What are the best books you've read with magical schools?

Nevermoor series is fantastic, and definitely has magical school in books 2 and 3. It reminds me of the first two or three books of HP where you follow the kids to some classes, but there's also mischief afoot outside of the classroom.

I went a bit quick but my camera overheats and stops working after 20mins so I rushed a bit XD Getting a new one very soon!

Vita Nostra is a good book with a magical school! It's insanely weird and I think I was too stupid for the ending, but it was a cool book!

I am currently reading The sword of Kaigen since you have been recommending it so much, gotta say so far I am really liking it; got me engaged from page 1, can't wait to see where the story takes me!

Charlie Bone is a cute middle grade series with a school for kids with and without magical abilities ✨

Mother of Learning and Sufficiently Advanced Magic are two magic school books that are pretty heavily praised. They’re a lot of fun. They dive more into the exacts of the magic than a lot of other stories

Ohhh thank you so much for these recommendations! I loved A Deadly Education myself. I've been excited about the second. I quite liked the twist on the magical school 'theme'. So interesting to hear your thoughts though!

I wouldn't categorize Earthsea as YA though, at least not in the same group as... other YA. Even though it is a coming of age story, it has this almost philosophical feel to it, how it handles death, regret, growth, identity, etc. LeGuin's interest in ying/yang shows. The series basically follows Ged through his whole life, though he is not the main character in the other books besides the first one. The magical school is in no way the focus, but it is very nice and is revisited in the later books with more modern point of view. The Earthsea saga is amazing and beautiful and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy.

I read The Sword of Kaigen on your recommendation, I absolutely loved it.

I still need to read The Name of the Wind!! Not a huge fantasy reader, but that specific book has me quite intrigued!

Yes, sword of Kaigen is fantastic, one of my favorites of last year and I love Misaki as a mom and main character. Broken earth is another favorite of mine, so different but I actually really loved the 2nd person PoV.

In your upcoming video guide to Brandon Sanderson's books, could you please specify which ones would be okay to listen to as audiobooks ? It seems like the Rythmatist has illustrations that are important to the story

I always love your recommendations! ❤️

Nevermore, yes, magical schools in books two and three (three boos have been published so far). I liked book three the most.

Ouch, I love Earthsea so much. Read more Ursula LeGuin! Her SF is fantastic.

Just finished the Grisha trilogy yesterday which I had on my TBR thanks to your videos and because I hate seeing a show/movie before reading the book... I was surprised how much I liked them, really fun books!! Poppy War is another I need to read soon, maybe after Dune since that movie is coming out too!

I'm really enjoying Mage Errant series by John Bierce. In the first book all of the action takes place in a magic school, in other books we either travel with MCs or remain in school with them, but they are learning all the time. And their friendship is heartwarming! Love this series

There is a magical school setting in The Wheel of Time series. I believe it's in book 2. Also, I'd Recommend the Night Angel trilogy which I love - there's a magic school in book 3. Sabriel by Garth Nix is amazing! It begins in a school that has magic as one of it's subjects - so maybe counts? The Seventh Tower by Garth Nix was a fun, easy read. It's a middle-school aged series with a magical school setting.

Strongly recommend you read the second Magicians book. It presents a very interesting perspective on the magical school...

Omg I'm so glad you said you didn't like Ninth House because I thought I was alone, lol. I was reading it recently but had to pause. I made it 30% through and there is nothing about it that interests me. I don't think I'm ready to DNF but... we'll see what happens. I'm trying The Bear and the Nightingale now!

If you don’t mind middle grade: Amari and the night brothers was an amazing book. Can’t wait for the rest of the series.

Nevermoore is a good read :) And magical school later on yes :)

I finished The Sword of Kaigen last night and I LOVED it. Not a huge magic school focus but still deserves lots of recognition. One book I just started that I didn't expect to have a magic school setting is the self-published Along the Razor's Edge by Rob J. Hayes. It's about a 15 year old girl sent to a prison called the Pit, and there are flashbacks to her life in the magic school. She also is very angry and highly revenge-focused, though that's balanced well with the introspective narration style (she's older and telling the story to you). I'm not far but I dig it.

I need to reread Every Heart a Doorway to continue with the other books 📚 I am reading the House in the Cerulean Sea right now and though it is not technically a school setting but it is an enjoyable setting where there is a master and the kids and it is like a school somehow.

I've read everything you loved (loved also) and mostly liked (same) (with the sole exception of Jade War - I'll now be reading that soon!), and also have read most of the ones you didn't (I'll be taking Magic for Liars off the list). You summarized them all really well, I'll definitely be referring people here. Oddly, one of my favorite magic schools is in the quaint YA, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. It definitely includes typical tropes, but not in a way that bothered me. Queen of the Blood by Durst was another decent one. I've only read the first and it was a bit rapid-fire. Stretching it a little is the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews (don't let those awful covers scare you off!). There's no actual school, but the whole world feels like a magic school, if that makes sense. It's so good. I'm not sure how you'll like the romance, but imo it's easy to breeze over and just focus on all the other great things going on. Another stretch is the Spellslinger series by de Castell (YA, but from a high fantasy author, which makes a difference). And I've identified the kinds of things that make me love school settings, and the Heartstrikers and especially the spinoff DFZ trilogy by Rachel Aaron hit those same notes for me. So good! Another is the Naturals series by Barnes - it's a boarding school for kids with special abilities that help the FBI solve crimes... not magical per se, but they may as well be. Loved those too (the author is a Yale grad/turned professor with a PHD in psychology, and that definitely elevated her books). Just to add variety - you've already covered all of my ultimate favorites aside from Hex Hall that have actual school settings haha. I, uh, really love this topic. lol

Dawn of Wonder, it’s the first book in a series. Has very high reviews and I am super interested to read it.

This list is amazing! I read a lot if Fantasy and you mentioned all of the books that came to my mind for this topic and more! I wish someone could write a 5+ book series that takes place at a magical school and stays there for the majority of the plot. I was so sad that the school setting in Poppy War was over so soon, I loved that part!

You should read Tamora Pierce's Emelan series. The first four books follows four children learning magic. It's not exactly a school but it is a place where people learn magic.

I've read the other Morrigan Crow books and yes, very much magical school! They're really cute and fun, definitely one of my fave middle grades. Also HIGHLY recommend Amari and the Night Brothers! another middle grade magical school but a completely modern take on it

These were great recommendations Emily!. I actually ended up dnfing A deadly education- I just found it boring and didn't gel with the main character whatsoever which was a shame. I'll be reading The Black Prism this month.

Lobizona by Romina Garber is a YA fantasy set in a magical school. I wasn't expecting it because the description doesn't mention it at all but I really enjoyed it.

The wheel of time series has a magical school, its mentioned already in the first book but gets more and more involved in the story later on.

I read Six of Crows long before I tried The Grisha and I didn't feel like I needed to have read the trilogy beforehand. It adds to the experience if you do, but it's not really necessary

I think you would like The Queens of Renthia-series. The first book has magical school setting and the series overall is SO good. 🧡

The Keeper of the Lost Cities series, epic middle grade fantasy with a magic school setting throughout. The characters go off on adventures but we're at school for a portion of every book

Hi Emily! Thanks for your videos :) I would suggest The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay (no magical school but there's magic) and a different novel called The First 15 lives of Harry August by Claire North - not magical but a good read! :)

You could try The Queens of Renthia Series. The first book centers on a magical school of sorts. Only girls/ women can wield magic and control these dangerous magical creatures in a super creepy forest setting. You might like it :)

Oh my goodness yes, I think you have to read the S&B trilogy before you read Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom! I’m reading them for the first time now and there’s a lot more overlap than I was expecting. You definitely wouldn’t enjoy them as much without the prior knowledge

My favourite magical school book is Vita Nostra. A Kafka-esque, adult dark fantasy magical school book. It’s really cerebral and interesting, with a really great mystery. It’s got some intense themes. Lot of great recs here! Poppy Wars was so good. I’m so confused when people say they didn’t like the ending. I don’t know what they thought they were reading for three books. I didn’t make it through Assassins Apprentice at all… so so so boring.

The Magicians is my favorite trilogy so far. I almost DNF’d book one but the next two were well worth it.

I love magical school settings and The Black Mage series by Rachel E Carter is a one which I found that stays true to this trope since the first book is set completely in the magical school and upto book 3.5 it's mostly learning magic and competition stuff. Though I am not sure how you will find the romantic part of it 😂

The Magicians is my favorite book of all time!! Book 2 and 3 are also really good, but I know this series isn't for everyone.

Perhaps it's a bit of a stretch for magical schools, but I really enjoyed Red Sister by Mark Lawrence!

Oh why didn’t I know you were such a book nerd! I’ve follow your beauty page for years and found a couple of reviews in Goodreads and I was like hmm, we have similar views in some of these books. Come to find out it was you! Lol

I absolutely loved the magical school/college in the Black Magician series by Trudi Canavan (Magician's Guild - the book you mentioned near the end, the Novice etc). However, I found the books to be not that well-written (I found quite a few typos in just the first novel...) which was disappointing because the setting was awesome.

Someone mentioned Charlie Bone. Loved that series. Also a children's series called The Worst Witch is set at a magical school for witches. It has a movie with Fairuza Balk from The Craft, a tv show with a different girl from the movie and this show is so good (like a middle school/high school then she goes to a college/university later), and it was rebooted with Bella Ramsey from Game of Thrones in early seasons. I like that show too, but seems more childish than the original tv show.

For anyone who might like middle grade, the Magisterium series by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black!

My problem with Earthsea is that, to no fault of Earthsea's own, so much that came after cribbed from it, so I had read so much of what the book was putting down already. I wish I could go back in time and read it before all the books that were inspired by it, as I feel I was enjoy it quite a bit more. That said, it does have some VERY slow segments, and the sequel is SUCH a step up, I'd still recommend you read it.

Don't know if you'll like these but here are some books with magical schools : The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett The Novice by Taran Matharu It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shavarts Hope you like!

I’ve heard good things about Master of Sorrows by Justin Call. I know there is a school setting and think it is a magical school setting but may be wrong as I haven’t gotten around to reading it. 😅

I would very much like to get your opinion on a book called Stealing from Wizards by R.A. Consell. It’s YA and a magical school features prominently in both Volume1 and Volume2. Despite occasional whiffs of the Potterverse, I fell in love with the main character and his friends. It’s a fast read and only $2.99-$3.99 if you get it on Kindle.

I liked Earthsea, but I do definitely think the writing style is a bit dated. But a lot of LeGuins other books, like her sci-fi series, are really good and tend to take a social premise and explore what a world would be like under it.

I love videos like this that explore one trope across many books! IMHO, Earthsea just isn't good--it reads like the summary of a good book rather than the book itself. So it wasn't the French, it was the book.

I don't read a lot with this premis, but one of my absolute favourite series has a magic school: Book of the Stars by Erik L'Homme.

the worst witch series by jill murphy! it's a children's series(the first book was published in the 1970's)about a girl who is a witch and goes to school for it and it's silly and over the top and I love it

I just read A Deadly Education, which was pretty good.

the music changed and I was not ready for it.....The world has changed. I see it in the water. I feel it in the Earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost....

Swors of Kaigen is actually a prequel to a YA trilogy ( unfinished, and the author don't want to finish it at the moment). That's why the end of the book bring questions and new characters.

Deadly Education was more information to build the concept for the next two books that ROCK

Two unpopular series featuring magical schools are Zodiac academy and Shadowspell academy. Both have trials in them, different houses for different magic and interesting magical systems. Even though the books are sexist in tone but the main characters are females and hella strong. So it's nice to see the guys bite back their words and acknowledge the girls as the most powerful magical entities...

"The Magicians," SyFy tv show is lit. I love it. The books suck as they are set in high school, which I detest.

There’s also a magical school in Ukrainian book series “Chasodei”. It’s about people who can manipulate time

I was a little bit disappointed in the Magicians because I loved the show sooo much, it's way better in my opinion and you get to see a lot more of the school in it

I DNFed A Deadly Education after 100 pages. That has GOT to be one of the worst books I have EVER read.

Maybe a bit of a stretch, but "The House in the Cerulean Sea" was one of my recent faves.

Of the books mentioned, who would or wouldn't reccomend the audiobook version? Thanks!

A magical school plotline I really enjoyed is in the winter's promise by Christelle Dabos but it's in book 3, the whole series is worth the read though. Also, not a magical school but a magical training : the spooks apprentice by Joseph Delaney, you follow a young boy learning how to become a spook for multiple years

Thats the third video i watch and she pretty much mentions the same books in all 3 of the videos (video titles): "Best Fantasy Book Series I've Read on Booktube" " Best Magic Systems in Fantasy Books "

i thought sword of kaigen was pronounced how you'd say genshin or genghis khan etc. instead of gen like general lol. might be wrong tho.

Ninth house is my fav

I love

Guys, I need ur help. I'm starting the shadow and bone bcs I wanted to read six of crows. I got bored on book 2 but managed to finish it bcs..... Nikolai. Should I really continue to book 3? Will it get any better? Still not vibing with the main character.

I love it

I know you didn't care for this series but Nevernight is in a school type of setting...at least in the first book.

I can’t find The Sword of Kaigen anywhere!!! It’s not even available at the library. Sos!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought things about Deadly Education. I finished it and deserved a prize for doing so.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

❤️📚

A wizard of Earthsea and Naomi Novik weren't my books either.

I think the inclusion of slavery, indentured servants, and even concubines/sex slaves in the Black Prism was to help you feel conflicted, disgusted, etc. about this figure (Prism) and this entire society/government that everyone bows down to, and who everyone is supposed to believe are pure with good intentions. Instead you see that they are all conniving, self-serving jerks, who really shouldn’t be in a position of power. That’s how I interpreted it, though.

To say assassin's apprentice is meh, is a crime against humanity

Poppy War was terrible! Only one small part of the book took place in a school setting and the rest of it was military gore :(

**TW** I absolutely do NOT recommend continuing The Magicians series because of how sickening the sexist narrative is (if you thought book 1 was bad…it only gets worse). There is a gratuitous r*pe scene in book 2 that is basically used as a plot point for the male main character. And the victim of the r*pe is literally described as “being filled with power” by the r*pist’s s*men. The scene is also written very sexually and graphically as if this violation is supposed to be hot for the audience! It was handled/written sooo badly and I was left with no doubts that the author is a misogynist. I immediately dropped the book and will not read the last installment. Zero interest in what this guy has to say anymore.

At this point I just never read male author books it's always VERY sexist, it's like they can't do a book without it being problematic, also most of them are unsatisfactory

I’m surprised no one mentions how sexist The Magicians is. I got so tired of all the constant descriptions of the female characters’ bodies SPECIALLY breasts that I stopped reading 1/3 rd way in. 😡

hate jkr but will forever love hogwarts