Curated by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@ashley_dicksonellison)
Earlier this week, I updated and shared a Bookish Fave, "14 Fascinating Books with Academic Settings Perfect for Fall," with lots of ideas for books that are perfect autumnal reads with school settings.
This season, to highlight the hundreds of book reviews we already have on our Unabridged site, we plan to feature our book reviews within curated lists. We thought that often, putting together a list of books to choose from can help you if you're looking for a specific type of book whether that be for a reading challenge, mood reading, or a book club. We hope that these curated lists help you, and you can click on each one to dive into the full review!
All reviews are our own, and we're quoting passages from the reviews here for reference. You can follow the link to read more about each selection. If you choose to purchase any of the books, our affiliate links for Bookshop.org and Libro.fm are within the full reviews. If you plan to buy from either of those organizations, we get a small commission when you use our links, and we appreciate your support!
Okay, on with the books!
"Kiki Banjo is a Black British woman at Whitewell University, where she leads a popular university radio show called Brown Sugar, which focuses on giving advice to the women of the university so that they can avoid relationship pitfalls. Outside of her radio show persona, Kiki prefers to remain aloof with only her best friend Amina as a companion, but a series of events forces her into the spotlight.
"Malakai Korede, a recent transfer student, has gotten the attention of many of the women on campus, and because of this, Kiki takes him on in her radio show, advising campus women about how to best prevent him from dividing their sisterhood. But Malakai is not what he seems, and Kiki finds herself torn between remaining aloof and diving into the feelings she realizes she's developing." Click to read the full review.
"Truly Devious runs through two timelines. In the historical timeline, it's 1936, and we're with millionaire Albert Ellingham whose wife and daughter have been kidnapped from their home on the campus of the school that Ellingham started. The main clue is a threatening letter signed by "Truly, Devious." In the other timeline, it's present day, and Stevie Bell has enrolled in Ellingham Academy with a plan to solve the kidnapping (and, ultimately, murder)." Click to read the full review.
Nina LaCour's WE ARE OKAY: Finding Hope in Someday (from Ashley):
"What happens when a teenager loses her support system? Nina LaCour's We Are Okay (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) is a hard read in some ways, but it is also beautifully written and explores how it's possible to find a glimmer of hope amid heartbreak and despair. (Thanks to Jen for choosing this one as one of our Unabridged buddy reads!)
"Readers meet Marin, who is alone in a dorm room, preparing to spend the winter break on campus despite the fact that almost no one else will be there. She is constructing a plan for herself to pass the interminable, desperately lonely time. Marin is also counting down, with a sense of both dread and longing, to the arrival and brief visit of Mabel, a dear friend from high school who is coming all the way to New York from California to see her. We can tell there has been a rift between Marin and Mabel, but it's unclear what led to the fracture in their friendship." Click to read the full review.
"The novel begins with Doe and her best friends (Gemma, Jade, Sumi, and Shawn) in the midst of pranking their neighboring boarding school as part of a tradition that goes back generations. The girls of The Weston School and the boys of Winfield Academy have had a rivalry that permeates every event throughout the year, and Doe and her friends (but particularly Doe!) take that rivalry to new heights, driven by the extra-special loathing that Doe and Winfield boy Three have for each other. As seniors, they all realize this is their last chance to win the prank war, so the creativity is rampant." Click to read the full review.
"In One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, Nate, and Simon are assigned to detention under suspicious circumstances. When one of them is dead by the end of the detention period, the remaining four become suspects. All of them have motive. Did one of them commit the crime? This is the question that is explored over the course of the novel." Click to read the full review.
(A note to our readers: click on the hashtags above to see our other blog posts with the same hashtag.)
Interested in what else we're reading? Check out our Featured Books page.
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