This book certainly was an interesting treat to read! I simply adore the idea of several different authors each writing their own chapter to create a story. It made for a truly diverse cast of characters and an intriguing plot; however, it wasn't without its problems. Obviously when you have this big of a project, some things are bound to slip through the cracks and with so many characters, not everyone's story will be resolved. Given that it was a mystery, though, and everyone is trying to corroborate with others and get their stories straight, it perfectly encapsulated the chaos that is a murder case in a large school.

Every character is of some sort of marginalized background and the person who is murdered in the story to kick off the set of events is the most stereotypical jerkhole with privilege over these characters possibly ever written. Never are we allowed to forget that he is, either--every single new introduction reminds us of just how truly awful this guy was. This permeates the story so much that I feel it kind of takes away from time we could have used learning more about each character outside of their relationship to this horrible man, or their actions to try and solve who done it. Many of these quest lines are abandoned in favor of the larger plot, which is expected when you are only given one chapter to tell your character's story and can only give notes to the other writers about how your character should interact with their characters. We also have an abrupt ending when it's revealed who was the murderer. I wasn't too saddened by this because I greatly enjoyed my time with these characters, but if we could have just had an epilogue detailing where everything went with everyone we met, that would have been so nice. I just needed to know, you know?

The inclusion of paraphernalia and transcriptions and logs and whatnot makes it even more fun to read. There was so much care and detail put into this story and its world, and I simultaneously feel sad we don't have a whole series based on it and relieved that it remains in this bubble, untainted by corporate entities who seek to transform it into something it isn't. I would say this was a very successful experiment and I am grateful to have been introduced to so many talented authors on top of just having a thoroughly great time.

This is an intriguing magical mystery. Each chapter follows a different student and is written by a different contributing author, like an anthology, but each chapter does build on the story presented in the previous chapters. I enjoyed how each student had their own unique form of magic, many connected to their cultural heritages.

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

I loved the premise and concept of this book. It takes place at a wizard school with each chapter from a different character's POV. It's a travelling school (literally the school can move), and on the eve of the school departing for another location, a professor is murdered. Now we must unravel what happened through the various POVs involved in the tale. The characters are very diverse and their magical abilities are super interesting. I found myself a bit lost in switching between all the POVs. Each chapter you have to get to know a new person and figure out how they connect and I had to flip back to previous chapters to make sure I wasn't missing something. I enjoyed the book overall, but would have liked it more if they different POVs were explained in more detail, or we had a cast of characters list we could refer to.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I think I have outgrown YA books and that is why the DNF. I found it really hard to follow along and the stories to me didn’t feel like they all came together. I was confused for so much of it that I was like I can’t continue.

Love the structure of this book! Seeing the clues and details emerge from each new character's POV kept me reading straight through to the end without putting the book down! Original storylines, unique character voices (really difficult with 18 different protagonists!), very precise pacing, and a magical world unlike anything I've seen before--You MUST check this one out!


***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.***

An intriguing magical mystery. The Grimoire of Grave Fates takes place at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary, a magic boarding school that travels around the world, a la Howl's Moving Castle. This school is attended by a diverse group of teenagers, who each have their own unique form of magic. When their bigoted professor, Professor Dropwort, is murdered, eighteen different students become enmeshed in this mystery, some on purpose, and some accidentally.

Each chapter follows a different student and is written by a different contributing author, like an anthology, but each chapter does build on the story presented in the previous chapters. I enjoyed how each student had their own unique form of magic, many connected to their cultural heritages. The mystery was interesting enough. It's fun to follow along as each student finds a new piece of evidence to further reveal the truth. Magical boarding schools always make for engaging settings, and this was no exception. I would happily read more set in this universe.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A sharp collection of short stories that all take place in a magical academy that exists alongside the "neutral" world. This collection has 18 stories, set over 20 hours, investigating the murder of a professor on campus using their magical abilities.

It's sharp and funny, and delivers a sense of belonging in the magical world to anyone and everyone with aptitude, not just the ones who look a certain way.

As a fan of those wizarding books in my youth, this collection of stories from BIPOC authors, and queer authors, breathes fresh air into an idea that has been dominated by one author for too long. Each story stands on its own, while adding to the overall narrative to deliver a setllar collection that is brilliantly edited into a single cohesive narrative.

A brilliant collection of short stories that reminds those of us who don't always feel seen, that magic belongs to us too.

I’ve spent a month trying to get through this and I’ve finally decided to give up. It’s not necessarily bad; it’s just that the disjointed writing from all the different authors and characters make it read more like short stories or a collection of novellas - neither of which are my thing at all. The concept is cool; I just wish that it had just been written all the way through by one person, with a more consistent narrator. I’m always down for a magic school, and this world seems particularly interesting (and AMAZINGLY diverse!). Would recommend this to people that especially enjoy novellas or short stories, and fans of A Deadly Education - it just wasn’t for me!

18 authors give life to 18 magical characters working together to solve 1 fateful murder on a local wizard campus.

Readers fall into a beautifully crafted world of magic to help their fellow wizards in solving a murder. Wonderful for fans of all things magically looking to explore other wizard schools.

I've never read a book with this many POV's before, especially with each POV being written by a different author. This was an interesting concept with a classic murder mystery plot, and great dark academia vibes with fantasy elements. I was so excited to find out that some of my favorite authors (Hafsah Faizal and Mason Deaver) were a part of this book. I loved the world building and the atmosphere! However, I found the characters a little bit difficult to differentiate between (or remember the specifics of their character) simply because there were so many POV's. I think this could've been done better with less POV's (maybe 8-10 instead of 18). Other than that I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for an eARC of The Grimoire of Grave Fates!

This was such a fun and interesting read- with authors like Victoria Lee and Hafsah Faizal, there is a lot to look forward to! The premise of the anthology is great, but I do feel like the story could have been shorter and that there should have been less authors on the project so we could get to know certain characters a little more. I feel like the impact would have been stronger. However, each author did a great job at interweaving their own short story to the bigger story/plotline.

Fantasy is one of my favorite genres and I am often partial to anthologies but typically find them a mixed bag with some very lovely, great stories but also some that totally miss the part. But even with the large number of authors in this book, it is most definitely closer to a traditional novel than it is to an anthology because you cannot just pick and choose which of the stories to read. They all go together to complete the stories.

I thought this was an interesting approach to a book with each author choosing a character to write from their perspective. I also truly loved the vast amounts of representation with nationalities, genders, and sexualities. A truly inclusive book. One worried I had going in was that it wouldn't seem cohesive and yet it did. I felt as though I got a truly fleshed out school of magic (learning about all the different "tracks" the students could take and how their powers manifested (many of which were based on various cultures, etc. and not just white washed.) I liked how everything kind of linked together and yet each character stood on their own.

Overall this was a very unique, very interesting read that I very much enjoyed.

LOVED this. I'm not usually a huge fan of short story collections, but this was genius. Will definitely be buying a copy.

My hats off to the writers and the editors of this book as it's such a great idea. The story is great yet it was overwhelming and with different authors it can be jarring to not only follow that story but also make the connections to the world and overall story. The character diversity is well done but their individual development is moderate due to the shortness of the stories. With this unique idea the implementation needs to be expanded to give the stories and authors their due justice.

DNF

The concept of this story and the gorgeous cover had me so curious about The Grimoire of Grave Fates. I love the idea of authors coming together to each write a character in this fantasy murder mystery at a school. Unfortunately, even though the concept and magic we read about as the characters are introduced, was interesting the story didn't feel connected to me. I really think this would've been better if there were less authors and we got more of all of the characters. Being introduced to new characters every chapter slowed down the story for me

The Grimoire of Grave Fates is written by 18 fabulous YA authors. Some of them I'd never heard of before, and some were old faves. I was thinking of the game, Exquisite Corpse, where an author writes something, then covers up what they've written it and passing it to the next author, as I read. But this was only because of the 18 viewpoints - 18 students in a traveling academy of sorcery each relate the hours that spin out after one of their professors is found murdered. PS: he's NO exquisite corpse!

The 18 students are a mixed group of gender and sexuality identities, religious and cultural identities, and magical cultures. I got just enough of each character to want more, and the "19th" character of the gargoyles wove like a thread throughout.

Excellent book! So many identities written thoughtfully! Great magickal worldbuilding (Don't worry- it's set on Earth in the now; it's just got Magic too!)

The concept of this book is great: different authors weave chapters together to create a story with multiple POVs. The setting and story are magical and captivating. The diverse characters give readers a lot to grab onto as you read.

I’d recommend this to all readers, even if fantasy is not your typical genre.

Love this answer to so many things that are wrong with magical academia stories. Love that the cast is as diverse as the contributing authors. Love the unwinding mystery, and the interconnected bits. So fun.

At the magical Galileo Academy, the hated Professor Dropwort has been found dead. With his horrible reputation of intolerance there is no shortage of motive around the school. We follow 18 POVs where the truth is slowly unearthed along with many other surprising secrets. Who done it? Let’s find out!

Read if you like: YA paranormal, inclusive stories, magical schools, murder mysteries, multiple POV, LGBTQ+ characters, multicultural characters, and stories that have a central message of making space for everyone.

Galileo Academy has recently made a lot of changes to be inclusive and welcoming of all magical students from around the globe. No one has been against this new missive more than Prof. Dropwort. When the news that he was found murdered in clearly suspicious circumstances spreads around the school, students begin to connect the dots and lead to many discoveries all around the Academy. The story unfolds as more perspectives are added and we are presented with accounts from students who, despite facing prejudice, want to belong more than anything else.

It's really hard to explain just how great The Grimoire of Grave Fates is without drowning you in copious details and ruining the fun of meeting all the students and getting to know their individual magical abilities. Yes, there is a murder mystery and a lot to discover about Prof. Dropwort, but that’s only a small kernel of the story. Nearly every student we meet was negatively impacted by this intolerant teacher. Yet they all choose to try and figure out what happened to their nefarious teacher with their unique abilities and information that they have had shared with them.

Each POV broadens the scope of the school and its students with insight to what life is like as a magical person in a non-magical world and how their unique intersections of culture and identity shape their lens of the world. With every chapter it was a tie of excitement for meeting the next student and seeing what parts of the plot were going to be connected and what new information would be discovered. It was fun to be able to see how all these authors were able to work together and piece their unique styles into one story that transcends hate with hope and acceptance. This book is truly unique and wholly heartwarming while holding space for people who have felt left out of magical worlds. Please, give this book a try and add the magic of humanity to your shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a review copy of this book.

The concept of this book is a unique idea I haven’t seen before: an anthology of interconnected short stories, each by a different author, coming together to tell a murder mystery in a fantasy setting (a magical school, no less.) How could I not pick this one up? The stories are not only told in a standard narrative format – there are also text conversations, interrogation transcripts, and artifacts that flesh out the story. All of the students have different magical talents, and it’s interesting to see so many different magic systems in one book. As always with anthologies, some stories were better than others, but I didn’t feel like there were any really bad ones in this bunch. The one thing that bothered me was the inconsistency of some aspects of the worldbuilding, but I guess that can be expected with multiple authors writing in the same fictional setting, if the rules of the world are not well established. Overall, it was a good (if imperfect) execution of a really unique idea.

Representation: Stories by POC and LGBTQ+ authors about POC and LGBTQ+ characters, disabled characters, characters with mental illness

TW: racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic character, bullying of children by teachers,