Harry Potter and the Cursed Child byJohn Tiffany (Adaptation), Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, so when I heard this was to come out, I was beyond excited to read it. I loved that I was getting the chance to continue the Harry Potter story, as I never wanted it to end. Unfortunately, I would have been better off not reading it at all. It's not the Harry Potter I know and love, which I later admitted, I should have expected. The characters do, think, and say things that Rowling's characters never would have. The actions seem preposterous, and instead of loving the addition to the world, I ended this with dissatisfaction and bewilderment. It's difficult because it's in the play format, so we don't receive all of the details we normally would in a novel. This takes away from many of the things I loved about Rowling's books (her descriptive and beautiful way of writing even the simplest things, effectively holding me captive throughout all seven books). Normally, I'm a fan of reading plays, but because I was used to Harry Potter as a novel, it was difficult to transition to a play style of the world I'd previously encountered. It also isn't completely Rowling, which again takes away from what I loved, because the main thing I loved was Rowling's words themselves. At the end of the day, I'm glad I read it, because now I can converse about the play to others whom I know also love Harry Potter, but that's the only reason. It was almost painful for me to read, perhaps because I love Harry Potter so much. For those just picking up the book and reading it without much Harry Potter background, will probably enjoy it much more than I did. I also think it would be interesting to see the play and compare my experiences, but because I was so turned off by the characters and the action, I doubt I would find enjoyment in seeing the play. I gave this book a 2 out of 5 star rating.