Dark Academia

Wikipedia defines Dark Academia as "a social media aesthetic and subculture concerned with higher education, writing/poetry, the arts, and classic Greek and Gothic architecture." Here are the books that fit its bill.
Updated September 19, 2022
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The secret history /
Tartt, Donna
Paper Book
A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME * INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * A contemporary literary classic and "an accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (Village Voice), from the...
Plain Bad Heroines
Emily M. Danforth
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "A delectable brew of gothic horror and Hollywood satire . . . [and] what makes all this so much fun is Danforth's deliciously ghoulish voice . . . exquisite." --Ron Charles, THE WASHINGTON POST "A multi-faceted novel, equal parts gothic, sharply...
Ninth house /
Bardugo, Leigh.
Paper Book
"The best fantasy novel I've read in years, because it's about real people... Impossible to put down." --Stephen King Enter a mesmerizing world of power, privilege, and dark magic among the Ivy League elite in the first book in the Alex Stern series. ...
Ace of Spades
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Paper Book
Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully. All you need to know is . . . I'm here to divide and...
The atlas six /
Blake, Olivie
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller A Vulture Best Fantasy Novel of 2022 A Goodreads Best Fantasy Choice Award Nominee The much-acclaimed viral sensation from Olivie Blake, The Atlas Six--now newly revised and...
Catherine House :
Thomas, Elisabeth
Paper Book
"[A] delicious literary Gothic debut." -THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, EDITORS' CHOICE "Moody and evocative as a fever dream, Catherine House is the sort of book that wraps itself around your brain, drawing you closer with each hypnotic step." - THE WASHINGTON POST A Most...
Bunny /
Awad, Mona
Paper Book
"Jon Swift + Witches of Eastwick + Kelly 'Get In Trouble' Link + Mean Girls + Creative Writing Degree Hell! No punches pulled, no hilarities dodged, no meme unmangled! O Bunny you are sooo genius!" --Margaret Atwood, via Twitter "A wild, audacious and ultimately unforgettable novel."...
The Raven Boys
Maggie Stiefvater
Paper Book
An all-new series from the masterful, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.His name is Gansey,...
The Maidens
Alex Michaelides
Paper Book
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides's long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." --The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly...
The Plot
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Paper Book
** NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! ** The Tonight Show Summer Reads Winner ** A New York Times Notable Book of 2021 ** "Insanely readable." --Stephen King Hailed as "breathtakingly suspenseful," Jean Hanff Korelitz's...
A lesson in vengeance /
Lee, Victoria
Paper Book
A dark, twisty thriller about a centuries-old, ivy-covered boarding school haunted by its history of witchcraft and two girls dangerously close to digging up the past. The dangerous romance and atmospheric setting makes it a perfect read for fans of dark academia. Felicity Morrow...
Never let me go /
Ishiguro, Kazuo,
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly reimagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love. As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private...
How we fall apart /
Zhao, Katie,
Paper Book
In a YA thriller that is Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying, students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead. Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, top-ranked junior at...
These Violent Delights: A Novel
Micah Nemerever
Paper Book
A Literary Hub Best Book of Year * A Crime Reads Best Debut of the Year * A Newsweek 25 Best Fall Books * A Philadelphia Inquirer 10 Big Books for the Fall * An O Magazine.com LGBTQ Books That Are Changing the Literary Landscape * An Electric Lit Most Anticipated Debut * A Paperback Paris Best...
The Grimrose girls /
Pohl, Laura
Paper Book
A New York TimesBestseller Four troubled friends, One murdered girl... and a dark fate that may leave them all doomed. Once Upon a Timemeets Pretty Little Liarsin this queer...
Legendborn
Tracy Deonn
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn's YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of...
Ghosts of Harvard :
Serritella, Francesca Scottoline.
Paper Book
TEEN VOGUE BOOK CLUB PICK .A Harvard freshman becomes obsessed with her schizophrenic brother's suicide. Thenshestarts hearing voices. "A rich, intricately plotted thriller . . . Serritella, who is a Harvard grad herself, writes about the campus with an insider's...
The starless sea /
Morgenstern, Erin.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world--a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea. Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont...
We wish you luck :
Zancan, Caroline.
Paper Book
It doesn't take long for the students on Fielding campus to become obsessed with Hannah, Leslie and Jimmy. The three graduate students are mysterious, inaccessible, and brilliant. After Simone - young, bestselling author and erstwhile model - shows up as a visiting professor, and after everything...
Special topics in calamity physics /
Pessl, Marisha.
Paper Book
This mesmerizing debut, uncannily uniting the trials of a postmodern upbringing with a murder mystery, heralds the arrival of a vibrant new voice in literary fiction. Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a darkly hilarious coming-of-age novel and a richly plotted suspense tale told through the...

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