Okay, before I even begin I need to say up front for those who don't know me, I am a HUGE Harry Potter geek! I love the books, characters, places, and movies. I am one of those adults still waiting for their Hogwarts Acceptance Letter. I was going to be a tough critic of this book from the beginning. Now that I've made this disclaimer, I can tell you that this book can't hold a candle to any of the books written by J.K. Rowling in the original seven-book Harry Potter series. This is true for about three main reasons (but be sure to read the END of my review-- important information there!): 1) Part of what makes JKR's writing so strong is her attention to detail, her determination to fill her descriptions of setting, characters, and action in such a way that you feel like you are seeing the places, know the people, and experiencing the adventures with them. You just don't get this in a play script. There are parts where it is hard to decipher exactly what the stage notes mean, and how this would "look" on stage. Of course, if you were seeing the play, much of this wouldn't be an issue because you would actually see and witness the sets, characters, and actions. 2) For those who have read the books, the characters are like old friends-- seeing Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Draco, etc. almost twenty years later-- married with kids...; it's a bit of a stretch because we've missed so much. And unlike in a novel, we don't really get all of the back story that would help us to know what those years were like. Furthermore, the new characters-- the children and some others-- come across a bit two-dimensional. These are people we don't really know, and we only get a sense of them from their words, what others say about them, and the actions they take as described in the stage directions. Again, if you watching the play, I don't think this would be as much of a problem. 3) And finally, there's something about this story that doesn't seem real. I know, I know... it IS fiction! Still, after the way I felt about the original series, it there is a disjointedness I felt reading the play that at times made me think, "Okay, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Professor McGonagall, etc. are all putting on a play about what it is like when they get older!" I finished the book thinking, "Well, that would have been an interesting thing to happen." NOW, after all that, I have to say that I did enjoy the story line, and feel like it would have been an excellent book if it were written by JKR in the same style as the original books. There were a few times when I was reading the play that I was invested enough to be concerned about what was happening with the characters and anxious to read on to see what would happen next. Additionally, if I have the opportunity to go see this play, I will JUMP at it! I think I would enjoy it far more if I saw it on the stage: the characters' personalities would be conveyed by the actors' interpretations and the action would be real action instead of a stage direction-- which is kind of bland when you read it. I like the overall story arc, and feel like the play explores some really interesting ideas. Bottom line-- I'm glad I read this-- I really can't get too much Harry Potter! I would warn other Potter fans that as long as they realize it can't measure up to the books, they should be able to enjoy the story, and the play should be amazing!