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Quick answer: If you loved A Deadly Education, try The Last Graduate, The Golden Enclaves, Ninth House, The Magicians, Vita Nostra and The Atlas Six. Each one has a dangerous magic school, a sharp narrator or a dark take on fantasy academies.
Naomi Novik's novel takes place at the Scholomance, a magic school with no teachers where monsters try to eat the students. Galadriel “El” Higgins has a talent for dark magic and a grudge against the school's hero, Orion Lake. Readers love El's grumpy voice, the deadly school and the slow-building friendships. These books share the same magic-school danger and sharp humor.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Genre | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Last Graduate | Naomi Novik | Fantasy | readers continuing the trilogy |
| The Golden Enclaves | Naomi Novik | Fantasy | readers finishing the trilogy |
| Ninth House | Leigh Bardugo | Dark fantasy | readers who like dark academia |
| The Magicians | Lev Grossman | Fantasy | readers who like dark magic schools |
| Vita Nostra | Marina and Sergey Dyachenko | Dark fantasy | readers who like strange schools |
| The Atlas Six | Olivie Blake | Dark academia | readers who like rivals |
| Fourth Wing | Rebecca Yarros | Fantasy | readers who like deadly academies |
| Uprooted | Naomi Novik | Fantasy | readers who want more Novik |
| Spinning Silver | Naomi Novik | Fantasy | readers who like Novik's fairy tales |
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | J. K. Rowling | Fantasy | readers who want a classic magic school |
| A Wizard of Earthsea | Ursula K. Le Guin | Classic fantasy | readers who like dark magic |
| Babel | R. F. Kuang | Historical fantasy | readers who like academic magic |
| Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir | Science fantasy | readers who like snark |
| Legendborn | Tracy Deonn | YA fantasy | readers who like secret societies |
| Sorcery of Thorns | Margaret Rogerson | YA fantasy | readers who like dangerous libraries |
1. The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
El's senior year brings the school's most dangerous trials.
Best for: readers continuing the trilogy.
2. The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
El confronts the secrets of the enclaves after graduation.
Best for: readers finishing the trilogy.
3. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
A dropout monitors Yale's secret societies.
Best for: readers who like dark academia.
4. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
A student discovers that magic and his childhood fantasy world are real.
Best for: readers who like dark magic schools.
5. Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko
A girl is forced into a mysterious institute.
Best for: readers who like strange schools.
6. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Six magicians compete to join a secret society.
Best for: readers who like rivals.
7. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
A girl trains at a brutal dragon-rider war college.
Best for: readers who like deadly academies.
8. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
A village girl serves a wizard against a corrupted wood.
Best for: readers who want more Novik.
9. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
A moneylender's daughter catches the attention of a winter king.
Best for: readers who like Novik's fairy tales.
10. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
A boy discovers he is a wizard.
Best for: readers who want a classic magic school.
11. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
A young wizard unleashes a shadow and must face it.
Best for: readers who like dark magic.
12. Babel by R. F. Kuang
A translator discovers the magic behind the British Empire.
Best for: readers who like academic magic.
13. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
A swordswoman and necromancer face deadly trials.
Best for: readers who like snark.
14. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
A girl infiltrates a secret society at UNC.
Best for: readers who like secret societies.
15. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
An apprentice librarian in a world of living grimoires is accused of a crime and teams up with a sorcerer she was raised to distrust.
Best for: readers who like dangerous libraries.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with A Deadly Education: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
Continue with The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves. If you like dark academia, try Ninth House, The Atlas Six or Vita Nostra. For more Novik, choose Uprooted or Spinning Silver. Readers who want snark should pick Gideon the Ninth. Teens who want a magic school with a romantic thread can start with Legendborn or Sorcery of Thorns, and anyone who wants the classic that started it all should go back to A Wizard of Earthsea, which also features a young mage whose power puts the world at risk. If El's fierce, prickly voice was your favorite part, Babel and The Atlas Six both offer narrators who are angry at the systems around them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is A Deadly Education YA?
It is published as adult fantasy, but many teens read it.
How many books are in the Scholomance series?
There are three.
Is A Deadly Education like Harry Potter?
It is a magic school story, but much darker and funnier, with no teachers and monsters everywhere.
Is there romance?
There is a slow-building romance with Orion, but it is not the main focus.
Is it scary?
It has some gruesome monsters, but the tone is sarcastic and funny.