Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for the ARC of this book!

I'll start out my review by saying that this is a middle grade book. I requested and read it because I am a fan of Piper CJ and wanted to read what she had created. That being said, I had such a good time with this one. It's basically the fae/magic book I wish I had as a kid. Children who are part human and part magical are chosen to go to to Fern's School for Wayward Fae, where they can learn about their powers, the different realms, and ultimately make a choice on which world to live in after graduation. This is perfect for fans of the Wednesday series on Netflix. Rosemary is the main character in the book who has never quite fit in in the human world, as she has the ability to foresee people's deaths. She tries to "be normal" until one day she's found by Fern and given the choice to leave the human world. Now she's trying to find her place at Fern's school and has a part banshee roommate (the roommate here is the one with the Wednesday Addams vibes). Just as she settles in, a student disappears and some of the others band together to go into the forest to find them. Great setup for a magical series, highly recommend for middle grade readers looking to dive into the fantasy genre.

Once in a while, typically after I've had a couple of intense reads in a row, I find myself entering the realm of children's literature as a bit of a palate cleanser. Very often, I find myself immersing myself in the world of middle-grade fiction as I have several friends who've written middle-grade novels and I've grown to love them.

So, I eagerly anticipated the opportunity to check out "The Graveyard Gift (Fern's School for Wayward Fae)," a middle-grade novel by Fern Forgettable as told by Piper CJ.

Early in "The Graveyard Gift," we're introduced to young Rosemary Thorpe, a youth who has always bee more than a little bit different. She possesses a gift of sorts - the ability to foresee people's deaths.

It's not the kind of gift that really makes one popular.

In rather quick order, she finds herself at Fern's School for Wayward Fae - a special school where students are part human and part magical. Surrounded by others who are different just like her, she goes about trying to find her place at the school so that she can find her place in the world.

There's never really a moment when "The Graveyard Gift" doesn't feel like it's moving toward franchise-building. As we're introduced to Rosemary's classmates, we feel the adventures beginning even if they don't feel entirely fleshed out in "The Graveyard Gift." If my assumption is correct, future titles will likely flesh out these characters and this universe.

There's Trym, Rosemary's roommate with banshee screams that can kill. There's Essie, a djinn who grants wishes. There are others. Some are developed better than others.

Just as Rosemary begins to get setttled in, one of the students vanishes. Our adventure demands that are students use their individual gifts to find their missing friend.

"The Graveyard Gift" often feels like a cross of Harry Potter meets X-Men, though it lacks the richness of the Potter novels and especially the complex and layered character development. It's perhaps closer to an X-Men cousin, a story that takes us into a safe place for those who have been outsiders can learn to use their gifts in appropriate ways.

I kept expecting there would come a moment when I found myself immersed in "The Graveyard Gift." That moment, unfortunately, never really arrived. Yet, there's remarkable potential here and I'm intrigued enough that I would likely read future efforts should they arrive. The novel may very well be better recognized as a cousin to "Wednesday," a dark yet brightly realized story with characters who have room to grow and adventures yet to come.

The Graveyard Gift by Fern Forgettable is an intriguing middle grade fantasy. Rosemary, a human girl who can see how people will die and when, is saved from being sent to an asylum by Fern, who whisks her off to a school in the middle of an enchanted wood. Here she begins to learn how many different forms of half human, half who knows what, children there are. I think this book would appeal to all readers, it is fast moving and has good characters.

I really wanted to like this one, it has all the elements of a great middle grade novel but Rosemary is just not well rounded as a character ad I enjoyed her roommates more than I enjoyed her. The worldbuilding was rather generic and it just didn't come full circle.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I really enjoyed this book! It’s definitely a middle grade book - it gives good character development quickly, has short chapters, and the story moves along without dragging. It’s giving Netflix’s Wednesday vibes with a bit of the Truly Devious series and a dash of the creepy carnival world from Pinocchio. It’s absolutely a series as there’s minimal closure with the first book and leaves the reader with more questions than answers, so I’m pretty perturbed that I not only have to wait for this book to be officially published but also for her to write the next book and have it published to figure out what’s happening next! Very well done! It’s a bit on the dark-ish side, but there’s no adult language or love interests. Rose’s visions do involve death, but they aren’t graphic and don’t really permeate the story in any way other than it’s her gift, which moves the story along. I’d feel comfortable with my 6th grader reading this.