YA Prep Schools, Boarding Schools, and Academies
There’s something about a school setting, especially a private school. Is it the whiff of privilege? The rarified air of exclusivity? The ivy draped across brick walls? The secret societies? Whether magical or mundane, these schools produce drama of the most delicious variety. And personally, I can’t get enough. If you share this appreciation for prep schools, boarding schools, academies, and the scheming students who grace their halls, check out these reads.
Teagan is a gifted rower whose promising future is derailed by a family scandal. Forced to relocate to the East Coast, Teagan hopes to have a fresh start at the prestigious Easton Prep. But once there, she finds that she’s not just the outcast newcomer–she’s stuck on land. There’s no girls’ rowing team at Easton. Her only way onto the water? Taking the helm as coxswain for Easton’s notoriously chaotic boys’ varsity crew.
Thrown into a world of old money and ruthless competition, Teagan finds herself caught between the arrogant team captain, Josh, and Cam, a quiet but fiercely determined local who refuses to be underestimated.
Warring rivals, messy romantic entanglements, and betrayed friendships spill drama both in and out of the boat. Not to mention her complicated relationship with her mom, Ella. The team’s a mess, her life’s a mess.
Can she fix both and win?
Pretty, popular, and a total witch, Embry Woodcross is queen bee at Raven’s Head School for the Magically Gifted. Entering senior year as head prefect, Embry is a celebrated fashionista and unrivaled solver of problems big, small, and unattractive. (She’s quite generous with her handcrafted magical beauty products.)
When she meets Oakley Riddle, clueless transfer student and ultrarare vampire, Embry’s mission is clear: take the new girl under her wing and make sure she’s not thrown to the (were)wolves. Coven mate Rye Knighton may scoff at Embry’s aggressive benevolence, but Raven’s Head students reward her with love and appreciation…
Until one good deed too many makes Embry the lead suspect in a murder investigation.
Suddenly, the same people who begged Embry for enchanted acne potions are convinced she’s a cold-blooded killer. Apparently, everyone loves a witch until something bad happens, and then it’s all pitchforks and anecdotal evidence. As everything she’s ever done is used against her, Embry teams up with Rye to find the real murderer, clear her name, and maybe fall in love along the way.
Harriet Price is the perfect student: smart, dutiful, over-achieving. Will Everhart is a troublemaker who’s never met an injustice she didn’t fight. When their swim coach’s inappropriate behavior is swept under the rug, the unlikely duo reluctantly team up to expose his misdeeds, pulling provocative pranks and creating the instantly legendary Amelia Westlake — an imaginary student who helps right the many wrongs of their privileged institution. But as tensions burn throughout their school — who is Amelia Westlake? — and between Harriet and Will, how long can they keep their secret? How far will they go to make a difference? And when will they realize they’re falling for each other?
Award-winning author Erin Gough’s Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is a funny, smart, and all-too-timely story of girls fighting back against power and privilege — and finding love while they’re at it.
Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the elusive society of vampires she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. She is obsessively protective, mildly nihilistic, and willing to do anything to save her loved ones. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the same vampire bound to her family bloodline, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.
To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to inherit their family fortune and select vampire companions. Kidan must study an arcane philosophy, work with four enigmatic students, and survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs. When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat. And June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.
Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14: Debate Club. Her father’s “bunny rabbit.” A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.
Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.
Frankie Landau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer. Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society. Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew’s lying to her. And when there are so many pranks to be done.
Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind.
This is the story of how she got that way.
In this deliciously twisty YA novel, two girls (read: enemies) at a boarding school must team up to take down the boy who hurt them—perfect for fans of Ace of Spades and Do Revenge.
Uyai and Fiyin may be roommates at Blue Waters Secondary School, but they are not friends. Uyai is popular and fierce—she dominates every room she walks into. Fiyin is nerdy and quiet—she’s easy to miss. Anyone who knows them (assuming they know who Fiyin is at all) would argue that, besides that shared dorm room, the two girls have absolutely nothing in common.
But they do.
Because both girls have been hurt. Humiliated. Taken advantage of. And both girls have just one boy to blame for it.
Fiyin thinks Uyai is an irresponsible mean girl. Uyai thinks Fiyin is an uptight loser. They both think the boy that hurt them deserves to suffer. But taking down one of the most popular guys in school isn’t a one-woman task. If they want to get their revenge before graduation, Uyai and Fiyin will need each other’s help—regardless of how they feel about each other.
After all, you don’t need to be friends to be teammates.