Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

* * * * */ Five Stars

Genre: Skip! (It's a Harry Potter book; we all know it's a continuation of that adventure and has the same genre)

Albus Severus Potter is named after two famous wizards, his dad is the renown Harry Potter, and he is expected to be the cream of the crop in Hogwarts. Instead, he befriends Scorpious Malfoy, the son of Death-Eater Draco Malfoy and the butt of many a rumor, enters Slytherin, is terrible at quidditch, and is wildly unpopular. What use is being the son of a prodigy if you don't fit in? Meanwhile, Hermione, now the Minister of Magic, has confiscated an illegal time turner that can travel way back; years, even. After hearing how Cedric was killed in the Triwizard Tournament, Albus pulls Scorpius into stealing the time turner from the ministry and using it to save Cedric's life, a feat not even his famous father had accomplished. But even the smallest actions can affect the future, and with a new, hidden evil rising behind everyone's noses, they may have just put their world at risk. Will these two misfits be able to set everything right, or will darkness reign again?
I love love love the way J.K. Rowling (and Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, of course) wove components of all 7 of the previous books into this last outstanding story continuation. It's a real nod to the originals that is much appreciated and welcomed by the fan community. Complete with alternate realities, a great cast of characters (pun intended), and a wonderful, whimsical adventure that only Rowling could have thought up, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a phenominal conclusion to the series, even if it is written in script format.