Welcome back to school, y'all! Statistically speaking, chances are overwhelming that you don't really want to be there, or anywhere near it. If you are the Hermione sort of outlier and this does not apply to you - then you're lucky and kudos to your friends and teachers/professors.

 If, however, you're more of a Ron and could do without homework, competition and the overwhelming pressures of schooldom - there's good news. If you grab the right sort of book - you don't have to put up with any of it. (Though it should be said that we, of course, don't condone reading in class. Uhm. Officially. We absolutely never, ever, 100%, cross-our-hearts did anything of the sort. Whoever told you otherwise is lying.)

 In fact, to underscore the whole adage of fictional life beating real life 9 out of 10 times, school in fiction (especially of the YA variety) tends to be a lot more interesting than the schools we are used to. 

 So this week we're linking up with The Broke & The Bookish's Top 10 Tuesday prompts and sharing our favorite back-to-school reads... which happen to take place in schools far superior to most real ones.

 Don't call it masochism - call it escapism.




1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling


Picked by: BOTH!

Come on. You knew this was coming based on the intro alone. As a book that spoke to a generation of students who desperately hoped to flee their own schools in favor of Hogwarts ("I'd study every day and always do my homework on time, if only it could be in Defense Against The Dark Arts instead of Calculus II, I swear!!!"), the Harry Potter series, Hogwarts, and all they stand for will forever be #1 on any and all bookish-school lists.






2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Picked by: Natalie

I wanted to put Lola and the Boy Next Door in here too but it's less of a school environment than Anna. Anyway, we all know this book and we're no stranger to Perkins' cute story set in a boarding school in Paris, but how can we not put this one? It's the go-to book for me when I'm feeling down, and I just feel like I'm part of Anna's little bubble which is an instant mood-lifter. Why did I not go to this school, and where was there no Etienne St Clair? Oh well, we can all live vicariously through Anna and go back to school in style - Parisian style.



3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Picked by: Lexie

If introvert-honoring books had a club (implying that they get together and enjoy social activities; haha; no), Fangirl would be their queen. And Cath, the protagonist, would be their official spokesperson. Because not only does the shy, socially anxious fanfiction-star have to make the rough transition from high school to college - she also has to cope with her twin sister's sudden abandonment, a public dorm, a boisterous roommate, the horrors of navigating a giant cafeteria, pretentious professors, and just about all the growing pains that newly-minted adults face which render them 100% sure that they are by no means adults of any sort. Plus, Cath's passion for writing and her writing struggles feel entirely too familiar, and more than entirely too relatable.




4. The D.U.F.F by Kody Keplinger

Picked by: Natalie

I don't care what anyone says, I love this book. I know it's not well loved on Tumblr and what not, but I don't care what anyone says - this is one of my favies.
Kody writes about a girl called Bianca who has been told she is the D.U.F.F of her friendship group - which I'm sure you know what it means as it's on the cover. Set in a high school, it shows the vulnerability of a girl who is struggling to really understand who she is and going through some tough times in her life. High School can be a cruel place, but reading about it from Bianca's dry, sarcastic P.O.V is always fun.


5. Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Picked by: Lexie

In most high schools, your peers only think you're crazy. But in Mara Dyer's case, they may very well be right. #awkward Because on top of a truly gruesome Spanish teacher, having to fit in at a new high school, her generally unabomber-level solitary nature and the awfulness of the rest of her class, Mara Dyer is... well, unbalanced. Or possibly she has murderous superpowers. For most of the book, it's hard to tell. But Mara has to navigate it all while keeping up with homework, exams, overbearing parents and antipsychotics - making her every bit like the rest of us and utterly relatable as a consequence. (What do you mean, not everyone is on antipsychotics?)



6. P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Picked by: Natalie

Of course I was going to put a Kasie West book in here, are you mental? I adore her books. You open them up and bunnies, rainbows and glitter flies out of them, you can't hate them. Well, some people might but I don't trust those kind of people (I'm just kidding)
Anyway, Kasie gives us a cute story of two people who communicate by writing letters to each other in their chemistry class, and really talk about the deep stuff with no idea who the other person is. Turns out - they do know each other and they're not really friends in real life*gasp*
I know, it might sound cheesy and it's really obvious going into the book who they are, but still. I loved it, and I highly recommend her books for a quick, fluffy and cheerful read.




Picked by: Lexie

It's every bit as whimsical as the title suggests. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is a book about a girl and a secret society who team up to wreak havoc in a prep school in New England. It is a book. About mayhem. On campus. Not that we're suggesting you should do anything with that. But just putting that out there. (Also, this is the unprecendented feminist YA heavyweight champion. If you're a feminist, you need to read it. If not, you still need to read it. It's just one of those things.)
8. Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Picked by: Natalie

Going into a more emotional recommendation here but Slammed is one of the books that came to mind when I thought 'school'. The story revolves around a student and a trainee teacher who develop feelings for one another but can't act upon it. Why? He teaches her poetry class. Will is only 21 but he has a lot of things on his shoulders and can't risk losing his job for a girl. Or will he? *dramatic music*
Slammed is about poetry readings, romance and family, and if you're not shedding at least 1 tear during this book, I'll be surprised. Well, I found it sad anyway.
This one of Colleen's best books and I highly recommend it if you're looking for something to pull at the heartstrings. 


9. Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Picked by: Lexie

The titular protagonist of Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is: an oddball, an outcast, a bit of a drama geek, humorous, loyal, blackmailed and gay. (That escalated quickly.) While most of the rest of us may not necessarily be all of the above (blackmailed at least, hopefully) - Simon is every bit the sum of our parts: infinitely relatable and in search of both himself and others who would appreciate said self... all in a difficult and sometimes unforgiving high school environment.

10. The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

Picked by: Natalie

Technically this series is set in a spy school but a school is still a school. I read these books so long a go but I do remember enjoying them a lot. They were a lot of fun, nothing to be taken too seriously, and although there's a lot of books in the series, they're nice to read if you get the chance. It's a coming of age-type book with a lot of humour, relatable characters, action and some cool spy training! 
I know this series isn't a masterpiece but Ally's books are a guilty pleasure.





Now, we aren't saying you should pick any of these up in lieu of a textbook per se... we are merely pointing out how much more interesting they are than a lot of current textbooks. #StayInSchoolKids We are, needless to say, feeling particularly Weasleyish about school as of late, and the blog is our outlet.

But talk to us, pumpkins! What are your favorite books with a school(ish) setting? And what are you known to routinely pick up around the time the school starts? Are you in the mood for books set in a school, or books set far, far away from it? Leave us a comment below and let us know.