--- title: '''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' Tops Amazon''s Best-selling Books of 2016' description: '''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' tops Amazon''s list of best-selling books of 2016 in both the overall and kids categories.' authors: - name: Kerry Close url: https://money.com/author/kerry-close/ at_money_since: 2016 articles: 182 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/kerryclose former_staff: true published: '2016-12-07T19:53:26.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T04:46:39.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Amazon - Harry Potter - onetime word_count: 297 canonical: https://money.com/amazon-best-selling-books-2016/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' at bookstores](https://img.money.com/2016/12/gettyimages-5857227761.jpg) *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child topped Amazon's list of best-selling books.* It seems like readers are still enthralled by the magic of Harry Potter. *[Harry Potter and the Cursed Child](https://time.com/4588432/harry-potter-cursed-child-broadway/)* topped Amazon's list of best-selling books of 2016, the [company announced](https://www.amazon.com/b/?ie=UTF8&node=16097524011) Wednesday. The play script—penned by *Harry Potter* series author J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorn and John Tiffany—begins 19 years after the original series ends, following Harry and his son Albus as a series of dark events unfold. The play is followed by Paul Kalanithi's *When Breath Becomes Air*, a popular memoir detailing the personal struggles of a neurosurgeon, with John Grisham's latest thriller *The Whistler* in third. Rounding out the top five were *The Last Mile*, part of the Amos Decker detective series by David Baldacci, and the latest installment in the *Killing* series from Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, entitled *Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan*. *Harry Potter*, however, topped both the list for most gifted and most wished books of the year. Additionally, it was the best-selling book in the overall and kids & teens categories. "The power of [Potter](https://money.com/harry-potter-movies-money-box-office/) is still strong, and readers of all ages can’t get enough of Hogwarts," Chris Schluep, Amazon's senior book editor, said in a [statement](http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161207005452/en/). "*Harry Potter and the Cursed Child* was the most anticipated book of the year, breaking pre-order records months before its release." After Harry Potter, *Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1: Double Down* by Jeff Kinney and *The Trials of Apollo, Book 1: The Hidden Oracle* by Rick Riordan were the most popular books for kids and teens. [*Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*](https://time.com/4588958/harry-potter-reference-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them/), another J.K. Rowling creation, was the fourth-best selling book for young people. 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