Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

Based on an original new story by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play by Jack Thorne, is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. It will receive its world premiere in London's West End on 30th July 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.



Where to begin? Where tooooo begin?

I am not sure where to begin or end with this.

I think I will begin by saying that I do not think a book, no matter what franchise it is a continuation is off, gets a free pass. A bad story is a bad story and the affiliation with J K Rowling and Harry Potter in no way validates the fact that this book should have been published. That is my opinion - they should have left well enough alone. There are moments I enjoyed but if you want a quick summary this play is a waste of time and money. It is a well written fanfiction that in no way belongs within this universe. You can disagree but that is how I feel. So if you don't want spoilers leave now, if not - lets crack on. I am going to review this book in two parts - Acts 1-3 and Act 4, mostly because I feel like I have different things to say about Act 4.

Acts 1 - 3

I find the description of this play as "well written fan-fiction" to be rather apt. Acts 1 through 3 are a total mess, I just do not care about anything that is happening and I keep reading and reading but it's more of the same. First off I have trouble believing that Harry is a terrible father, he has always been very accepting and very seeing of people, he has never been blind to other people or their feelings and yet there is apparently been this huge character change over the past nineteen years with no explanation. Harry also appears to be terrible at his job, we see his office and it is a state, Hermione basically says he is terrible at his job and his lack of a relationship with Ginny is all too much. I know people change as they get older and life changes and things change but you do not become a completely different person. I also don't believe for a second Harry is someone who lives in his stories, I can't imagine him telling people his stories over and over like that creepy Daniel Radcliffe SNL sketch.

Albus and Scorpius really make this play, they are the best characters and maybe that's because they are the only ones who I don't actually know. Was I the only one who got a vibe from the two of them, kind of a Magneto/Professor X secret love for one another vibe. Well, I did and I totally ship them. That was quite odd in the writing that there were these very intimate moments and then suddenly Scorpius is all over Rose, it was strange.

Hermione and Ron were disastrous, Ron was squeezed in a the mockable comic relief, no longer even funny from his own wit and humour - just as a cheap laughing stock with his fat gut and balding head. That was a disappointment and so was the display of Ron and Hermione's relationship, it felt forced and wrong and then we had this plot of alternate worlds where they don't get together and I am not choked up about it at all. It felt forced, it felt as though this was written by someone who doesn't know them enough and it showed, it so showed.

Finally, I will get to the plot. Once again fan-fiction destroys stories we love. A secret time-turner to go back and save Cedric. That was bad. Voldemort and Bellatrix having a secret baby that she popped out just before running to the battle of Hogwarts. First off, we saw Bellatrix just before the battle of Hogwarts and she weren't 9 months preggo fellas! Secondly, what would possess him to have sex or a child in the first place? He has never shown to be filed with sexual desire or affection so what the hell Rowling? You approved this story? Really! How could you.

OK. I'm calm.

Now, if this is getting to negative for you, proceed to Act 4. Things change up. I swear.


ACT 4!!! Thank the universe for ACT 4!

Throughout my many, many years as a Potterhead, I have been to many, many places associated with the Harry Potter World.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter? CHECK!


Leavsden Studio Tour? CHECK!




Real Life Set Locations? CHECK!


But somewhere I'd been meaning to go for many years is The Elephant House Cafe in Edinburgh, where Rowling (atleast once) sat and wrote Harry Potter. Dubbed "The Birthplace of Harry Potter" I don't know why I'd never been before and this week I did. It wasn't all that exciting but I really want to talk about the bathroom!

Yes, I said bathroom.

The bathroom was a work of art.

Potterheads from across the world had come and left their mark. They put up quotes, and recited entire chapters. They made Potterhead puns or maybe just signed there names but they were all there. Real people who had come through those doors, people I would never meet from Canada or Mexico but all people pulled together by a common thread.

 They came knowing they would see nothing about Harry Potter or the secrets behind where it came from hidden within the walls, but they came anyway and they left something in what I would call a very fancy cafe' for more and more Potterheads to see and add to. Breathing life into old walls and making the ordinary, extraordinary. And isn't that what the books did in the first place.









Naturally I was immediately compelled to leave my own dedication, but mine was neither pun nor quote, but it stood with the Thank You Graffiti. Calling to a woman who was not there and probably wouldn't be again. But just wanting to put into words, in that moment that I felt so much love for so many strangers I would never meet. I wanted to Thank, the world, the universe anyone who would listen for the gift of these books and all books after that. It's a wonderful life.



I returned to The Elephant House!


They also make great Jacket Potatoes!

Series are an important member of the YA family. We love a long story that keeps going and gives us as much as possible. When you love a story there is nothing better than finding out there are more books, although that being said, some series are better than others. This is the countdown of my CURRENT favourite top ten

10. Dust Lands Series by Moira Young

Amidst the wreckage of a ruined civilization, Saba must fight to save herself, her family, and maybe her whole world.

The Dust Lands Series by Moira Young makes my top ten because of the first and second books in the trilogy. The final book was admittedly a disappointment but Saba is a strong protagonist and it's hard not to fall in love with her and her journey. The relationship development between her and her siblings is beautiful and the final chapter of Raging Star is really quite lovely.

9. Delirium Series by Lauren Oliver
Lena and Alex, two teens battling against the controlling government that believes that love is a disease and forbids it from their community.

Delirium is one of those trilogies that people were let down by the ending but Pandemonium is one of the greatest books I have ever read, the structure is just genius. And much like Veronica Roth's Allegiant, the ending becomes better and more able to cope with in time and after a re-reading. 


8. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Enter a future world where every year two tributes from each district are thrown into an arena expected to fight to the death or get knocked out by other means. Only one can survive.

A classic YA fave, The Hunger Games needs no explanation as to why it deserves to be in my top ten. Although I will say that despite how controversial. I loved Mockingjay. 



7. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
The mysterious "Kid-Killer" affliction has left most American children dead, but Ruby is not one of them-she's one of the dangerous ones, the ones who lived. 

The Darkest Minds is by far one of the most interesting concepts I have ever read. I adored the first book and the second one was just as good. Ruby is delightful as is Liam and the characters development throughout this series is phenomenal. The final book in the trilogy In the Afterlight is out this year. I highly, highly recommend.
6.  Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth
 Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling debut is a gripping dystopian tale of electrifying choices, powerful consequences, unexpected romance, and a deeply flawed "perfect society."

Another YA classic, Divergent is a wonderful trilogy with a shock conclusion. If you haven't quite got over Allegiant,I recommend reading Veronica Roth's blog. Her post about her plot decisions is beautiful and really helps to understand the authors point of view. 


 5. Harry Potter by J. K Rowling






Need I say more.  






4. Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver

Riley Blackthorne is a 17-year-old trying to make her way in an Atlanta plagued by marauding demons and scheming necromancers. With each passing day, Atlanta is becoming the latest battlefield between Heaven and Hell.

This is one of the most consistent series I have ever read. Each book is as good and as satisfying as its predecessor. Riley is badass, Beck is just...great! And the narrative is full of twists and turns. You will fall in love with this series. 


3.Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong
The series revolves around The Edison Group, a team of supernatural scientists, and the subjects they have experimented on. 

An incredibly absorbing trilogy that follows Chloe Saunders. Her inner struggle to control her powers and find out who she is will surprise and enthrall you. Armstrong is a well known horror writer and brings aspects of this into these novels to give it a great, scary edge.




2. Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer   
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Follow Cinder as she tried to take down the evil Lunars in these wonderful novels based loosely (incredibly so) on fairytales. The final book Winter is scheduled for release and I am so excited for it, I am going to pee my pants. 


1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

   
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. 

 I initially read these books last year on a random whim after grabbing it at Waterstones and I never just buy books without researching first. But I was really glad I did. A year later I have just reread them after the release of The Assassins Blade (Throne of Glass Prequel Novella Bind Up) and it occurs to me that this may be my favourite fantasy series EVER!

I love Celaena so much, in a way that I've never connected to a protagonist before, she isn't simply kick-ass and hard and cold, shes also soft and sweet and goofy and she's real person in the greatest way that a collection of words can be a person, she is so incredibly complex that it doesn't seem possible for her not to be a person. Then there's Chaol who is the weirdest love interest but also seems so incredibly right, Dorian isn't just the typical kind of 'here he is, prince charming' fantasy that people love to read in books. But Chaol gives off the idea of what it's really like to be in love, he is the reality of love rather than the fantasy and I adore that. Sarah J Maas has created real life on the page. I often forget it's constructed and that none of this has actually happened.

The world is beautiful it's like Game of Thrones meets modern day and the way it feels natural to move through. And I normally hate books about Fae, I avoid them because I can't stand them and after I first read this book, the Fae part seemed not that important, it was more to do with how great the story was. The percentages of the book focusing on each narrative felt really good, really natural, it wasn't all about the competition or Elena or the love story or even this kind self acceptance and misery Celaena goes through story, they all flowed naturally and felt like that was how much time should have been spent on each part. I love this book in the weird way that I can love something that isn't real, something that was made up. 

The third book Heir of Fire is out September and luckily there are to be six novels within this series. 


 It's beautiful right! 

I honestly implore you, if you haven't read this series, pick it up. You will not be disappointed, it makes me all ...
 on the inside.