Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two

Parents need to know that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two is the script of a play performed first in London in 2016. The story takes place 19 years after the big Hogwarts battle in Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows, the concluding Book 7 of the core Potter series. It's hard to assign the best age for this play for a few reasons. The play format may be a hard transition for some readers who aren't used to slowing down and imagining characters on a set. Also, with near constant references to the past, readers need to be familiar with the entire Harry Potter series to keep up. We recommend Book 7 for ages 12 and up because of its intense battles and themes. While many of these themes are still present in this play, they get a lighter touch because of this dialogue-heavy format. There's still some violence, however. A student dies from a killing curse, a boy's mother dies from a long illness, Dementors suck out souls, a curse inflicts pain, an arm is broken and repaired magically, and some magical fighting with wands results in minor injuries. Flashes to the past or alternate presents talk of muggles blown up and tortured, and there's much talk of the death of the student Cedric Diggory from Book 4 and the death of Harry's parents at the hands of Voldemort when he was a baby. Despite Harry Potter hogging the title, the main characters here are his son, Albus, and Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. Their friendship keeps them grounded most of the time, but Albus' need to be something more than the weird middle child and his impulsive streak cause the pair to make a string of serious mistakes. Even as only an imprint of his former self in a talking portrait, Dumbledore offers the best advice to floundering parents Harry and Draco about teaching kids resilience instead of constantly trying to protect them from harm.