The Grimoire of Grave Fates is a YA murder-mystery fantasy themed anthology edited by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen. Released 6th June 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Delacorte Press imprint, it's 464 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out 11th June 2024 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.
This is an engaging murder mystery set in and around a school for magically talented students. A grisly murder has taken place, and the stories of the students and staff are written around finding (or concealing) the who why and how of the crime. There are 18 authors writing in an "hour per chapter" timeline format. The chapters are stylistically varying, but generally well edited enough to make a more-or-less cohesive whole.
It's definitely written toward a YA audience (Lexile score 800), but enjoyable to other ages; though not too young, there are some scary descriptions included. The authors and their characters are diverse and are drawn from a wide variety of ethnicities, orientations, and backgrounds.
It's an interesting and challenging premise, and the editors do a fine job of tying the chapters into a readable and engaging story.
Three and a half stars. This would be a nice choice for public or school library acquisition, home reading, or possibly a buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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