Having attended some rather unmagical schools in my life, Ive always had a soft spot for books about academies, universities, and institutes in which magic abounds. While the Harry Potter series has become the quintessential magic school reading for most, there are plenty of other fabulous standalones and series works out there set in schools somewhat removed from our own educational experiences.
The list below highlights a number of books with magic school settings, and touches on books for younger readers, teens, and also adults. As always, this list is in no way comprehensive, so feel free to comment with any relevant books we might have overlooked.
For younger readers:
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
Blurb: Mildred Hubble is the worst witch at Miss Cackles Academy for Witches shes always getting her spells wrong. But she manages to get by until she turns Ethel, the teachers pet, into her deadly enemy.
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Under the Cats Eye by Gillian Rubenstein
Blurb: Jais arrival at a new boarding school invites him to a mysterious plot. His mere entry into the school caught him between conflicting worlds filled with strange characters. As this fast-paced, gripping story unfolds, Jai must face frightening possibilities hed rather deny before he can defend himselfand others.
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A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K LeGuin
Blurb: Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea,''but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless''youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered''with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow''upon the world. This is the tale of his testing,''how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an''ancient dragon, and crossed deaths threshold to''restore the balance.
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Wizards Hall by Jane Yolen
Blurb: Poor Henry. Its not enough that his mother has sent him away from home to learn magic. Its not enough that everyone at his new school calls him Thornmallow because hes prickly on the outside, squishy within.
It s not enough that the only talent he shows at Wizards Hall is an ability to make messes of even the simplest spells. Now, when Wizards Hall is threatened by a cruel sorcerer s fearsome beast, it is up to Henry ' er, Thornmallow ' to figure out how to save not only his new friends but also the entire school for wizards.
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Circle of Magic: Sandrys Book by Tamora Pierce
Blurb: Sandry, a noble whose parents died recently, has power with thread, from spinning and weaving to simple knot-tying. Daja, a Trader, is the only survivor of a shipwreck in which her family drowned. Declared to be bad luck and banned from life with other Traders, she is free to learn to work metals and, through metal, to work magic. Tris, the merchants daughter, is no orphan, but her family doesnt want her. Briar is a street rat, a thief and convict. Only at the temple city of Winding Circle does he learn that his strange love of growing things is more than a need to garden. Brought together in a house inside the temple citys walls, watched over by the mages Lark, Rosethorn, Frostpine and Niko, the four struggle to be friends, to exercise their magic, and to survive. Each book centers on one of the four, but make no mistake: they are bound tightly together, and the events that affect each of them also strengthen their connections to one another.
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A School for Sorcery by Rose E Sabin
Blurb: Both apprehensive and excited about her new school The Lesley Simonton School for the Magically Gifted Tria Tesserel is nevertheless unprepared for her biggest shock of all: her new roommate, Lina. Impatient with rules and homework, Lina violates Simonton rules by using her power at will and against whomsoever displeases her. Unluckily for Tria, that includes her. Imperious and insufferable, Lina eggs Tria into using her power in retaliation the beginning of a sorcery civil war that lands them both in front of the furious and unamused Headmistress.
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Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
Blurb: The Wizards University is short of money. Nothing comes in from tourists any more since Mr Chesneys offworld tours have stopped. High Chancellor Querida has left Wizard Derk and his family to run the work and handsome Wizard Corkoran to run the University. Corkoran is really only interested in being the first man to walk on the moon, but he does send begging letters to the students parents. But Wizard Derks daughter Elda turns out to be a large golden griffin, King Luthers son is penniless, the Emperors sister has been disowned by the senate and the dwarf, far from owing a hoard of treasure, turns out to be a runaway slave. And then the first answer arrives: in the form of assassins The situation is definitely out of control.
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Parties & Potions'by Sarah Mlynowski
Blurb:'Perfect hair, cute clothes, healthy tans'life's a breeze when you're a witch! Even special witchcraft classes Rachel agrees to attend with Miri turn out to be fun. The sisters meet other teen witches just like them'who knew? Everyone's preparing for a magical party called a Samsorta'a debutante ball for witches. And it wouldn't be a ball without warlocks. Cute ones. Like Adam, who wants to slow dance with Rachel, and ski with her in the Rockies'on a school night! Of course, Rachel is madly in love with her boyfriend, Raf. So why can't she bring herself to tell Adam'funny, charming Adam'that Raf exists?'Rachel knows Raf likes her. Maybe even, gulp, loves her. But Raf doesn't know her secret. Unlike Adam, Raf doesn't know who she really is. And she can never tell him. Or can she?
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The Thirteenth Child'by Patricia Wrede
Blurb:'Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means hes supposed to possess amazing talent and shes supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild.
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For Teens:
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Blurb: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Its gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophies estranged fatheran elusive European warlockonly when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, its her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.'By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.'As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.
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Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey
Blurb: Sadima lives in a world where magic has been banned, leaving poor villagers prey to fakes and charlatans. A magician stole her familys few valuables and left Sadimas mother to die on the day Sadima was born. But vestiges of magic are hidden in old rhymes and hearth tales and in people like Sadima, who conceals her silent communication with animals for fear of rejection and ridicule. When rumors of her gift reach Somiss, a young nobleman obsessed with restoring magic, he sends Franklin, his lifelong servant, to find her. Sadimas joy at sharing her secret becomes love for the man she shares it with. But Franklins irrevocable bond to the brilliant and dangerous Somiss traps her, too, and she faces a heartbreaking decision.
Centuries later magic has been restored, but it is available only to the wealthy and is strictly controlled by wizards within a sequestered academy of magic. Hahp, the expendable second son of a rich merchant, is forced into the academy and finds himself paired with Gerrard, a peasant boy inexplicably admitted with nine sons of privilege and wealth. Only one of the ten students will graduate and the first academic requirement is survival.
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A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
Blurb: Teenager Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the small northern dukedom of Galazon. Too young still to claim her title, her despotic Uncle Brinker has ruled in her place. Now he demands she be sent to Greenlaw College. For her benefit he insists.To keep me out of the way, more like it! But Greenlaw is not just any school-as Faris and her new best friend Jane discover. At Greenlaw students major in . . . magic.'But its not all fun and games. When Faris makes an enemy of classmate Menary of Aravill, life could get downright . . . deadly.
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Dead Beautiful'by Yvonne Woon
Blurb:'On the morning of her sixteenth birthday, Renee Winters was still an ordinary girl.' She spent her summers at the beach, had the perfect best friend, and had just started dating the cutest guy at school.' No one shed ever known had died.' But all that changes when she finds her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, in what appears to be a strange double murder.'After the funeral Renee's wealthy grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious boarding school in Maine, where she finds herself studying subjects like Philosophy, Latin, and the 'Crude Sciences.'''It's there that she meets Dante Berlin, a handsome and elusive boy to whom she feels inexplicably drawn.' As they grow closer, unexplainable things begin to happen, but Renee can't stop herself from falling in love.' It's only when she discovers a dark tragedy in Gottfried's past that she begins to wonder if the Academy is everything it seems.''Little does she know, Dante is the one hiding a dangerous secret, one that has him fearing for her life.'Dead Beautiful'is both a compelling romance and thought-provoking read, bringing shocking new meaning to life, death, love, and the nature of the soul.
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The Salem Witch Tryouts by Kelly McClimer
Prudence Stewart had it all at Beverly Hills High: straight As, the cutest crush, and a sweet gig as captain of the cheerleading squad. Then poof! Mom and Dad announce theyre moving to Salem, Massachusetts. Turns out, Pru comes from a long line of witches and its time for her to learn the craft. Buh-bye, Beverly Hills High hello, Agathas Day School! But Prus not about to trade in her spirit stick for a broomstick! Shes sure she can keep her kewl at her new school until she discovers its all magic, all the time, and shes failing Witchcraft 101. Worst of all, even the cheerleaders bring a special spirit to their routine. As in, triple-back-somersault-with-a-twist kind of spirit.'Its time for Pru to cast a spell and prove shes just as enchanting as the next girl and somehow make cheering tryouts a flying S-U-C-C-E-S-S!
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For older readers:
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Blurb: Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, hes still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.
He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesnt bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentins fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.
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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Blurb: I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.
So begins the tale of Kvothe currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeepter from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.
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The Magicians Guild by Trudy Cananvan
Blurb: Each year the magicians of Imardin gather together to purge the city streets of vagrants, urchins and miscreants. Masters of the disciplines of magic, they know that no one can oppose them. But their protective shield is not as impenetrable as they believe. Sonea, angry, frustrated and outraged by the treatment of her family and friends, hurls a stone at the shield, putting all her rage behind it. To the amazement of all who bear witness, the stone passes unhindered through the barrier and renders a magician unconscious. The guilds worst fear has been realised There is an untrained magician loose on the streets. She must be found before her uncontrolled powers unleash forces that will destroy both her, and the city that is her home.
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Odd Magic by Patricia McKillip
Blurb: Brenden Vetchs unique gift for connecting with the agricultural environment has brought him to the attention of the enigmatic wizard Od. Recruited as a gardener, Brenden suddenly finds himself at the wizards school in Kelior, where every potential mage is required by law to serve the Kingdom of Numis. But unknown to the rulers of Numis, Brenden is far more than he seems-and his presence just may tip the balance of power back into the hands of the wizard community.
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