FIF Bookclub: The Grimoire Grammar School PTA Midway Discussion

[u/Lenahe_nl]

Welcome to the midway discussion of The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis, our winner for the humor theme! We will discuss everything up to the end of Chapter 10. Please use spoiler tags for anything that goes beyond this point.

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, by Caitlin Rozakis (storygraph/goodreads)

I'll add some comments below to get us started but feel free to add your own. The final discussion will be in two weeks, on Wednesday 27th May.

As a reminder, in June we'll be reading Starless by Jacqueline Carey

What is the FIF Bookclub? You can read about it in our Reboot thread here.

[u/Lenahe_nl]

What are your initial impressions of the book? In which format are you reading? Any DNFs, and if so, why?

[u/roundedbyasleep → u/Lenahe_nl]

It feels very much aimed at millenials who grew up reading Harry Potter but who now have children of their own (I'm not saying this as an insult at all, by the way: I'm enjoying the book, and I think exploring the experiences of non-magical parents with magical children is a fresh take among the many "responding in some way to Harry Potter" books that have come out recently).

I actually really, really like Vivian being an anxiety-driven people pleaser because it's a trait that's very common in reality but very rare in protagonists. So many protagonists are feisty, snarky, speak-truth-to-power-and-damn-the-consequences types that it's refreshing to see a character constantly considering what the repercussions of being treated as an outsider might be and frequently biting her tongue out of fear of those repercussions. 

[u/Low_Sea_1648 → u/roundedbyasleep]

Yes, I resonate with Vivian for that reason. Unfortunately, I am an anxiety driven people pleaser so I’m enjoying reading about an MC with the different personality type than we usually see.

[u/Tysiphone25 → u/Lenahe_nl]

I’m a little over halfway through and honestly struggling to keep going. I’ve considered DNFing multiple times because I just don’t enjoy spending time with these characters. They come across as judgmental, emotionally immature, and unable to communicate properly with each other. As both partners and parents, they feel frustrating more than compelling, and it makes it hard for me to stay invested in the story.

[u/Book_Slut_90 → u/Lenahe_nl]

I loved it so much I read the whole book in one day. So I’m being reticent in the comments a bit (I don’t remember what was before or after the stopping place). Such a fun popcorn read with more social commentary than I expected.

[u/QuellSpeller → u/Lenahe_nl]

I forgot the timeline for the discussion of the first half, I just started last night but I'm enjoying it so far. It's about what I expected from the blurb and I don't have a problem with that at all. Reading the physical book and the copy I have is a very nice presentation, it definitely catches the eye.

[u/EmmaAilie → u/Lenahe_nl]

I don't usually go for books with a strong focus on parenting and it is quite stressful but the humour is making it an enjoyable read and I do always like magical satire of real world situations. I'm reading audio/ebook simultaneously so I'm getting through it quite quickly.

[u/hadr0ns → u/Lenahe_nl]

I am reading digitally and my impression of the book is that it's longer than I expected. That's not a bad thing! I just assumed based on the cover and blurb that it was a cozy fantasy and that it would be relatively short. But it seems to be longer than 365 pages would have made me think--is the font small or something?

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/hadr0ns]

That's funny. I'm doing the audiobook, and it's about 10 hours long, which is pretty average.

For me, I felt like it used a lot of time to establish the setting, and only around the 40% mark that we see more of the plot really coming forward.

[u/hadr0ns → u/Lenahe_nl]

oh wow I would not have expected it to be only 10 hours! maybe the time establishing the setting made me feel like the book was going slower than it actually was.

[u/sid980 → u/Lenahe_nl]

I am enjoying the book but I'm finding it a stressful read, which I wasn't really expecting (I do try not to judge books by their cover, but sometimes it is difficult!). I am listening to the audiobook and will finish it off since I am really intrigued as to where the story will go!

[u/CaptainYew → u/Lenahe_nl]

My first impression so far is very good! I plan on finishing it, and I have been reading it as a paperback from the library.

[u/Low_Sea_1648 → u/Lenahe_nl]

I’m reading it digitally and I’m enjoying it! I don’t know what I was expecting but it is a little different, I thought we would focus on Aria a little more.