Books for Back-to-School Season

For many, school is back in session. I recently wrote a feature highlighting some books set on various types of school campuses. In case you missed it, I am mentioning three of them here as well as shouting out a few others at the end that I have not read but take place on school campuses. I hope these reads will help get you in the back-to-school mode!   

Class Mom by Laurie Gelman (fiction) – Class Mom is an entertaining book that kept me laughing out loud the entire time I was reading it. Laurie Gelman’s writing is witty and spot on as she tackles the politics of being a class parent in elementary school. The emails the main character Jen sends out to her kindergarten class are hysterical; Jen’s tactics to require participation included logging response times and calling out those individuals who always feel entitled to special consideration; no topic was safe from her sarcasm (however, she was not mean-spirited, which saved the book). Gelman creates a unique, hilarious novel with authentic characters that readers will recognize from their own experiences as a parent today. I also enjoyed the fact that several issues were not wrapped up until the end with surprising resolutions (which I always love). This is a great one to read as school looms on the horizon. There are two sequels that I have not read. 

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu (contemporary fiction) – Houstonian and high school teacher Jennifer Mathieu’s adult debut is a timely and relevant glimpse at today’s issues in schools and a tribute to educators. The story follows a large cast of teachers, administrators, and staff at Baldwin High School, a Texas high school that feels remarkably like Bellaire High School. Infused with heart and hilarity, The Faculty Lounge addresses what it is like to teach at a high school these days – helicopter parents commenting on curriculum choices, school shootings and lockdown drills, social media, book bannings, and more. I really enjoyed the format of The Faculty Lounge; each chapter is told from the point of view of someone working at the school. It was a delight to see how their lives connected as the story unfolds. Read a Q&A with the author in a Page Turners article here.

True Biz by Sara Novic is set at a residential school for the Deaf and tackles American Sign Language and lip-reading, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and most importantly, courage, daring, and joy. (Photo: Cindy Burnett)

True Biz by Sara Novic (contemporary fiction) – True Biz is set at a residential school for the Deaf and tackles American Sign Language and lip-reading, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and most importantly, courage, daring, and joy. It is an absorbing and unforgettable journey into the Deaf community, and Sara Novic beautifully explores the ways language can include, exclude, or help forge an identity through the students who attend the River Valley School for the Deaf. I learned so much about how isolating it can be for those who cannot hear, American Sign Language versus British Sign Language, cochlear implants, the power of language, and the history of the Deaf community and Deaf schools.   

Here are some other popular books set on campuses (summaries are from the publishers): 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt - Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last– inexorably– into evil. 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo - Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age 20, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? 

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid - It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie's starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardized by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks and illicit intrigue. 

The It Girl by Ruth Ware – The ultimate It girl, April Coutts-Cliveden quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit at Oxford. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends– Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead. Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide… including a murder. 

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld - Curtis Sittenfeld’s debut novel, Prep, is an insightful, achingly funny coming-of-age story as well as a brilliant dissection of class, race, and gender in a hothouse of adolescent angst and ambition. 

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai - Bodie Kane is content to forget her past– the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia's death and the conviction of the school's athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers– needs– to let sleeping dogs lie. But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there?  

For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her award-winning Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram.