One of my favorite childhood memories is listening to my parents read the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione out loud to my sister and I as we fell asleep. These stories were more than just a bedtime story. The Harry Potter books helped fuel my imagination and curiosity. I felt so connected with the characters and the story line. My friends and I would get together to discuss the recent updates, and we would even race each other to see who could finish a chapter first.
Whenever a new book came out, my sister and I were those kids that made our parents drive us to the bookstore and wait in line for several hours to get the book.
We had one bookstore in our town, and the night before a new Harry Potter book came out, the store would turn into the town’s hotspot for the night. Everyone would dress up in their robes and wizard hats, play trivia games, and stuff their faces full of themed snacks. This was one of my favorite memories growing up. Everyone was coming together to share something that we all had such a great connection with.
So, you can imagine we were pretty excited Wednesday morning, when the new Harry Potter book was announced. The new book, titled "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," picks up right where the story left off.
The last book ends by fast-forwarding 19 years to when Harry, Ron and Hermione are all grown up. The new book takes place in this same time-frame.
The official synopsis of the book was released in October 2015. While the synopsis doesn’t say much, it gives the reader a hint about the struggles that Albus, Harry’s son, may encounter.
When this story is released in summer 2016, it will be officially labeled as the eighth Harry Potter book.
Unlike previous book releases, the release of this new book will be released online as well as in stores. The online release of the book will allow people to easily access the book, without having to wait in line for hours at their local bookstore.
Nowadays, this strong bond is hard to find. With the recent technological innovations, the digitization of books has created a separation from the community. Children no longer get together and have “book club meetings,” but rather they get together to watch YouTube videos or Netflix. No one stands in line for 10 hours to buy a book, but rather they just buy the book when it is released online. Therefore, the connection between the reader and the story is weakening, because you don’t have this huge community involvement anymore.
The new Harry Potter book release acts as a symbol to represent how our society has changed over the course of this series.
