Book of the Week: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Author(s): J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany

Publisher: Little, Brown UK
Year Published: 2016

Format: Hardcover, Special Rehearsal Edition (343 pages)
Goodreads rating: 3.90 (as of August 2016)

Description:

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

It starts off at the moment of the epilogue in the last book which takes place nineteen years later. Harry and Ginny are married with children, as are Ron and Hermione. Harry's middle child, Albus Severus, who struggles with living in the shadow of his father's fame is sorted into Slytherin and befriends the son of an old nemesis, Scorpius Malfoy. They have a rough time at Hogwarts and both are unpopular outcasts; Albus is mocked for being a Potter in Slytherin, while Scorpius is bullied with a nasty rumor of him being Voldemort's son.  

***

I want to preface this post by saying: I'm not what you'd call a "Potterhead" or anything. Don't get me wrong, I love Harry Potter. Like a lot of people my age, I basically grew up with Harry Potter and I am glad I did. This is a huge part of my childhood and will always be. I've read all the books and seen all the movies, so far HP is one of the best fantasy series ever made. When it was announced that there would be an eighth story in the series, unlike some others, I wasn't really excited about it. Why? Because I think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a fit end to the series although the epilogue is a bit corny, so I personally wasn't expecting another book. But then again, since it's Harry Potter, why not give it a chance?

Hang on, we're going home!

Well, I don't know where to even begin. I'm going to keep it brief. Something to keep in mind, Cursed Child is not a novel. It is a play script that obviously makes it different from the seven other books and I myself don't find it hard to follow. It's literally just straight dialogue and not actually written by Rowling (it's written by Jack Thorne and she has approved it), so don't expect it to have the same feel as her other writings.

Having read it in a day, I'm feeling conflicted about Cursed Child. First, the characters. Because it's written as a script, they are not fully developed as in a novel would be. All of the original characters are horribly out of character. I get that people change as they get older, but their personalities are completely different and unrecognizable. For example, Ron is sadly portrayed as a bumbling idiot! Seeing him like that just really breaks my heart. A few old characters from the series make an appearance as well, although none of them feels like the characters we all know and love. 

However, since Cursed Child centers around the next generation of wizards and witches, it's time for us to move forward. In this installment we get introduced to two new main characters, Albus and Scorpius, along with a new controversial character named Delphi who pretty much comes out of nowhere (seriously, her entire existence is just ludicrous). Speaking of Albus, he is pretty annoying and unlikable most of the time. I literally don't understand why Albus hates his father. Just because he ends up sorted into Slytherin and not that great on magic, he doesn't need to be so rude and disrespectful to Harry! There's no particular reason to feel sympathy for him. On the other hand, Scorpius is just plain adorable. Who would have expected Draco's son to be a wonderful geek?! He is like a breath of fresh air for the Malfoys. Scorpius now becomes everyone's new favorite character, and it's easy to see why. So throughout their time at Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius are outsiders and both are struggling to live in their fathers' shadows. At first look, you might want to label their relationship as "gay" because the dialogue between them is somewhat too romantic and very ambiguous. They indeed are best friends forever, but what is the point of telling us over and over again how much they need and care for each other? It's hard to believe that teen boys would talk like that in a normal conversation every single time. More than 50% of the script, they are too busy hugging each other. I mean come on, they are definitely in love! For all the Scorbus shippers out there, relax dear, it's just a bromance.

About the other new characters, however, I have very little to say. We barely get to know anything about them; some just disappear halfway through the script, some are even forgotten ☹ We learn almost nothing about any of the new kids except the main characters. Probably because it's a stage play in a theatre, the cast of characters should not be too large due to the limited stage area. Fine, then.

As for the story itself, it begins quite well and the first part of the script seems promising, until Ministry of Magic seizes an illegal Time-Turner from a Death Eater.

It turns out this kind of Time-Turner is entirely different from Hermione's.

Hmm from what I can vaguely remember, the Time-Turners have all been destroyed during the events of Order of the Phoenix, but now.. they’re back! There are special Time-Turners in this story that break all the rules of time travel set in Prisoner of Azkaban. In Cursed Child, this new Time-Turner can be used to go back years at a time, not just hours. It also can change the past, creating alternate timeline that leads to a series of butterfly effects. Leaning so heavily on time travel, the story is more focused on revisiting some of the key events of the past: the Triwizard Tournament of 1994, the Halloween of 1981. In short, nothing new gets really added to the Potter universe.

Aside from the time travel nonsense, this script contradicts several elements presented in the previous installments. Too many plot points and other events that feel forced, unrealistic and unbelievable. Some things are just random. The dialog is pointless, choppy and overly dramatic. It also has a good amount of cringe-worthy moments that seriously make me want to slam the book shut many times and be done with it. Hate to say it, but Cursed Child is chock full of plot holes, blatant inconsistencies and deus ex machina that bring up more questions rather than answers.

A few good moments even cannot save this script from mediocrity. And the whole thing about Voldemort having a child is the worst and most ridiculous part for me. I have always considered him asexual and aromantic. I can't imagine He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named engaging in sexual act with anyone. I need explanation. It's so dumbbbbb.

Ugh. I can't, Snape!

Don't ask me how it ends. The more I think about this the sadder I get. Can't believe Rowling had anything to do with this.

Overall, it isn't a terrible read. It just leaves me feeling a bit empty afterwards. Others have described it as reading like fan fiction and sadly, I have to agree. And it has a bit too much fanservice for my taste. Well guys, Cursed Child is not something that meant to be read, but to be watched and played on stage (this play would probably be totally awesome to see!). In any case, I want to see more...more background story, more characters development, more details, more adventure and more magic. It is always amazing to come back to the HP world, however I simply can't accept this as being canon in the series. The whole Harry Potter story should have ended with the Deathly Hallows. Let the story end where the story ends.

It hurts my soul to give Harry Potter anything less than five stars, but here we are.

Should you read it? I suppose so, if only to know what everyone's talking about. You might end up loving it!

**Disclaimer: All gifs on this page are taken from Tumblr.

Continue Reading

Webtoon: Winter Woods

From LINE WEBTOON:

A few thousand years has passed since an alchemist created Winter. He is now living with Jane learning what it means to be alive as a human.

Frankly, I'm not really into manga/manhwa. I don't particularly have a favorite genre, either. I discovered Winter Woods about a year and a half ago, and I got hooked from the very first chapter. Winter Woods is a fantasy, supernatural romance webtoon written by Cosmos and illustrated by Van Ji. It is still ongoing with publication every week at LINE WEBTOON.

It begins with a story of a boy who is created a thousand years ago by his master (an alchemist). The master wants a son of his own after his wife and newly born son died. Since then, he digs up various body parts from corpses and assembles his own "son." His last creation named 1001, who becomes the story's main character, comes alive and begins his journey to learn how to be human. One cold night, he meets with Jane and decides to live with her learning what it means to be alive. Jane gives him a name, Winter Woods.

To go with the Frankenstein-ish theme going on, Winter Woods has an Edward Scissorhands vibe to it (oh boy, I love all Tim Burton's movies!!). Winter's innocence and misunderstanding without any prior knowledge are so similar to Edward. Living in isolation after the death of his master has left him emotionless and very child-like. Moreover, Winter's heart doesn't beat like a normal human being that he is considered undead.

As the chapter goes on, things are getting more exciting and interesting. Lots of plot twists and I am completely trapped with the story. Winter Woods has a darker side to it and events that are totally unexpected. This one also has slice of life coupled with a journey of self-discovery. It has a little bit of everything. It's dark, creepy, funny, sort of Gothic in a way, but most of all, full of mystery. This gives me so many feels because it always has a complete mix of emotions for every single chapter. The webtoon constantly (and successfully) teeters just on the right side of that fine line between creepy and cute in the most wonderful ways. You'll never understand what I mean until you read it yourself. ☺️ The flashbacks with the inventor are very well-told, too.

Doesn't he look less pale and more alive now? He is becoming more colorful than he has ever been.

I love all the characters in it, each of whom has a lot going on in their lives and pasts. They are well-developed and even with their flaws they are likeable. Everyone has their own secrets and are somehow connected to each other. Forgive me, but I always have a soft spot for male main characters. Winter isn't exactly the sweetest character ever, but it is hard not to like him. You gotta love Winter and how innocent and adorable he is. Just like other people, he wants to be alive as a human, to be normal, to be loved and to be precious to someone. I could relate to Winter's gentle, shy, loving character and you have to admit, he does look very huggable ☃️ *oops*

Ah.. Love is in the air~~~

As a reader, the story is very important to me and so is the artwork. Winter Woods has great art style that is so captivating and stunning. The backgrounds are detailed and beautiful. I would even go so far as to say that this is one of the best artwork of all webtoons I've ever read. To the creators of this webtoon, you are awesome. There is no word to express this webtoon. I ❤️ IT. SO SO MUCH.

Since this webtoon is still ongoing, so I can't say much. I only hope everyone finds happiness in the end. Please, I just can't accept a tragic ending for this one. I would recommend this webtoon to anyone who enjoys a romantic mystery. And then, in the end, I wish Winter would grow eyebrows... But nevermind. With or without them, Winter still looks wonderful.

It seems like he wants to have eyebrows so bad. So heartbreaking it only happened in his dream. His very first dream. Ouch. ☹️

Read it on:

• Naver Webtoon - Korean 
• LINE Webtoon - English 
• LINE Webtoon - Bahasa Indonesia 

Continue Reading

K-pop Corner: Top 3 Favorite Era of VIXX

VIXX, the Kings of Concepts.

Their live performances are even waaaay better than the MVs.

Well, I also enjoy their brighter concepts, but the dark ones are my faves. No matter what concept it is, they are always killing it. I think I'm officially a VIXX trash. Yes. A VIXX trash.

God bless these long-legged magical creatures.

Continue Reading

Staring Emptily into the Distance

I was wondering what you were thinking, Ken?

Continue Reading

Red, Ripe Bolivian Rainbow Peppers

Cutie!

Continue Reading

Happy Seedlings?

I haven't posted anything for the whole of February, huft.. I feel kind of bad. Last month, my poor red pear tomato plant died after being peed by one of my mom's little monsters cats. I tried re-potting it with new potting soil, but all the leaves started turning brown and falling off one-by-one. It couldn't be saved.

I don't want it to happen twice, so I have my seedlings & remaining plants in hanging containers to keep that jerks from peeing on them. By the way, these below are the only ones that germinated from dozens of seeds I sowed outdoors three weeks ago. February has been a little more trouble. We have had frequent rain showers with overcast days in the month and as I write this post, the rain is pouring down heavily. I guess the lack of sun has caused my seedlings look pale and leggy. They have been doing pretty good so far, well, at least some of them already have their first true leaves.

I planted about six varieties of cherry tomatoes in three containers, including red pear, garden pearl, gardeners delight, mini tomato, and red cherry tomatoes. Thanks to my stupidity, I don't know which one is which because I didn't label any of them.

This is my first attempt at growing okra / lady's fingers (in Bahasa we call it bendi). I never tried it, so I don't know what it tastes like. Okra is not that popular here and people often misinterpret it as oyong, but actually the two plants are from different genus. Did you know that okra has such beautiful flowers? It is said that Cleopatra loved to eat okra for its health benefits. I am growing both green and red okra together. Whooaa can't wait! 

I'm supeeeer in love with Korean melons! There's nothing special about it, but it's so yummy and the fruit tastes like a cross between a honeydew, pear and cucumber. It is like a crispy version of timun suri. I'm not sure it would even survive this upcoming weather, yet I hope one day to see it flower and bear fruit.

My second experience with growing Japanese cucumber. Last time was a complete fail. It was once a healthy cucumber vines until the cat knocked it off...wait, what is that tiny basil doing there? ㅡ.ㅡ"

Basil is easy - most people would say extremely easy - to grow from seed, and it took only a day to sprout! I never knew that the seedlings would be so cute. Even though I don't know how to use basil in cooking, it is good to fight acne and we can make our DIY soothing basil mask from fresh basil.

I've never had any luck with chili peppers of any kind, they never seem to get big (even the easiest one like cabe rawit). Due to the season, I've had to deal with rain and whiteflies ㅠ.ㅠ However, I'm verrrrry curious about rainbow peppers and currently trying to grow Razzamatazz variety. The seedlings have purple stems and leaves. Cool!

By the way, I previously have planted two containers of Bolivian Rainbow. And yet here they are: two dwarf pepper plants. Yup, they are nearly three months old and seem to be growing really slooow. Surprisingly, they started flowering last week but the buds kept falling off. Is the cold weather to blame for it?

I love rain and dark cloudy days, but this time I do yearn for the sun to come out. I hope we get some sun soon! I know my luck is usually pretty low on growing plants, however I hope all of them survive and thrive! 

Continue Reading