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When I was writing a bookish list post recently, I noticed just how many elite boarding school YA novels there were! The term ‘elite boarding school’ popped up so many times in different synopsis and you can bet by golly I added them to my TBR.

I do love a story set in a boarding school. It probably goes all the way to books like the Mallory Towers series by Enid Blyton, which I read when I was pre-teen/middle-grade. Perhaps it was this idea that going to boarding school would be a superb idea, and it’s probably hard to find someone who didn’t like the idea of boarding school at least once in their early teen and teenage years.

At the writing of this blog post, some of these books are yet to be released. But here are 10 elite boarding school ya novels to add to your TBR if you’re a stucker for boarding school books like me.

Elite Boarding School YA Novels to add to your TBR

Keep It in the Dark by Justin Arnold
Royal Heirs Academy by Lindsey Duga
The Wilde Trials by Mackenzie Reed
The Afterdark by E. Latimer
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
XOXO by Axie Oh
The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Keep It in the Dark by Justin Arnold
ISBN: 1915585201
on December 3, 2024
Goodreads

Rowan Young knew where his life was heading.The headmaster’s son and golden boy of elite Vermont boarding school Mockingbird Prep, Rowan was set to inherit a legacy passed down through generations of forefathers.Until a strange new student arrives to derail those plans.

Casper Belamy didn’t ask to be a vampire.But now that he is one, all he wants is to travel the world looking for more of his kind.Before he can do that, he must accomplish an impossible task set forth by his adoptive family of vampiric royals: prove he can keep their kind safe and finish high school without being discovered.

If controlling his thirst wasn’t hard enough, he is forced to share a dorm with the headmaster’s son. And despite their instant dislike for one another, Casper can’t ignore the mouth-wateringly delicious scent of Rowan’s blood.
When bitter fights become late night rendez-vous, forbidden romance blossoms in the shadows. Facing a fearful world that would rather they stay hidden, Rowan and Casper contend with an onslaught of troubles: Rowan’s father is breathing down his neck, the safety of Casper’s new-found family is on his shoulders, and a secret society of slayers threatens to destroy everything.

Vampires, boarding schools … I’m sorry. Sign me up! This one doesn’t come out until December 2024, but I’ve already added it to the tbr list!

Royal Heirs Academy by Lindsey Duga
ISBN: 031657869X

For fifty years, King Leander Eldana has ruled Ashland without naming an heir to the crown. After sending away his grandchildren to be raised out of the public eye, it’s finally time to secure his nation’s future by appointing one definitive heir. The best way to appraise his successor? In the halls of Almus Terra Academy, a boarding school infamous for breeding the world’s next generation of leaders—and liars.

Titus Eldana has always known he’d inherit Ashland’s future. Now he must prove he has what it takes. Alaric Eldana was not raised with a silver spoon. His secondhand clothes might not be fit for a king, but he knows how to rule with his fist. Emmeline Eldana only wants to please her neglectful parents. If that means securing the crown, she won’t hesitate to destroy anyone in her way. Sadie Aurelia has no idea why she’s been given a chance to bring new blood to the throne. With nothing left to lose back home, she’s ready to take it.

This one has been described ‘Hippie Hogwarts’by Vanity Fair and also has been likened to American Royals meets Elite, the TV show. While I haven’t read American Royals, I have watched and really enjoyed Elite, so I’m looking forward to picking this one up when it’s released in January 2025.

The Wilde Trials by Mackenzie Reed
ISBN: 0063287641

Chloe Gatti will do whatever it takes to win her elite boarding school’s annual competition, the Wilde Trials. In the two weeks leading up to graduation from Wilde Academy, a dozen seniors are chosen to compete in a series of seven ultimate physical and mental tests, and the winner will take home over half a million dollars—money that Chloe needs to help her sick sister.

But the competition is fierce and includes her brooding ex-boyfriend, Hayes Stratford, whose brother was the only student to die during the trials a few years ago. When someone starts blackmailing Chloe during the competition, she’s forced to strike a deal with Hayes—if he helps her discover who is sabotaging her, she’ll help him solve the mystery his brother left behind.

Following clues from Hayes’s brother, the unlikely allies discover that something isn’t right about the Wilde Trials. With a life-changing prize looming over her head and her buried feelings for Hayes rising to the surface, Chloe will have to decide what’s really worth fighting for, and if the cost of competing outweighs the potential consequences, even if that includes ending up like Hayes’s brother—dead.

Okay now we have an elite boarding still with a competition. And one that sounds pretty bonkers! I am absolutely here for it!

The Afterdark by E. Latimer
ISBN: 1774882248
on 7 January 2025

Northcroft is an elite boarding school with a deadly secret. Each night as the bell tolls and the shutters slam down, cutting off the outside world, the Afterdark descends, turning the surrounding old growth forest into a macabre copy of itself. A negative photograph crawling with horrors.

Evie Laurent is certain of one thing from the moment she sees Holland Morgan on the front steps of Northcroft: she wants to know everything there is to know about her. But there are some things about Evie herself that are better kept secret. Especially the fact that she let her sister drown. And that it's getting harder to ignore her dark impulses . . .

Holland Morgan knows falling for Evie is just one more terrible choice in her long history of terrible choices. The problem is, she's not sure she cares. As attraction turns slowly to obsession, they find themselves playing a dangerous game. Something out there is calling to each of them. Beckoning to the shadows within. Do they fight the call and protect one another, or answer, and embrace the darkness?

While this one sounds like a horror, I’m actually super intrigued by it. Horror usually isn’t my genre (sometimes I don’t mind some spooky reads, but most of the time I save it for October and spooky season), but honestly … this description has got me interested!

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
ISBN: 0062338064
on 2018-12-04
Goodreads

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.”

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

Now we’re on to a book that I have read already and loved. If you haven’t picked up the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson, what are you waiting for? Truly Devious is the first in a series, and I honestly could read this entire series again and still love it.

XOXO by Axie Oh
ISBN: 0063025019
Published by HarperTeen
on 13 July 2021
Pages: 352
Goodreads

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.

Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

Music boarding school making an appearance with XOXO. This one is set in an elite arts academy in South Korea, and while this one has been out for several years now, I actually haven’t read it. You betcha it’s gone on the list now!

The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross
ISBN: 0062471341
on 6 February 2018
Pages: 439
Goodreads

When her seventeenth summer solstice arrives, Brienna desires only two things: to master her passion and to be chosen by a patron.

Growing up in the southern kingdom of Valenia at the renowned Magnalia House should have prepared her. While some are born with a talent for one of the five passions—art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge—Brienna struggled to find hers until she chose knowledge. However, despite all her preparations, Brienna’s greatest fear comes true: she is left without a patron.

Months later, her life takes an unexpected turn when a disgraced lord offers her patronage. Suspicious of his intent, she reluctantly accepts. But there is much more to his story, for there is a dangerous plot to overthrow the king of Maevana—the rival kingdom of Valenia—and restore the rightful queen, and her magic, to the northern throne. And others are involved, some closer to Brienna than she realizes.

With war brewing, Brienna must choose whose side she will remain loyal to—passion or blood. Because a queen is destined to rise and lead the battle to reclaim the crown. Who will be that queen?

With gorgeous description and detailed rendering of a world where not everything is what it seems, debut author Rebecca Ross weaves an intricate tale of revenge, loyalty, and, ultimately, self-discovery.

Perhaps less ‘elite’ more ‘fantasy house’ The Queen’s Rising takes place in Magnalia House, where there are talents like art, music, drama, wit and knowledge. It might not quite fit in with this blog post, but it is a fantasy take on the whole house/school idea.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
ISBN: 1250135028
on 6 October 2015
Pages: 522
Goodreads

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen.

That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.

Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

Another magical one to add to your TBR, is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. A school of magicks where the main character is a seemingly-failing Chosen One who has a vampire for a roommate … honestly if that one sentence doesn’t make you want to pick it up, I can’t help you. I loved this book a lot, and I think I’ve read it three times.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
ISBN: 1595143602
on 16 August 2007
Pages: 332
Goodreads

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger... and the Strigoi are always close by.

Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never once let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever...

A classic in the fantasy elite school sort of genre, is Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. This has also been turned into a TV show, and while I read the book way back in the day (at the height of vampires haha), and didn’t love it that much, apparently the TV show is quite good, so I need to check it out.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
ISBN: 1408309513
Published by Orchard Books
on 25 April 2006
Pages: 309
Goodreads

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school - typical, that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but it's really a school for spies.

Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man seven different ways with her bare hands, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl.

Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with skill of a real "pavement artist" - but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Another one of those elite boarding school ya novels that came out in the mid-2000s is I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter. I’m late to the part on this one and haven’t read it, but have heard good things! Perhaps I need to pick it up … let me know if you’ve read it and what you thought!

I’ve read a couple of these already, but the rest are on the list, for sure. I hope that these elite boarding school ya novels are ones that you can add to your tbr lists, too. And do let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these ones, or what other boarding school books you’d recommend!