Category: P • Q • R

HARRY POTTER BY J.K. ROWLING

11/3/2018

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Featuring a cast of remarkable characters, this is epic, adventure-packed storytelling at its very best.

Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition to any reader's bookshelf.

Tears will be shed and imaginations sparked in this all-new compelling screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This sceenplay will satisfy your Potterhead soul if you couldn't get enough of Newt Scamander. - Abooktopia

I watched the movie before reading the screenplay, and adored both of them so dearly. As I read through the screenplay, I could vividly picture each scene from the movie, stark clear. Reading it was like seeing the movie all over again! There is great attention to the screenplay as there is so much detail of each scene alongside the chapter designs, which are absolutely gorgeous to look at. The screenplay doesn’t add much new stuff to the movie, however it does give a few little details and confirmations that one may not have picked up in the movie.

The screenplay follows young British, Newt Scamander, on his travels in New York City during the roaring 1920’s where he is an advocate for the care and protection for magical creatures as a Magizoologist. Alongside him he travels with a case that contains far more than just a toothbrush and pyjamas, but rather contains a few magical, fantastic beasts. However when his magical case becomes misplaces, it is the start of Sacamander’s continual string of problems through the city. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg of what’s troubling the city…

The world building and characters are absolutely amazing and I cannot help but love Newt Scamander’s quirky, awkward and quiet personality where he never really quite looks at people in the eye and tilts his head to the side with his little awkward side steps. Though he is shy, when he conversely enters inside his case with his creatures, his whole demeanour changes as he is in his own element. Some of his purest moments were when he completed a mating dance with his erumpent (which I couldn’t help but squeal due to his adorableness in that moment) which was so honest and pure as he was not ashamed of anything at all as he only cared about the wellbeing of his erumpent girl as he wished to get her back safety in his trunk where humans could not harm her. Despite not being an actual hero, Newt Scamander is as hero worthy has his older brother, as he is only worried about the wellbeing of his creatures and friends due to his big and caring heart.

Each and every character was amazing and unique in their own ways with Jacob being an easy going and loveable barrel of laughs and Queenie was the suitably a queen (just as her name suggests) with her cute giggling nature that is so caring and girly-girl like, whilst her sister Tina was also just as wonderful with her worrying nature as the responsible one.

***I received a copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review***

Although she writes under the pen name J.K. Rowling, pronounced like rolling, her name when her first Harry Potter book was published was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she use two initials, rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling. She calls herself Jo and has said, "No one ever called me 'Joanne' when I was young, unless they were angry." Following her marriage, she has sometimes used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business. During the Leveson Inquiry she gave evidence under the name of Joanne Kathleen Rowling. In a 2012 interview, Rowling noted that she no longer cared that people pronounced her name incorrectly.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
BOOK 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
BOOK 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
BOOK 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
BOOK 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
BOOK 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
BOOK 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
BOOK 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
BOOK 8: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

52 Comments

THE CURSED CHILD BY J.K. ROWLING

15/8/2016

68 Comments

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.

First off, I would like readers to keep in mind that this novel is hardly the eighth book as it is merely a script written for a well-loved play. Some will say there is a lack of magic emphasises in the script, but it is hard to create magical effects in a theatre play, live on stage. The book has a completely new and different vibe, but nevertheless I adored every moment of it and how it was more about relationships and conflicts. Particularly between Harry and his son Albus. Though there are some who believe that this script should never have been published in book format, I for one, and many other fans, are glad that it is. After all, many of us cannot merely fly over to London to see the play for ourselves, and without this book, there would be many restless nights where fans continuously imagine what they could possibly be missing out on. But the publication of this script heals all that unnecessary, longing pain.

The script unravelled in a series of dialogue between characters, rather than through an omniscient narrator. This helped one imagine how everything would possibly play out on the stage, as if you were watching the performance live. I loved how the play showed how the impact of living in a parent’s shadow could cause children to struggle and act irrationally from the expectations that they are expected to live up to, and how a child can feel disconnected from their parents due to this. My favourite part about this entire play is the fact that it features my one true, and most loved, character Scorpius Malfoy. But honestly? Scorpius has been my favourite Harry Potter character of all time since the end of Deathly Hallows. And yes. You did read that right. It’s hard to say why I had so much love for a character that was hardly a character in the series. But alas, he was, and I was stubborn to change that fact. Scorpius was honestly everything that I had hoped for and more. I mean… just look at him? Ain’t he the cutest. *clears throat* Right. Sorry. Back to the review.

P.S. Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Granger-Weasley are my OTP <3

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a lovely gift to every Happy Potter fan out there that has been dying to see the possible outcomes of their favourite heroes, children at Hogwarts. The plot was engaging, and I loved how it showed the consequences of changing the past and how it can have a drastic change, and impact on the future. It was also nice seeing some old characters that I never expected to see again, but was a shame that some of the characters that I had hope for to make an appearance, did not. All in all, this isn’t a book that you have to read, but if you’re a diehard Harry Potter fan, it’s a must have.

WARNING: There may be spoilers in the comments listing.

68 Comments

ELEANOR AND PARK BY RAINBOW ROWELL

15/4/2015

61 Comments

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

This book received so much hype, that I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy it as in the past I would get disappointed when a book didn't meet my high expectations. This time I was prepared to reduce it, and brace myself for the disappointments. I'm glad I did! With my low expectations, I fell in love with Rainbow Rowell's novel immediately! The story line was just adorable, as you got sucked into Eleanor and Park's different lifestyles and personalities. Together they slowly fell in love, listing to the 80's cassettes and reading comics. Eleanor's and Park's love story was slow building as they gradually became acquaintances, and then into something more than just friends.

Eleanor is the chubby new girl at school with her crazy read hair and her patched up crazy clothing. It's like she wants to be noticed, but she couldn't be invisible even if she wanted to. A year later she returns home, to where her mother and abusive stepfather kicked her out. Now she's living back with her siblings in a rather cramped house, where there is almost no privacy. On the first day of school, Eleanor is forced to sit next to the half Korean kid; Park, on the bus when everyone else pulls out the old "you can't sit here" excuse, though he refuses to make conversation, let alone look at her...

Park is the only Asian kid in the state of Nebraska (besides his younger brother Josh). He's a music junkie who loves alternative music and feels like his life would be easier if he could just learn to drive and get his driver's license. He's a pro in tae kwondo, which is basically the closet thing that he and his father get along in.

Although I was in love with the book, I must say that the unresolved ending and lazily written drama disappointed me. I just didn't like the ending without it's explanations as to why Eleanor did what she did at the end of the novel. Leaving unanswered questions in its path.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

61 Comments

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HARRY POTTER BY J.K. ROWLING

THE CURSED CHILD BY J.K. ROWLING

ELEANOR AND PARK BY RAINBOW ROWELL

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