The best books about high school and college are so nostalgic. This genre book list showcases compelling academic settings for themes like coming-of-age, young love, and drama with classmates. You’ll find everything from classics to new favorites that make for the best fall books and beyond, so let’s get literary!
List of the Best Books About High School and College Life
TOP PICKS
The Secret History is New England-based dark academia and literary fiction at its absolute finest.
Educated is a shocking memoir of a woman who was raised as a survivalist yet attends Harvard.
The Hate U Give is an immersive young adult story of a Black teen at a white school who becomes involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Drama/Realistic Fiction
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
- A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Fantasy
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Non-Fiction
- Educated by Tara Westover
- Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Romance
- My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
Thriller
- Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
- If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
- One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
Reviews of the Best Books Set in School for Students and Adults
Educated by Tara Westover
I still often think of Educated, a shocking book written by a woman who was raised in the mountains in a survivalist Mormon family. As she grows up against this unique backdrop and excels in the face of many different forms of abuse, she questions many things—most importantly, what is an education?
It’s one of the best books set in school that you will want to dive very deeply into. It will leave your jaw on the floor.
Related Post: Educated Summary
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing is a book that really lives up to its hype. Violet Sorrengail is a 20-year-old resident of Navarre. She’s about to enter Basgiath War College in the Scribe Quadrant, like her father, studying books and history. But, her mother, the Commanding General, orders her to seek entry into the elite Riders Quadrant, which is extremely dangerous.
Only a fraction will live to graduate. Violet herself is petite and frail, so she’ll have to fight extra hard to survive, especially since people like the powerful Wingleader Xaden Riorson have it out for her. He and many others are only there because of the fallout from their parents’ rebellion, after which Violet’s mother executed them.
It’s a heart-stopping academic journey of dragon riding, magical powers, powerful books, a Squad Battle, War Games, mythical creatures, and even love.
Related Posts: Fourth Wing Book Series | Fourth Wing Characters | Fourth Wing Map | Fourth Wing Synopsis | Fourth Wing Quotes | Fourth Wing Discussion Questions
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Friday Night Lights is the true story of a Texas high school football team whose season is central to the entire small town.
The Permian Panthers were the winningest high school football team in Texas history, and while the town is united by football each September through December, it’s also divided by race, class, and other societal issues. The author is an outside observer of the cultural phenomenon that is Texas football for the entire 1988 season.
It’s a poignant narrative of one town and one team reaching for a school championship.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a long beloved book that reminds me of my childhood. He’s a traditional teacher who learns from a woman that teaching is about so much more. As he opens his heart and develops a sense of humor, he becomes a memorable educator to his students.
Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
Good Girls Lie is one wild ride. So much happens in this psychological thriller set at a girls’ boarding school in Virginia after British student Ash arrives on campus.
At the outset, the reader learns that someone is hanging from the school gates, but the who, why, and how of this death are unknown. And that’s not nearly the only death in this twisted and unputdownable novel.
The truth unfolds slowly from numerous perspectives, leaving the reader with a trail of breadcrumbs. It’s hard to know who to believe!
There is school politics, secret societies, Honor codes, haunted histories, and everything you could want from a book about high school.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first in the series of Harry Potter book series. It transports the reader to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly, where a young Harry comes of age by learning magic, making friends, and ultimately, battling evil.
It’s one of the most popular books of all time. Need I say more?!
Reading Tip: Learn where to get free Harry Potter books.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Hate U Give is the story of Starr, a Black teenage girl who lives in a “thug” neighborhood but goes to an upper-class, white private school. After she witnesses her unarmed African American friend, get shot and killed by a police officer during a routine stop, she struggles to deal with the aftermath while living in two very different worlds.
The Hate U Give begs for a heroine, and Starr is authentic, brave, honest, resilient, and multi-dimensional as she gets tangled in the web of home life versus school life.
The Hate U Give is a politically charged coming-of-age story that touches upon issues of race, class, and police brutality in the voices and eyes of vibrant characters. It feels like such a fresh perspective.
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
In If We Were Villains, ten years before Oliver was released from prison, he was part of a group of Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory. It was a passionate environment of immersive theater, where a night of drunken debauchery led to death. Oliver’s finally ready to tell the truth about what happened.
With parallels to Shakespearean tragedies and their extreme emotions running throughout, it’s a daring and ambitious coming-of-age book about college that truly delivers. It explores everything from coping with grief to the motivations that drive us, and it’s the kind of book that will keep you reading late at night.
Related Posts: If We Were Villains Characters | Summary of If We Were Villains | Review of If We Were Villains
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
In I Have Some Questions For You, Bodie is a film professor and podcaster who seeks to forget her family tragedy and the 1995 murder of her classmate, for which the school trainer was convicted.
But, when she speaks at her alma mater, she sees flaws in the old case. As she digs even deeper, she must reckon with the past.
There’s a lot to explore here, including statements on racism, justice, and the #MeToo movement.
Reading Tip: I recommend the audio version for its immersive, podcast-like experience.
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
In The Maidens, Mariana is a therapist who believes a charming Greek tragedy professor at a university has murdered her niece’s friend, a member of a female secret society.
After another death, Mariana becomes determined to prove the professor’s guilt at any cost.
It has complex layers beyond those of most thrillers, which kept me intrigued throughout.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
My Brilliant Friend begins in the slums of Naples, Italy, in the 1950s. Two naturally smart young girls, Elena “Lenu” Greco (the narrator) and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo bond over a shared copy of Little Women.
Despite their bond and similarities, they differ. Lenu is quiet, reserved, and bookish. Lila is impulsive, strong-willed, and rebellious.
As they develop into their teenage years, Lenu takes a more progressive path in formal education, while Lila follows traditional feminine stereotypes.
My Brilliant Friend is my favorite book of all time, particularly due to the quality of its writing. Ferrante gets you to feel real feelings about the characters and then twists and turns those feelings. The result is an utterly immersive literary experience with female education at its core.
Related Post: My Brilliant Friend Books
My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
My Oxford Year follows 24-year-old Ella as she lives her dream of studying literature on a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University in England. Along the way, she meets a few quirky British friends who feel straight out of Bridget Jones’ Diary, as well as her pretentious professor, Jamie Davenport.
Soon enough, Ella and Jamie become “teacher and student with benefits.” It’s just a physical thing, as Ella already has her Oxford year fully planned, as well as her return to American politics thereafter. Also, Jamie is known as a “three dates” kind of guy.
As My Oxford Year progresses, Jamie tells Ella a lie, and then deeper secrets are revealed. Ella is forced to make a life-altering choice. Cue the tears! It’s a universally beloved romance I often recommend.
Reading Tip: The author is a beloved audiobook narrator who narrates the book beautifully.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
In Never Let Me Go, Hailsham is a boarding school where students are heavily trained in the arts. But, they are allowed little contact with the outside world and are watched over by “guardians.”
After leaving, Kathy becomes a “carer” for people called “donors,” and alongside her former classmates, they uncover the shocking truth about both Hailsham and themselves.
It’s very much a science fiction mystery book, but it’s also a love story and an unforgettable statement on the value of human life. The writing is so refined that it is a page-turner, but the mystery story is revealed in little tidbits throughout, simultaneously making it a slow burn.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Normal People is a book that people either love or hate. Those who love character-driven novels are more likely to fall into the “love” category.
It begins in high school. Marianne is an unpopular outcast, so Connell keeps their relationship a secret. Ultimately, the burden of keeping this secret pushes them apart.
When they attend college, Marianne is the popular one and Connell has become a recluse. They drift in and out of each other’s lives in ways that tug at the reader’s emotions. For better or worse, they change the course of each other’s lives.
It’s a thought-provoking novel that explores themes of class, youth, self-worth, shame, abuse, and mental health. It also embraces the highest of highs and the lowest of lows that can be so characteristic of young love.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
One of Us Is Lying is a Fall themed thriller for young adults that has the vibe of the 80’s cult classic, The Breakfast Club, but with a deadly twist. After five students walk into detention at Bayview High (the brain, the beauty, the criminal, the athlete, and the outcast), one ends up dead, and the others are left suspects, scrambling to uncover the truth behind the death.
Everyone has a secret in high school, and this maxim certainly applies to the characters. As they struggle to keep their secrets and to solve the mystery, there are satisfying twists.
Related Post: One of Us Is Lying Series
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not your average angsty teenage high school drama. It’s so much more than that.
Focused on one young outside, this is one of the most beautifully crafted coming-of-age, character-driven stories about overcoming trauma through friendship, family, art, and most of all, participating in life, difficult as it may be.
It’s both haunting and hopeful, and it’s one of my all-time favorite books.
Related Post: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Summary | The Perks of Being a Wallflower Books Mentioned
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Prep reads like Judy Blume and offers a light academia novel with coming-of-age themes.
Scholarship student Lee is an observant teenager upon her arrival at the prestigious Ault School. She has rose-colored eyes for the school’s glossy brochure, with boys in sweaters and girls in kilts near stately buildings.
She is both intimidated and fascinated by her classmates. Then, her identity is shattered when she publicly self-destructs.
Ultimately, her experiences as a student, friend, daughter, and girlfriend can be said to be a portrait of each of us dealing with adolescence.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Secret History is the ultimate dark academia book and, arguably, the best book about college. It’s about an outcast from California who is desperate to fit in at a preppy college in Vermont in the 1980s.
He becomes friends with his fellow Greek classmates, and their obsession with Greek has deadly consequences. The crew spirals downward as they process the gravity of their actions.
This book has some of the best dialogue I’ve read, and the ending makes your heart pound in suspense. This modern classic is a must-read for literature lovers. It transports you to the time and place and makes the characters feel real.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
A Separate Peace is the most classic book on this list, and it’s also on the Gilmore Girls reading list.
At a New England boys’ boarding school, Gene, a lonely intellectual, befriends Phineas, a handsome athlete. What happens between them shatters their innocence forever. It’s a commentary on lost innocence during World War II when America, too, lost its innocence.
It’s easily readable and very satisfying in a modern context.
They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
They Wish They Were Us is set at Gold Coast Prep in Long Island, New York, where scholarship student Jill’s best friend Shaila was killed by her boyfriend three years earlier.
But, like the lives of Jill and her group of friends (“The Players”), nothing is what it seems. Jill begins to question Shaila’s death while also dealing with academic issues like cheating and getting into an Ivy League college.
It’s a quick and engaging young adult mystery.
Recap
These best books about high school and college offer the most compelling setting for themes like coming-of-age, young love, and drama with classmates. Choose dark academia for dark themes or light academia for light themes. There’s something to make every reader nostalgic.
TOP 3 PICKS
Get started with my favorite books on this list:
- The Secret History is New England dark academia at its finest.
- Educated is a shocking memoir of a woman who was raised as a survivalist yet attends Harvard.
- The Hate U Give is an immersive story of a Black teen at a white school who becomes involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
