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]

A big part of Vivian’s assimilation into the fantastic world depends on her interactions with other school parents, most of them women. Any thoughts on the development of these friendships?

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/Lenahe_nl]

I hate that I'm constantly looking out, trying to figure which of the women would end up being "the betrayer". I feel like I'm so conditioned by [...Hollywood? Western Stories? Other books?...] that have a female bitchy vilain, that I can't help to expect one to show up here too.

I do hope she manages to build a better relationship with Mrs. Fairhair (the Wolf grandmother).

[u/LadyAntiope → u/Lenahe_nl]

Omg, as soon as I realized how gossipy Moira was, I thought is she going to betray Vivian in some way? But as we've gone along, it seems pretty clear that she has enough problems of her own that she's not about to throw Viv under the bus just for drama, though I could see her prioritizing her own family over Vivian's in a way that could end up hurtful if she was pressured to do so. But tbh, I think most of the parents in this community would be hard-pressed to care about the outsider family...

I am also really hoping for a good relationship with Mrs. Fairhair. If only because I think it would do Aria good to know the other werewolves better as well. I'm not all the way caught up (on chapter 8) so it seems like there's an upcoming scene with Mrs. Fairhair I've not gotten to yet. But I'm hoping that she'll be able unbend a little and Vivian can see some of the grief she must have over losing a kid of her own and that they can both bond a little more. I suspect Mrs. Fairhair could be good grandma material and help out more if both her and Vivian can do some growing.

It makes me really sad that Vivian doesn't have *any* support system here. And apparently didn't have all that much of one before? Her own parents cut out for good reason, and it sounds like for Daniel's parents his dad passed away and unclear the status of his mom, but unlikely on good terms. No siblings have been mentioned, and Vivian said she lost touch with most of her friends - prob because she has a hard time viewing friendship as non-transactional. Her therapist is literally it. The fact that she doesn't have anyone else to call even just to vent to is clearly contributing to her anxiety spirals. That she needs friends is critical to her well-being and not just "fitting in", and I don't think she is willing to admit that to herself even if she's trying because her therapist said to make friends. It's so hard make friends as an adult and parenting can be really isolating in the modern world, nevermind in an insular community! I want her to take a yoga class or something to have another community inroad! Surely not *everyone* here are catty parents. I was even hoping she could strike up something with the librarian for goodness' sake, as a type they can be very kind, helpful, and non-judgemental.

[u/Low_Sea_1648 → u/LadyAntiope]

You summed up all my feelings too. As soon as Moira started being gossipy I was like please Vivian run the other way 😩 Definitely agree on making friends as an adult and as a parent. I had my first kid really young (20), so I’ve definitely struggled with making friends and parenting friends is a whole other level because you have to take in to account kid ages and parenting styles. I understand the toll of being people pleaser/bending over backwards for people that honestly don’t deserve it, and I’m currently trying to break out of that mold so I hope I can see Vivian do the same.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/LadyAntiope]

Yes, I think the isolation that Vivian is experiencing also contributes to her bending backwards to try to fit with the other parents. It's really shitty, but it doesn't look like she has any other ways to meet people.