For a very long time, Harry Potter was a symbol of a generation. Everyone you knew had read the books, and even if they hadn’t, they saw the movies. Still, it’s hard to come across anyone who doesn’t know the name of The Boy Who Lived. After the last installment of the movie series had premiered, Potterheads had lost a part of them as their favorite character and his story came to an end.

However, it seemed all too real when it was announced in early February of this year that the play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child would be written as an “eighth installment,” based on a short story co-written by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany. The book is written by Jack Thorne, and it is a rehearsal edition of Part I and Part II of the play that is currently playing at London’s Palace Theatre.

On none other than Harry Potter’s birthday, July 31st, the book was released. The day before, at my local Barnes and Noble bookstore, my sister and I ventured out for the very last Potter release. The store had a sort of celebration, with butterbeer and quidditch matches, and even a sorting hat to sort us new witches and wizards. For four long hours, we waited and waited for the final piece to our puzzle.

At the stroke of midnight I got my beautiful book, raced home and made myself some popcorn, and prepared to be up all night reading. I had a sort of adrenaline that reminded me of how one feels after getting off a rollercoaster.

By the third chapter the book, or should I say script, I was fast asleep. To say the least, I was disappointed. The fact that the book was merely a script of the play was hard to read, and I honestly only finished it out of an obligatory feeling. It wasn’t like I wasn’t happy to read Harry Potter’s story again, because I was. It felt like I was reading an off-brand version, like “Henry Porter.”

It had some good qualities to it. The script style allowed for far more creativity when it came to picturing the scenes and characters. It didn’t describe every detail, and that’s where it was good. However, the story was very jumpy. In plays and musicals, it makes much more sense. Plays are meant to be seen and watched and not read.

The most exciting part of the book being released was the event. Being surrounded by people who shared a common interest and love for a book series was refreshing. The hype of it was overwhelming and led to high expectations for the book, which in my opinion were not met.