The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis – Review

Published: May 27, 2025

Publisher: Titan Books

Series: N/A

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 368 (Paperback)

My Rating: 4 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.

When Vivian’s kindergartner, Aria, gets bitten by a werewolf, she is rapidly inducted into the hidden community of magical schools. Reeling from their sudden move, Vivian finds herself having to pick the right sacrificial dagger for Aria, keep stocked up on chew toys and play PTA politics with sirens and chthonic nymphs and people who literally can set her hair on fire.

As Vivian careens from hellhounds in the school corridors and demons at the talent show, she races to keep up with all the arcane secrets of her new society – shops only accessible by magic portal, the brutal Trials to enter high school, and the eternal inferno that is the parents’ WhatsApp group.

And looming over everything is a prophecy of doom that sounds suspiciously like it’s about Aria. Vivian might be facing the end of days, just as soon as she can get her daughter dressed and out of the door…

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How could I resist a book that sounded so fun (and had such a long title)!? The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association follows a family whose five year old daughter got turned into a werewolf and they are now navigating life in a supernatural community. For a book with a fun premise, it was surprisingly emotional and dealt with quite a few meaningful themes.

As I said, this follows a family integrating into life in a supernatural community. It’s an elite community because mages often use their skills to end up with lucrative jobs, some people are immortal and have centuries to accumulate wealth, and they all want their children to be successful as well. Grimoire Grammar School is basically a fancy, private prep school where even kindergarteners must pass a skills test to prove they deserve to stay and it only gets more difficult from there. It can get downright cutthroat in fact. 

Vivian and Daniel and their daughter Aria are thrust into a whole world they didn’t know existed and surprisingly dealing with a child who randomly ‘wolfs out’ isn’t the hardest part. Vivian has layers of trauma from not only the wolf attack that nearly killed her daughter but her own childhood with parents that trained her to suss out the most socially advantageous friendships and basically become an ass-kisser and social climber. Vivian tries tremendously hard to not fall back into old habits and the therapy is helping, really, but she just has to fit in with the people in this new community so her daughter can also fit in. Daniel still works full time at a demanding job, but he’s helping coach a magical sports team of kindergarteners. It’s rough, man. There’s also the stress of Aria passing her exams – show and tell, the science fair, and a sporty field day – which help to gauge how well she’s progressing. Oh, there’s also a bunch of catty moms, a Whatsapp group that’s constantly gossiping, and a prophecy that may or may not be about Aria.

While this book is getting labeled as cozy or cutesy, I would argue that it’s really not. It’s about the mundane awfulness of society, especially in an insular group like elite private school parents. This is small scale, so no saving the world or anything, and I think it’s probably pretty relatable whether reflecting on what Vivian and Daniel are dealing with or with what Aria is dealing with. Despite the magic, it’s really about fitting in somewhere new and trying to make real friends and not the nasty fake ones.

Overall, this was an entertaining story that I thought was surprisingly poignant. Who hasn’t dealt with some degree of feeling like you don’t quite belong in life? This is a really unique take on the magic school element from an angle I haven’t seen before and it’s done with a decent amount of humor to outweigh some of the heavier bits. Caitlin Rozakis has proven to be a talented storyteller with both The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association and Dreadful and I can’t wait to see what she does next!