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swagglebutt 's review for:
The Grimoire of Grave Fates
by Hanna Alkaf, Margaret Owen
adventurous
mysterious
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:
No
The concept of this book is incredible. A mystery written by so many different people? Fantastic!
And it was, at first. I LOVED the diversity of the characters for a while, loved how many authors wrote their own cultural perspective. But about 2/3 of the way through the book, I started to feel exhausted. New characters kept getting introduced and I'd say "who the eff is this?!" Most books, especially mysteries, don't keep introducing new characters the entire time, and this book made me realize why that is. It's so hard to keep track of everyone. I couldn't piece the mystery together when I had to spend so much mental energy remembering who was who, who had interacted with whom, and constantly learning about someone else's backstory and motivations.
The motivations also started to feel tired: I get it, Dropwort was racist and every kind of -phobic there is, okay, every kid was glad that he died, okay, every kid has something to prove to their family or to the school, ohKAY.
That said, the fact that this was pretty much the anti-Harry Potter was fantastic. Magic in a version of our world where the non-magical are aware of magic, queer and nonwhite, non-British magical kids, even some queer adults, all written by authors who weren't all cishet white women! Hell yeah. The diversity was amazing. I just wish there were slightly fewer characters with a couple of repeated perspectives, and/or that they all got introduced in a somehow less mentally draining way.
And it was, at first. I LOVED the diversity of the characters for a while, loved how many authors wrote their own cultural perspective. But about 2/3 of the way through the book, I started to feel exhausted. New characters kept getting introduced and I'd say "who the eff is this?!" Most books, especially mysteries, don't keep introducing new characters the entire time, and this book made me realize why that is. It's so hard to keep track of everyone. I couldn't piece the mystery together when I had to spend so much mental energy remembering who was who, who had interacted with whom, and constantly learning about someone else's backstory and motivations.
The motivations also started to feel tired: I get it, Dropwort was racist and every kind of -phobic there is, okay, every kid was glad that he died, okay, every kid has something to prove to their family or to the school, ohKAY.
That said, the fact that this was pretty much the anti-Harry Potter was fantastic. Magic in a version of our world where the non-magical are aware of magic, queer and nonwhite, non-British magical kids, even some queer adults, all written by authors who weren't all cishet white women! Hell yeah. The diversity was amazing. I just wish there were slightly fewer characters with a couple of repeated perspectives, and/or that they all got introduced in a somehow less mentally draining way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Ableism, Deadnaming, Genocide, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Classism