The newest addition to the Harry Potter family is already breaking records. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is already topping the bestseller lists, according to the two distributors of the book: Amazon and Barnes & Nobles.
The book — written by written by Jack Thorne, John Tiffany and J.K. Rowling — is the script for the play of the same name premiering at London’s Palace Theatre on July 30. “Print and digital editions will publish simultaneously after the play’s world premiere this summer, and will comprise of the version of the play script at the time of the play’s preview performances,” wrote Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling on Pottermore.
While this book is technically not the 8th book in the series, it is the 8th original Harry Potter story published in book form. The play and new book pick up where readers left off in the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
“Readers and moviegoers last saw Harry waving off his children at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, in the epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up after that moment,” wrote Rowling on Pottermore.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child follows Harry’s son, Albus, as he heads to Hogwarts.
"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," reads the summary. "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."
The play has been split into two parts "due to the epic nature of the story," says Rowling, and the book will feature the script for both Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II.
Print and e-books of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be available at midnight on July 31.
