Novels About Education for Back to School Season
For students, parents, and teachers, the fall back-to-school season is one of the most defining periods of the year. And no matter what phase of life you are in, fall is the perfect time to read books set in and around schools.
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We’ve compiled a wide range of adult fiction books about education, including discussion-worthy novels set in schools, books about people seeking to further their education, humorous stories involving parents of school-aged children, romance books featuring a character in education, and academic mysteries. At the end of the list, you’ll also find a few bonus memoirs and non-fiction books set in and around schools.
While there are endless excellent YA novels about the high school and college experience, we’ve instead focused this list on back-to-school books for adults. We also have a list of highly-rated books featuring teenage main characters that you might like if you are looking for other perspectives.
Book Club Fiction Set in Schools
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
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Book Summary
Born with ocular albinism, Sam Hill is a young boy whose rare red eyes cause problems from the moment his mother enrolls him at the Our Lady of Mercy school.
Labeled “Hell Boy,” he is bullied not only by his classmates but also given a hard time by the nun who is the principal at his elementary school. Eventually, Sam finds the new best friend he desperately needs in Ernie Cantwell, the only African American boy in his class, and years later in a fiercely individual girl named Mickie.
As an adult, Sam is a respected ophthalmologist moving through life with Ernie and Mickie still by his side. His world is about to be upturned when he’s unexpectedly reunited with the biggest schoolyard bully from his past.
The Book Girls Say…
We both rated this novel five stars and recommend it to everyone! Angela especially loved the audiobook version, which the author himself narrates.
True Biz
Book Summary
Set at the River Valley School for the Deaf, this novel transports you into the Deaf community. It gives insight into a culture that hearing families rarely get a chance to understand, with compelling characters along the way.
New student Charlie is stuck between the worlds of hearing and Deaf. She’s never been around other deaf people before and is trying to figure out what choices are right and wrong for her.
Meanwhile, the school’s headmistress is a CODA (child of deaf adult) who has her own problems, including a mother with dementia and an unhappy wife.
The Book Girls Say…
After reading this book, we also recommend watching the movie CODA. You’ll see similar struggles as a character struggles to find her place between the hearing world and her Deaf family. It would be a great discussion to compare the character choices and feelings between the book and the movie.
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The Sunshine Girls
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Book Summary
This dual-timeline novel opens in 2019 at the funeral for BettyKay in a small town in Iowa. BettyKay’s daughters are shocked when Hollywood movie star Kitty Devereaux walks in and places something into their mother’s casket. Over the course of the weekend, BettyKay’s daughters discover a whole other side to their mother as Kitty shares stories of their lifelong friendship, which all began in 1967 at a St. Luke’s Nursing School in the fictional town of Greensboro, Iowa.
BettyKay grew up on a farm in the Midwest and risked everything to attend nursing school against her parents’ wishes. Her assigned roommate, Kitty, came to Iowa to escape her past in Atlanta but already had her sights set on Hollywood. The two, having little in common, became unlikely friends. Another new student, Jenny, completed their trio. Jenny had aspirations of becoming a doctor, but she knew that the combination of being a woman and being Black meant that the odds were stacked against her in the late 60s.
The bond these three women formed at their Iowa nursing school would carry them through the years as their lives led them in different directions – from the jungles of Vietnam to the movie sets of Hollywood.
The Book Girls Say…
This book is definitely a case of not judging a book by the cover. While it may look like a light summer read, this book closely examines what nursing school was like for women in the 1960s and provides a lot of discussion-worth topics.
If you are interested in reading about the nursing school experience in the 1880s, pick up The Nurse’s Secret by Amanda Skenandore.
The Island of Worthy Boys
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Book Summary
Life in late nineteenth-century Boston is tough, and Aiden and Charles struggle each day to earn enough money to feed themselves (and in Aiden’s case, also his mother and sister). The two adolescent boys survive the wicked Boston streets by forming an alliance. Together, they rob drunken sailors in the brothel district, but things go wrong one night. They accidentally kill their target.
To avoid arrest, the boys flee the city and con their way into the Boston Farm School. In 1889, this school only accepted boys with squeaky-clean pasts (certainly not those with criminal records), which made it the perfect hiding place for Aiden and Charles. But soon, they struggle to keep their stories straight. The pressure damages their friendship and puts their futures at risk.
The Book Girls Say…
The Boston Farm School was a real school established in 1833 on Thompson Island in Boston Harbor. Its goal was to provide at-risk boys with a home and education, focusing on practical skills like agriculture and industry. Today, the school has been converted into the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center. Thousands of Boston middle school students visit it each year to learn about science and nature.
Novels About Seeking Education
The Girl With the Louding Voice
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Book Summary
Adunni is a 14-year-old girl living in poverty in a Nigerian village. She loves school and knows that learning all she can is the key to achieving a better life. But, despite promising to allow Adunni’s schooling to continue after her mother’s death, Adunni’s father makes a decision that ends her education in the village and changes the trajectory of her life.
You’ll be moved to both tears and cheers as Adunni endures and overcomes heartbreaking challenges while remaining focused on her dream of an education.
The Book Girls Say…
Nothing makes you appreciate back-to-school season more than seeing how much some people must endure to gain access to education. We would both give this one more than 5 stars if we could!
We’ve been hoping for years that Nigerian native, Abi Daré would write a sequel. In August of 2024, her new book, And So I Roar, was released. It picks up when she is 15 years old, and the husband she escaped is searching for her. Again, she will need to use her louding voice to protect herself and others in her village.
While we didn’t experience this ourselves, some readers struggle with the dialect in either audio or written form, but find that the other form works well for them (ie: if the audio isn’t working for you, try reading and vice versa). The main character, Adunni, tells the story using her limited English, and one of the beautiful parts of the writing is that you can see her improvements over time.
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Book Summary
Nikki is the daughter of Indian immigrants raised in a traditional Sikh community in England. After dropping out of law school, she spends her time in cosmopolitan West London tending bar at a local pub.
When her family is in need of financial assistance, she impulsively agrees to take on a part-time job teaching creative writing at a Punjabi coummity center. It turns out, however, that the women enrolled in the class are primarily Sikh widows hoping to gain basic English fluency.
Though they need to learn beginner skills, these women don’t want to be taught using resources designed for young children. When one of the widows find a book sexy stories in English and shares it with her classmates, Nikki realizes that despite beneath their modest white dupattas, these women are filled with both memories and fantasies. In hopes of liberating them, Nikki helps the widows to unleash their creativity and express their untold stories.
Soon more women join the class and they all must be careful not to attract the attention of the Brotherhood – a group of conservative young men who act as the community’s self-appointed “moral police.”
When the gossip among the women reveals shocking insights into the death of a modern young wife in the community, it sparks a scandal that puts them all in danger.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel is filled with warmth, charm, and humor. Keep in mind that the book has a lot of characters, which some readers say makes it challenging to follow, so consider making notes if that helps you.
The School of Essential Ingredients
Book Summary
Every Monday night, eight students gather in Lillian’s restaurant for a cooking class. Each of them are searching for more than just food technique, they also need a new recipe for life. From a young mother to a widower, the students have unique backgrounds and different challenges in life.
The aromas, flavors, and texture of Lillian’s food slowly transform the lives of her students. As the characters begin to intertwine, the depth of what can be created in the kitchen is revealed.
The Book Girls Say…
Going back to school can take many different forms. This novel might just inspire you to sign up for a class and pursue an interest or passion that you’ve been putting off for later.
If you enjoy this novel, you can revisit the characters in the sequel, The Lost Art of Mixing.
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Parents Behaving Badly
The Gifted School
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Book Summary
This juicy contemporary drama focuses on four families that have been friends since their children were born. However, secrets and resentments were buried along the way.
Early in the book, we are introduced to each of these families as they discuss a new, exclusive school that will be opening in the town of Crystal, Colorado (which many readers will recognize as a slightly fictionalized version of Boulder, CO). What starts as good intentions is quickly derailed by very questionable actions as they each fight to get their kids into the new school. These ambitious parents will go to any length to secure a spot for their children. Along the way, secrets and lies will resurface in explosive ways.
This novel explores issues of talent versus privilege, achievement versus potential, and the pursuit of prestige at any cost.
The Book Girls Say…
This book is on the longer side, and it may take several chapters to keep the large cast of characters straight, but it’s worth sticking with it, and the narration is well done if you enjoy audiobooks! The storyline may be most relatable to parents of school-aged kids. Angela and her husband both enjoyed it!
For another story of an overly competitive parent behaving badly, consider Where the Grass is Green and the Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger (author of The Devil Wears Prada). This novel is a fictionalized take on the 2019 college admissions scandal and is told from both the POV of the parents as well as the daughter caught in the middle. Although the Goodreads rating is a bit lower, Angela gave this one 4 stars for its “ripped from the headlines” insights.
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Class Mom
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Book Summary
Class Mom is a light and entertaining novel about the life of a 40-something mom in a large suburb southwest of Kansas City. She also has two daughters in college, as well as a son in kindergarten.
If you’ve ever done a little eye-rolling when dealing with other parents at your child’s school, this is the book for you. Former rockstar groupie Jen is bamboozled into being the class mom for her daughter’s kindergarten class. Her emails recruiting other parent volunteers are full of the things you wish you could say, but hopefully wouldn’t.
The Book Girls Say…
This fun, irreverent book will make you laugh out loud as long as you don’t take it too seriously. If you’re not a fan of snark, sarcasm, or adult language, skip it. It’s total satire and not a deep novel, but sometimes, that’s just what we need!
If you enjoy the book, you’re in luck because it’s the first in a series of four books that follow the main character up through the years as her son goes through elementary school and on to middle school.
If you’ve ever watched Live with Kelly & Ryan (or Regis/Michael) in the mornings, the author of this book is Gelman’s wife, Laurie.
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Big Little Lies
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Book Summary
This novel tells the intertwined tale of three moms whose children attend the same primary school in suburban Sydney.
Forty-year-old Madeline is funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is beautiful, but the illusion of perfection comes at a price. Single mom Jane is new to town and has a mysterious past. She’s so young that other moms mistake her for a nanny.
The three women at the heart of this story are very different, but a schoolyard scandal threatens to expose each of their lies.
The Book Girls Say…
After reading, be sure to watch the TV series adaptation starring Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz! But keep in mind that the series is set in California rather than Australia.
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Books With Characters in Their 40s
Schooled
Book Summary
Jack Parker became a stay-at-home dad after his career went up in smoke (he accidentally burned down his office building). His daughter has just started school, and Jack finally feels like he’s gotten the hang of parenting. Things are going smoothly until his high school nemesis, Chad, moves to town.
When Jack learns that Chad is running for a seat on the school board, it brings up memories of their old high school rivalry. Jack decides to run against Chad, but parent politics prove more cutthroat than he ever imagined.
The Book Girls Say…
We were excited to find a school-themed novel written from a dad’s point of view. Reviewers praise the laugh-out-loud moments in the book and specifically enjoy that the ending is not predictable.
This also feels like a perfect book to read during the fall election season without the stress of national political debates.
Romance Books Featuring a Character in Education
What You Wish For
Book Summary
Samantha is a school librarian who loves her job at her current school and who has a bold zest for life…but she hasn’t always been that way. Duncan, the new school principal is very regimented and unwilling to stray from the rules…but he hasn’t always been that way.
Sam and Duncan have met before. They worked together at another school years ago, back when they were both very different people. When Duncan takes over as the new principal at Sam’s school, she’s shocked to discover that the fun-loving guy she remembers has turned into a completely different person – one she’s afraid will ruin everything she loves about her loving and welcoming school community.
As things spiral out of control, Sam and Duncan are forced to get real with one another and reveal the traumas from their pasts to save the school – and themselves.
The Book Girls Say…
The first few chapters of What You Wish For may have you convinced that you’ve picked up just another romance, but as the story unfolds you’ll find so much more.
Katherine Center’s writing captures the bittersweet struggles of real-life and the two main characters are each struggling with traumatic pasts. You’ll alternate between laughing out loud and reaching for the tissues, but this story is ultimately uplifting.
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My Oxford Year
Book Summary
Twenty-four year old Ella Durran earned a Rhodes Scholarship, allowing her to fulfill her lifelong dream of studying literature at Oxford University. At the same time, she’s also been offered a position working for the political campaign of a rising political star. She works out an arrangement to work remotely from England, with the plan to return to Washington D.C. at the end of her Oxford year.
Things get off to a rough start on her first day when she has a run-in with a smart-mouthed local. And things get even worse when she discovers that the same man – Jamie Davenport – is also the professor of her English literature course.
During a night out with her classmates filled with drinks and poetry, she discovers an unexpected connection with Jamie. Her classmates warn her about his reputation, but she can’t help how she feels.
The two begin their relationship understanding the timeline – Ella is set to leave as soon as the semester ends. But things quickly become more complicated and Ella is forced to decide what her heart really wants.
The Book Girls Say…
Julia Whelan has long been one of our favorite audiobook narrators, but we were excited to discover that she’s also a very talented author with degrees in English and creative writing from Middlebury College and Oxford University. We both loved her novel, Thank You for Listening, and we’re now eager to read (or listen to) her debut novel, My Oxford Year. If you enjoy audiobooks, give this one a listen – Julia narrates it herself.
Readers describe this book as clever and sassy, but also warn that it will break your heart. It’s perfect for fans of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes.
If you’re looking for a bit of a lighter romantic comedy set at Oxford University, consider reading The Royal We by Heather Cocks. This novel follows American Bex Porter during a study abroad year at Oxford where one of her dormmates is none other than a prince and the future king of England.
Given Our History
Book Summary
Clara and Teddy first met at summer camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Both were homeschooled and found a connection through a shared love of literature and music. Over the years their friendship grew into love, but they had a falling out ten years ago and haven’t spoken since.
Now Clara a history professor at a private liberal arts college in Maryland – her dream job – and she’s finally up for tenure. Her world is turned upside down when Theodore is brought on for the fall semester as a visiting scholar in her department.
He may have once been her best friend, but Professor Harrison seems like a total stranger to Clara. However, as the two spend evenings working on a shared project over drinks at a college bar, Clara quickly realizes how easily she could fall for him all over again.
The Book Girls Say…
This dual-timeline contemporary romance lets readers see how the relationship between Clara and Teddy progressed in their youth juxtaposed against where they are today.
Readers say this book has a few open-door scenes, but that the spice level is pretty low.
Play for Me
Book Summary
Sophie had it all – a dream job as the head athletic trainer for the Red Sox, a handsome boyfriend, and a great life in Boston. But when she loses all three (along with the World Series), she is desperate for another job.
She takes a position as a trainer at an arts-focused boarding school in New Hampshire. She’s completely out of her element. To these high school students, a “play” is A Chorus Line, but when she hears “play,” she only thinks of a walk-off homer. Sophie is used to working with pro athletes, but she soon discovers that these students also have big-time talent and equally big-time problems.
After moving to the campus, she’s forced to live with three male roommates in a closet-sized bedroom. To make matters more complicated, one of the men is a very handsome grump.
The Book Girls Say…
If you’re looking for more romance books set in the fall, we’ve got a full book list just for you! Additionally, if you love the New England boarding school setting of this book, you may also want to check out our list of books set in New England. And finally, if you enjoy the theatre element of this story, be sure to check out our full list of theater fiction.
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Mysteries & Dark Academia
Reconstructing Amelia
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Book Summary
Kate is in the middle of an important meeting when she gets the frustrating call that her daughter has been caught cheating at her exclusive school.
When she arrives to pick Amelia up, the school is surrounded by emergency vehicles, and Kate learns that her daughter jumped to her death. At least that is what she believes until an anonymous text tells her that Amelia didn’t jump.
This suspense/mystery is a great insight into the increasing role of social media during the 2010s and the damage that comes along with it.
The Book Girls Say…
Most of the book is told from the mother’s perspective, but the entire story centers around Kate’s efforts to understand her daughter’s life. Additionally, we see the story through teenage eyes by way of the emails, text messages, and blog posts that Kate pours over as she attempts to piece together her daughter’s final days.
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The Broken Girls
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In the 1950s, Idlewild Hall was the place for girls deemed troublemakers – those who were too smart for their own good and unwanted. Rumors swirl through the small town that the boarding school is haunted. After four roommates bond over their whispered fears, one of them disappears.
Six decades later, in 2014, journalist Fiona Sheridan learns that an anonymous benefactor is restoring Idlewild Hall. She can’t stop thinking about the night twenty years earlier when her older sister was found dead in a field near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. Then, a shocking discovery during renovations links her sister’s death to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past.
The Book Girls Say…
This book is part dark academia and part ghost story. If you are looking for other books with a dark academia vibe, consider Home Before Dark and Truly Devious.
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The Secret History
Book Summary
This classic novel is set at Hampden College, a small, elite Vermont liberal arts school. Richard, an out-of-state student from California, gets pulled into a close-knit community of the classics department.
Narrator Richard tells the events that led to the death of a fellow student. He recounts the influence that a professor exerted over a group of undergrads, and the dark path of secrets and corruption that the students went down, changing all of their lives forever.
Author Donna Tartt spent her undergrad years at Bennington College in Vermont, which is speculated to be the influence for the fictional Hampden College.
The Book Girls Say…
This book received mixed reviews from our readers who selected it as their Vermont book for the Read Around the USA Challenge, but it’s widely considered a modern classic within the dark academia genre and it has a 4.2 rating on Goodreads.
Non-Fiction & Memoirs About Education & Schools
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Book Summary
The Newcomers follows twenty-two immigrant teenagers throughout the 2015-2016 school year as they land at South High School in Denver, Colorado. Ranging in age from fourteen to nineteen, most of these students came directly from refugee camps in countries plagued by war, famine, or drought.
The book follows the student’s English language education with their dedicated and creative teacher, Mr. Williams. As they get a grasp of the languages, their individual histories unfold and add faces, names, and stories to those seeking asylum.
The Book Girls Say…
The author not only gets to know the students, but also the families of those who are comfortable sharing their stories with her. This provides insights into the challenge of starting over for the parents whose education and career achievements in their home countries often mean little in the US because of the language barrier forcing them to start over in more ways than one.
Angela lives in a neighborhood adjacent to South High School and has seen the positive impacts of the Newcomer program throughout the community.
Book Summary
In this memoir, Tara Westover shares the story of her upbringing in rural Idaho. Born to survivalist parents, she grew up stewing herbs for her midwife healer mother and worked in her father’s junkyard. Her father forbade doctors and hospitals, even when she and her brothers suffered serious injuries.
She was also kept from any formal education. Although she didn’t step foot in a classroom for the first time until the age of 17, Tara worked hard to educate herself in mathematics and grammar. She was ultimately able to gain admission to BYU, where she studied history and learned about major world events, like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement, for the first time. From there, she went on to opportunities at Harvard and Cambridge.
This coming-of-age memoir details how she struggled to lift herself up and dealt with the struggle between family loyalty and the grief that comes with severing those ties in search of something more.
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Tell Me Everything
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This non-fiction book is part memoir and part literary true crime. It takes us deep inside the landmark sexual assault investigation into the University of Colorado football program through the eyes of the private investigator who helped crack the case open.
When Erika Krouse was assigned to investigate the sexual assault of a college student who was attacked by football players and recruits at a party the year before, she knows she should turn the case down because her own personal experience with sexual violence makes it feel too personal… but that’s exactly why she takes the job. Over the next five years, as the investigation grew into a national scandal and historic civil rights case, she had to struggle to win the case without losing herself too deep into it.
The Book Girls Say…
Know My Name by Chanel Miller is another excellent memoir dealing with sexual assault on a college campus. Chanel’s in depth account of her experience provides vulnerable and brave insights into the second assault that many women face in the courts and public perception.
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Book Summary
In this memoir, Liz Murray shares the story of her challenging upbringing as a child of drug-addicted parents.
Liz was frequently taunted for her dirty clothes and lice-infested hair. She began skipping classes and eventually landed in a girls’ home before living on the streets at the age of 15. She finally decided to take control of her destiny and went back to high school. She finished in just two years while studying in subway stations and riding trains all night for warmth and shelter. Against all odds, she won a scholarship and found her way to the Ivy League.
The Book Girls Say…
Angela read this inspiring memoir years ago after hearing Liz as the keynote speaker at an event she attended. It’s perfect for fans of The Glass Castle.
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Join the Fall Reading Mini Challenge
Our free self-paced reading challenge will keep you reading engaging books throughout the autumn season. To make it easy and fun, we include highly-rated book recommendations for each of the four fall reading prompts.
More Fall-Themed Books for Your TBR
If you enjoy reading books that fit the changing seasons, then be sure to check out our other fall reading lists.
- Highly-Rated and Readable 9/11 Books
- Halloween Romance Books and Rom Coms for 2024
- Halloween Mini Reading Challenge
- 21 Halloween Cozy Mysteries
- Novels About Quilting, Knitting, and Crocheting
- Fall Mini Reading Challenge
- Best Book Club Books for Fall
- Cozy Books to Read in the Fall of 2024
- 23 Cozy Fall Romance Books & Rom Coms
- 21 Must-Read Found Family Books
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