The Most unusual schools

By Candice Blackwood

The right setting for a book can make all the difference. One of my favourite settings is a school. Magical or mundane, schools are often so unique that they become a character themselves. Dark academic settings explore the dangers of curiosity – sometimes that danger comes in the form of a competition, a conspiracy or something even darker. Magic schools are a little different, but no less interesting. Our characters go there to learn; while they learn, so does the reader. The school becomes a window to the magic system or society that we’re being introduced to.

Silver Key

by Alyssa L. Bertinato

This debut from local author Alyssa L. Bertinato promised everything I love in a young adult fantasy – a young woman discovering she has magical powers, a tournament, a magic school setting and some romance. In Silver Key, a seemingly average girl, Aria Knight, must master her newfound magical powers while competing in a tournament involving three trials at Silver Key Manor. Unlike the other students, Aria didn’t grow up knowing about her powers which lets the reader follow her to some wonderful scenes as she trains and learns to use her magic. While Aria is navigating this new world, she’s also trying to come to grips with being adopted, figuring out who her birth parents are, exploring a new romance and trying to uncover a sinister plot lurking at the heart of her school. Silver Key is available in print.

Nevermoor: researches the rumored witches for her next novel. A Lesson in Vengeance is available in print, eBook and downloadable audiobook. It is a truly creepy thriller with all the trappings that readers of dark academia will enjoy.

The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend Morrigan Crow is cursed. At least, that’s what the townsfolk and her family believe. Every bad thing that happens to someone is somehow her fault. Morrigan Crow escapes her awful life for a chance to study and become a member of the Wunderous Society in Nevermoor. But to stay, she’ll have to compete in a series of trials and find her knack in time for the final one. Despite Morrigan’s sad beginning, her adventures in Nevermoor are truly a delight for readers of all ages. Nevermoor is a place you will want to stay and explore day after day; my favourite part of Nevermoor, aside from the characters, is the Brolly Rail, a transit system where you ride your umbrella from stop to stop. This book is available in print, audiobook, eBook and downloadable audiobook.

A Deadly Education

by Naomi Novik

So, you want to be a wizard? You’ll have to survive the Scholomance.

School is meant to be a safe place; for these young wizards it's anything but, though it is still safer than trying to survive in the real world before they’ve completed their training. The Scholomance is full of monsters, monsters who love nothing more than to snack on young wizards. When you can’t leave the school until you graduate, the only way to survive is by making alliances and sticking together at all times. For El, friends and alliances are non-existent. When you’re destined to become a dark wizard and have dark power that allows you to perform terrible curses with ease, people don’t really want to be around you. When the school’s hero, Orion Lake, saves her life for a second time, El will come to learn some hidden lessons about the school, Orion, and herself.

Truly Devious

by Maureen Johnson

Welcome to Ellingham Academy, an elite boarding school where you can focus your studies on your unique interest. Ellingham only accepts a small number of students each year. Stevie Bell, aspiring detective, has been accepted to Ellingham after claiming to be able to solve the crime of the century that happened on the grounds of Ellingham in 1936. The story alternates between the past, as we learn about what happened to the wife and daughter of Ellingham’s founder in 1936, and the present, as Ellingham grows more and more dangerous. Stevie sets out to solve a cold case, but it seems there’s a murderer who is not happy about the investigation.

All five volumes of the Truly Devious series are available in print, eBook and downloadable audiobook. The fifth book, Nine Liars, was just published in December. It takes Stevie Bell to an English manor house to solve a double homicide from 1995 and a current missing person’s case.

A Lesson in Vengeance

by Victoria Lee

After the death of her girlfriend and a year away from school, Felicity is returning to Dalloway School and to her old dorm room in Godwin House. Dalloway School’s history is steeped in lore of the occult, witches and five violent deaths of students from Godwin House. Despite trying to stay away from the mystery of the Dalloway Five, Felicity is quickly taken down a dark path with Ellis, a new student, as she

Novik digresses quite a bit in A Deadly Education and its sequels to give the reader detailed descriptions of how the school functions and how the magic works in El’s world. For some, this level of detail isn’t what they want, but if you enjoy magical schools and learning about them, A Deadly Education will quickly make it onto your list of favourite books.

El is an exceptionally fun, smart and witty character to follow throughout The Scholomance trilogy. All three volumes are available in print, eBook, and downloadable audiobook.

Candice Blackwood works at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. She enjoys reading fantasy novels for any age that are full of magic, dangerous creatures and the women who fight them.