Reviews

Harry Potter und das verwunschene Kind - Teil eins und zwei by Jack Thorne

hbhalliwell's review against another edition

5.0

I know that, as a huge Potterhead, it is expected that I would love this book. But, as a person who loves reading and theater, I REALLY loved this book. Worth every penny. Worry every second poured into reading it. Potter fan or not, I think this has so much to offer. And I REALLY, really loved it.

beccahilyard's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sandra4444's review against another edition

3.0

*Real rating: 2.75 stars*

I think my major issue with this was that it reads like a script. You don't get the same feeling as a real book can give you. And the thing with the previous Harry Potter books is that there are some amazing writing and memorable quotes. I did not get the feeling of Rowling's writing in this, but then again there are three of them who have contributed to this story, so of course it will be different, especially since it is a play.

Personally, I've always been more interested in a new Harry Potter story regarding the First Wizarding War and the Marauders' Era than what happened after "Deathly Hallows" and the epilogue. So I was excited for "The Cursed Child", but I had mixed expectations. I've read some reviews that compare "The Cursed Child" to fanfiction and as a reader of fanfiction, I understand what they mean. There were some used fanfiction "clichés" in this;

Spoiler

time travel, alternate universes/timelines, Voldemort having a child

which was not neccesarily bad, but they tried to fit too much in one story and did not quite succeed. However, there was a couple of interesting aspects such as

Spoiler

in act II and III when Scorpius went to the timeline where Voldemort ruled

. But as a whole, the story line and characters fell a bit flat in my opinion. Though I will admit that I liked Scorpius and that it was interesting reading about Draco interacting with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in a different manner than when they were at Hogwarts.

All in all, I'm glad that I read "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", but I prefer the other seven stories about Harry Potter. But I don't doubt it would be a wonderful experience to watch the play live!

keiramoran's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

yeshi's review against another edition

4.0

Love blinds. :)

chrys_marin's review against another edition

4.0

Really enjoyed it, it had the feeling of the old Harry Potter books. The main characters can be quite annoying at times, but the ending redeems this by tying up the story in a very satisfying way. The format is different from the original books as it is written as a play, but you soon forget and it makes it a very fast read. I think Harry Potter fans will not be disappointed.

mandeekay's review against another edition

2.0

I was hoping to like this more than I did despite everything I heard before reading it. For the most part I thought it was a lazy cash grab that read like fan fiction. There were a few good moments, but overall it was just ok.

SPOILERS:

Pros:
-The opening was quite nice. I enjoyed the feeling of nostalgia up until the kids got on the train
-I really liked how Draco's character turned out. I thought he had some of the best lines and felt the most accurate in terms of how the original characters would have turned out as an adult
-Even though he had absolutely terrible dialogue, I enjoyed Scorpious.
-There were a few tender moments that were nice. Most noticeably the interactions with Scorpious and Snape and Albus describing Harry's parents to Harry.

Cons:
-The plot was so bad. The time turner story line is super lazy. It made the plot super clunky, and of course filled with plot holes.
-The dialogue was terrible. Hardly any of it sounded natural, especially anything coming from Albus and Scorpious.
-Ron was just a caricature of himself.
-There is absolutely no way that even in an alternate universe Hermione would give up her ambitions because her and Ron don't get together. Hermione is too strong for that. And even if she did become a teacher, she would have done so because she loved school. Sure, she would likely be an incredible teacher with a stern side (like McGonagall), but no way she'd be how she was depicted in the alternate reality. It was completely unfaithful to her real character.
-Rose had an awful personality in most of her scenes and reminded me of how Draco was as a kid with his entitlement obsession. To be fair, this is because she hardly had any time in the play and the time she had was spent being more obsessed with status and who will be the right type of friend.
-The Delphi twist was really bad. Really, really bad.

I have more cons, but those were some of the main things that irked me. Overall it was a disappointment. Most definitely the least magical of anything from the Harry Potter series.

jrhoffer1913's review against another edition

4.0

Good read

Nice to revisit the harry potter characters and good story. Just don't expect it to be another book like the originals.

spacejerky's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

blackv's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5