The new school year is fast approaching, and as much as we love our beach reads, it might be time to start thinking about our BTS TBR. From dark academia thrillers to autumnal romances, here are a few books that will totally get you in the mood for the school year and fall season.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
What better way to kick off the school year than with a dark academia atmosphere and a good psychological thriller? The Secret History by literary genius Donna Tartt is both of these things combined in one intense, powerful and beautifully written story. It follows a group of intelligent and elusive classics students at Hampden College in rural Vermont. Led by a charming and mysterious professor, they find themselves on a slippery slope, crossing lines of morality as they descend into their own broken world. This novel is perfect for spooky fall vibes and excitement for school, since it is academia at its best. Get ready to lose your mind, fall in love and accidentally become obsessed with ancient Greek.
These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling
Both an emotional journey and a sassy romance, These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling is the perfect book for the season of the witch (listen to Lana Del Rey if you need more inspo). It follows Hannah, a teen witch who’s navigating her ability to control earth’s elements, a recent breakup with fellow Elemental witch Veronica and budding feelings for dancer Morgan. Her life gets shaken up even more when a blood ritual takes place at the end of school year bonfire and dark magic begins sprouting over all of their hometown, Salem. To stop the supernatural forces threatening her coven, and all of witch-kind, Hannah is forced to team up with Veronica. What follows is a messy, spooky and totally autumn-coded mystery/adventure/romance for all the witchy hearts out there.
Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach
While not hugely fall-focused, Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach is the perfect book to get you excited for whatever fuels your academic passions. Fierce, fresh and feminist, it’s the story of the driven, intelligent and no-nonsense teen journalist Eliza, who’s fully expecting the Editor-in-Chief spot for her school paper since she’s the obvious candidate. That is, until the laid-back and annoyingly good-looking injured baseball player Len decides to run for EIC just for something to do. And he wins, simply because he’s more…likable. In a rage, Eliza writes up a brutally honest manifesto that accidentally goes viral and starts a feminist movement throughout her school and beyond. Amidst all this, Eliza finds herself catching feelings for the very guy who caused this whole mess. Searing, brilliant and complete with a killer enemies-to-lovers arc, this is just the right kind of book to get you in the BTS feels.
Bunny by Mona Awad
Get ready to fall down a rabbit hole of longing, loneliness, obsession and dangerously sharp imaginations in this brilliant and chaotic fantasy meets dark academia thriller. Bunny by Mona Awad follows outsider Samantha as she navigates her first year at the isolated and highly selective MFA program at Warren University amidst the suffocating and benign presence of her fellow writing students. The clique that surrounds her is made up of eerily saccharine-rich girls who all refer to each other as “Bunny.” At first repelled by their spookily sweet circle, Samantha is later pulled into their dangerous world of off-campus rituals and writing experiments. Another classic exploration of moral decay, psychological disasters and the haunting female gaze, this is sure to pull you on a strange, powerful and unforgettable ride.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
If you’re in the mood for an intense, brooding, and fate-driven love story with powerful prose and a touch of magic, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is your fall read. It tells the story of rival magicians Celia and Marco who, at their instructors’ commands, have been training since childhood to duel in the famous and mysterious Cirque des Reves, a black and white circus that appears by night. Despite being pawns in an ill-fated game, they fall into a deep, intense and helpless love that shakes the entire circus to the bones. Rich and atmospheric, it is a dark fairytale and love story for every autumn soul, and will be sure to cause major cravings for stormy nights and forbidden love.
Pumkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
Fall and BTS season doesn’t have to be spooky. It’s also cozy, slow-moving and the perfect time for a sweet hometown romance. This tender, funny and totally Gilmore Girls-coded graphic novel tells the story of Deja and Josiah, best friends who see each other only during the fall to work at the local pumpkin patch. This year is different, though. It’s their last year working at the patch before college, and Josie’s last chance to talk to his crush who works at the Fudge Shop. The two make it their mission to find her before the night is through, while also experiencing all their favorite sights and sounds at the patch. What isn’t in their plans? Sparks flying between the two of them. This toasty fall read will cause you to giggle and swoon (and dream of dates at the pumpkin patch).
Truly, Devious by Maureen Johnson
At once a chilling thriller and a sharp contemporary, Truly, Devious is an intertwining tale of two mysteries set at the puzzling, brilliant and riddled Ellingham Academy in Vermont. The school’s founder, eccentric genius Albert Ellingham, intended learning to be a game at his cleverly confusing academy. All was going well until his wife and daughter were kidnapped and left with a riddle signed by the hauntingly mocking pseudonym “Truly, Devious”. Years later, true-crime expert Stevie enters the school with her sights set on solving the mystery, which hangs over the school like an unresolved threat. Her plans are further complicated when Truly Devious makes a return and brings more murder to the academy. Fast-paced, exciting and sure to keep you up turning pages until the moon is full.
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☀️ Our 8 fave summer TBRs (towels + beach reads, that is)
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☀️ 5 books that feel just like TSITP
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