School’s In! A Breakdown of School Stories
As teachers and librarians across the country wrap up their Summer Reading programs, it’s impossible to ignore what lurks ahead: school! While the little guys will be after first-day-of-school and riding-the-bus stories, older readers know very well that school becomes a universal backdrop — if not the main setting — of everyday teen life. School stories are also great for fleshing out your fall booktalks, which is what got me pondering subsets of the traditional school story genre. Here’s what I have so far:
Boarding School: Parents left behind + society of peers + exclusive environment = ideal teen hero incubator
- Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
- Gemma Doyle series, by Libba Bray
- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart (Printz Honor, 2009)
- Blue Bloods series, by Melissa de la Cruz
- Looking for Alaska, by John Green (Printz winner, 2006)
Private-School Rich Kids: Teens with means are largely unsupervised. Fantasy: for some readers, it’s not supernatural creatures — it’s the life you wish you had.
- Gossip Girl series, by Cecily von Ziegesar (Quick Pick, 2003)
- The Clique series, by Lisi Harrison
- Private series, by Kate Brian
- Pretty Little Liars series, by Sara Shepard
Urban High School: Realistic, gritty, drama-driven stories predominantly featuring African-American characters.
- Bluford High series – various authors (Quick Pick, 2009)
- Kimani Tru series – various authors
- Drama High series, by L. Divine
There’s a Special School for People Like You: For when your skills are too awesome to mix with the normal folks.
- Spy High series, by A.J. Butcher
- Evil Genius series, by Catherine Jinks
- The Princess Diaries series, by Meg Cabot (Quick Pick, 2001)
- Gallagher Girls series, by Ally Carter
- Hex Hall series, by Rachel Hawkins
Shifting/Exchanging: Sometimes, students find themselves switching to something completely different.
- This Girl Is Different, by JJ Johnson
- Schooled, by Gordon Korman
- Gemini Bites, by Patrick Ryan
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (Odyssey winner, 2009)
- S.A.S.S. (Students Across the Seven Seas) series – various authors
The School of Life: Coming-of-age outside of school
- Slake’s Limbo, by Felice Holman (PPYA, 1999)
- The Contender, by Robert Lipsyte (Margaret A. Edwards Award winner, 2001)
- The Piper’s Son, by Melina Marchetta (Best Fiction for YAs nominated, 2012)
I’m sure there are tons of titles and categories I’ve forgotten. Feel free to continue in the comments, and happy back-to-school season!
–Becky O’Neil, currently reading Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
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aime’ scarbrough, currently reading “Gone” by Michael Grant
I was just thinking about using some school stories for fall displays or booktalks! What a great breakdown of this broad sub-category! Thank you!
Great post! Spud by John van de Ruit is another one to remember for the boarding school category — it’s set in South Africa! Very boy, very hormonal, very gross.
Cool suggestions! I would also highly recommend the manga series “Train + Train” by Hideyuki Kurata. This six-volume series takes place in a futuristic setting where exclusive schools are held aboard gigantic trains criss-crossing the planet’s surface. Reiichi intends to embark on the usual School Train, but ends up handcuffed to Arena, a teenage runaway bound for the Special Train, where above-average students learn unconventional lessons. Abord the special train Reiichi completes strange tasks — one assignment: students are sent into a rough and tumble gambling den with an amount of money and instructed to double it by whatever means necessary — meets interesting people, gets involved in Arena’s family issues and learns that he has more guts than he ever realized. I love this series! It’s a lot of fun, and an unconventional take on the “Boarding School” genre.
Oooh, thanks, Maria! My post totally bypassed any manga or comics — now I want to check out Train + Train!
I’m a huge fan of boarding school books. One of my recent favorites has been Anna and the French Kiss-the thrill of independence and boarding school, set in Paris. A great story, to boot.
I also really loved Anna and the French Kiss — an awesome boarding school AND study abroad book. Plus lots of sawoon.
Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney depicts some of the darker side of boarding schools, but was an excellent read.
“Sawoon” — LOL! This is the 3rd or 4th time I’ve had Anna and the French Kiss recommended to me recently — think I’ll have to move it to the top of my list!
For Boarding Schools, also try The Revenant by Sonia Gensler. It’s a historical set in a Cherokee school in Oklahoma with lots of boarding school goodness, complicated by the fact that the main character, although younger than many of the students, is a teacher (impersonating someone else). It also has a gothic/ghostly element, and some romance!