In early 2016, fans of the popular series Harry Potter rejoiced at the news that there would finally be an eighth book. It had been eleven years since the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released, and six since the last movie. However, the new installment was not a novel to be turned into a movie like its predecessors, it was instead a theatrical production. The Cursed Child would open as a play in London, and the original script was released in book form worldwide. Speculations of the plot were common within the fanbase, and everyone was excited for the release on July 31, 2016.

The play has now been open for just over a month and fans are still divided on whether or not they want to accept the play into their series. Some fans, despite not enjoying the book as much as they did the rest of the series, are accepting the story as an extension of the first seven books, and taking what happens in it as an official part of the Harry Potter timeline. Other fans are not, for many reasons; many readers who have reviewed the story on the website Goodreads agree that the play is riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies. Common grievances include that the characters were one dimensional, the plot was not well thought out, and that the whole book was a big attempt at nostalgia instead of its own story. These problems may have arisen for two reasons; JK Rowling was not the playwright, and it was a script, so it lacked much of the description that can be found in a novel.

Personally, I can see both sides of the arguments. I understand that the plot was poorly done and lazily written, and I was very angry when I read some of my old favorite characters lose their depth. However, readers were introduced to great new characters, including Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, and the narrative was engaging and heartwarming. Overall, the book is a good read for anyone who, like me, is desperate to return to the world of Harry Potter. It will be up to each individual to decide if they want to accept the play into their personal world of Harry Potter, or if they would prefer to keep it separate.