Student Book Review

No matter where in the world you are, no matter what language is spoken, you will probably find someone there who has heard of Harry Potter. After all, the original seven Harry Potter books have been translated into 72 languages and sold 500 million copies since the release Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone in 1997. The reason behind the massive numbers of copies sold is due to the massive fanbase. Bookstores would be packed with fans hours before midnight releases of books, movie theaters packed with excited Potterheads, and countless people dressing up as Harry Potter characters whenever they get the chance. Despite the lack of new material since the movie release of Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in July of 2011, the community has remained strong. This summer, the community rallied around the release of the script of a new play on the birthday of author J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter himself: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Cursed Child picks up where the epilogue of Deathly Hallows left off: Harry’s second child, Albus Severus, is heading off to Hogwarts. Albus is struggling to live up to the family legacy that he never wanted, and Harry Potter himself is now an overworked adult struggling with his relationship with his son. Albus and his new friend, Scorpius Malfoy, get themselves into big trouble and rekindle a feud between their fathers. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child continues the Harry Potter storyline as the script of a play written by Jack Thorne. Like many people, I believe that actually seeing the play is better because you get a feel for many special effects;however, the screenplay is still very interesting to read.

On November 18 of this year, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will come out in theaters. Newt Scamander, a magizoologist from England visits the U.S.A. to find more magical creatures, potentially spanning multiple movies. These two Harry Potter-based stories have brought the Harry Potter series back into the spotlight.

This article was written by Jacob Felix and originally appeared in The Crown Prints student newspaper.