by Iris
When I came across the term “campus novel” for the first time, I was reading a review to gather Blind Book Date clues for The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach — one of our first BBDs. Something about the phrase just clicked: I loved this subgenre, but hadn’t known that there was a name for it! I’ve read many a campus novel since then and I still greatly enjoy them, especially when they involve magic. It probably has something to do with my own university experience being so profoundly campus-less (or magic-less, for that matter).
In honour of Back to School season, I’ve selected a handful of my favourite campus novels to share with you.
Loveless by Alice Oseman
“Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day. As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight. But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever. Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?”
What I enjoyed: theatre kids; lots of queer representation, including many people’s first encounters with the ace and aro spectrums; a sword fight in a bouncy house; the importance and weight of true friendship.
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
“Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions. Walden is good at her job―no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from―is herself.”
What I enjoyed: an older protagonist, rather than a rash, Chosen One teen; a female main character who is unabashedly at the top and good at what she does; the sapphic romance; the not-so-subtle commentary on lots of issues.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
“Robin Swift, orphaned in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation. The tower and its students are the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China, Robin must decide… Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?”
What I enjoyed: being lured in by the idylls of college life, only to have the rug pulled out from under you (much like the main character!); the fascinating world of etymology and cognates; the pointed criticism of privilege.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
“Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.”
What I enjoyed: the frame narration; the music; the magic system; the depth and texture of the world, which feels almost achingly real.
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 twenty, 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?”
What I enjoyed: the very credible blend of the urban and the paranormal/occult; not shying away from grime, gore and trauma (not my usual fare, but I can appreciate it when done well. This is definitely not for everyone, so make sure to check out the trigger warnings before you dive in!); the secondary characters.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
“Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered. There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you’re inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate, or you die.
El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the schools many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions — never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school. Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students too. So El is trying her hardest not to use it… that is, unless she has no other choice.”
What I enjoyed: the main character’s sassy and sarcastic nature, paired with her genuine insight into her situation; the pure-of-heart, dumb-of-ass foil; the gang of misfits cautiously forming real friendships.
