By Alexandra Bender
Staff Writer

J.K. Rowling announced last week that an eighth Harry Potter book will be released in July, but it’s not what you think.

Rowling announced last summer that there would be a sequel to her famed Harry Potter series, but that it would be a play in London.

The play is called “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” takes place 19 years after “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final book of the series.

The new book is only the script of this play, but for those of us who can’t travel to London this summer, it is still great news.

It soothes the sting of disappointment following the initial announcement of a story many fans may never hear or see.

It’s important to clarify again though, as J.K. Rowling has been doing repeatedly over Twitter this week, that this book will not be a novel, and it will not be a prequel.

Many fans that refuse to pay attention continue to insist that it will be one or the other or both.

Although fans have been hoping these things for a very long time, neither of them apply to “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

The new story, in whichever form fans will receive it, is going to reveal so much fans did not know, promising to be superb.

The book, or play scripts, will be titled “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II.”

It will first be released as a Special Rehearsal Edition, and will be replaced not too long afterwards by a Definitive Collector’s Edition.

The play will be in two parts; therefore, the book will be in two parts. The play is in two parts because the length will be twice as long as a traditional play.

The official description of the story for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” as listed on Amazon.com as well as in other places, reads:

“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 a 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.”

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” the book, will be on sale on July 31, a day after the play is to debut in London.

July 31, of course, is Harry’s birthday.

I, for one, am greatly anticipating both the release of this book in July as well as the release of the upcoming movie, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” premiering in theaters on Nov. 18, 2016.

The movie will be loosely based on a book Rowling published in 2001. The book is a reference book and companion to the series. It is a textbook Harry had to use as a student at Hogwarts.

The movie is about the “author”; not J.K. Rowling, but Newt Scamander, author of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” in the wizarding world.

There are also many special editions of the Harry Potter books that will be released within the next year for fans to look forward to.

As a Harry Potter enthusiast for the past 12 years, I strongly recommend and implore that all people interested in the upcoming Harry Potter releases do not read “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” or watch any of the movies for that matter, without having read books 1-7 of the series.

It is absolutely necessary to do so in order to have the best understanding and experience there is to have.

For more information on the play, you can visit www.harrypottertheplay.com, and for more news about anything Harry Potter, visit J.K. Rowling’s own official Harry Potter site, www.pottermore.com.

Email Alexandra at:
abender3@live.esu.edu