.

• Production: A Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender production of two play in two acts by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne.
• Crew: Original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany; Script by Jack Thorne; Directed by John Tiffany; Set design, Christine Jones; costume design, Katrina Lindsay; Composer, Imogen Heap; lighting, Neil Austin; sound, Gareth Fry; Special Effects, Jeremy Chernick; Illusions and Magic, Jamie Harrison; Musical Supervisor, Martin Lowe; Casting, Julia Horan.
• Cast: Nicola Alexis, Jeremy Ang Jones, Helen Aluko, Rosemary Annabella, Annabel Baldwin, Jack Bennett, Paul Bentall, Anthony Boyle, Zoe Brough, Sam Clemmett, Morag Cross, Noma Dumezweni, Christina Fray, Claudia Grant, James Howard, Christiana Hutchings, Lowri James, Martin Johnston, Chris Jarman, Alfred Jones, Chipo Kureya, James Le Lacheur, Helena Lymbery, Tom Mackley, Barry McCarthy, Sandy McDade, Andrew McDoanld, Adam McNamara, Poppy Miller, Tom Milligan, Jack North, Jamie Parker, Alex Price, Stuart Ramsay, Ewan Rutherford, Nuno Silva, Cherrelle Skeete, Esther Smith, Nathaniel Smith, Dylan Standen, Paul Thornley, Joshua Wyatt.

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Broadway Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ defies belief with special effects wizardry

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” adapts the Wizarding World for the Broadway stage with astounding special effects and surprising story changes to its pre-pandemic script. Here’s our review.

To borrow a phrase from Ron Weasley, “Bloody hell!” I entered Lyric Theatre in New York City with casual excitement for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” the sequel stage production to the seven-book saga (on Broadway, but not a musical).

Within minutes of the play beginning, I realized this was a much bigger deal than I had anticipated. What I expected to be a pleasant afternoon of Broadway theater became an experience I will not soon forget, barring anyone casting the Obliviate memory spell.

A Tour de Force of Special Effects

“Cursed Child” leverages its characters’ magical abilities superbly. A few simple, common stage tricks would’ve checked all the boxes and likely still elicited an awestruck response from the audience. Instead, the charms, spells, and otherwise wizardly quirks of Harry’s wondrous world are integrated into the story with such a level of intentionality and impressiveness that they are the show’s strongest quality.

The production is nothing short of a tour de force of practical theater effects, each defying comprehension more than the last. Particularly with an effect involving the entire set seeming to reverberate and ripple, I could not fathom how what I was seeing was not on a screen, but rather existed materially and gazed upon by my actual eyeballs.

Audience members would be wise to select their seats with the special effects in mind. Multiple sequences take advantage of the show’s permanent residency in Lyric Theatre to involve the full scope of the auditorium, meaning guests too close to the front won’t see everything.

Building Something New for the Stage

While the “Cursed Child” story leans heavily toward nostalgia (more on that in a moment), its stage presentation dares to exist as a new flavor, as it were, of the familiar Wizarding World. This is the magic we know, but in a new medium.

Score composer Imogen Heap could’ve copied and pasted the well-known refrains of John Williams’ soundtracks and no one would’ve questioned the choice. Instead, though, she created entirely new compositions in her own style and the show is better because of it. Much like each character’s wand is unique because of its core, Heap’s “Cursed Child” soundtrack provides an auditory core that changes our lens of the story. The brilliance here is that she’s not mimicking John Williams, nor any other prior “Potter” composer (though they all contributed splendid selections to the series’ soundtracks), but rather that she’s showcasing how the Wizarding World can flourish under the stewardship of a new sound.

Likewise, several story beats pause in the midst of ethereal, ballet-like dance sequences performed by background players. Again, the show’s not a musical and these numbers don’t have lyrics, but they smartly embrace the theatrical medium to introduce something new to the Wizarding World rather than simply reverting to what worked in the films.

Harry Potter and the Convenient Plot Devices

Though the production nerd in me can forgive any faults of “Cursed Child” on the merit of its phenomenal technical prowess, the story occasionally wades absentmindedly in its own lore. Whereas the execution of the actual stage production pushes the boundaries of the Wizarding World into new territory, the story itself often falls into a “greatest hits” rehash of previous “Potter” adventures.

“Cursed Child” takes place 19 years after “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” In continuing the story set into motion by the epilogue of that final book — which involved the children of Harry and friends beginning a new school year at Hogwarts — “Cursed Child” is equal parts fan service (albeit, perhaps rightfully earned) alongside fascinating new dimensions to characters familiar and fresh. Its two new lead characters are remarkable, but the story around them sometimes doesn’t service them well.

In particular, two convenient narrative conceits specific to the Wizarding World (which I’ll refrain from naming here in keeping with the play’s plea to the audience to “protect the secrets”) whisk the plot along with a convenience and frequency they never had in their sparing use within the books and films.

The inverse of this criticism is that if you read the “Cursed Child” script when it was published in 2016, felt underwhelmed, and never saw the play in person (as was the case with me), you really have only a fraction of the perception of the play. When evaluating “Cursed Child” as a whole, the sum of its parts renders most of its story-related squabbles inconsequential and nitpicky in light of the thoroughly impressive theater experience.

Story Change in Abridged “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” Format

The original version of “Cursed Child” performed in two parts across completely separate showtimes. I don’t mean two acts separated by an intermission, but rather two entirely different, full-length shows, part one and part two.

Upon emerging from the pandemic, the Broadway production condensed into a singular presentation. This means several narrative threads are not explored in as much detail as they once were. As someone who read the 2016 script when it debuted, but never saw that version of the play in person, I didn’t notice what was different about the new version when I saw it on Broadway — except for one major story change, presented below in invisible text so as to avoid spoilers.

To read, highlight the text below. To skip it, simply keep scrolling.

In 2016’s script, Albus and Scorpius — the sons of Harry and Malfoy, respectively — were inseparable, but playwright Jack Thorne consistently friend-zoned their relationship through anecdotal dialogue that contradicted the characters’ clear attraction to one another.

In the new version of “Cursed Child,” Albus and Scorpius’ friendship becomes something deeper. They’re not quite “Facebook official,” per se, but their affection is decidedly less platonic and easily the most overtly queer any characters have been represented within a Wizarding World story.

While there is much progress still to be made in major franchises reflecting LGBTQIA+ stories, particularly as the subject relates to “Harry Potter” and its author, this inclusive change in “Cursed Child” is welcome and overdue all the same.

The Sorcery of Synergy

This being a “Harry Potter” affair, “Cursed Child” is more of a participatory event than most of its Broadway siblings. That’s not to say the show is interactive (it’s not) or that its characters address the audience (they don’t), but the theater-going experience here repeatedly provides fans with opportunities to indulge in all things Wizarding World.

By all means, come to the show dressed in your Hogwarts robes. Purchase a bottled Butterbeer at concessions. Buy a wand at the theater’s fully-stocked gift shop — or better yet, take home a coffee table book showcasing the show’s development.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” Consensus

You’ve read “Harry Potter” as a book. You’ve watched it as a movie. You may have even stepped into it within a theme park. But even if you’ve done all of those, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” on Broadway still brings something new to the table that must be seen to be believed.

Learn more and purchase tickets here .

More Wizarding World

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is one of several attractions fans can experience in New York City.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition , located on 34th Street, features museum-like displays of artifacts from the films, Instagrammable photo-ops recreating moments from the series, and a gift shop of its own.

Harry Potter New York , located at 935 Broadway (one address number away from being 9 3/4!), hosts a Butterbeer bar. This venue also formerly offered a VR Quidditch experience, but converted the attraction into more retail space.

Daniel Radcliffe, Harry himself, currently stars in “ Merrily We Roll Along ,” a Broadway musical performing at the Hudson Theatre.

Beyond the big apple, students of Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Fla. will perform “Cursed Child” in fall 2024 as part of the play’s inaugural year of licensing the show to school theater departments. Dr. Phillips High School is located immediately across the street from Universal Orlando Resort, specifically adjacent to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade, visible to students on campus every day. Read more in the Orlando Sentinel .

Speaking of Universal, the resort is well into construction for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, opening in 2025 as part of the new Universal Epic Universe theme park . Take a look at recent progress in our previous story:

Construction update: Dark Universe roller coaster trains testing at Epic Universe

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33 Books Like Harry Potter to Binge on Your Next Vacation

I t’s been 25 years since the first Harry Potter book was published, but J.K. Rowling’s series remains as popular as ever with kids and adults who can’t get enough of the Wizarding World. Filled with unforgettable characters, fascinating creatures, and maddening mysteries, the Harry Potter books have made an enduring mark on fantasy literature—not to mention leaving millions of readers looking for more books like Harry Potter to read next.

At its heart, the Harry Potter series is a coming-of-age tale that grows along with its young readers. In the first book,  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone , Harry and his friends are 11 years old. It’s a great introduction to fantasy books for kids who are roughly the same age. By the last book of the series,  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , our favorite characters are all on the cusp of adulthood. The content is darker, written at a higher level, and perfect for readers who’ve grown up with the Harry Potter series.

What to Read After Harry Potter

But like all good things, these magical books eventually come to an end. Fortunately for young readers and adults alike, there are lots of great options for what to read after Harry Potter that will give you a similar thrill as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and its companion Harry Potter Wizarding World theme park . Here’s a comprehensive list of the best books like Harry Potter for every grade level, continuously updated as new fantasy books make their debuts. 

Jump to a Section:

• Books like Harry Potter for Kids and Teens
• Books like Harry Potter for Older Teens and Adults
• Can’t Get Enough of the Wizarding World?

Books like Harry Potter for Young Readers and Teens

Percy jackson and the olympians by rick riordan.

Now a beloved television series on Disney+, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians is one of the most popular series to read after Harry Potter, too. Like the characters in the Harry Potter books, Percy Jackson grows older as the series progresses, with Percy starting as a 12-year-old in the first book and growing older with each book. 

In the first book, Percy discovers that his father is the Greek god Poseidon and is sent to Camp Half-Blood with other kids of divine parentage. From there, he goes on a quest to the Underworld to retrieve a stolen lightning bolt. The five-book series consists of The Lightning Thief ,  The Sea of Monsters ,  The Titan’s Curse ,  The Battle of the Labyrinth , and  The Last Olympian . 

“If you are a Potterhead, or if you like magic-related books, you’ll definitely not get bored,” raves one reviewer on Amazon, though others note that this series is less likely to appeal to older teens and adults than J.K. Rowling’s more complex Harry Potter books. 

The Witches of Willow Cove by Josh Roberts

In The Witches of Willow Cove , seventh grader Abby Shepherd and five other girls from a small New England town discover they not only have magical powers, but also share a secret connection to the Salem Witch Trials. Then a mysterious stranger named Miss Winters arrives and offers to teach them everything she knows about witchcraft. There’s only one problem: Miss Winters might be responsible for the disappearance of someone close to Abby years before—and she might have something equally wicked planned for Abby and her new coven. 

The first in a magical new series, The Witches of Willow Cove earned starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal and was named a book of the year by A Mighty Girl, which calls it “atmospheric, just-spooky-enough, and magical.” Tweens ands teens will love this page-turner filled with magic, mayhem, and humor, and the compelling mystery at the heart of the story appeals to adults as well.

“We were looking for something new after we finished all the Harry Potter books and I came across this,” says one review on Amazon. “It’s a little bit like Harry Potter meets The Craft. It takes place in modern day United States, so you don’t get that British boarding school vibe, but like the Harry Potter books it’s sort of a mystery disguised as a fantasy, and is also very much a story about friendship. It has a playful sense of humor, but can also put you on the edge of your seat.” 

The Witches of Willow Cove is the first book in the Willow Cove series. Two sequels have been announced, the first of which—called The Curse of Willow Cove —is slated for a late 2024 publication.

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

A spine-tingling page-turner,  City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab is perfect for middle-school readers who love a great ghost story. After 12-year-old Cassidy Blake, a self-proclaimed Gryffindor, nearly drowns, she gains the ability to see beyond the Veil and visit the spirit world. Cass’s best friend Jacob is a ghost. And her parents are the ghost-hunting stars of a reality TV show. Things get even weirder when her family travels to hauntingly perfect Scotland and Cass meets a girl who shares her strange abilities. 

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Critics and readers love this trilogy, which consists of City of Ghosts , Tunnel of Bones (in which Cass and family go to Paris), and Bridge of Souls (featuring the haunted city of New Orleans). Kirkus says the books “beg to be read in the dark of night” and reviewers on Amazon call it “brilliant” and “fast paced, funny, a little scary, and sweet.”

The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel

Julia Nobel’s Black Hollow Lane series ( The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane and The Secret of White Stone Gate ) follows an 11-year-old American girl named Emmy Willick who is sent to a boarding school in England full of dark secrets and suspicious teachers. Sound familiar? Kids will love these stories in which the heroine must uncover a mystery about her father and the secret society that may be implicated in his disappearance. 

“Relatable characters, a page-turning plot, and a pace that doesn’t lag yet allows you to spend time in the engaging setting,” writes one Amazon reviewer. “Give this to your 8- to 12-year-olds who gobble up mysteries, and they’ll be back for the next in the series.” 

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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Thirteen-year-old Tristan Strong goes to live with his grandparents following a tragic bus accident that claimed the life of his best friend, Eddie. While there, he accidentally tears an opening to the MidPass, a fantastical land whose inhabitants are trying to destroy everyone in Tristan’s world. Shackle monsters and ships made of bone evoke images of slavery, and Tristan joins with figures from African mythology to fight them. 

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky is the first book in the trilogy.  Tristan Strong Destroys the World  comes next, followed by Tristan Strong Keeps Punching .

“Tristan is the perfect embodiment of how it is okay to feel those emotions and view them as a source of power rather than a weakness,” writes one Amazon reviewer. Author Kwame Mbalia received the Coretta Scott King Honor Award for his debut novel. 

The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins penned  The Underland Chronicles for a middle school audience. The five books feature Gregor, who falls through a grate in his apartment building’s laundry room and finds himself among an army of giant rats in The Underland. Gregor learns he has a role to play in the Underland’s future and will uncover the mystery surrounding his father’s disappearance. 

“My non-reader son DEVOURED it and begged for the next book,” writes an Amazon reviewer. The first book in the series is Gregor the Overlander , followed by The Prophecy of Bane , The Curse of the Warmbloods , The Marks of Secret , and The Code of Claw .

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

Based on a Haitian folktale, The Jumbies series by Tracey Baptiste focuses on Corinne Le Mer, an 11-year-old girl who lives on an island in the Caribbean. Corinne must use her bravery and a little magic to stop an evil spirit from invading her home.

“It’s refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe,” says Kirkus Reviews. “This is a book worth reading simply for its originality.” It’s a good option for kids in grade level three to six. As one teacher wrote on Amazon, “This book is real deal literature for children!”

The first book in the series is The Jumbies , followed by Rise of the Jumbies and The Jumbie God’s Revenge . 

The Pandava Series by Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah, the 12-year-old heroine of the  Pandava series , likes to make up stories to fit in at school. But when her classmates catch her in a lie about a cursed lamp, Aru inadvertently unleashes an ancient demon whose goal is wake the God of Destruction. With her mother and classmates now frozen in time, Aru Shah must journey through the Kingdom of Death in order to find the reincarnated heroes of the epic Hindu poem the Mahabharata.

The first novel in the five-book series,  Aru Shah and the End of Time , was named one of the best fantasy novels of all time by  Time  magazine. Aru Shah and the End of Time and its multiple sequels ( Aru Shah and the Song of Death , Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes , Aru Shah and the City of Gold , and Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality ) are written for a preteen audience reading at an elementary school grade level. 

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

This acclaimed trilogy, consisting of  The Golden Compass,   The Subtle Knife , and  The Amber Spyglass , follows Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, two pre-teens from different realities who embark on a perilous journey, meet armored bears and fallen angels, and cross through haunted worlds. 

The Washington Post has called His Dark Materials “the best juvenile fantasy of the past 20 years.” Phillip Pullman’s original trilogy is written for grade level five and up. A second trilogy called The Book of Dust is set in the same world and is intended for a teen audience. It begins with La Belle Sauvage and continues with The Secret Commonwealth . The title of the final book in the trilogy has not been announced, though recent reports suggest it will be published sometime this year.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster is a telepath who has always assumed her secret is safe. But is it? When she meets Fitz, she realizes she’s not alone. Soon Sophie travels to a fantasy world where she can reveal her true identity—but that world is in danger, and only she can save it. 

If you liked the Harry Potter books for their immersive world-building and massive page counts, then Shannon Messenger’s nine-book Keeper of the Lost Cities series  is for you. Reviewers call these big 400-plus-page books “brilliant,” “fun for tweens and grownups alike,” and “the best series ever.” The nine books in the series are Keeper of the Lost Cities ,  Exile ,  Everblaze ,  Neverseen , Lodestar , Nightfall , Flashback , Legacy , Unlocked , and Stellarlune . The books become longer and more complex as the story grows. 

Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes

Based on Mayan mythology, the  Storm Runner trilogy features Zane, a young boy with a physical disability that not only makes it difficult to walk but also challenging to navigate bullying from his peers in middle school. Zane likes exploring the dormant volcano near his home in New Mexico with his dog Rosie, but little does he know the volcano is a gateway to another world. 

Zane finds himself in the middle of a powerful prophecy that will transport him far away from the life he’s always known. “Cervantes’ writing is funny and her characters are likable,” says a reader on Amazon. “This is a great read for students who like action and adventure.” And Kirkus Reviews notes, “Zane’s incredibly appealing kid voice and wry internal interjections make him easy to root for.”

The first book in the series is The Storm Runner , followed by The Fire Keeper and The Shadow Crosser . 

Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson

The  Pennyroyal Academy series are books like Harry Potter but set in a classic fairy tale world. Instead of Hogwarts, the characters in this three-book series attend Pennyroyal Academy, where they learn to become knights and princesses under the direction of instructors Fairy Drillsergeant and Rumpledshirtsleeves. 

The Pennyroyal Academy books combines adventure, magical mischief, and humor to create an unforgettable fantasy world where a young girl named Evie and her friends battle dragons and witches. It’s appropriate for middle-grade readers looking for books similar to Harry Potter. “It is a breathtakingly exciting novel, and Evie deserves a special place in the new pantheon of capable, feisty and, yes, admirable literary princesses,” raves The New York Times .

The first book, Pennyroyal Academy , is followed by two sequels: The Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy and The Warrior Princess of Pennyroyal Academy . 

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The  Mysterious Benedict Society books start with dozens of children responding to a strange newspaper advertisement. They are subjected to a series of mind-bending tests, but only four come away successful. The quartet is then sent on a secret mission for only the brightest and most inventive children. 

“The story about misfits struggling to save the world from dark forces might sound familiar, but the writing is fresh, witty and beautifully descriptive,” raves one reviewer on Amazon. “It has two brave, brilliant boys and two tough, resourceful girls who overcome complex social and governmental obstacles as they combine teamwork, bravery, and investigative adventure to fight for what is right and sane for all,” says another.

The four-book series, recently adapted as a Disney+ television series, begins with The Mysterious Benedict Society and is followed by The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey , The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma , and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages . 

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

If you’re looking for books similar to Harry Potter that you can read aloud to your kids, look no further than Fablehaven . Smart dialogue and a unique take on a familiar fantasy story make this five-book series a must-read for Potter fans. 

When 13-year-old Kendra Sorenson and her 11-year-old brother Seth are sent to stay with their grandfather, they soon discover he is the caretaker of a refuge for mystical creatures like trolls and fairies. Naturally things go wrong, and Kendra must step in to save her family. 

Great for young readers and old teens alike, one reviewer on Amazon calls this series “perfect for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson,” while another praises the “complex characters” whose personalities “cause many of the issues that they then need to resolve.”

The five books in the series are Fablehaven , Rise of the Evening Star , Grip of the Shadow Plague , Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary , and Keys to the Demon Prison .

The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West

Eleven-year-old Olive Dunwoody knows there’s something strange about her new house the moment her family moves into the creepy old mansion on Linden Street. When she discovers three talking cats and a pair of eyeglasses that transport her into the home’s unusual paintings, she knows the house is truly magical. But is she prepared for how dangerous it will become?

The  Books of Elsewhere series by Jacqueline West follows Olive as she discovers that her home’s previous owners were witches—and they may not be quite finished with it just yet. Perfect for older elementary school kids and younger middle schoolers, Publisher’s Weekly says the series offers a “suspenseful plot and insight into childhood loneliness.”

The five-book series begins with The Shadows  and is followed by Spellbound , The Second Spy , The Strangers , and Still Life . 

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Older teens Sophie and Agatha enter the School for Good and Evil. One girl will train to be a fairy tale hero, the other a villain. But a series of unexpected events change their trajectories as both girls seek their true Ever After.

The series is not as “princess-y” as it might appear, and readers will appreciate the richly imagined world where the action never stops. Appropriate for middle grade level readers, the School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani is perfect for kids who love fantasy stories and books like Harry Potter. Readers cite the “clever plot line,” “relatable and amusing characters,” and “lots of twists and turns along the way” as reasons to enjoy this series.

The six-book set begins with The School for Good and Evil and continues with A World without Princes , The Last Ever After , Quests for Glory , A Crystal of Time , and The One True King . 

Books Like Harry Potter for Older Teens and Adults

Lockwood & co. by jonathan stroud.

Ghosts have taken over England, but only young people can see and eradicate them in Jonathan Stroud’s five-book Lockwood and Co. series . Narrated by 15-year-old Lucy Carlyle, these action-packed books have all the humor and heart of the Harry Potter series, and a good deal of the mystery and suspense as well. 

Older middle school kids and young adults love Lockwood and Co., as do many adult readers. “I had no clue this wasn’t an adult series, but I was hooked and didn’t care,” writes on reviewer on Amazon. And like Harry Potter, this series “is no less delightful just because it was written with a younger reader in mind,” raves another reader. 

In order, the five books of the Lockwood and Co. series are The Screaming Staircase , The Whispering Skull , The Hollow Boy , The Creeping Shadow , and The Empty Grave . Stroud has also written a short story in the Lockwood and Co. series, The Dagger in the Desk , which is available for free on Kindle. The Lockwood and Co. series also received an extremely faithful and well-cast adaptation for television on Netflix.

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Series by Ransom Riggs

In Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children , 16-year-old Jacob Portman finds himself on a remote Welsh island where he discovers an abandoned orphanage and signs of the unique (and possibly dangerous) children who once inhabited it. Vintage photos add to the tense, time-travel-y mystery in each of the six books penned by Ransom Riggs.

“Imaginative, peculiar, and fantastic!” writes one reviewer on Amazon. “Alice in Wonderland meets Harry Potter,” says another. 

The six-book series begins with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children , which is followed by The Hollow City , Library of Souls , A Map of Days , The Conference of Birds , and The Desolations of Devil’s Acre . 

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha) by Tomi Adeyemi

In this series lauded by readers and critics, heroine Zélie Adebola’s mother is killed by a ruthless monarch set on eradicating magic from the West African-inspired land where the story takes place. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie seeks to restore magic, discovering a lot about her own abilities in the process. 

Teen Harry Potter fans should love these books. After all, as Entertainment Weekly says, “Meet Tomi Adeyemi―the new J.K. Rowling. (Yep, she’s that good).” The first book in the Legacy of Orisha series, Children of Blood and Bone , debuted to nearly unanimous praise in 2018. It was followed by Children of Virtue and Vengeance . A third book, called Children of Anguish and Anarchy , is expected in 2024.

Mythos Academy by Jennifer Estep

Gwen Frost is out to solve her classmate’s murder, especially since she thinks she should have been the one who died. Gwen is a 17-year-old student at Mythos Academy, a school of “myths, magic, and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword.”

When students start dying and the second Chaos War is at hand, Gwen uses her power of “touch magic” to set things right in the first novel,  Touch of Frost . Five novels round out the Mythos Academy series , which is aimed at readers 14 and up. In order, they are: Kiss of Frost , Dark Frost , Crimson Frost , Midnight Frost , and Killer Frost .

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

In this  dark fantasy series , three sisters must fight to the death to become the queen of the island of Fennbirm. Triplets, each of the sisters possess a particular kind of magic they use against each other in a battle that begins when they turn 16. 

“Blake establishes myriad side plots and relationships, builds complex characters, and leaves plenty of compelling avenues to explore in future books,” writes Publishers Weekly . Teens from eighth grade and up are the right audience, but adults will like the hypnotic story, too. 

The four-book series consists of Three Dark Crowns , One Dark Throne , Two Dark Reigns , and Five Dark Fates . 

A Deadly Education (The Scholomance) by Naomi Novik

Sixteen-year-old Galadriel “El” Higgins is a half-British, half-Indian sorceress at the Scholomance, a school where students learn magic. But unlike Hogwarts, there are no teachers. The students are responsible for educating themselves, and at the end they either graduate—or die. 

The Scholomance series by Naomi Novak (who also wrote the critically acclaimed adult fantasy novels Uprooted  and  Spinning Silver ) is a good choice for older teens and adults looking for books similar to Harry Potter, especially if the magical boarding school element is one of your favorite parts of the Potter books. The first book in the series is A Deadly Education , followed by The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves . 

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

If you’re looking for a series like Harry Potter with a healthy dose of Narnia thrown in,  The Magicians Trilogy  by Lev Grossman is it. The series focuses on Quentin Coldwater, a high school math genius obsessed with Fillory, a fantasy land from a children’s book. When he’s admitted to a secret college for magicians, Quentin quickly learns that Fillory is real and home to some very dark secrets. 

Author John Green says, “If you like the Harry Potter books, you should also read Lev Grossman’s Magicians series, which is a very knowing and wonderful take on the wizard school genre.” Given its mature themes and content, though, these books are probably best for adults and late teens at a high grade level.  

The three-book series, which has also been adapted as a television series for SYFY, consists of The Magicians , The Magician King , and The Magician’s Land .

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

A magical love story,  The Night Circus  by Erin Morgenstern is one of those books like Harry Potter that will keep readers guessing to the very end. At the Le Cirque des Rêves, a circus that only performs at night, a duel between two magicians is underway. Only one magician will be left standing. Trouble is, the two magicians are in love.

“As soon as I finished  The Night Circus , two things happened: first, it shot to the top of my favorites list, and second, I simply had to reread it. I couldn’t let the world go so quickly,” writes one Amazon reviewer. 

An added connection to the Wizarding World: Like the Harry Potter books, the audiobook edition of The Night Circus is read by the excellent Jim Dale, whose voice work on the seven Harry Potter novels is equally magical. 

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Series) by Deborah Harkness

People  magazine calls the  All Souls series by Deborah Harkness “a wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter and Twilight.” That makes it the perfect choice for what to read after Harry Potter, especially if you’re a fan of witches  and  vampires. 

In the first book,  A Discovery of Witches , Oxford scholar and witch-descendant Diana Bishop finds an enchanted alchemical manuscript that unleashes evil on the world. Along with her vampire boyfriend, Diana must hold the evil at bay. The All Souls series continues with Shadow of Night , The Book of Life , Time’s Convert , and The Black Bird Oracle . The books have also been adapted as a television series .

The Brooklyn Brujas by Zoraida Cordova

Labyrinth Lost , the first book of Latinx-infused queer fantasy trilogy The Brooklyn Brujas , was one of NPR’s Best Young Adult books of 2016. Alex is a powerful witch, but she hates her magical powers. When she casts a spell to rid herself of her powers, though, it backfires, causing her family to vanish into thin air. To save her loved ones, Alex and her friend Nova must travel to the dark, strange land of Los Lagos on a journey of self-discovery. 

“Fantastically imaginative and diverse,” raves one reviewer on Amazon. “A story for those who feel out of place and want to be different,” says another. 

The subsequent books in the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy ( Bruja Born  and Wayward Witch ) follow Alex’s two sisters, Lula and Rose, as they battle evil in the their home town and across the magical realms.

Still Can’t Get Enough of the Wizarding World?

Harry potter and the cursed child by j.k. rowling, jack thorne, and john tiffany.

Nineteen years after Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hogwarts, Harry is working in the Ministry of Magic and raising three kids with his wife Ginny. While the original trio are important characters in this direct sequel to the Harry Potter series, the spotlight in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child  shines brightest on Harry’s son Albus and Albus’s best friend, Scorpio Malfory, who both must wrestle with their families’ legacies. 

Sometimes called the eighth Harry Potter book, The Cursed Child is different from all the others because it’s a stage play rather than a novel. It doesn’t read like a Harry Potter book, but it is an official continuation of the Hogwarts story. See it on the stage in person if you can, but if you can’t, the official playscript of the original West End production is a good substitute. 

Hogwarts Library by J.K. Rowling

The Hogwarts Library is a  three-volume set that gives you an inside look into the magical world of Hogwarts.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them  is Newt Scamander’s opus on magical creatures.  Quidditch Through the Ages  tells this history of the game and explains the rules.  The Tales of Beedle the Bard  is a collection of fairy tales set in the Wizarding World. Together, this tiny trilogy gives Harry Potter fans deeper insight into the world J.K. Rowling so masterfully created. A lavishly illustrated box set is also available.

Harry Potter: A Journey Through the History of Magic curated by the British Museum

Ever wonder why a mandrake screams? You’ll find out in  Harry Potter: A Journey Through the History of Magic . Compiled by the British Museum as a companion piece to an exhibition, the book includes some of J.K. Rowling’s early drafts and sketches of the Wizarding World. It’s exactly what you should read after finishing the Harry Potter series. There’s an  American edition  that features artifacts not included in the original British edition. 

Fantastic Beasts Original Screenplays by J.K. Rowling

Set many years before the rise of Voldemort, the Fantastic Beasts films follow Newt Scamander, two witchy sisters, and an American muggle as they attempt to stop the evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald’s plan for world domination. Featuring appearances by a young Albus Dumbledore and other Harry Potter cameos, the Fantastic Beasts series is an official prequel to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts years. 

The three installments in this Harry Potter prequel series are Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald , and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore . Similar to the stage play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , the Fantastic Beasts stories are available in book form as screenplays. 

Harry Potter Illustrated Editions by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay

These deluxe hardcover editions of the Harry Potter books feature glorious full-color illustrations by artist Jim Kay, breathing new life into the imaginative world created by J.K. Rowling. The first five illustrated Harry Potter books ( Sorcerer’s Stone , Chamber of Secrets , Prisoner of Azkaban , Goblet of Fire , and Order of the Phoenix ) have been completed. The remaining novels in the series ( The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows ) will follow. A fully illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (with art by Olivia Lomenech Gill) is also available.

Harry Potter Interactive Popup Books by J.K. Rowling

Proving that book design is an art in and of itself, the dazzling popup edition of the first Harry Potter book is fully illustrated and features interactive paper craft elements such as a foldout Hogwarts letter. Additional popup-style books include Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts , Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Diagon Alley and Beyond , Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book , and Harry Potter: A Hogwarts Christmas Pop-Up (Advent Calendar).

Pottermore Presents: Harry Potter Short Stories by J.K. Rowling

Available as ebooks only, the three volumes of the Pottermore Presents series are Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies (book one), Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists (book two), and Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide (book three). 

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The post 33 Books Like Harry Potter to Binge on Your Next Vacation appeared first on FamilyVacationist .

Harry Potter TV Show: Release Date, Cast, Story, And Everything Else To Know

By Hannah Yasharoff on April 17, 2024 at 12:16PM PDT

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Warner Bros. must be in possession of the Deathly Hallows, because they're working on resurrecting the Harry Potter franchise yet again--this time, as a TV show.

"We've not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter," Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav recently said during the group's February earnings call .

It's been more than two decades since the Wizarding World first came to life on the big screen, and 13 years since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 wrapped up the seven-book, eight-film adaptation. Since then, there's been a slew of other spin-offs, including the Fantastic Beasts films, the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, and multiple theme park destinations.

But being a Potter fan has become complicated for many in recent years. In the summer of 2020, author J.K. Rowling faced backlash for spreading and defending anti-transgender rhetoric , despite trans readers and activists speaking out about how her doing so was harmful.

Still, the controversy hasn't stopped Warner Bros. from continuing to cash in on the ever-growing franchise, including announcing a new Ministry of Magic-themed world at Universal's Epic Universe, a new Universal Studios theme park coming to Orlando next year.

Given that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter isn't going to stop turning anytime soon, here's everything we know so far about the TV reboot being developed right now.

When is the Harry Potter TV show release date?

According to Max, the first season of the series is slated to stream in 2026. A specific release date has not been announced.

Where will the Harry Potter TV show air?

The series will stream on Max, which was originally known as HBO Max.

What is the Harry Potter TV show about?

Akin to the Percy Jackson series, which adapted a series of YA novels into films before taking the TV show route last year, each season of the Potter show is expected to cover one book in the series for a total of seven seasons.

Is J.K. Rowling involved in the Harry Potter TV show?

Warner Bros. executives, including Zaslav, recently visited London to meet with Rowling about the show, though they haven't shared specifics about what--if any--her involvement will be.

"We spent some real time with J.K. and her team," Zaslav told shareholders. "Both sides are just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great, and we couldn't be more excited about what's ahead. We can't wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max."

Rowling notably did not make a new appearance in Max's 2022 Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts reunion special, save for some archival footage. Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, along with a slew of supporting actors, made appearances to reminisce about growing up on the set.

Who's cast in the Harry Potter TV show?

Casting announcements have not yet been made, and there's no telling if anyone has signed on for the series. However, Warner Bros. has said the cast will be all-new compared to the original film series.

Back in January, Chairman and CEO of the Warner Bros. Television Group Channing Dungey spoke to Variety about what needed to take place before they started looking for a new gang of British child actors.

"We're in conversations with a number of different writers to figure out who's going to be the person to lead that franchise for us," she said. "The first step for us is figuring out who this showrunner is going to be and once we get that locked down, then we can start having those [casting] conversations. The tricky part is the first two books, where the kids are on the younger end, around 11 or 12."

Never say never, but it seems unlikely that any of the big players would return to the wizarding world. There are a handful of reasons why, including the once-tween/teen actors aging out of their roles and unwillingness to attach themselves to another project with Rowling.

Radcliffe, who played the titular role, told ComicBook last year that he wasn't interested in the new project.

"My understanding is that they're trying to very much start fresh and I'm sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere," Radcliffe stated. "I'm definitely not seeking it out in any way. But I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I'm very excited to have that torch passed. But I don't think it needs me to physically pass it."

Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, said earlier this year during a Harry Potter panel that he was "too old to play Neville again," but wouldn't say no to joining the reboot in another capacity.

"The character I enjoyed was Professor Lupin," Lewis told audiences at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida. "If I was to have a go, that would be one that I'd do."

Several of the actors have passed since appearing in the films, including:

• Michael Gambon (second Albus Dumbledore): Died in 2023 at age 82
• Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid): Died in 2022 at 72
• Leslie Phillips (voice of the sorting hat): Died in 2022 at 98
• Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy): Died in 2021 at 52
• Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge): Died in 2017 at 91
• John Hurt (Garrick Ollivander): Died in 2017 at 77
• Alan Rickman (Severus Snape): Died in 2016 at 69
• Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley): Died in 2013 at 65
• Richard Harris (first Albus Dumbledore): Died in 2002 at age 72

Some Potter alums remain connected to the franchise, continuing to appear at fan events and theme park launches.

Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) joined Lewis at MegaCon in February. Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) also reunited with Lewis, James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley), Jessie Cave (Lavender Brown), Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas) and Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan) in late March at the Enter the Wizard World convention in France.

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‘so help me todd’ creator reacts to series cancellation: “best professional experience of my life”, breaking news.

‘Harry Potter’ TV Series Due To Hit Max In 2026: Everything We Know About The Cast, Who’s Creating It, What J.K. Rowling Says & More – Update

By Tom Tapp

Deputy Managing Editor

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UPDATED with latest : At its Max streaming event in April 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed a new era is coming for Harry Potter fans . The company announced a TV series based on all seven books about the boy wizard written by J.K. Rowling . See below for the most current answers to the most important questions about the project.

What is the Harry Potter TV series about?

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Early reports had each season of the series focusing on one book in the Harry Potter book series, which consists of seven novels, but Bloys said the project would run for “10 consecutive years,” which would seem to defy the 1 season, 1 book assertion. For those who say Fantastic Beasts could be leveraged to provide 10 seasons over 10 years, WBD brass said specifically during the announcement that FB will not be a part of the series.

Whatever the case, Bloys promised that, as the company embarks on its new Harry Potter adventure, “We do so with the full care and craft of this franchise.”

Who Is creating the Harry Potter series?

It has taken a bit, given the initial announcement was in April 2023, but in recent months Warner Bros. invited a select group of creatives in to pitch ideas for what the series could be. They were Martha Hillier, Kathleen Jordan, Tom Moran and Michael Lesslie. Now, the streaming service and Warner Bros. Television have narrowed it to Jordan, Moran and newer addition Francesca Gardiner, sources said.

Deadline broke the news last month that Succession  writer  Francesca Gardiner  is among the finalists. Gardiner was a consulting producer on Seasons 3 and 4 of HBO’s  Succession . Before working on the Jesse Armstrong creation, she was an exec producer of HBO and BBC fantasy co- production   His Dark Materials  and was a co-exec producer of AMC’s  Killing Eve . She has also written on shows including Starz’s  The Rook  and Amazon’s  The Man In The High Castle.

Tom Moran is a British writer, who created Amazon series The Devil’s Hour , which starred Peter Capaldi. He also worked on Amazon sci-fi series The Feed and Rob Lowe cop drama Wild Bill .

It’s an interesting mix of Brits and Americans, most of whom have some experience working with streamers and many of whom have shepherded projects in the sci-fi/fantasy space.

We’ve heard that the group of writers were commissioned by Max to create pitches for a series reflecting their take on the IP. Rowling is understood to be involved in this pitching process. The trio will be able to hone in on their pitches for the next couple of months, with a decision on who gets the job expected in June. 

When will the Harry Potter series be released?

The series is expected to be on air in 2026, according to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

“We’ve not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter,” Zaslav told Wall Street analysts on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey [Bloys, CEO of HBO] and Channing [Dungey, chairperson of Warner Bros Television] and we spent some real time with JK and her team,” he enthused. “Both sides just thrilled to be reigniting this franchise. Our conversations were great.”

Given the results on that earnings call, WBD needs Harry Potter’s magic sooner rather than later.

Ditto J.K. Rowling, whose production company posted a 74% drop in profits in 2022. That rebounded somewhat after the stage version of  Harry Potter  And The Cursed Child  proved to be a post-pandemic crowd pleaser. The author got a $10.5 million paycheck for it in 2023.

The success of the stage show demonstrates that there’s still an appetite for Hogwarts-related content. Likewise the massive hit that is Hogwarts Legacy, which became the bestselling video game of 2023 , moving 22 million units. (That’s fantastic, but for comparison Rowling’s seven bestselling  Harry Potter  books have moved 600M copies worldwide.)

At a Goldman Sachs conference last year, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made pointed out the need for more Hogwarts magic explicitly. Ignoring the Harry-less Fantastic Beasts films, the CEO insisted the boy wizard presents a huge opportunity, claiming that the IP has been “underused” of late.

“We haven’t done anything with Harry Potter for more than a decade,” he said, before going on to note that when one examines the performance of Warner Bros. over the last 20 years without accounting for it’s big three — Potter , Lord of the Rings and DC — the company’s performance is “relatively flat.”

Zaslav called that type of big-ticket IP “one of the big differentiators of this company.” And he seems to be counting on it to make a big difference.

“When you put those franchises in, it’s the best-performing studio in the world. We need to deploy our best capital, and we need to do it with the best creative people in the world,” he said.

How to watch the series

It will, of course, be on Max once the series is ready. The service has three price tiers: Max Ad Light, which goes for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year and allows two concurrent streams; Max Ad Free will be priced at $15.99 a month, or $149.99 a year, and will also allow two concurrent streams; and Max Ultimate Ad Free which costs $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year, and allows access to four concurrent streams.

If you’re in Canada, WBD has struck a multi-year licensing agreement with Crave for the likes of  Harry Potter ,  Game of Thrones ,  the  DC  Universe and  HBO  content.

Which actors are starring in the series? Are any of the original Harry Potter stars returning?

There will be new actors playing the series’ main characters, but no one has been cast yet. Warner Bros. TV Group Chairman Channing Dungey said recently that that casting will come after they find a showrunner.

As for that, Warner Bros. is very likely looking to cast young actors, given that they’re proceeding through Rowling’s books in order. “The tricky part is the first two books, where the kids are on the younger end, around 11 or 12,” said Dungey of the casting process.

“We have been trying to be very close to the vest,” said Bloys. “We haven’t gone out to agencies. We have our own internal process where we’ve been thinking about people but we have not wanted to go out into the world. Now that the news is out there…we’ll start going out to the business.”

As for a return of any of the film franchise’s stars — like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson or Rupert Grint — never say never. It would certainly be a PR boost for the series and, while new actors will be cast in the primary roles, there are always flashforwards or the currently en vogue multiverse plot ploy that could create space for more familiar faces in the series.

But Daniel Radcliffe has said he is fine with sitting on the sidelines.

“My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” Radcliffe told ComicBook.com . “So I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way. But I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I’m very excited to have that torch passed. But I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.”

Another longtime Potter player who likely won’t be involved is David Yates, who directed the last four movies,  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  (2007),  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince  (2009) and  Deathly Hallows Part One and Two  (2010 and 2011). In addition, Yates took on the  Potter  spinoff  Fantastic Beasts  trilogy. He says there has been no conversation about his involvement with the series. And it sounds like he’s ok with that.

“Huge affection and a lovely group of people I worked with,” Yates told Deadline . “But we haven’t had a conversation since we finished it.”

“It’s been about ‘Let’s just park it, and be done for a while,'” he said of the Potter franchise.

“Never say never, I would say, but I’m excited about moving on,” he said.

Your Hogwarts letter is here. Max has ordered the first ever #HarryPotter scripted television series, a faithful adaptation of the iconic books. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/3CgEHLYhch — Max (@StreamOnMax) April 12, 2023

Will J.K. Rowling be involved in the new Harry Potter TV series?

Yes. A deal for J.K. Rowling’s involvement in the series had been the biggest hurdle in its path to the screen: The author has creative control over any exploitation of her work. That agreement was finalized in 2023.

“Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series,” said Rowling in a statement.

Since Warners launched its streaming service, there’s always been a goal to exploit Warners’ biggest franchise for streaming. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav, taking the reigns after the merger last year, met with Rowling several times in the UK. He’s even spoken up in support of the author, who has been involved in an ongoing controversy over her comments on transgender issues . Asked about the streaming event about those controversies, Bloys demurred.

“No, I don’t think this is the forum [to discuss that],” he said. “That’s a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into.”

“Our priority is what’s on the screen,” Bloys continued. “Obviously, the Harry Potter story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That’s our priority — what’s on screen.”

As for how close the author will be to the series, Bloys said, “[Rowling] will be involved. She’s an executive producer on the show. Her insights are going to be helpful on that.”

The author’s involvement could prove a hurdle to having the principals from the films involved in the series. Relations between Rowling, Radcliffe and Emma Watson can’t be great, given the author recently said she was “bloody angry” over stances taken by trans rights activists, which she sees being in opposition to women’s rights.

Rowling claimed that “thousands are complicit, not just medics, but the celebrity mouthpieces, unquestioning media and cynical corporations.” Asked specifically whether she would forgive Radcliffe and Watson for their unabashed pro-trans rights stance on the issue Rowling replied, “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies.”

Bloys was clear, however, that WBD wasn’t entirely dependent on Rowling for the project.

“The TV show is new and we’re excited about that. But, remember, we’ve been in the Potter business for 20 years. This is not a new decision for us, we’re very comfortable being in the Potter business.”

How much will the series cost to produce?

“You know we make shows at this scale with House of the Dragon , Game of Thrones ,” said Bloys. “I imagine will be that scale or higher. The shorter answer is whatever it takes to make a quality show.”

Per Deadline reporting, House of the Dragon cost nearly $200 million and was the subject of HBO’s biggest marketing campaign ever, valued at over $100M in media spend (that’s a combo of ad spot value and hard cash shelled out). So fans can expect a similar outlay for the Potter series “or higher,” according to HBO/Max boss Bloys.

Will there be other Harry Potter-related projects?

“We’re free to do anything we want,” Zaslav has said, before hedging a bit. “Some areas we need to do with J.K., other areas we have the full ability to go forward. This is a full deployment on Max of Harry Potter. We can still develop other properties.”

Deadline understands that there may also be an opportunity for more than one of the above-mentioned writers to be involved and that Max is open to the possibility of developing more than one idea based on  Harry Potter.

How long has this been in the works?

Max and its then-parent company WarnerMedia  started exploring  a potential Harry Potter TV series a couple of years ago. At the time, Warner Bros. appointed Kids, Young Adult and Classics president Tom Ascheim to manage the Wizarding World and Potter franchises, which include theme parks, tours and the $9.1 billion-grossing theatrical library that spans the  Harry Potter  and spinoff  Fantastic Beasts  titles. Under that setup, Ascheim became WarnerMedia’s senior rep in its relationship with Rowling and her representatives, and exploratory conversations for a Max series got underway.

After the Discovery acquisition was completed a year ago, that unit was disbanded and  Ascheim exited the company . However, the importance of the   Harry Potter IP has only grown post-merger.

Zaslav spoke about his family’s own personal connection to the series.

“My wife and I, we read (the Harry Potter books) to each of our three kids,” said Zaslav, going off script at the Max announcement. “It’s really moving, for ten consecutive years, people will see  Harry Potter  on HBO; I mean it’s really something.”

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Cool Kids Lunch Table with P.J. & Mike

https://feed.podbean.com/Coolkidslunchtable/feed.xml

P.J. and Mike have been sitting at the cool kids lunch table since 1993. Now you’re invited to sit at the cool kids lunch table with them and talk about current events, pop culture, sports, the news, interviews and life in general. Join them once a week on your own lunch break for some fun, games and chicken nugget day!

Thursday Apr 11, 2024

Episode 55: Harry Potter & The Cursed Child and Independent Comics Review

This week the cool kids are diving into the world of Broadway shows and comics! Mike shares his review of Harry Potter & The Cursed Child and P.J. reveals some hidden gems in the comic world. 🎭📚

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