Biblio File, Stuff for the Teen Age

Back to (a Different Kind of) School

As teens return to the school-year grind, they may find comfort in knowing it’s a shared experience—even with their counterparts in far-off fantasy worlds.

Check out five YA back-to-school stories with ethereal characters and otherworldly settings.

Fairy

Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog
Cam is the star of his high-school football team… and he’s also a fairy. After his 16th birthday, he begins to grow wings and gets summoned back to the Otherworld, and his girlfriend must figure out how to help him.

 

 

 


 

Rebel

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
When a school janitor bequeaths magical powers upon society-girl Harper Price, she must figure out ways to protect her archenemy from harm—which used to be the last thing she wanted to do. One NYPL reader called this book “’Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ meets Gone with the Wind.”

 

 

 

 

Spirits

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins
Izzy’s new Mississippi high school is haunted, and her family legacy means that she’s duty-bound to investigate.

 

 

 

 

 

Anya

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
This graphic novel tells the story of a girl who just wants to keep her head down and fit in at school, but her new friend—a ghost at the bottom of a well—isn’t making that any easier.

 

 

 

 

 

Bloodlines

The Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead
Sydney, an alchemist, is sent into hiding at an elite private school to protect a Moroi princess who’s the last surviving relative of a vampire queen. (A spinoff of the Vampire Academy books.)

 

 

 

 

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your picks, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend.

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