We all love a good boarding school story. Preppy, privileged, competitive teens who not only have to see each other in class every day, but also must live together without parental supervision? Yes, please. Drop-in a scholarship new kid, an angsty outcast, maybe some magic, and let the drama begin… Check out our favorite books set in boarding schools below!
Books That Take Place At Boarding School
1. Of Princes and Promises by Sandhya Menon
From the queen of hate-to-love romance Sandhya Menon, comes the second novel in a brand new series, The Rosetta Academy, set at a boarding school where all our favorite fairytale royals go to meet their destiny. In this contemporary spin on The Princess and the Frog, Caterina is determined to transform Rahul from a frog to her prince in order to keep her status as queen of the school.
2. Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful, well-behaved, and they receive a well-rounded education that promises to make them better people. But the girls’ carefully controlled existence is not quite what it appears, and Mena and her friends will uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are. Continue the adventure with Girls With Razor Hearts, available on March 17, 2020!
3. Chosen by Kiersten White
Cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer may not be a boarding school story, but Kiersten White’s Slayer series set in the Buffy universe totally is. Nina and her sister, Artemis, attend Watcher’s Academy, a boarding school where teens are trained as guides for Slayers. Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle, instead following her instincts to heal as the school medic. But Nina’s life changes forever when it is revealed that Nina is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period.
4. Private by Kate Brian
Private is a classic elite boarding school story at its best. When scholarship student Reed Brennan arrives at the tradition-steeped campus of Easton Academy, she’s confronted with more wealth and privilege than she ever thought possible. When she meets the Billings Girls—the most beautiful, intelligent, intensely confident girls on campus—she’s determined to get into their inner circle. But she quickly discovers that in their designer clothing-packed closets, the Billings Girls have skeletons, and they’ll do anything to keep their secrets ~private~.
5. Breaking Bailey by Anonymous
Bailey welcomes a fresh start at the prestigious boarding school, Prescott Academy, expecting rigorous coursework and long hours studying. What she doesn’t expect is to be inducted into the “Science Club,” a group of wealthy students who run a business cooking up drugs in their spare time. Suddenly, Bailey has all she’s ever wanted—including a sweet and handsome boyfriend who also happens to be the brainy lead chemist of the Club. But as she wades deeper into their business, Bailey finds herself struggling to ignore the moral dilemmas of her new life.
6. Alanna by Tamora Pierce
In a time where girls are forbidden to be warriors, Alanna of Trebond wants nothing more than to be a knight. So she finds a way to switch places with her twin brother, Thom, and, disguised as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page. As a part of this training, she must attend classes at the palace of King Roald—and live in the page dormitories alongside the other boys training to become knights of the realm.
7. Very Bad People by Kit Frick
In this dark academia young adult thriller for fans of The Female of the Species and People Like Us, a teen girl’s search for answers about her mother’s mysterious death leads to a powerful secret society at her new boarding school—and a dangerous game of revenge that will leave her forever changed.