Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

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It took me longer than expected, but I have finally finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I'm having mixed feelings about the whole thing. I know there are Potterheads among us who hate at least the print version of the play, and I know that there are those who insist its faults lie in its being a play. The latter believe seeing it in person resolves those flaws. I fall somewhat in the middle.

I'm not going to speak to the story line at all in this review because the book is still fairly new. Also, I think you can say a lot about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child without giving away the plot, so I'll do that. Suffice to say that you'll see heroes and antagonists old and new.

I was off to a rough start with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I found the dialogue off-putting, to say the least. Old characters lacked the charm they possessed in the novels. New characters had stilted and even corny lines. I've had people tell me "That's because it's a play!" This isn't the first play I've read. The dialogue was not appealing to me. Worse, I didn't get caught up enough in the plot to make up for it.

Now, I told you I was somewhere in the middle in terms of my enjoyment of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I began to enjoy it more somewhere around the third act. Some of the dialogue got a little more compelling, the action was a bit more convincing, and the old characters weren't as stupendously out of character. I did enjoy reading the play from this point on, though it still had its shortcomings. I've yet to see how it translates to the stage, so I'll reserve judgment on the final product.

While, as I said, I found Harry Potter and the Cursed Child enjoyable to a certain degree, I wasn't moved by it. In the novels, I was at times in tears. I laughed out loud. I grew to love the characters. None of that was happening with this play, and I'm afraid it had nothing to do with the lack of prose that comes with the format. I've enough imagination to fill in the blanks. I just wasn't swept away enough to laugh, cry or anything close.

All of the above being said, I'm so ready for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. If this isn't the last of the bunch, I really hope Rowling is the only writer of canonical Potter texts in the future.

Biography of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling reading to children
at the White House
Photo by Daniel Ogren

J.K. Rowling is the unprecedentedly successful author of the seven books in the Harry Potter series. Since the publication of her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the popularity of her books has steadily increased. All of the books in the Harry Potter series were made into insanely popular films. There will even be a film made of a short side novel and a Rowling has written a play to go along with the franchise.

J.K. Rowling was born Joanne Rowling on July 31, 1965. She later added Katherine to her name so that she could have another initial for her pen name. She was born on the outskirts of Bristol, England and is the eldest of two daughters. Her parents moved Joanne and her younger sister Di to Winterbourne when Rowling was four. There, she met a young boy and a young girl whose last name she came to like. Their last name was Potter. The Rowling family moved one more time, when Joanne was nine, to Tutshill. The family was living here when her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  Joanne was fifteen at the time.

J.K. Rowling attended a few grade schools and then went on to attend Wyedean Comprehensive. After her high school graduation she enrolled in the University of Exeter, where she studied French. During Rowling’s time in college she was able to spend a year in France as part of her studies.

J.K. Rowling’s mother died shortly after Christmas in 1990. In 1991, when she was 26, J.K Rowling moved to Portugal and began teaching English. There she met and married Jorges Arentes. The couple had a daughter, whom they named Jessica. The couple separated three years after their wedding and Rowling took her daughter with her to Edinburgh, where they could be close to Di. Rowling had been working on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for a few years by then and it was at this point that she set to finishing the novel in earnest.

After J.K. Rowling finished the first Harry Potter novel, it sold to Bloomsbury for only $4,000. Eventually Scholastic Press purchased the American rights to the novel. With the money from the sale, Rowling was able to quit her job and become a full-time writer.

J.K Rowling is now a millionaire and one of the most famous authors of our time. She married Neil Murray on December 26, 2006 and they are still happily married. She had two more children with her husband. Their names are David and MacKenzie.

Best Halloween Movies for Kids Based on Halloween Books for Kids

So many great children's films are based on great children's books. This definitely applies to Halloween films and films that are just awesome to watch around Halloween. The films and novels I have listed here are all relatively modern and that is not because older films and older novels are not good. It is simply because kids are, by definition, pretty modern. Therefore, if I want to write a list that is going to be relevant at all for your kids, I should probably include stuff that is not going to bore them to tears. So, without further ado . . .

"The Witches" by Roald Dahl and "The Witches" (1990)

This is the oldest film/book of this list. The reason it made the list is because it is simply so awesome and really does not require the special effects that make newer movies so cool. Why? Because it is a Jim Henson film and it has actors like Anjelica Huston creeping out little kids everywhere. What makes it such a good kid's story? It is simple. The plot pits children against evil. Children love it when the protagonist is a child, as evidenced by literally every movie on this list. What makes it such an awesome movie? It freaked me out as a kid. There. I said it.

"Coraline" by Neil Gaiman and "Coraline" (2009)

Well, the film for this selection does have more animated old lady breasts in it than I care for, but it also has a strong-willed (if a little bratty) protagonist, an epically strange villain and a bunch of other weirdos to round out the cast. This movie/film is not exactly made for Halloween, but it has all of the elements that a good Halloween film should have, so I say get this one out around Halloween time, elderly boobs and all. (Note: They're really not showing, just a little too prominent for my delicate sensibilities.)

Every Single Harry Potter Book by J.K. Rowling and Every Single Harry Potter Film

Argue with me if you want. Tell me I am wrong, if you wish. That is your privilege, but I am going to come right out and say that this series is everything you want in a Halloween movie for kids. They progress in age appropriateness, so you have a great film for every age. They have witches, wizards, werewolves, shape shifters and all other manner of magic. They have drama, suspense, likeable and detestable characters -- I mean, what else could you want? Even if you are one of those soulless creeps that doesn't like Harry Potter, the least you can do is let your kids watch it around Halloween time. Do not let them miss out because of your bad taste. It's in their best interest.

All right, that should do it, unless you want to watch kids' movies until you are ready to stick your head in the pumpkin with the candle still lit. If you have the time, pick up the books to accompany the films. Your kids may want to get some chills beneath the covers while they get ready for bed this October. None of these books is horribly scary, so if a child is progressed enough to read them, he or she should be emotionally ready to handle them.

Happy Halloween!