I love magical schools. For one, the idea of having to learn and train magic makes it all seem much more plausible. But..I would love to learn and train magic. I would never complain about the homework like Harry Potter did. How cool would it be??
- A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Genre: Classic Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.00
Ged is the most powerful wizard, but he was once just Sparrowhawk. In his youth, Sparrowhawk uncovered secrets and loosed a terrible shadow. This novel shows his adventures, his training, and his quest to restore balance.
- Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
Genre: High Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.17
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, girls are trained to be killers. Some girls even posses rare talents they can use. But none are prepared for Nona Grey. Nona is nine years old, falsley accused of murder, and rescued from the noose and brought to the Convent. Here Nona finds new family and new enemies. But soon her violent past finds her out, tangled in politics of both the church and the emperor.
- In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: LGBT Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.36
When 13-year old Elliot’s class goes on a field trip, he sees a wall no one else can see, and is given a chance to attend school in the Borderlands. His new classes involve more sword training and less mermaids than he was expecting. But there’s Serene, a beautiful elven warrior, and her human friend, Luke. Luke is blond and annoyingly likable. Elliot is finding he might be able to change the world at his new school.
- Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Genre: Paranormal
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.11
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire who can harness Earth’s power. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the immortal vampires. Rose, Lissa’s best friend, is a dhampir, half-human, half-vampire. Rose has dedicated her life to protecting Lissa from the Strigoi. 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 the danger is even closer now.
- The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin
Genre: YA Fantasy
Average: 3.91
Witches have always controlled the climate, most powerful in the season they were born, but suddenly, their powers are faltering. All hope lies with Clara, an Everwitch whose rare magic is tied to every season.
- The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.52
Quentin Coldwater is a senior in high school, but he’s still obsessing over children’s fanrasy books and a magical land called Fillory. Then he finds he’s accepted in an aeclusive and secret college of magic in New York. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But it’s much darker than his childhood fantasies told.
- A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Genre: YA Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.02
Schoolomance is a school for the magically gifted, where failure means death. Until El begins to unlock the school’s secrets. Students are expected to survive the monsters that lurk around, to graduate or die. El has enough magic to banish the monsters…but she might accidentally kill everyone else, too.
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.52
This is Kvothe’s story of becoming the most powerful wizard. He moved in a troupe of traveling players, spent time as an orphan in the city, his daring but successful bid to enter a school of magic, and spent time as a fugitive after the murder of a king.
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