5 Great 2016 Boarding School YAs

Going Geek, by Charlotte Huang
Skylar Hoffman loves her high school experience in a way most teens can only dream of. After all, she has got the greatest friends, greatest dorm, and greatest boyfriend, all wrapped up in a perfect boarding-school package. But between her family’s financial troubles and a new student horning in on her old life, nothing about her senior year is going as she expected, especially since she’s been shunted off to “the weird dorm,” where their idea of a social event is a girl throwing a rave for herself on a weekly basis. The more Skylar tries to claw back into her old life, the more she realizes it no longer fits, and that the key to happiness (and her future) may lie in embracing an entirely new definition of cool. Huang (For the Record) once again uses a fairly common YA trope to showcase a unique character arc that kept me on my toes and put her on my insta-read list.

Lucy and Linh, by Alice Pung
The most competitive ticket among Lucy’s peers is a free ride to exclusive private school Laurinda, and when she surprises everyone by winning it, she know she has to be a model student if she wants to hold tight to this chance at a better future. So begins the process of distancing herself from everything and everyone in order to dull her sharp edges and fit in with “The Cabinet,” the cool clique at school…even when it means constantly being exposed to microaggressions, white saviors, and straight-up mean girls of every age. For Lucy, the daughter of hardworking Chinese immigrants in Australia by way of Vietnam, the price of survival at Laurinda might be too high, but is it higher than the price of tearing it all down? This is definitely the most literary of the bunch, and full of thoughtful introspection, and it’s also one of the best explorations of racial and socioeconomic diversity I’ve ever seen in a private school (if not technically boarding school) YA, so if that’s your jam like it is mine, this is a must-read.

As I Descended, by Robin Talley
Double, double, toil and trouble…Macbeth gets a seriously unique and clever twist in Talley’s newest, a boarding school–set ghost story in which the titular character and Lady McB—Maria and Lily, respectively—are a secret power couple willing to do anything to win Maria a prize that will enable them to stay together after high school. But the matter isn’t as simple as taking down one girl, not when they invite spirits into their world and powerlessly watch them wreak havoc in the school, destroying everyone in their wake and putting Maria, Lily, and their friends (also queer—this book is so queer, I love it. Four queer narrators.) in grave danger. Even if you know Macbeth like the back of your favorite cereal box, the delight of watching how Talley plays with its themes in this fabulous setting is something glorious to behold. Plus, it’s chilling and creepy as hell and the perfect Halloween read.

A Study in Charlotte, by Brittany Cavallaro
With their ancestors being among the most famous literary pairings of all time, Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes were destined to find each other, especially with them attending the same boarding school. But Holmes has no interest in buddying up with Watson or anyone else…until one of their classmates is murdered and they’re the prime suspects. Now the two must work together to clear their names, and can’t help growing closer in the process. This definitely showcases a darker side of boarding school, with Holmes sharing a similar addiction with her namesake, and if you’re as big a fan as I am, you’re in luck: part two in the trilogy, The Last of August, releases in February, and yes that is August Moriarty, who just happens to be part of Charlotte’s past.

Without Annette, by Jane B. Mason
Josie is counting down the minutes until she and her girlfriend can finally start at their new boarding school, away from Annette’s alcoholic mother. But Annette doesn’t share Josie’s visions of rooming together or being out and proud. For her, it’s a chance to be someone different, to fit in with the cool crowd, including her roommate. Josie finds her own way to enjoy Brookwood, making friends with a group of guys who go for dangerous sojourns in the tunnels beneath the school. But above ground, Annette’s getting into far more dangerous things, that just may pull her and Josie apart for good. If you love books that really work with the boarding school setting and the way each has its own secrets and lore, Mason’s debut YA may just be your fave.