Harry Potter

NO Spoilers

I was a bit late to the Harry Potter game.  I was never against the books, like some in Christian circles are, fearful of witchcraft and all, as I saw the same fear with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which are the opposite of antithetical of Christianity, catch my double negative.  I just was busy starting college, getting married, teaching in a field away from where those fit in.

The year I left teaching, we moved far away from all of our friends, and had no family close by either.  Kate was only one, and took long naps in those days.  I was bored and lonely.  My sister recommended I pick up the books, as  they could fill at least some of those hours.

I checked them out one by one at the nearby library, and read books The Sorcerer's Stone through The Half Blood Prince in quick succession.  I had to wait only for the last book to come out a few months later.

Over time, we've introduced the books to the older three kids.  We had a detailed plan of releasing them one book at a time, but as they grew, specifically Kate, she seemed ready for them more quickly than once a year.  Add to that Gabby was getting teased by Kate, who knew more of the story, and we ended up getting audio books, again from a library, and listened to them all.

They teach lessons about friendship, loyalty, that being a smart girl isn't a bad thing, and the value of self sacrifice.

When The Cursed Child came out, I insisted the kids let me read through it first, knowing that our original wizard friends would be all grown up, but I didn't find the content to move beyond the issues that one might have with the original books.  There is mention of an adulterous relationship (no details given) that I had to explain.

I found that the rich details of scenery and of character development are missing, since this is a play.  And I missed that.  Of course if you're seeing it in a theater, all those things will be on display for you.  The book also read extremely fast because of that.  I was able to read it aloud to the kids in four days, none of them long sittings.

I found the characters were true to themselves and the story, though much more brief than one of the original books, was good.

There were some great lines.  One of our favorites would be a horrible spoiler, so I'll not share it, but the next favorite at our house has been, "Rubbish.  Beautifully put but beautiful rubbish."

So all in all, a good story, even if it was a little threadbare.