Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a worthy addition to the pantheon.

It’s different from the previous seven books because of its format – it is, after all, the script of the play. But it retains the sense of urgency and vivid storytelling – and of course the dry wit – that was so much a part of the earlier books.

Cursed Child begins where The Deathly Hallows left off: it is 19 years after the events of the Dark War that saw the end of Voldemort. Harry and Ginny are married, with three children: James, Albus and Lily. At the start of the tale, we see Albus setting off for his first term at Hogwarts – he carries quite the burden of being his famous father’s son. Everyone expects him to be another Harry, but Albus isn’t. For one, he strikes up his closest friendship not with his cousin Rose Granger-Weasely (the daughter of Ron and Hermione) but with Scorpius, son of Draco Malfoy. Albus doesn’t even get sorted into the house his entire family has gone to – Gryffindor. He hates Hogwarts, he hates the constant comparisons with his older brother James and their father Harry, and most of all he just wishes he could be someone else.

In his attempts to forge his own identity, Albus – and Scorpius by extension – do something that could have disastrous consequences for the world that they know, and the people they love.

This book is more about human emotions – about trying to be good parents or good children, of wanting to be understood and accepted, and making your way through life no matter how many times you stumble, regardless of whether you’re a witch/wizard or muggle – than it is about magic.