9 Campus Novels That Will Take You Back To School: A Guest Post by Jen Craven
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9 Campus Novels That Will Take You Back To School: A Guest Post by Jen Craven
Ah, the nostalgia of schooldays. If you’re anything like me, you find a special kinship with stories set on campuses. There’s just something universally appealing about them—whether it’s the dynamics between students, competition amongst faculty, or the whole academic setting with all its angst and identity and promise. Throw in some questionable policies or dark doings, and you’re ripe for a page-turner that will distract from final exams (or life in general). Here’s some of my favorites, including all sorts of genres, so there’s something for everyone.
Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld
When a Midwesterner gets a scholarship to an elite boarding school, it’s the perfect storm for a classic coming-of-age story. Struggles the fit in, tests of friendships, crushes, and all the stuff that will bring you right back to that fragile time in life. Angsty and evergreen—all with some scandals thrown in.
Catherine House, by Elisabeth Thomas
The school is creepy (it’s buried in the woods of Pennsylvania), and the goings-on are even more twisty. This is a slow-burn that’s not easily definable—but with lots of dark turns throughout, this Gothic debut will have you questioning the lengths academia will go to call itself “prestigious.”
Girls With Bright Futures, by Wendy Katzman and Tracy Dobmeier
This one’s not set on a campus—it’s all about the year leading up to college. What would you do to get your daughter into the school of her dreams? Three moms are about to find out just how competitive college placement is. Ripped from the headlines of the college admissions scandal, there are secrets, tests of loyalty, and questionable intentions.
The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
Considered a contemporary classic by many, this wandering psychological thriller follows a group of boys at a boarding school, who after confessing to a murder, must keep their secret quiet. As a reader, you either like Tartt’s style or you don’t—and this big novel (at almost 600 pages) is no exception.
Madam, by Phoebe Wynne
Another Gothic for our list, this one has undertones of Rebecca. When a new teacher arrives at a top Scottish boarding school, she quickly starts to question the school’s culture, as well as the suspicious departure of the woman whose job she now inhabits. A dark, smoldering novel with ghosty vibes.
Campusland, by Scott Johnston
For those who like their books with a bit of humor and bite, Campusland is just that: A satirical take on elite institutions and the privileged students that inhabit them. With a mix of characters embroiled in competition for the top, it’s a wickedly fresh insight that’ll make you laugh—even when you realize just how accurate it is.
My Education, by Susan Choi
You hear of professor/student relationships, and that’s what you think it going to happen here—except the student in question falls for the professor’s wife. This is literary fiction at its core, meaning a lot of rumination and less fast-paced plot, but a beautiful portrait of young love at such a cornerstone time in grad student life.
The Idiot, by Elif Batuman
In the mid-90s, an immigrant student navigates the new world of e-mail to form connections with classmates in this quirkily funny novel. With fresh, self-deprecating humor, it’s a story about identity on the cusp of adulthood. The awkwardness is so relatable—and you’ll even get to “study abroad” in Hungary and Paris.
Small Admissions, by Amy Poeppel
With her new job as a private school admissions counselor, Kate deals with a host of unlikeable students (and their Park Avenue parents) in this witty novel. Intermingled through all the laughs is a young woman finding her way when life throws a curve ball. Poised as The Devil Wears Prada meets Prep, how can you go wrong?
9 Campus Novels That Will Take You Back To School: A Guest Post by Jen Craven
