Parents' Guide to

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Engaging time-travel play satisfying for fans.

Book J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne Fantasy 2016
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 10+

Based on 7 parent reviews

BooklovingMom
BooklovingMom Parent
August 3, 2016
age 11+

Parenting- the ultimate HP adventure

So this review will not try to predict if you will like this play or not - the reaction of HP fans has been very mixed, as it IS different, reads differently, characters have grown up and changed in ways some may not find believable. Not going there. If you have a kid who wants to read it, I think it is fine for age 11 and up. There is a lot less violence than books 6 and 7, and no confusing "splitting your soul" philosophy. While a minor character is killed, and there is a replay of Harry's parents being killed, there is no graphic description of violence because - it's the script of a play. For me the big issue was that through the dialogue here there is frank discussion of the possibility of a child being conceived out of wedlock (Voldemort's child, but still). If you don't want to explain that to your kid yet, then you might want to pass. There are a few scenes where married adults kiss each other "hard", that's about it for the romance. There are positive messages here for kids also - about friendship, positive portrayals of married couples communicating (Harry & Ginny, Ron & Hermione), forgiveness and the importance of family. Some scenes are very touching, there is also humor, and plenty of suspense. As a parent, I enjoyed seeing Harry and Ginny as parents of a troubled teen. They mean well but sometimes he just pushes their buttons, we've all been there.

This title has:

Educational value
1 person found this helpful.
WeDon'tTalkAboutBruno
WeDon'tTalkAboutBruno Adult
February 13, 2022
age 7+

How Though?

How do people give this such bad ratings? First, Harry was egotistical in the original 7, why does it suprise you here? Second, Other that the Cedric thing, it made perfect sense Third, the characters ruled, and Scorpius was awesome Fourth, Draco's development was great My only complaints are that Ron was ruined

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 7 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (7):
Kids say (79):

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

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