The Harry Potter books managed to make a whole generation of readers (and then viewers) to love the idea of magical schools and wish that they could attend one as beautiful, albeit deadly, as the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But a lot of fans also felt lost when the popularity of the books/movies started declining.
But there are a lot of books out there for the ones that love the specific sub-genre of magical schools, so Harry Potter needn’t be the only option. In fact, especially young adult fantasy books, whether they have been adapted to TV or not, are so popular, that readers can get a bit lost while trying to find which “school” they want to get lost in.
6 Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo
When the king of horror himself (yes, that is Stephen King), marks your New Adult debut novel as “Impossible to put down”, then it means the author has done something right. Very right. Leigh Bardugo, the famous author who is responsible for the Grishaverse and the Shadow And Bone TV series, showed her fans that she has a lot more to offer with Ninth House.
Alex goes to Yale, but she is far from the typical student there. She has dealt with drugs, was the only survivor of a freaky homicide, and was raised by a hippie mom who never believed her daughter could get into such a prestigious university. But that prestigious university hides a very dark secret, and once Alex gets thrown into the secret societies, it would be very difficult to get out, even if she wants to.
5 A Deadly Education – Naomi Novik
Since the trilogy was finished recently, the fans can wait a bit for a TV adaptation, which would be more than perfect for the Scholomance books. Naomi Novik is known to YA readers as an author who likes the retelling of classic fairytales (Uprooted, Spinning Silver) and has a fondness for dragons (His Majesty’s Dragon).
In Deadly Education, the reader is transported to a school where death is lurking at every nook and cranny. Literally. El, an unpopular girl that’s determined to leave her feelings out of the door and do whatever she needs to in order to graduate, will discover that she has a power inside her that can protect her but might harm others.
4 A Wizard Of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin
The late Ursula K. Le Guin has left science fiction and fantasy readers with a lot of books as a heritage, and the 6 Earthsea Cycle books are undoubtedly some of her best work. First published in 1968, A Wizard of Earthsea can still speak to the hearts of fantasy readers in a way that very few books can.
Ged is a young mage who discovers he has powers that cannot be tamed or contained in his home village on the island of Gont. When a powerful mage hears about how the boy saved his village from an attack using magic, he takes him with him as an apprentice. When he realizes he can’t teach him anymore, he gives him the choice to join a school for wizards. Ged accepts. Chaos follows.
3 The House In The Cerulean Sea – T.J. Klune
T.J. Clune is a writer who speaks a lot about diversity issues, has a lot of LGBTQ+ characters in his novels, and started his career as a fan fiction writer. The House In The Cerulean Sea was partially inspired by the Sixties Scoop, when Indigenous children were moved from their homes and placed with white families that weren’t related to them.
Linus is a Case Worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, and he is suddenly summoned to an assignment that will change his quiet ways: He is to travel instantly and meet with a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. And also, save the world.
2 The Name Of The Wind – Patrick Rothfuss
Patrick Rothfuss has had two main works that he is famous for, the Kingkiller Chronicle which features The Name Of The Wind, and The Wise Man’s Fear. One of the things that people didn’t really expect him to do was co-write the limited series comics Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons. While fans still eagerly wait for news about book number 3 in the Kingkiller Chronicle, Rothfuss plays tabletop games, roleplaying games, and games in general. We understand Patrick.
Kvothe starts his life living with a troupe of traveling performers, and he is a skilled actor, singer, and lute player himself. Tragic events make him spend years as an orphan in a city where crime runs wild before he dares to enter a dangerous school of magic. He is still talented, but now in different things: he is a magician, a thief, and an assassin.
1 The School For Good And Evil – Soman Chainani
Netflix didn’t take too long to snatch this amazing YA novel and adapt it into a very well-received movie with amazing characters that viewers instantly connected with. Written by Soman Chainani, who sold more than 3.5 million copies of The School For Good And Evil (which, incidentally, was his debut novel), the book had so much success that Chainani wrote 5 more books in the series.
The School Of Good And Evil tells the story of ordinary students who are trained to be fairytale heroes and villains, depending on how well they will do. Sophie, a bright young lady who always dreamed of being a princess, gets ready for the fairytale world. Agatha on the other hand, is ready to be in the School for Evil, where her gothic lifestyle seems to be a natural fit. Hint: they don’t end up where they expect to.