Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
By Carrie R. Wheadon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Engaging time-travel play satisfying for fans.

A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
Based on 7 parent reviews
Parenting- the ultimate HP adventure
Report this review
How Though?
Report this review
What's the Story?
IN HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, middle child Albus Potter just doesn't fit in at Hogwarts. For one thing, who could imagine a Potter in Slytherin? And how could anyone imagine his best friend would be a boy named Scorpius, a Malfoy? Albus' dad just doesn't get him and doesn't get what it means to be in the shadow of the famous Harry Potter -- Albus never wanted any of that. The night before the train back to Hogwarts, Albus overhears his father arguing with a now elderly Amos Diggory. Amos heard a rumor that a Time Turner was found and implores that they use it to go back and save his son Cedric, whose murder was ordered by Voldemort decades ago. Harry won't even hear him out or admit that the Time Turner exists. Albus, sure his father is lying, thinks it's unfair and wants to be the one to help. On the train to Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius make a break for it, intending to find the Time Turner in his Aunt Hermione's office and go back in time to the Triwizard Tournament. If Cedric doesn't win with Harry, he can't be killed and Amos gets his son back. But, of course, with all plans to alter time, even for the right reasons, things can go horribly, horribly wrong. Like, Voldemort-never-died horribly wrong.
Is It Any Good?
Once readers get accustomed to the more sparsely detailed play format, most will come away happy to have spent more time in Harry's world. Reading scripts is a slower business, taking time to imagine how each scene is set before digging into the dialogue; a lot happens with only a few stage directions and scene changes. This story really plays with time, moving forward in Albus' first few years of Hogwarts, exploring Harry Potter's nightmares of the past, and eventually visiting scenes from past books and scary alternate presents. (Voldemort is back? Nooooo!)
Seeing it all come together onstage would be a marvel. Getting to the climax of the story without actors in front of you is still nail-biting. It's always hard to imagine how any time travel screwup can really be fixed, and the stakes are pretty high here. Mix that with a bit of humor (one alternate present isn't so kind to Ron and Hermione) and some poignant parenting lessons (even for Draco!), and there's quite a bit to take away from four acts. Plus there are plenty of "how on earth would they do that on a stage?" moments to ponder until readers get lucky enough to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child performed onstage.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the Harry Potter world in play form. Was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child easy to follow as a play or much harder? Did you feel as engaged as you were with the book format? Did you have to change the way you read the play versus the novels to take it all in?
How have Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Draco changed as adults? Are you still interested in them as adult characters, or has your focus shifted more to Albus and Scorpius? Parents reading along: Who are your favorite characters?
Does this script make you want to see this play performed onstage? Are there some stage directions in the script that seem too hard to translate to a stage -- such as, say, transfiguration? How do you think they did it in performance?
Book Details
- Authors: J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Arthur A. Levine
- Publication date: July 31, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 9 - 12
- Number of pages: 320
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: October 5, 2018
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Our Editors Recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate