Book Information
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany
Publisher: Pottermore
Publication Date: July 31, 2016
Genre: Fantasy | Mystery | Series
About the Author: J.K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling was born in July 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive.
Jo left Chepstow for Exter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, her course including on year in Paris. As a postgraduate she moved to London and worked as a researcher at Amnesty International among other jobs. She started writing the Harry Potter series during a delayed Manchester to London King’s Cross train journey, and during the next five years, outlined the plots for each book and began writing her first novel.
Jo then moved to northern Portugal, where she taught English as a foreign language. She married in October 1992 and gave birth to a daughter in 1993. When the marriage ended, she and Jessica returned to the UK to live in Edinburg, where Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone was eventually completed. The book was first published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books in June 1997, under the name J.K. Rowling. The “K”, for Kathlee, her paternal grandmother’s name was added at her publisher’s request who thought that a woman’s name would not appeal to the target audience of young boys.
As well as an OBE for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous awards and honary degrees including the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, France’s Legio d’Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and she has been a Commencement Speaker at Harvard University. She supports a wide number of charitable causes through her charitable trust Volant, and is the founder of Lumos, a charity working to transform the lives of disadvantaged children.
Besides the Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling is also the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages, and The Casual Vacancy. J.K. Rowling also currently has three mystery books out under the name Robert Galbraith; The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, and Career of Evil.
J.K. Rowling currently lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three children. She can be found on her website, Facebook, or Twitter.
Photo and parts of bio courtesy of J.K. Rowling Official Media Kit
About the Author: Jack Thorne
Jack Thorne was born on December 6th, 1978 in Bristol, England. He has written for radio, theatre, and film. His most notable works are The Fades, The Scouting Book for Boys, Cast-Offs, and Skins. Jack is a screenwriter and playwright and is currently living in London.
Jack can be found on Twitter.
Photo and bio courtesy of Goodreads
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Synopsis
The Eigth Story. Nineteen Years Later.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, 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. The play premiered in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review
Before we get into my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I thought I should tell you my experience with Harry Potter. I actually saw the first four movies before ever reading any of the books. In between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie and the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie I got a Harry Potter craving so I decided to go ahead and read the Order of the Phoenix book. I finished the movies, and have watched them multiple times over the years, and read the rest of the books. However, I did not go back and read books 1 – 4, something I’m in the process of rectifying. I mention this because I’ve seen reviews of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that if you prefer the books you’ll feel one way and if you prefer the movies you’ll feel a different way. I wanted to put out there that I’m a combination of both.
Another thing that I want to mention before moving to the review is the style that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is written in, play style. Think back to high school, do you remember reading Shakespeare? Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is written in that same play style…but without the Old English writing style.
Onto the review. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up, and expands on, where the Coda left off in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It expands on it in that you find out that Albus is very afraid of ending up in Slytherin, that his brother James is a bit of a jerk (isn’t that what big brothers are for?), and that their cousin Rose is a bit of a snob. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the Coda ends with the Hogwarts Express pulling away from Platform 9 3/4, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child expands that part and then continues with Albus and Rose (his cousin) abord the train trying to find seats. The first car that they come upon contains a lone boy (sound familiar?) as they sit and talk to him you find out that the boy is none other than Scorpius Malfoy! Albus doesn’t give a crud about this, however, his cousin Rose sure does and wants to move on (this is where the snob part really starts to come out. Now here is where you need to pay attention when reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the next Act is a “fast-forward” act and essentially a LOT of stuff is going to happen in one short act. This act starts with Albus being sorted into his house at the beginning of his first year and ends with his little sister Lily being sorted into her house at the beginning of Albus’s fourth year. Throughout the entire act you go from even to event, finding out the entire way that Albus is suffering from being bullied even by his own family!
Anywho, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child moves on to become a story about a son who feels like a spare trying to save another spare that was lost during Harry’s war with Voldemort, so he uses time travel to do this. Both the way time travel is introduced and who the bad guy winds up being are done in ways that make total sense if you read and pay attention to the play. I will admit that there is a lot of “fan service” in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the time travel is used in a way to do this. However, I personally enjoyed the said fan service. I don’t want to give away to much but let’s just say that J.K. Rowling uses this as a chance to prove that Hermione and Ron were always destined to be together. I’m not afraid to admit that I cried multiple times during Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
My final thoughts on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child are that while it may not have been a NEEDED addition to the Harry Potter series it does a great job of wrapping up Harry’s story. I loved everything about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and as I just started going back through the Harry Potter series I can’t wait until I get back around and read it again!
Now how would you like to read your own copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child? That’s right, I’m giving away a physical copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! This giveaway is run by me and any of the social media linked below, the authors, nor Amazon are affiliated with it. The chosen winner will recieve a copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child sent directly from Amazon and shipped via Amazon Prime! Giveaway is only open to residents to the US, sorry international readers, and will run until September 1st. Winner has 48 hours from the time contacted to respond with their mailing address or another winner will be used. Entrants must be 18 years of age.
Purchase Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Kindle
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I love the third book/movie.
I became a fan of the Harry Potter books when my son brought home the first book from the school library. We were so excited when the first movie came out and I remember thinking this is the best way to bond with my child. Debbie C.
I love Harry Potter! I have seen all the movies and read all the books..well, except for this newest one. I can’t wait to read it! I loved all the others. I’ve been a fan since they first came out.
Order of the Phoenix is my favorite book! I can’t really say why it is just the one that always resonated with me. (Great giveaway, btw… Always love getting some nerdy books to love)