Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

It's no secret that we are pretty big Harry Potter fans around here. We loved reading the entire series together so we were pretty excited when we heard about this new release. We pre-ordered it and started reading as soon as it arrived.

Some people were surprised by the fact that this book was actually the script of the play currently running in London, England. I feel that was pretty well publicized when the book was announced, but maybe it wasn't. I found the play format made it hard to read aloud. But we were able to get used to it after a few days.

The story focuses mostly on Albus Severus Potter, the son of Harry and Ginny Potter, and the friendship he develops with Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Draco Malfoy. Albus struggles with being the son of the "boy who lived" and Harry doesn't know how to reach out to him. Albus struggles at school and can't quite fit in anywhere. When he hears Amos Diggory talking to Harry about the death of his son Cedric, Albus gets an idea of how he can make a difference and the exciting adventure begins.

There are elements of time travel, alternate realities, and return visits to some memorable scenes from Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire.

I didn't love the story but the kids did. It was great to see some of our favourite characters again, and to meet some great new ones. We are curious about how some of the magic will be done on stage and we'd like to see a production someday to see how that works. But all in all it was a fun visit back to the world of Harry Potter and I'm glad we read it.