3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for an eARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying this book has the most unique take on "magical academy for teenagers" I've ever see; she who shall not be named wishes she could write something as diverse and interesting as this. This is my first time reading an anthology/collaborative work and I loved how each author interpreted the world and put their spin on it.

However... this book is extremely confusing. The abundance of perspectives, many of which had nothing to do with one another, made the mystery near impossible to follow. Did I enjoy reading about each student and their unique magic and backstory? Yes, I did. Did they make for very interesting worldbuilding? Absolutely, some of the best worldbuilding I've ever read. But did a majority of them advance the plot in any substantial way? No. Except for the last three chapters, I don't think any of the ones before were necessary, which sucked to realize hours into my read.

Additionally, at least three chapters ended by fading to black, and those characters are never followed up with later. The *very first character* we are introduced to passes out at the end of their chapter, and *never* shows up later in the book, although they are mentioned a few times. I thought that the narrative would tie them back in somehow but nope. Never to be seen again after the first thirty pages. I thought that the perspectives would be a little more woven together, but apart from a few instances, some of them are completely detached from one another. I get that the school is big, but like... the characters could've all been friends with one another, or had something else tie them together.

This would've been a 3-star read if not for how creative each character was. I genuinely did love each character's backstory (although I've got my favorites and least favorites, of course), and even if the mystery throughline was lost in most chapters, they were at least interesting to read. I would love if these authors released more works in this universe because it is so unique and even with the amount of worldbuilding we got in this book, the school still seems so vast. There are many unanswered questions posed by this book, and a short story collection or something similar exploring those would be so good.

This book lived up to everything I wanted it to be! Each author did an amazing job bringing unique and talented kids together in a magical school that fulfills my modern magic fantasies, while also exploring the realities of our current systems applied in a magical setting. One story I wish had explored the impacts of racism and sexism in a less direct way, showing not telling a character is BIPOC and/or queer, but that was only one line in the whole book that I felt was too overt, despite every character representing various diverse identities. I would be happy to read full-length novels about any of these kids, and visit this school again to explore the world they live in further. I wasn't blown away by the mystery of the murder itself, but it was by no means a dealbreaker for me to love the book anyway.

The Grimoire of Grave Fates is a fascinating exercise in storytelling: an interconnected anthology of 18 short stories, each focusing on a different student attending the magical Galileo Academy and tangled (somehow) in the murder of one of the school's most hated professors, Septimos Dropwart.

Conceptually, this book is one of my more interesting reads of 2023, and I think the fresh concept and the blend of dark academia/thriller will draw a lot of readers. Maybe I'm dating myself here, but it reminds me of an abridged version of the 39 Clues series (where each book in the 10-book series was written by a different author, with a lens on a slightly different main character), and I really enjoyed that flashback to my childhood. I had a ton of fun reading, the first half flew by, and I of course loved sections by some of my favorite authors (Darcie Little Badger, Randy Ribay, and Hafsah Faizal).

I think this book could have benefitted, however, from either fewer POVs or more interconnection between them. By the end, I had only a tenuous grasp on how every POV fit into the whole, and I felt that with so many characters, it became difficult to get a deep sense on any one of them. Some of my favorite characters that I hoped would show up again--Wren, Diego, Jamieson, and Jia--are never mentioned, even in passing. By the halfway point, I started caring less about the POVs themselves, and more about the mystery, which resolves really, really abruptly.

Still, I give the creators, editors, and authors a massive amount of credit for what they did. The amount of craft that went into this is absolutely insane, and I would still totally read another book set in this world. The magic systems here are fresh and unique (smoke magic! sewing magic! dance magic!), and I love the atmosphere of Galileo itself. I just wish we got to spend more time with its students.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and creators Margaret Owen and Hanna Alkaf for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Galileo Academy is a prestigious magical academy that relocates itself and its students to various countries throughout the world. Because of this, the school is renowned for its diversity in its faculty and students. But one professor, Septimius Dropwort, is a harsh teacher with harsh rules and punishments, especially to those he considers “other.” When he’s suddenly discovered dead one evening, there are too many suspects to make any arrests. Can the students at the academy discover who among them may be the murderer?

This story is told from the POV of many different characters, all of whom are students at the school. Each chapter is from the POV of a different character, and each one is written by a new author. I was a little nervous about this approach at first despite liking the concept but let me tell you – these authors know how to write! It added so much diversity to the characters, their backgrounds, their ways of thinking, etc. that really emphasized the diversity of this fictional academy.

A drawback of this approach was that there are just so many characters (more than 15). So when a character from a previous chapter is referenced in a new chapter, I could recognize the name, but couldn’t remember who that person was. I needed a cheat-sheet at the beginning to refer to. Similarly, there were a few aspects that got repetitive because they were mentioned in every chapter since it was information relevant to every single character (e.g., they all disliked the same person, so every chapter we had to reread all the reasons this person was a monster).

And actually, my biggest dislike of the book was related to this person – they chose for the antagonist to be a white man who hated everyone and everything that wasn’t also a white male. With how interesting and magical this world was, I wanted more from the antagonist than something this mundane. Also, there was zero nuance included with the antagonist, which is never good and left him feeling like a bit of a caricature.

There were many creative worldbuilding aspects incorporated throughout the book. From magical creatures to the concept and physicality of the school itself, the authors excellently brought the setting to life. I would honestly love to read more books set at this school and in this world (fingers crossed!).

While this book of mystery was light on plot, it was quite enjoyable due to the characters and the fascinating setting. My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was so excited for this. Everywhere I looked this book was being hyped up!. And it did not disappoint at all. I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

The Grimoire of Grave Fates, edited by Margaret Owen and Hanna Alkaf, is a YA short story collection unlike anything you've ever read. The collection opens with a murder of a contentious professor at a traveling magic school. Each short story offers a different perspective of a student determined to solve the murder.

The Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a traveling magic school where everyone, and anyone, could be the Chosen One. But a certain prophecy sends the students scrambling to be the Chosen One, this time. With a murderer potentially still lurking around campus, this murder needs to be solved immediately, despite how disliked the professor was.

What a joy to see so many diverse, magical characters in one anthology. This collection is intersectional and inclusive, with representation across identities, abilities, genders, and orientations.

The structure of this anthology, of having each story authored by a different creator and all building off of what came before, is engaging and makes the reader feel more like they're reading a multi-POV novel than an anthology. Authors include: Darcie Little Badger, Preeti Chhibber, Kat Cho, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Hafsah Faizal, Victoria Lee, Jessica Lewis, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Yamile Saied Méndez, Cam Montgomery, Marieke Nijkamp, Karuna Riazi, Randy Ribay, Kayla Whaley, Julian Winters.

The mystery builds story by story, allowing armchair detectives to compile clues and attempt to solve the murder themselves. The unique setting, interesting characters, and new structure make for an interesting, un-put-down-able collection.

This young adult anthology is perfect for readers who love fantasy, mystery, and true crime podcasts.

Thank you to the editors, authors, NetGalley, and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for an advanced e-ARC such that I could share my honest opinions.

More like 3.5 stars for this title.

As with most multi-authored stories, some chapters will connect with you more than others. I did enjoy the setting, most of all, and I loved the very clever details and the between-chapter reveals which helped introduce each new writer and characters.

Readers who enjoy other YA fantasy titles like Harry Potter should like this book too.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

2:00 A.M. Wren Willemson, 16, Swords by Marieke Nijkamp — 4.5 stars

3:00 A.M. Diego Sakay, 17, Coins by Randy Ribay — 4 stars

4:00 A.M. Jameson “JB” Brig, 15, Coins by Kwame Mbalia — 4 stars

5:00 A.M. Taya Winter, 16, Swords & Wands by Darcie Little Badger — 4.5 stars

6:00 A.M. Keturah Austin, 18, Wands & Swords by Cam Montgomery — 4 stars

7:00 A.M. Bhavna Joshl, 15, Swords by Preeti Chhibber — 4.5 stars

8:00 A.M. Jia Park, 15, Undecided by Kat Cho — 5 stars

9:00 A.M. Irene Seaver, 16, Cups/Coins by Kayla Whaley — 4.5 stars

10:00-ish A.M. (or earlier? Maybe later), Sydney Meeks, 16, It’s Complicated by L.L. McKinney — 5 stars

12:00 P.M. Mariam Abidin, 16, Wands by Hafsah Faizal — 4.5 stars

1:00 P.M. Xander Wilson, 15, Undecided by Julian Winters — 4 stars

2:00 P.M. Nadiya Nur, 15, Wands/Arcana by Karuna Riazi — 4.5 stars

3:00 P.M. Delores “Lola” Cortez, 16, Coins by Tehlor Kay Mejia — 4.5 stars

4:00 P.M. Maxwell Aster, 16, Cups by Mason Deaver — 4.5 stars

5:00 P.M. Jamie Ellison, 17, Swords by Victoria Lee — 5 stars

6:00 P.M. Delfina Moore, 16, Cups/Swords by Yamile Saied Méndez — 4.5 stars

7:00 P.M. Ivy Barta, 16, Coins by Jessica Lewis — 5 stars

8:00 P.M. Lupita Augratricis, 16, Coins by Natasha Díaz — 5 stars

Okay, so there are 18 stories in this collection, and the overall concept of this anthology is basically a murder-mystery in a diverse school for magic. Each of the students, the main characters, in each respective story either thinks they are the Chosen One, the person destined to solve this mystery, and they act accordingly. In reality, for the most part, each of them either knows or discovers a piece of the puzzle, and it takes reading through every bit of story to put the pieces together and solve the mystery of who has killed Professor Dropwort.

In between each of the stories is a brief interlude that includes things like text conversations or an announcement transcript or the notation of an item collected that might be a clue. Honestly these little interludes helped to tie the stories together even more.

I was just riveted by the overall story, and with each character it was like another small piece of the world and the school and the ideas of how magic works and is handled was revealed. There was so much going on, and I was utterly fascinated.

Some of these authors were familiar to me, but many were new to me–or were at least authors I’ve been wanting to read but just haven’t gotten around to yet, and this story collection might just have inspired me to pick them up sooner rather than later.

These stories explore so many different walks of life and cultures and magical heritages. It was just beautiful. But it is clear that even though this magic school desires to be open and accepting to all, that doesn’t mean that it is fully true. There are still folks stuck in their ways, the “old ways,” the ways of the “good ole’ days,” and it adds tension and conflict and drama to these stories.

There were so many of these characters, these students, who would have been glad to see Professor Dropwort dead, because he was such a dick, but the way the stories wove together just left you guessing for quite a while on who knew what, who did what, and who ultimately killed the teacher.

Obviously I don’t want to say too much, because I don’t want to get into spoiler territory…but if I’m being completely honest, I would totally read a series of books (maybe told from various student perspectives, a different book per student per term or city or something) set either at Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary or following the students both in the school proper and also on field trips to the various locations the traveling school docks at for periods of time. I think there could be so much more to tell when it comes to this school, these students, their lives and drama and magic systems and magic learning.

The Grimoire of Grave Fates is definitely one of my favorite books of 2023 so far, and I highly highly recommend it. Also, it is Pride Month and so many of these characters exist across the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum, and it was beautifully fantastic. There is a place for you at this magic school. Come experience it for yourself.

Knew this was gonna be amazing as soon as I saw margaret owens was one of the writers. Absolutely loved this and recommned everyone reads this book.

I keep saying I won't read anymore anthologies or collections, but this 464 page YA fantasy mystery intrigued me because each chapter is written by a different author, presenting a different character to unravel a whodunit.  In total there are 18 character perspectives, 18 authors, and one murder that needs to be solved.  With two Muslim authors included and it created by a Muslim writer, I hoped there would be some Islamic representation.  The list of authors is quite diverse, and I think every character presents some minority label to normalize a specific culture or identity.  The Muslim characters both wear hijab, but nothing more about their religion is mentioned and no other faith is included.  There are Black, Asian, Hispanic characters, and every letter of LGBTQ+ is highlighted and seemingly the focus of the book.  At times it is just attempted normalizing that a character is queer or gay, but other times it is central to the plot such as when two girls spending the night together provides an alibi, and a few times it really takes away from the story, for example at one point two boys (one magical, one neutral) kissing and falling in love.  There are gender fluid, non binary, pronoun preferences, trans male-to-female, female-to-male characters as well. I kept reading to get to Hafsah Faizal and Karuna Riazi's chapters, which were 10 and 12 and by then I was so close to the conclusion, I just finished.  Some chapters are stronger than others, but the resolution was really anticlimactic and didn't do the buildup justice.  I share this review not just to comment on the story, but to also give a heads-up to the content so that you can decide if the book is suitable for you and your children.  I would not shelve this book in our Islamic school library, which is unfortunate, because I think even with the weak ending, I like the theoretical storytelling concept.

SYNOPSIS:
In moving school for magical students, a murder has been committed, and the students who all feel like they are the "chosen one" are determined to solve the case.  The characters share what they know and add to the "solving" of the case for the reader with their different magical abilities.  Some of the students are werewolves, some necromancers, there are those whose dancing is magical, others whose embroidery is, a few are the same, many are unique.  They don't compete with one another so much as they are in their own world trying to prove their worth and right to belong.  When a homophobic, racist teacher "dies" secrets are uncovered and dirty administrators are called to account.


WHY I LIKE IT:

I like seeing a glimpse of the action from a character and then not really seeing that character again, it made it seem more puzzle-like in the coming together of the clues.  I also liked it because if I didn't particularly like a character or writing style, it didn't last the duration of the book.  I wish it didn't feel so token representation though.  If the goal was to be inclusive, the mirroring uniqueness was lost when each character seemed to have to tick a box.  It made it read formulaic. 

The conclusion just unraveled, and I know mysteries and horror stories tend to fall in to this trap, but I was hoping it would go out with a bang.  The buildup was strong, but then it became a lot more just telling, then sleuthing, and I don't know if it was a reflection of the individual authors, or the overall arc of the book.  Either way, I felt like it could have concluded with a bigger punch and wrapping up of some of the loose ends.  Hanna Alkaf didn't have a chapter, presumably she wove it all together and made it flow cohesively with the internal memos and emails and notes.

I wish the two "Muslim chapters" would have had some more representations about Islam or the girls' cultures influencing their magical style or goals, but with token rep it is often just a label, an identifier, and then nothing more.  The two connect over fear of Islamophobes blaming them for the death of their teacher.

FLAGS:

The focus of the book is largely on relationships, mostly LGBTQ+ but some hetero crushes as well.  Trans, non binary, gender fluid, bullying, racism, prejudice, murder, magic, lying, sneaking. The Muslim characters do not have crushes or romantic relationships mentioned, but one has a close male identifying gay friend that she does have physical contact with, a reassuring hug- so the book does have Muslim girls with close male friends. Fear of Islamophobia, stereotypes.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:


I would not be able to teach this book or shelve it in an Islamic school.

I really can not recommend this book. I couldn't get passed the second chapter. I found it very weird YA book.

This is an interesting format for a novel; every chapter is written from the viewpoint of a different character, and each character is written by a different author. This gives each character a clear voice, but can be somewhat confusing, although the framework of memos between each chapter helps tie it together. It's occasionally stilted in places, there are details here and there that don't match up, and the differing writing styles can cause some confusion, but not so much that the story really suffers. Still, a little more editing would have been beneficial.

The Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a school for magically gifted students - a school moves on a regular basis, apparently to expose its students to a variety of cultures and styles. The school itself is a bit confusing, because no two students appear to have the same type of magic, and several appear to be hiding various illegal types of magic from the school, so it's hard to say just how, and what, they're being taught. But other than being a setting, the school itself is relatively unimportant to the story; the main story is the murder of a much-disliked professor, who was apparently both poisoned and stabbed to death - a bit of overkill even considering the number of students, as well as staff, who disliked the overbearing, prejudiced, and racist misogynist the professor apparently was. Each character finds a slightly different piece of the puzzle needed to solve the mystery, combining the pieces until the murder is solved.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF around 17% - the writing style just wasn't for me, it came off confused and there wasn't a seamless transition between stories

A big thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the perfect book to follow Margaret Owen's Painted Devils, because it was just more Margaret Owen!

The Grimoire of Grave Fates by Margaret Owen and Hanna Alkaf is a YA fantasy murder mystery anthology that consists of many authors but one interconnected story. Including the likes of: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied Méndez. Each story gave their designated character a unique voice, and a new opportunity to add a special flair to a familiar story.

I loved this book, and certainly looking forward to checking out more by the authors I'm less familiar with.

An edge of your seat emotionally thrilling ride from beginning to end. Highly entertaining, emotionally thrilling, action packed magical adventure filled with interesting charters and landscape that was so hard to put down.

Thank you Netgalley for the free copy I received a of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book! I first heard about it from one of the contributors and I was really impressed by how well each perspective blended into the overall story.

The Grimoire of Grave Fates is an anthology with 18 authors, 18 points of view but one location, the school of magic, The Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary. Everything starts when a hated professor is found dead and everyone has their own reasons for wanting to know who did it.

This was one of the best anthology I've ever read. I just loved that it was all linked together and that it followed an intrigue throughout the book. I also loved the characters kind of crossing over. I honestly just enjoyed this so so so much. I could not stop reading. I just wanted to know everything. I also really liked all the points of view, all eighteen authors brought something different and just as captivating from one chapter to the next. I also really liked the setting of the school, layered kept being added to it, just a great time from beginning to end. I could not recommend this more.

Intertwining short story collections are always a lot of fun, and it's exciting to see more of them coming out! I think that this concept in particular is really unique, and will be able to grab quite a few readers who otherwise don't tend to read short stories.
The way almost every short story allowed for cross overs and hints at the other characters, and the way they build off of each other to pass along clues and information like a relay race was well done and definitely keeps you invested!

I thought the transitions between the stories were really unique too and gave the whole thing more depth. It was cool to get info outside of these specific POVs, and in different formats than the stories themselves. It definitely helped make the school feel more expansive and demonstrated well how the murder was actually effecting everyone there, even characters we don't hear from personally.

There are also a lot of cool ideas in this! Some of the characters were really amazing, and I would've loved to have stuck with longer, but all had me convinced they could've been legitimate main characters in their own full-length stories.
The myriad of magical cultures and abilities were great, and I was really impressed by these totally new feelings ideas, like magic channeled through incense, embroidery focused magic, and the new takes on necromancy.

As in all anthologies, some stories are weaker than others, and that also meant that while my attention waned from that itself, there were also some moments that seemed at odds in the flow of the over arching story or just totally unnecessary.

Also, though it's a feat to really herd all these many stories, characters, and styles into one solid direction and I commend it being done, I was hoping the mystery itself would have the room to be given some more payoff. The reveal didn't really feel built up to, it was much more back and forth, being led around the room, and while I do think there could've been a good ending that would have made that journey feel wrapped up, I don't think it was the one we're actually left with.

This was one of the most brilliant works I've ever read in the sense of how well thought out it was. There was such a diverse cast of characters with different ethnicities, races, sexual orientation and gender identity, abilities, and disability (positively represented).

This novel is organized by Margaret Owen of Little Thieves fame, and Hanna Alkaf who is also an accomplished young adult and middle grade novelist. They asked to collaborate with 18 authors of diverse background and experience to each write a chapter of the story with the narrative of their unique character. Each of these characters are connected, their stories aligning as they try to solve a murder on their magical campus.

One of the coolest things about this novel is that it gave the energy and magic of reading Harry Potter for the first time, but is Trans and non binary friendly (full of awesome, strong characters with diverse gender experience). The magical school has gargoyles and tunnels full of magical creatures, making me want a whole series exploring this wonderful world and all the adventures the student body could get up to.

One of the most amazing things I loved about this book is the amount of intersectionality when talking on the issues of colonialism, exploitation, transportation, Islamophobia, racism, and sexism. All of the hidden (and not so hidden) commentary on these topics felt very authentic and informative. I found myself wanting justice for each of the characters for the wrongs they faced

Also importantly. This is a mystery and I did not guess the perpetrator of the murder until one of the last few chapters. Because of the way the narrative switches between students it leaves you guessing who could have actually done it.

Please Margaret Owen and Hanna Alkaf, make this into a series. This is the best read I've had this year and I desperately hope to see more of these amazing characters.

Enter the world of the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary where a professor has been murdered. When everyone is a suspect, it will take viewing things from 18 different perspectives to get to the bottom of this mystery.
This story was one hell of a roller coaster ride. While I know that this is technically an anthology it didn’t feel that way to me as each student was able to have a distinct voice sheerly from the fact that they were all written by different authors. I truly enjoyed how I felt that I was simultaneously reading a murder mystery and 18 different journeys of self-discovery. I definitely had a few POVs that I enjoyed a bit more than others but didn’t have any that felt like they dragged down the story. I also really enjoyed the level of diversity that this story was able to weave in without anything feeling forced; another benefit that I believe came from the wide range of authors. The story did end up leaving several questions unanswered which was a bit frustrating. Overall, a rather interesting take on a murder mystery.
Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.