With the University of Arizona resuming classes this week, Tucson’s school year is fully and officially underway, a development that may remind the rest of us of our own campus experiences … and the books that helped keep those memories fresh.
Popular literature has long leaned on campus life as a setting for intriguing stories, and volunteers with the Tucson Festival of Books went to the whiteboard to list some of their own favorites:
“How to Rule the World” by Theo Baker recounts the true story of a Stanford University freshman — Baker — who wrote a series of investigative news stories that led to the resignation of Stanford’s president, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, in 2023. It was Baker who unveiled the open flow of access and excess from Silicon Valley to a small cadre of students it had identified as future stars. — Susan Williams
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“The Academy” by Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, is a fictional account of a drama-filled year at an exclusive New England boarding school. Secrets seem to be everywhere when scandalous items begin to arrive on student cellphones across campus, courtesy of a new app called ZipZap. Hilderbrand and Cunningham’s sequel, “The Thoroughbreds,” will debut Sept. 15. — Pamela Treadwell-Rubin
“Stoner” by John Williams drew little attention when first published in 1965, but it later became a word-of-mouth bestseller and an American classic. The central character is John Stoner, a University of Missouri English professor who quietly soldiers through life despite … well, everything. We see an unassuming hero who stays true to himself when it would have been far easier not to. — Meg Files
“The Secret History” by Donna Tartt is a chiller-thriller about a charismatic college professor and a group of eccentric students who develop a way of thinking and living that separates them still further from their peers. Eventually, a dead body is involved. First published in 2004, “The Secret History” is still a cautionary tale about the dark side of academic privilege. — Bruce Dinges
“Real Life” by Brandon Taylor unfolds over the course of a weekend at a Midwestern university where a gay, Black doctoral student must come to terms with a failed experiment that may or may not have been the target of sabotage. The experience forces him to confront past trauma and the impossibility of fitting in. “Real Life” was a Booker Prize finalist in 2020. — John Birdsall
“The Write Off” by UA alum Kara McDowell is a romance novel featuring Mars Darling and West Emerson, who met on a bench outside their creative writing class in college. They became friends and lovers before a bitter breakup … and the start of successful careers as authors. Now, 13 years later, they meet again at a book festival on the same college campus where they met. — Jess West
“History Lessons” by Zoe Wallbrook is a mystery featuring Daphne Ouverture, an associate professor at Harrison University. Her unpretentious life seems to suit her fine until a fellow professor is murdered. Adding to the drama is the fact that the killer thinks Daphne has something that belonged to the victim … something the killer will stop at nothing to get. — Shannon Baker
“Ninth House” by Leigh Bardugo centers around Alex Stern, a Yale University freshman who can communicate with the dead. Not knowing why she has been admitted to Yale, Alex learns her mysterious benefactors want her to monitor the activities of the school's secret societies. A third book in the Ninth House trilogy, “Hell Bent,” will release on Sept. 15. — Christine Bollow
"A Stranger Killed Katy” by William D. LaRue is the true story of a coed who was killed on the Clarkson University campus in upstate New York in 1986. As shocking as the incident was, the nightmare was only beginning for the victim’s family. — Pam Clarridge
“Stranger Diaries” by Elly Griffiths introduces us to Claire Cassidy, a high school English teacher who is an expert on Gothic author R.M. Holland. When one of her colleagues is found dead, with a line from Holland’s book left on the body, Claire realizes her life has just collided with the literature she teaches. — Tricia Clapp
“The Assignment” by Liza Wiemer is a Young Adult novel inspired by a real-life controversy that exploded in Oswego County, New York, in 2017. Two high school debate students were asked to defend “The Final Solution” in an upcoming debate about the Holocaust. When they refused, they learned that hatred and antisemitism are still alive and well in America. — Lynn Wiese Sneyd
“Heir of Prophecy” by Analeigh Sbrana, which releases this coming Tuesday, is a romantasy whose central character, Audra, is abducted by a rival cult. Soon, she is honing her magic skills in a fantasy war academy … and realizing she must team with her fellow conscriptees to survive. — Jessica Pryde
“Deenie” by Judy Blume is the story of a seventh-grade girl who only wants to lead a normal teenage life. Instead, she is diagnosed with scoliosis and told she must wear a body brace for years. — Lori Roman
