The Puzzling Fate of Millicent Graves

by Dora M. Mitchell

Twelve-year-old Millicent Graves discovers she can alter the personalities of her friends and family with hilarious reality-warping results in this extra-magical middle grade graphic novel.

Twelve-year-old Millicent Grave's life is a mess. After her mom sank all their money into a fancy fish tank business, her family had to move to an apartment with three creepy landladies.

Then fate (or, actually, the Fates) leads Millie to discover a room full of jigsaw puzzles that give her the power to fix the imperfections in everyone she knows. Soon, her sister is sensible instead of gross, and her mom is successful instead of unlucky. Dad still needs some work, and her new neighbor and classmate Sam Smolt is still annoying—but he’s kind of becoming her best friend anyway.

And if there are mysterious new cracks in the universe in the exact shape of those puzzle pieces, that’s not a problem, right? It’s not like all of reality is about to unravel. Right? . . . Right?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mythology, Graphic Novels Comics, Magic, Friendship

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2025

About the author

Dora M. Mitchell is a writer and illustrator living in a small Northern California town that dates back to the Gold Rush. She has always had a fascination with abandoned places, dark woods, and all things mysterious and otherworldly. Her books and comics include The Haunted Serpent (Sterling Children’s Books), The Curse of Crooked Mile (www.curseofcrookedmile.com), Ninecrow (www.ninecrowcomic.com), and The Puzzling Fate of Millicent Graves (coming in May 2025 from Algonquin Young Readers).

Reviews

[Jen Nishi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. Loved the characters and the growth. It was high stakes and just when you thought things were going to get better, you’re wrong. But it all ends well and teaches a lesson without being didactic.

[Samantha Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this graphic novel SO MUCH! Dora M Mitchell has created wonderful characters, tackling a perplexing mystical problem. Millicent wants to make everyone around her perfect. What kid doesn't want that? And when Millie sees an opportunity in an old woman and the puzzles she makes that seem to come true, Millie grabs on, with increasingly disastrous consequences that only Millie can fix. The Puzzling Fate of Millicent Graves is a wonderfully imaginative new take on the mythical story of the fates, coupled with fun artwork. I highly recommend.

[Debbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. A bit of humor, a bit of light horror, MFC struugles with family, neighbors, and life situations. She finds a unique way to control her problems, but does it really solve anything??? I have enjoyed all the works of Dora Mitchell that I have read. Her illustrations are wonderful and I hope to see another book coming soon.

[Stephanie]

I loved the magic and the illustrations

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Millie discovers that individualized puzzles in the attic of her apartment building change people's personalities she tries to improve her family and neighbor with terrible results.

A little slow to start but this story is worth hanging on.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun middle grade graphic novel about what happens when we take fate into our own hands--literally, in Millie's case. I really liked the inclusion of Greek mythology and the art style was really fun, too. The autumnal color palette was a nice touch.

[Chris Chua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Coraline will love this graphic novel!

[Sam Krupnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 15% had me skeptical, but when I stayed up late to finish the book in one night, I realized it had officially won me over.

The story follows Millicent "Millie" Graves, whose life could be generously described as "suboptimal." Her parents have both given up lucrative careers to pursue their passions, which means her former physics professor dad is now washing windows and her marine biologist mother is desperately trying to get people to pay for her professional opinion on how to make their fish happy. If that's not the most California thing you've ever heard, then you probably live in an area where human feces are not a concern during your morning commute. Anyway, they've moved out of a beautiful house and into an apartment populated by noisy neighbors and three creepy landladies who are definitely not supernatural beings, haha, why would you even ask that?

As I said earlier, the first 15% had me skeptical. Millie's plight is sympathetic, but she is so grounded in comparison to her family that she comes across as the only one with common sense. Her parents assure her not to worry about money, but it's made clear that she has good reason to worry. I mean, really—who can afford a goldfish therapist in this economy? It's fairly obvious that Millie is going to learn an important lesson about not meddling in other people's lives, or changing them to suit her preferences, but the narrative is more sympathetic towards her than I assumed it would be. Her fears about money are treated as valid. Her sister's experiments and cleaning habits are disgusting. Her apartment is small and loud. Her parents brush off her concerns. All of that is to say, Millie has good reason to want to meddle, and the narrative condemns her actions rather than her motivations.

The story itself is a lot of fun. Mitchell weaves in Celtic mythology and ideas about fate in a way that feels organic. And while I don't entirely agree with the portrayal of those supernatural beings I mentioned, I felt like it made more sense here than it does in, say, Rick Riordan's work.

As a pagan, it irks me when fiction shows gods and goddesses acting like dicks for no reason. Is it accurate to the mythology? Often, yes. But it's not accurate to how those deities are seen now, or how their ancient worshippers perceived them, and I feel like it just gives more ammunition to fundamentalist Christians and Muslims who hate anything that falls outside their ideas of what religion should be. However, while the Morrigan is not a deity I'm familiar with, I think her refusal to fix what Millie broke is truer to how deities interact with their followers. She won't change things back to the way they were, saying it was fated and therefore always meant to happen. This, combined with some other things she's told Millie regarding the nature of the puzzles she messed with, leads Millie to realize that she has the power to fix things all on her own. The Morrigan's refusal to help is an empowering decision, not a spiteful one.

Is it a perfect book? No. Millie's acceptance of the fact that the puzzles control people's lives felt a bit rushed, and, as I mentioned in one of my updates, the way that every mixed-race couple has children who lean more toward one race or the other was distracting. And there's one panel, showing the Graves family sitting down to dinner, that made me wonder just what the hell they're actually eating. But, overall, it's a great read, and one I would happily recommend.

[Anne Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Puzzling Fate of Mallicent Graves is an imaginative graphic novel that artfully blends whimsy, fantasy, and a poignant exploration of order versus chaos. The story follows Milli, a girl who craves order in a world that seems irretrievably disorganized. While her mother and father pursue unconventional paths—her mom’s passion for marine biology leading to a risky business venture, and her father trading academia for the quirky life of a window cleaner—Milli struggles with the reality of her family’s new circumstances, including a move to a cramped rented apartment and sharing a room with her sister and having annoying Sam, her classmate, as her neighbour.

The turning point comes when Milli stumbles upon a room filled with puzzles in her apartment’s attic. There, she discovers that each puzzle piece represents a part of a person’s identity, and by tweaking these pieces, she can subtly alter those around her. She starts with her little sister, then moves on to her classmate Sam, and even her own parents. However, as Milli manipulates these puzzles to create the perfect life—where everyone plays their “proper” role—she begins to notice cracks in reality, a sign that forcing perfection might have unintended consequences.

Ultimately, The Puzzling Fate of Mallicent Graves is a story about the beauty of imperfection. Milli learns that while it’s natural to desire order, true happiness comes from accepting life’s unpredictability and embracing the unique quirks of those around us. The novel’s imaginative narrative, combined with its engaging illustrations, creates a vivid world that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

This graphic novel left me reflecting on how our attempts to control every detail can sometimes lead to unexpected disruptions—and how the very imperfections we try to hide might be what make life truly special.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Millicent and her sister Gillie live with their parents in a flat in a house with their landlady, Nona, and her sister Babs, who are both older and crochety. Millie's mother runs an aquarium consulting business, and their father has stopped being a professor and now washes window. Millie's neighbor, Sam, annoys her with constant nicknames and random observations, and Gillie is constantly bringing bugs into their shared room. When Millie meets another older woman in the attic, doing puzzles, she starts to realize that the puzzles control the lives of the people around her. She tries to "fix" everyone, but just ends up making Gillie less fun, and sets an infestation of monkeys on Sam. She keeps trying to make things better, but only makes them worse, to the point where her parents say they have no children. Consulting Nona and the other ladies, Millie finds out secrets about them and the puzzles. Trying to change people's lives has caused a rift in the world that sucks people into another world. Will Millie be able to change things back the way they were?

This had an interesting premise, and the three Fates don't get much coverage in middle grade literature. I did enjoy Sam, and how Millie slowly became friends with him. The cracks in the world made the situation more dire; I sort of wish that Millie had to deal with various changes in the people she knew in more realistic ways instead. I liked the drawings of the house.

[Glenna Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Millie Graves is tormented by all kinds of problems from her younger sister's obsession with knock knock jokes and messy experiments and her parents' seeming cluelessness about finances to her personal nemesis, Samuel Smolt. Millie would prefer every aspect of her life to be organized and run on schedule. When she discovers an old lady putting together puzzles in the attic of their new apartment building, Millie finds that the puzzled seem to predict what is going to happen in people's lives. She decides that changing one or two things to make life better for her is worth the possibility of being found out. Almost immediately, though, life starts changing in ways Millie hadn't anticipated, some good and some terrible. When the changes get too extreme, Millie discovers that changing the puzzles back doesn't solve the problems she created. It turns out, though, that she might just have an unlikely ally, and that with enough effort and creativity, Millie might just be able to mend what she destroyed. I found the ideas in this story fascinating and I loved the fact that changing the puzzles back to how they were didn't solve the problems.

[AllyP Reads Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little too long. I almost stopped reading it at the beginning because the little sister was so annoying with her jokes. She's literally reading jokes out of a joke book but can't tell them right. Then she randomly says the word "marmalade" and then gets mad that no one knows how a knock-knock joke works. Um, do you? Why would anyone say "marmalade who" when you're the one who didn't start with "Knock, knock"?
A fish tank consulting business is also just silly.
Book was pretty good though after all that in the beginning.

[Steph C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful graphic novel about making small changes to other people's lives which ripple out into big problems. It plays in the same reality-twisting sandbox as Kristin Gudsnuk's Making Friends series, and would be excellent for fans of those comics! The artwork is reminiscent of Abby Howard, conveying cute and friendly moments as aptly as creepy and alien ones. For middle grade graphic novel readers who enjoy fantasy, light horror, and alternate realities/timelines.

[Daniel Ogle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really, really fun. There is an ample amount of enjoyment for literally anyone, at any age. The illustrations alone are ludicrously creative and keep you completely absorbed. There is also a healthy amount of humor that makes things even more enjoyable. This is a great read. It's as simple as that. It's easily worth the few bucks that it costs. It's a no brainer. I could go on and on but the point is, YOU NEED THIS BOOK!!!!!!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Millie’s family downsizes to an apartment from a house, Milllie meets a strange woman living in the attic who spends her days building jigsaw puzzles. Millie soon discovers that when the puzzles are built, they foretell things happening in the lives of those depicted. Millie can’t resist changing her family member’s puzzles and her annoying neighbor’s puzzle but doesn’t realize the consequences until it is almost too late!

[Ellen]

I was drawn to this book my the colorful cover, but I stayed for the complex characters and the plot, which felt far more original than it had any right to. Smart and funny - I enjoyed it a lot! (I totally ship Millie and Sam, btw, even though there's no overt romantic plotline - when I was kid I would have been obsessed with them. Not sure if this tells you more about the book or me.)

[Corina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun middle grade graphic novel about a young girl who takes the fate of her family and friends into her own hands. I liked the interpretation of the Fates (and the puzzles) in this story. Also, the blend of humor (monkeys) with horror (tentacle monsters) was simply delightful.

Kid1 said they liked this one but called it "weird." Hey, it's good to get out of your comfort zone!

[Rhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! Fun plot, great artwork. 4/5.

[norah melden (death by tbr) · Rating 2 out of 5]

this mc needs to butt out of peoples lives

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of several graphic novels I read in December to help meet my yearly page goal.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar! Fun story, fabulous characterization, witty writing, great pacing- no notes! Will be following Mitchell to see what she does next. A must-purchase for middle school libraries.

[Jim Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly unique and an extremely fun read. 218 pages PACKED with beautiful art, charming characters, and hilarious wit! We are reminded of one of the most important life lessons, be careful what you wish for. The grass isn't always greener!

I can't recommend this graphic novel (more like a piece of art) enough. Adults and youth alike are in for a real treat!

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life would be so much easier for Millicent Graves if everyone in her family was just...normal. But her parents gave up their lucrative jobs and sold the house she loved to pursue their dreams. Now they live crammed into an apartment where she has to share a room with her messy younger sister and her weird science experiments. Millicent is worried. Worried about money, worried her little sister is going to make a fool of herself with her stand-up comedy ambitions and worried about the neighbor boy who seems to be obsessed with teasing her. Then Millicent finds a hidden attic apartment, inhabited by an old woman who does puzzles. Thousands of puzzles that seem to be about people--people she knows. Could these puzzles actually represent the lives of the people around her? And if so, would it be possible to make just a tiny tweak or two? What harm could that possibly do? This was fun--and what kid doesn't dream about the power to change their parents or their lives?