**I walk to the library to listen to a lecture from a renowned researcher. A group of people I have seen around towne take their seats and listen to the speaker discuss different topics. By the end, I have parchment filled with notes and a head full of new ideas.**

A lot of people are back to school now, so when you have time in between stressing over your next exam or a moment in between writing that essay due tomorrow that you haven’t started yet, it can be nice to pick up a good book that will distract you from your responsibilities. So here is my list for any of you back to school, or just looking for a good book recommendation.

• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Starting with Ninth House, this is actually one of my favorite Leigh Bardugo series. It follows a girl named Alex Stern who goes to Yale to oversee all of the secret societies that operate since she can see ghosts. This series is an adult dark academia that has magic, ghosts, and demon-like creatures. It is a good series with some great characters. Nothing says back to school like a story about a girl fighting for her life at college.

• In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

Dark academia is just perfect for back to school. Not only is it the school setting, but the dark academia part fits since back to school is getting us into fall. This book is about a group of old friends who go to their college reunion where the mystery of their friend who was killed gets unraveled. I actually really enjoyed this one and highly recommend giving it a read.

• Because of Mr.Terupt by Rob Buyea

Okay, I’ll get away from dark academia and move on to something else (though Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson is another great read!). Because of Mr.Terupt is actually a middle grade book following a group of kids, all with their own perspective in the book, in the same class, where their teacher and an accident bring them together. This was such a good book. Each character was so different and I really enjoyed the school setting and the fact that all these different characters could be brought together and become friends.

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I felt like I couldn’t do a back to school book rec post without mentioning a classic. If you haven’t noticed from my wrap-ups, I don’t read classics. I usually can’t get into them, though there have been a select few I haven’t minded, with The Great Gatsby being one of them. I feel like I need to do a reread of this one though since I actually read this back in high school. I may like it better reading it on my own.

• I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Finally, we have I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, or really any book by her for that matter. She writes historical fiction novels, which I feel like is a genre that matches the back to school theme with the topic of history. This one is set in communist Romania following a boy who is blackmailed into becoming an informer for the secret police. This one was so interesting and I feel like it was a great insight into life in Romania at the time.

That wraps up the back to school recs, so if you have any recommendations of your own, feel free to share! See you all next week.

xoxo,

Just another reader