At exactly 11:34 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, I was standing outside of Savoy Bookshop and Cafe in Westerly, Rhode Island, with my 10-year-old sister and my grandfather. We were anxiously awaiting the release of JK Rowling's newest work of literary art, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child." My sister was the youngest fan there, my grandfather was the oldest and I was somewhere in the middle. Regardless of age, everyone was excited. The bookstore created a magical evening filled with snacks based on the books, such as butterbeer and chocolate covered wands, trivia, decorations and more. By 12:13 a.m. on Sunday, July 31, we had enjoyed a lovely Harry Potter filled evening and had our books. We rushed back to our house and I promptly began to read. In less than 12 hours I had finished the story and was filled with mixed emotions.
Harry Potter was such an important part of my childhood. I grew up reading the books and watching the movies. When JK Rowling announced that "The Deathly Hallows" was her last book of the Harry Potter series, I was heartbroken. So naturally, when I heard that Harry would return, I was over the moon. After reading the continuation, I almost wish that she had left the series the way it was.
The first problem I have with "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is that it is written in the format of a play. This took away from the intricate details that I loved when reading the Harry Potter books. Instead of vividly describing the scenery and setting the mood, the play format focuses more on the dialogue. Dialogue is important, but I missed the beautiful pictures Rowling created with her words in the previous Potter books.
I also felt as if the dialogue was a bit inaccurate or insincere at times. The way Ron was portrayed bothered me the most. In the books, he was a balance of goofy and strong, but in the play his lines were much more on the goofy side. I also was confused by Scorpius's infatuation with Rose. While I understand unrequited love, it seemed as if this "love" was thrown in at the last minute and I did not think it served any purpose in furthering the plot or character development.
I will always love Harry Potter and JK Rowling. All of the books in the series have been able to transport me to another world and make me believe in magic. I understand why JK Rowling felt the need to give her fans a glimpse into Harry's adult life, but I wish she would have done it in a way that better went along with her previous stories. I believe that "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" would have been a much better novel than script, and by making it into the play, I feel as if some of the magic Rowling's words possessed was lost.
