Harry Potter’s birthday celebration has evolved quite a lot; while his birthday went unnoticed at the Dursley’s, millions of fans gathered to celebrate it in 2016 with the release of The Cursed Child script on July 31.

     The Cursed Child is the official eighth story of Harry Potter; it’s written as a script because it’s being performed on stage in London right now. But why is this such a sensation in the Harry Potter Universe? What makes The Cursed Child so special?

     Some fans say they’ll be excited for everything author J.K.. Rowling has to add to the series. Junior Julia Stuntz says the books offered her valuable life lessons combined with an enthralling story.

     “It really focuses on very adult and broad topics, there’s lots of racism present in the books, and sexism, and lots of life lessons I think are important for all ages to know about,” Stuntz said.

     Potter fans all over the world agree with Stuntz, and gathered to celebrate their love of Harry Potter at the midnight release of The Cursed Child at Barnes and Noble.

     Barnes and Noble employee Luke Standridge saw that appreciation with his very own eyes.

     “I worked the release, and I would say about ninety-five percent of the people there were dressed up,” he said. “People seemed really excited and happy.”

     English teacher Bethany Zilligen is one of those excited people. According to Zilligen, she can appreciate how Rowling has made her characters so real in a world that is fiction.

     “It’s in a magical world that’s not real, but it’s realistic. It’s a story that’s kind of timeless in that way,” Zilligen said.

     She is reading the series with her daughter right now, and she appreciates the timeless nature of the stories.

     “Even just hearing the music, it’s nostalgic,” Zilligen said.

     However, Zilligen did show some hesitancy when it comes to reading The Cursed Child.

     “I think I knew I was eventually going to read it. I just had to accept the loss of the old series, and accept this book as a new one,”Zilligen said.

     Zilligen explained that she felt nervous because she loved the feeling of conclusion the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, gave her.

     “There’s such a satisfaction when you finish a series,” said Zilligen.

     Freshman Greyson Whittbrod has a different reason for feeling hesitant about the addition. For the first time in the series, the book is a script.

      “I don’t read very many scripts,” he said. “I read King Lear by Shakespeare once, but that’s about it.”

     A major concern people have about the book is its lack of subjectivity; people have been used to Harry’s perspective, and that’s not something they’ll get with a script. Since it’s a dialogue and not a character’s internal monologue, an element that readers usually get in a story — the emotional connection that they get with the main character — might be missing.

     For Harry Potter fans who are feeling mixed about reading The Cursed Child, Zilligen has some advice: “Get your mind straight and expect a different story.” According Zilligen, she had to mentally prepare herself to read the book.

     So what is the hype about The Cursed Child? Are Harry Potter fans going to read it, or has J.K. Rowling stretched her story too far? The answer differs depending on each type of fan. Fans who will love Harry Potter no matter what are ready for The Cursed Child. Fans who are pleased with the series’ ending might want to avoid the book. Fans who aren’t sure should take Zilligen’s advice and expect a different story.

     Stuntz already knows she’ll read it. That’s the type of fan she is. And she knows she’ll be welcomed back to Hogwarts with open arms.

     “It’s just nice to see how even after a lot of time, you can still come back to this world, and these books,” Stuntz said.

     JK. Rowling expresses this sentiment perfectly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

     “After all this time?”

     “Always.”