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Autumn means changing leaves, days getting shorter, students going back to school (and parents getting them ready to do so). For those of us who have long since graduated, it can be a time to reminisce about those days of our youth. And what better way to do this than to enjoy a temperate autumnal evening with a good novel set in the hallowed halls of academe? Here are some recommendations from the Library staff:
Physically, I’m in New York City, but mentally—thanks to hours watching the Olympic and Paralympic Games—I’m still in Paris. So, I can’t help but think about Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, which not only takes place in the City of Light but takes me back to the days when the start of the school year was filled with nerves and possibility. Seventeen-year-old Anna is happy in Atlanta, until she is abruptly sent to a boarding school in Paris. While there, she begins to adjust to a new educational setting, a different culture, and new friends. And as she explores the city and settles into this unexpected life, she discovers that where we’re meant to be isn’t always about the place, but the people. Going to school has never been so charming.
--Michelle Andreani, Children's and Young Adult Library Assistant
The first school-related book that came to mind was one that I remember loving when I was a kid: The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. It follows Miri, a fourteen-year-old girl from a mountain village, who, after it is announced that the prince will marry a girl from the mountain, joins the other girls as they attend a new “princess academy” to prepare them for possible royal life. This is a story of community, friendship, and the importance of education, with a little magic sprinkled in, because of course fantasy school > real school. There are two additional books in the series, Princess Academy: Palace of Stone and Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters.
I haven't read these ones, but a couple books for adults set in school that came into the library recently are Practice by Rosalind Brown (character-focused account of a single day in a college student's life while she attempts to write an essay about Shakespeare's sonnets) and The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton (boarding school dark academia vibes).
--Leah Freeman, Catalog Librarian
Going back to school can be unsettling and mysterious, and it’s a topic that many crime writers have explored. Megan Abbott is one of my favorite contemporary noir novelists, and she brings not only a deep love and knowledge of the genre to her work, but also a critical eye. Not content to repeat past tropes, she loves to examine the darkest roots of an already dark genre. It helps to know that her background is as an academic, and her first book publication was her Ph.D. dissertation, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir (2002). After her first few period-piece novels, she thrust noir into the contemporary suburbs with The End of Everything (2011), and it's here that I feel like Abbott's unique noir vision came into focus: dimly lit alleys were exchanged for white-picket fences, fedoras and trench coats traded for school uniforms and department store off-the-rack garb. Her follow-up was surely one of her best (and a personal favorite): The Fever (2014), which focuses on a mysterious illness sweeping through a high school, causing young girls to erupt into seizure-like outbursts. Panic overtakes the school and the community--Where did it come from? Are they faking it? Could it spread? The fabric of the community and the false sense of small-town security are ripped apart, revealing a Lynchnian sense of menace, and a palpable paranoia worthy of Cornell Woolrich and Jim Thompson (for both Abbott and Thompson, psychosis is as much social as it is personal). Abbott stayed in with the high school milieu for her next novel, too, the cheerleader noir Dare Me.
--Cullen Gallagher, Catalog Librarian
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to the change the world.” Now his granddaughter Ndileka Mandela has co-authored with Aaron Friedland The Walking School Bus, the story of two children utterly determined to get to school despite the obstacles. With their father living and working far from home there is no one to accompany Shaka and Nandi on their long walk to school and protect them from thieves waiting to steal from children. After missing many days of school, the resourceful siblings are inspired by a toy school bus to craft a clever solution to help all the village children travel safely to school. You will cheer on these young scholars as they persist in their problem-solving to return to their beloved school!
--Randi Levy, Head of the Children's Library
In the Children’s & YA Library, some of my favorite school-themed titles include Gail Carriger’s extremely madcap steampunk series set in a finishing school populated by vampires and werewolves that begins with Etiquette & Espionage. Monsters not your thing? Then check out Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious and the sequels in which a bright teen at a remote New England boarding school digs into an unsolved mystery whilst trying to avoid becoming a victim herself. A few sweet and funny tales for younger readers I am always eager to recommend are Lois Lowry’s Gooney Bird Greene books featuring a precocious 2nd grader and the Swedish import series from Rose Lagercrantz starting with My Happy Life, about Dani and her best friend Ella who she meets on the first day of school. And finally, some zany picture books set in schools that I love to share at storytimes are Mr. S, The Brilliant Ms. Bangle, and Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I Don’t).
--Susan Vincent Molinaro, Children's Librarian
My favorite back-to-school memory was when I was young enough for storytime (who doesn't want to be read or told a story?). It always brings a smile to my face, especially thinking about two favorite reads:
Stone Soup: An Old Tale told and pictured by Marcia Brown
Three soldiers arrive in a village. The peasants try to avoid them, by pretending to be busy. Apparently, they have no food (aka hidden). It doesn't seem to bother the soldiers. After all, even with no food, they can still make a wonderful soup! All they will need is three round stones. But to make a truly flawless stone soup, they will need a carrot or two…a cabbage…and so it goes.
Folklorist moment: This is not the only version of such an amazing tale.
Strega Nona: An Original Tale written and illustrated by Tomie de Paola
Here's a classic! Strega Nona*—"Grandma Witch"—is the go-to for brews, remedies, charms, and comfort in her Calabrian town. One of the most wondrous things is her endless pasta pot, which intrigues the hungry Big Anthony. He is supposed to look after her house and tend her garden when she goes over the mountain to visit Strega Amelia. However, disastrous shortly follows.
*Nonna is the correct spelling. Must be a cute spelling choice.
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards (YES, THE JULIE EDWARDS)
This book was my childhood. It is a timeless and magical read following three siblings who embark on a journey guided by an eccentric professor to find the elusive and most likely fictional Whangdoodle. Yet, things are possible. I recall being transported into a world that feels both whimsical and deeply meaningful yet very much like ours. After all, isn't fiction a mirror?
For me, this is not just a back-to-school read. This book is something you can read whenever you desire for readers of all ages.
--Marialuisa Monda, Programming and Communications Assistant
By the age of 12, I had read The Neverending Story by Michael Ende a dozen times. After Bastian Balthazar Bux steals The Neverending Story from Mr. Coreander’s bookstore, he races back to school on a rainy day and hides away in the attic. Bastian starts a fantastic journey encountering giant talking turtles, rock biters, and a Luck Dragon. An epic work of imagination, one of the few books that brings the reader into the book itself. I reread The Neverending Story a few years ago and the nostalgia was engrossing, a great read for the start of school or a rainy day.
--Robert Sanford, Acquisitions Librarian
The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
As we settle into another school year, I would like to recommend a powerful book that resonates with themes of higher education, ambition, and overcoming obstacles. The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson is a fascinating historical novel that I discovered while learning about “The Inquirers Club,” one of the oldest African American literary clubs in the United States, established in 1909. This book is perfect for both leisure reading and classroom discussions.
Why it is a great selection for students:
- Historical Context: Set in the 1950s, this novel offers a vivid glimpse into mid-20th century America, making it an excellent complement to high school history classes.
- Diverse Perspectives: Through the lives of Ruby and Eleanor, students can explore the experiences of young Black women pursuing education and navigating societal expectations.
- Relevant Themes: The book tackles issues that remain relevant today, including racism, classism, and sexism, providing ample material for critical thinking or a social science paper.
- Character Growth: Both protagonists face challenging decisions that shape their futures, offering readers insight into personal development and resilience.
- School Setting: With Eleanor attending Howard University, the novel provides a look into college life, which can be inspiring for high school students planning their futures.
Classroom discussion topics for educators:
- Analyze the historical accuracy and social dynamics of 1950s America.
- Discuss the role of education in shaping life opportunities.
- Compare and contrast the experiences of Ruby and Eleanor.
- Explore how societal expectations influence personal choices.
These are also excellent prompts for book club readers. If you are a member of a book club, educator, or high school student looking for a worthy book, "The House of Eve" offers a thought-provoking journey through an era in American history vaguely like the present day. Stop by the library to borrow this title!
#BackToSchoolReads #DiverseBooks #HistoricalFiction
--Tienya Smith, Director of Engagement, Partnerships, and Outreach
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Kingsley Amis’s first novel is laugh out loud funny; a phrase I don’t use very often. In this unnamed university (but likely based on Oxford, where Amis went to school), Jim Dixon is a mediocre lecturer in Medieval History, who stumbles through an escalating series of comically absurd academic and romantic misfortunes. Despite his disinterest in his chosen career, and his feelings of inadequacy amongst the academic class (“malevolent twits”), he embarks on efforts to secure a permanent position by attempting to ingratiate himself with the absent-minded head of department and make inroads on his scholarship. Does Jim accidentally light a bed on fire in his professor’s house? Yes. Does Jim get fired after a robustly awful lecture on ‘Merrie England’ which he ends with a rambling speech about the pretensions of the academics in attendance? Yes. Does Jim’s luck eventually change? Yes.
--Carolyn Waters, Director and Head Librarian
F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel, This Side of Paradise of 1926, opens with its protagonist, Amory Blaine, going off to prep school, and is then largely set on and around the campus of Princeton University, in the years leading up to the First World War. As a portrait of young adulthood of a certain social class, at a certain period in American history, this novel is extremely compelling, as Blaine's experiences of first loves, successes and failures, both echo what many of us experience in our own college years, and contrast greatly with what such reminiscences, reminding us of the famous quotation of Fitzgerald from The Rich Boy: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me."
While not set in a typical academic environment, Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny: a Novel of World War II, opens on the campus of New York City's Columbia University; though the university is transformed into a school for naval officers. The entire novel is really the story of the education of Ensign Keith, who begins his service as a naïve and spoiled child of privilege. Service on an old, obsolescent, rusting destroyer-minesweeper under the successive commands of the slovenly, yet competent Commander DeVreiss and the shell-shocked disciplinarian Commander Queeg. The wardroom Keith belongs to includes Lieutenant Maryk (a well intentioned, but impressionable career naval officer), and Lieutenant Keefer (a self-serving pseudo-intellectual novelist who entered the navy to avoid the army), and through a succession of events is forced to play a role in a mutiny. Unlike the well-known film adaptation, we learn the fate of all of the officers after the trial, and how each of them spends the remainder of the war. Keith's journey is largely a metaphor for how the Second World War was a loss of innocence and an education for our entire country.
--Eric Wolf, Director of Collections
