By Rachel Tyner
As a child, I stayed up all hours of the night under my covers with a stolen flashlight, reading whatever books I could get my hands on. Some of my earliest memories are not actually my own personal memories, but random bits of dialogue and the adventures of my favorite characters.
When Harry Potter came into my life, nothing was ever the same. I remember lying on the floor, my feet kicked up against the wall, reading for hours at a time. I was totally immersed and time flew by. Periodically I would nervously eyeball the pages to see how far along I was in the book, breathing a sigh of relief if I was still less than halfway.
I will always be incredibly thankful for those books. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published in 2007, the summer before I started college. It seemed appropriate. Finally, "All was well," and it felt like the right time to shut the metaphorical door on the Harry Potter world.
That brings me to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. If you truly love the world that JK Rowling created nearly 20 years ago, then chances are you have read the script by now. If not, I urge you to do so. Here's why.
When I opened my long awaited Amazon package to find the bound script, I got goose bumps. However, I knew it wouldn't be the same. I went into it with no expectations, and honestly, I enjoyed it. It was different from the seven novels and certainly incomparable. I read one N/A star review that just said, "It's just a thing that exists and I'm accepting it for what it is." I think that pretty much sums it up.
At its worst, it’s not as well written as the original series, it’s cheesy (the "I love you" scene with Harry and Dumbledore would never happen), the plot has a lot of holes, and the characters are over the top.
At its best, it’s Harry Potter. If you need more convincing than that, I'm not so sure you are quite the fan you think you are. Sure, you notice the inconsistencies and cringe at some parts, but you don't really care. That's not really the point. The point is that you're 27 years old and you’re holding in your hand something you never thought you would ever get to hold again. An unread, untouched, 308 pages of "Harry Potter and the..." with JK Rowling's name on it in that same magical font. Suddenly you feel 8 years old again and you’re using your imagination. A part of your brain you thought maybe you had lost in between paying electrical bills, saving for a house, and figuring out your 401k.
"After all this time?"
"Always."