It’s so strange to me that we’re already in back to school season! This year is just flying by, although that might be because 2020 felt like it took a decade. It was also great timing for this week’s prompt because for this month, I’ve given myself a loose theme of reading books that take place at a school or have a heavy focus on school. Just to name a few, some of the books I’m planning to read are: The Assignment, What You Wish For, and One of Us is Lying. I decided to go one step further with the school theme and focus specifically on dark academia. For those who might not know that term, dark academia are books that put a focus on education, often in elite or exclusive settings, and often includes elements such as secret societies, puzzles, or even murder. The characters in these books often have a true passion for learning and there is generally an emphasis on the classic literature, art, etc. It’s no surprise that this genre appeals to me so strongly. I’ve always been very into school, reading and learning, and I also tend to love gothic elements. It seems that dark academia books have become a huge trend lately, and I’m loving it! For this week’s prompt, I decided to focus on a few of the dark academia books that are on my TBR for this year.
Top 5 Wednesday is a meme created by Gingerreadslainey on Youtube, and is now hosted by Sam at ThoughtsOnTomes. The official GoodReads group with the weekly topics can be found here.
1) A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Of all the books on this list, this is the one that I’m least sure that I’ll be able to get to, since I don’t have a copy yet and the book is still very expensive! This book is about a girl named El who goes to a school called Scholomance, which is for students who have magic which is also an extremely dangerous place. Failure at this school means death, and the only way out is to either graduate or die. There are monsters lurking everywhere, and El is uniquely prepared to fight them because of a strong power that she possesses, but this comes at the cost of potentially wiping out the rest of the students as well. Even though I love magical school settings, I actually haven’t read too many books that involve them, so I’m really looking forward to trying another one. I have seen quite mixed reviews for this book, including complaints of problematic and potentially racist content. I loved Uprooted by this author and I liked Spinning Silver, although not quite as much as I’d expected, so I’m very interested in giving another book by this author a try. I’m especially interested in this one because the magic seems to be very language-based, which is something I loved in Uprooted, and I also really like the idea of the school itself. I hope I can get a copy of this one soon!
2) Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
I added this one to my TBR originally because I kept seeing it come up on social media, especially on Youtube. If I remember correctly, I first saw it on Instagram and was intrigued by the cover, and grew to become really interested in it after seeing it mentioned in a quite a few Youtube videos, including BooksAndLala. This book is set at an exclusive school hidden deep in the woods, where a few students are selected to attend completely for free, however it comes at the cost of spending three years, including summers, at the House completely cut off from the outside world. In return, the school promises that its graduates will go on to an incredible future of power and prestige. The main character Ines is an incoming new student who is hoping to find a place where she can finally feel at home and give up her life of partying, but when her roommate’s obsession with acceptance ends in tragedy, Ines begins to suspect that the school might have a dangerous hidden agenda. This is another one that seems to have quite mixed reviews, although I’m starting to wonder if that’s just a common factor in this genre in general. The biggest complaint that I’ve seen so far is that this book is slow-paced, which can be a problem for me sometimes. Either way, I’m very interested in giving this one a try!
3) The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
The Silent Patient was one of my favourite books when I read it a couple of years ago, and I’m expecting to love this one just as much! This book is about a woman named Mariana whos is convinced that Edward Fosca, a Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, is a murderer. The professor is very well liked among the staff and students, especially the secret society of young woman known as The Maidens. However, when one member of the Maidens, who also happens to be a friend of Mariana’s niece, is found murdered, Mariana soon suspects that Edward must have been involved. When another body is found, her obsession with proving his guilt grows out of control, but Mariana is determined to stop the killer no matter what it costs. This book sounds absolutely perfect for me! Aside from loving dark adacemia and university settings in general, I love the whole concept of the secret society. I was also intrigued by the fact that the main character is a therapist, and having studied psychology myself, I always tend to love when that is woven into a book. I’m planning to read this one within the next week or two since it is easily one of my highest priority books to get to this year, and this month seems like the perfect time to pick it up.
4) For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
This is another book that was right at the top of my priority list for this year, and another one that I’m planning to read very soon. This one is about a teacher named Teddy who works at the esteemed Belmont Academy, where he has been named Teacher of the Year. Teddy just wants the parents and his colleagues to stay out of his way while he pushes his students to reach their full potential, even after a parent dies under circumstances that suggest murder and students begin digging into Teddy’s life. The more I read the synopsis, the more this one gives me You (by Caroline Kepnes) vibes for some reason, probably because there is an emphasis on the character trying to push those around him to fit his idea of what they should be. I’ve already read this author’s previous two books this year, and really enjoyed them both, so I’m really looking forward to this one too. This book alone was enough to make Samantha Downing one of my top priority authors to try this year. The second I saw the synopsis on Goodreads, I knew it was something that I just had to read. It is easily one of the books that I’m most looking forward to picking up this year, and I can’t wait to read it!
5) The Plot by Jean Hannf Korelitz
Technically, I’m not sure this book quite fits the definition of Dark Academia as closely as the others on this list, but I think it’s close enough. This one is about a promising novelist named Jacob Finch Bonner, who is stuck teaching at a third-rate program and struggling with the fact that he has not written or published anything in years, after the moderate success of his first book. When his most arrogant student Evan announces that he does not need any of Jake’s help because the plot he has is so good, Jacob is prepared to dismiss it until he hears the idea. Jacob prepares himself for the huge success of Evan’s book, but is shocked to learn that Evan died before it could be published. Assuming that Evan had never even completed writing the book before he died, Jacob decides that his idea is a story that must be told, and takes it upon himself to write and publish it, garnering all the praise and fame for it until an email arrives accusing him of being a thief. Determined to hide the truth from his readers and the publisher, Jacob begins to learn more about Evan’s life and what the real story was behind his ideas. This sounds like such a cool premise for a thriller, and it was another book that jumped straight to the top of my list as soon as I saw it. It’s definitely not quite as “dark academia” as the others, but it is still school-themed with some dark elements so I think it still almost fits.
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