Jack Thorne (NOT J.K. Rowling!)  |  Fiction

When I was in third grade I wrote a play. My lovely third-grade teacher (Mrs. Cahill if memory serves??) was kind enough to let me direct and perform the play.  It was a great way to develop a baby budding writer!  Since that day, I have had an affinity for play scripts. Even today, I will occasionally pick one up to read and enjoy.  So, as you may imagine, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

And how disappointing!  The children in the play are progeny of Harry and Ginny, and Hermione and Ron, and Draco Malfoy.  It was intriguing to observe the next generation of wizards developing in the shadow of their famous parents.  Unfortunately, that is just what the author, Jack Thorne, relies upon – how these children fare in comparison to their enticing ancestors.  As a matter of fact, in the main story line, the children travel back to a time when all the adults were young and at Hogwarts.  How un-creative!  Thorne could not even develop a NEW adventure for young Albus and Scorpius to explore and be challenged by.  It was boring!  There was nothing new, no new magic, no new intrigue, virtually no creativity.  Sad.

The other error Thorne makes, in my opinion, is to tell the story of the five adults simultaneously.  So there is an inter-weaving of the adults, and their insecurities and proclivities, with the children’s adventures.  And it wasn’t a clever interweaving.  The tales about the adults simply dragged down any energy that Thorne created about the children.

I miss J.K. Rowling immensely in this story.