The Graveyard Gift

Fern's School for Wayward Fae, Book 1

By: Fern Forgettable, Piper CJ

Narrated by: Isuri Wijesundara

Hold your breath, make the choice, and step into Fern’s School for Wayward Fae—where students are part human and part magical. A girl with peculiar abilities discovers nothing is what it seems when sinister forces causes one of her classmates to go missing. Perfect for fans of Wednesday.

A girl who knows how you die. Her banshee roommate who knows when it happens. And wishes that sometimes, maybe, come true. . . .

Rosemary Thorpe has always been a bit different. She has the uncanny and unfortunate ability to foresee people’s deaths, which tends to land her in hot water. Well, not actual hot water—where it lands her is a place between worlds called Fern’s School for Wayward Fae, where Rosemary learns that her powers come from being part fae.

At Fern's School, Rosemary meets others who are part fae—including Trym, her banshee roommate whose screams can kill, and Essie, a djinn who grants wishes. But just as Rosemary settles in, a student vanishes in thin air. And it’s up to all the kids to use their curious gifts to find their missing friend. . . .

©2024 Fern Forgettable and Piper CJ (P)2024 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Magical fun from beginning to cliffhanger ending." —Kirkus Reviews

Piper does it again

Now she is multifaceted author. Wonderful story with a rich background and details, developed characters.
I continue to be wonderfully impressed with this amazing author.
As an audiobook it’s also very well done.

Could you be part Fae?

The middle grade book I didn’t know my heart needed. For the young and also young at heart!! This story brought me right back to my 6th grade self in the most cozy way. I read this cover to cover because it was such a fun and immersive experience. I truly felt like I was there at the lunch tables trying my first fairy foods and meeting the magical animals for the first time with Rose. Fern’s School for Wayward Fae is exactly the type of place I longed to be at that age and having a little piece of that back was so healing.

Rosemary’s struggles to fit in and the friendships she makes along the way are so affirming and important for kids to see. This is definitely one I’ll be saving for my son in the future and should be in every middle school library!!! Thank you to Piper for bringing these characters to not only our kids but to our inner children who deserve that too.

Great story teller

I love CJ Piper's ability to draw the reader into very fun tales that definitely leave you wanting more. I can't wait for the next one in this series as well as her other series 💜

great concept

I love the world building and mixing it with fae lore.

I felt the setting was a little vague. I listen while driving and it was easy to lose where the characters were. also too short

beautiful visual story telling and very different school of magic

I loved that this book focused on more of the children as individuals than just the typical school life. There is an interesting take on essentially racism/classism being used amongst demi humans. The story was engaging and I want to know more about all of the characters. I love the different representations that aren't common in media such as deafness, that isn't being used as a disability. more of a character trait. can't wait for more! need more fae lore!

Beautiful Crafting

Piper CJ, as always outdoes herself. every tale she tells builds a beautiful Magic system, complex and real characters, and the most gorgeous world building yet.
I adore this author and the stories and can't wait for the sequeal as always.

Meh

This book for 8-12 year olds is just meh. (I also accept that I am an adult reading a children’s book.) The ratings differ vastly depending on where you read—Audible ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.90, StoryGraph ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.06, and Fable ⭐️⭐️⭐️. I had a hard time getting into it. The characters were great, but the Seelie v. Unseelie rivalry could’ve been fleshed out more, especially for a younger audience.

I also understand the author has multiple controversies, including ableism.