Reviews - The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

428 reviews for:

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

Caitlin Rozakis

4.01 AVERAGE

booksblabbering's review against another edition

3.5

Being a mother to a kindergarten is hard. It is even worse when your daughter is bitten by a werewolf and must attend a magical school within a hidden community.

Just because they have magic, it doesn’t mean that there is a fairy godmother to help out (even then, you have to pay and they can’t really do that much except babysit).

I liked that Rozakis leaned into the Harry Potter comparison. Of course, with a magical school, this will always be the stats quo (unfortunately). However, she never names the franchise and instead cleverly alludes to it.

<b>“Lucius isn’t from, uh,” Vivian stuttered to a halt, realizing exactly how odd it would be to name a Black mage’s kid after the racist villain in a series about child wizards.

</b>

This had a focus on adulting. On how to be a mother, a wife, a friend, an individual all at the same time. How do you balance everything?

Vivian finds she can’t and finds herself directing all her energy into Aria fitting in to this new environment.

I think parents would probably appreciate this more than other readers, however I am a single 21 year old university student and I still found many moments to laugh at and empathise with.

It is a magical world with unicorns, spells, elixirs, sirens, and much more… Yet, Vivian as a main character is very rooted in reality and her observations are bubbling on accepted hysteria - a running monologue that kept me entertained.

<b>This semester, we’re pleased to offer a new hot lunch option for families who wish to purchase lunch for their child. We can support a number of dietary needs, including vegetarian, vegan, raw meat only, liquid only, kosher, blood-based, gluten-free, and bottled emotions captured from living human souls.</b>

I have to shout out the Class WhatsApp’s group chat because it was funnily realistic - even if their problems tended more magical. Also, the school notices.

There is also representation of therapy and medication - yay!

I think the pacing was slightly uneven and I just kept wishing Vivian would talk to others - which I guess is kind of the point of the book.

I admit to seeing the reveal coming quite early on and I do wish we got more of the magic and the hidden town and the classes.

But I would argue this is less plot focused and more close character development.

Arc gifted by Titan.

yapha's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

PTA moms are going to be PTA moms, whether they are magical creatures or mundane humans is the moral of this fun and whimsical story. Vivian and Daniel are thrust into a magical world they never knew existed when their kindergarten daughter is bitten by a werewolf (and therefore turned into one). As they strive to figure out their new normal with a shape-shifting daughter and magical neighbors, the regular school and marital stressors are amplified. This is fun to read -- a parents' perspective on the child going to a magical school trope.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

aliceallegedly's review against another edition

4.0

This was super cute, and for a “cozy” fantasy it’s surprisingly intense. It deals with a LOT of stuff like bullying, anxiety, medication/therapy, marital trouble and okay yeah doomsday which I know when people think “cozy fantasy that isn’t what’s gonna come to mind, but I ended up really enjoying it! As someone who’s been ostracized both as a bullied kid and as an adult from people I thought cared about me, I felt for both Viv and Aria, and this had such a good heart! I appreciated that it could make fun of Those Terfy Wizard Books without dropping the name, there’s no reason we should be invoking that in books anymore, but it may have been one tongue in cheek comment too many, so four stars

inge345's review against another edition

4.0

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I liked The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis! It's a cozy fantasy about a human mom, Vivian, trying to fit in into the magical community. They moved to a magical town after Vivian's daughter, Aria, was bitten by a werewolf and therefore turned into a werewolf.

I have never read a book about a human mom exploring the magical community, and I thought this was quite a refreshing take on the genre.

I liked reading from Vivian's perspective. Even though she made a lot of mistakes, she always tried to do what was best for her daughter. Speaking of her daughter, I loved that Aria was described as a wolf puppy when she was in her wolf form. So adorable!

Overall, this was an enjoyable read!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for sending an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Content Warnings

sammys_shelves's review against another edition

3.75

Several days after finishing, I still don't really know how to feel about this one. On the one hand I did like it and didn't DNF and on the other hand, something fell a little flat for me.

I loved the premise, a magical slice of school mum life, but I found the main characters to be quite annoying, Vivian was constantly contradicting herself, her husband was a bit of a drip and her "best friends" were just plain awful people. Having said that, some of the lesser, supporting characters were absolutely wonderful and made the book for me! In the end I began to appreciate Vivian and I realise that a lot of her contradictions and people pleasing were actually quite relatable, maybe that's why it annoyed me so much 😅

I'm still very much sitting with my feelings, but I think it was a pretty fun read

breannaspiegel's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

After her daughter is bitten by a werewolf, Vivian and her family try to fit in with a privileged magical New England society. This absolute delight of a book has everything you didn’t know you needed in one story—a prophecy of doom, ruthless magical trials to graduate kindergarten, and the terrors of PTA moms. Author Caitlin Rozakis does an incredible job of weaving an epic contemporary fantasy story into the very relatable struggle of a mom trying to do right by her kid and not lose herself in the process. It’s funny, light, and warmhearted, and will leave you wanting a book for every school year. If you’re a fan of the way T. Kingfisher brings together familiar elements in a completely fresh and often humorous way, you need to pick this up.