Recs if you like The School for Good and Evil...

JK Rowling is a bigot who uses her platform to hurt transfolks and other marginalized groups (plus she literally just quoted Mein Kampf on the bird site). If you're still supporting her in 2025, don't bother talking to me.

books featuring or set in magic schools / universities / academies, aka, one of the best subgenres in existence !

this list has books for all ages (am actively looking for more adult options), most of the books are dark academia, and ALL of them are fantastical 🪄 recs welcome <3

(alternatively, books to fall in love with & share with others to help avoid supporting or promoting JKR. i will never shut up ab how the Nevermoor series deserves the popularity that Harry Potter enjoys !)

the staples of the book community on youtube in the early to mid 2010s.

Who TF needs JKR anymore? We got way better books out there dude

sapphic books with dark, messy, & morally gray romance and/or homoeroticism

These middle grade series may not have seven movies, a TV show, and a literal theme park dedicated to them, but they sure deserve it! Especially because they weren't written by JKR. All recommended by Pagebound users, and suggestions are always always welcome -- middle grade fantasy/mystery series-starters only, please! Let's foster a love of reading in kids without supporting bigotry and hatred.

in shoujo manga/anime, the “crimson rose and candy” archetype historically features romance between a confident, alluring “crimson rose” (often with high-contrast, dramatic or gothic features and aesthetics) and a more feminine, blithe “candy” (often with low-contrast, airy or pink features and aesthetics). while these stories in yuri originated as queer coming-of-age tragedy, i love identifying similar polarity frameworks in my favourite lesbian/sapphic novels alongside its various subversions!

an alternative for those who want to be whisked away to a magical school, that may or may not be deadly at times, created by lovely humans who aren't terfs! Misfits & Magic is such a fun, campy 2 season long D20 side quest on Dropout with a small cast reclaiming tropes and ideas that shouldn't belong to just one terrible person. I made sure to include queer and trans fantasies with school settings and just general good feeling stories!

If you liked Harry Potter but want something else

I was recently rereading a book I loved when I was 13 expecting it to be terrible and simple, and I found that I actually still liked it so I decided to make this list!! Recommendations are welcome, this will be a running list xx

Fantasy and mythology books that make me want to go and stab some evil monsters and girlboss.

my middle school reads were basically all dystopian. everyone was reading them (if you were cool) and I was obsessed with them (and I still am). all of the books included in this list are the first book in the series. also, all of these book were published in the 2010s, even if they were not popular during those times

want to view it through an older lens

Even if you feel to old for middle grade books, there are still some that are totally worth you're time for a fun adventure or some good laughs.

i love this story to death, so here’s a wip list about it. taking suggestions.

brothers grimm and other fairytale retellings, fatalism, themes of freedom and choice, teen-young adult audience, fantasy modernism, etc.

the school for good and evil series by Soman Chainani with its relevant prequels and spin-offs

Movie and TV adaptations of Books we may have read 🤷‍♀️

Basically books I read when I was younger (or a couple years ago) that are cringy and I want to see them that way and have a new perspective. Also I want to have fun. Criteria: Has to be from elementary or middle school when I read it Has to be a book I haven’t revisited for a while

Some of my personal faves from my middle school/early high school years that I whole heartedly recommend!!