Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, 319 pagesTwo decades after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry Potter is all grown up with kids of his own. The Cursed Child focuses on Harry's middle child, Albus, who doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the Potter family, and is attempting to define himself as something other than "famous Harry Potter's odd son." When he heads to Hogwarts, he strikes up an unlikely (well, to fans of the original series, anyway) friendship with Scorpius Malfoy, who is experiencing many of the same personal problems. Without going into the plot too much, the two go on a time-twisting adventure in an attempt to save Cedric Diggory, but find how one small change can cause HUGE ripples across time.
This is definitely a departure from all other Harry Potter books (including the handful of short books J.K. Rowling wrote after they were referenced in the series). For one thing, it's a four-act play, which means it has a lot more action in a much more condensed form. It's also the first official Harry Potter thing not written directly by J.K. Rowling (who provided the story, but didn't write the script). There are definitely some elements I wasn't a huge fan of, and I must say that I missed the subtle hints that Rowling dropped throughout the books. However, it's excellent to pop in on the characters that we got to know so well, and see how they have developed over the years.
I'm sad that I haven't been able to see the play, which, so far, is only open in the West End. But someday it will cross the pond and, if they're able to accomplish half the crazy stage directions, it'll be AMAZING to see.
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