Looking for books that capture the mysterious, compelling essence of dark academia? Try one of these titles.

SCIENCE FICTION KUANG
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators Revolution / R. F. Kuang
A Chinese boy orphaned by cholera and raised in Britain is trained to work at Oxford’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, the world’s center for translation and magic through silverworking, where he must choose between competing loyalties. (Also available in Large Print and as an ebook and downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive.)

SCIENCE FICTION BLAKE
TEEN FICTION BLAKE
The Atlas Six / Olivie Blake
Chosen to compete for five spots within The Alexandrian Society, the protectors and benefactors of the world’s greatest source of knowledge, six powerful, young magicians must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice to win one of the coveted spots. Followed by sequel The Atlas Paradox. (Also available in Large Print and as an ebook and downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive.)

SCIENCE FICTION BLACK
Book of Night / Holly Black
In a world where shadows have feelings and memories and can be altered, a low-level con artist/bartender is pitted against doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, shadow thieves and her own sister while trying to keep out of trouble. (Also available as an ebook anddownloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive.)

SCIENCE FICTION NOVIK
A Deadly Education / Naomi Novik
An unwilling dark sorceress destined to rewrite the rules of magic clashes with a popular combat sorcerer while resolving to spare the lives of innocents. Followed by sequels The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves. (Also available as an ebook and downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive.)

FICTION MAKKAI
I Have Some Questions for You / Rebecca Makkai
When film professor and podcaster Bodie Kane is invited back to the New Hampshire boarding school she attended as a teenager, she finds herself drawn to investigate the murder of a classmate in 1995. (Also available in Large Print and as an ebook and downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive.)

FICTION KWON
Incendiaries / R.O. Kwon
A dark tale of violence, faith and loss follows the experiences of a young Korean-American woman at an elite university who is drawn into acts of domestic terrorism by a cult with ties to North Korea. (Also available in Large Print.)

TEEN FICTION DEONN
Legendborn / Tracy Deonn
Wanting to escape her previous life after the accidental death of her mother, 16-year-old Bree enrolls in a program for high school students at the local university before her witness to a magical attack reveals her undiscovered powers as well as sinister truths about her mother’s death. Followed by sequel Bloodmarked. (Also available as an ebook and downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive.)

FICTION GAILEY
Magic For Liars / Sarah Gailey
Detective Ivy Gamble embarks on a search for a killer at a California private academy for mages where her estranged, magically gifted twin, Tabitha, hides in plain sight. (Also available as a downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive.)

SCIENCE FICTION BARDUGO
Ninth House / Leigh Bardugo
Surviving a horrific multiple homicide, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks is unexpectedly offered a full scholarship to Yale, where her mysterious benefactors task her with monitoring the university’s secret societies. Followed by sequel Hell Bent. (Also available in Large Print and as an ebook and downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive and hoopla digital.)

FICTION TARTT
The Secret History / Donna Tartt
Under the influence of their charismatic Classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a singular way of thinking and living. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality, their lives are changed profoundly and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill. (Also available in Large Print and as an ebook and downloadable audiobook on Libby/OverDrive and hoopla digital.)

FICTION MICHAELIDES
The Maidens / Alex Michaelides
A handsome and charismatic Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Edward Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students  known as The Maidens.

Mariana Andros, a brilliant but troubled therapist who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. When one of The Maidens is murdered, she becomes convinced that Fasca is the killer. Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. (Also available in Large Print and as a downloadable audiobook on hoopla digital.)

LK/BH: May 2023