School has begun and maybe you’re having a terrible year already. These new stories of horrible classmates, dark secrets, and spooky hallways will make your school feel amazing.

Book covers for the 4 books described below set on a background of a chalkboard with broken chalk.ALT

(descriptions provided by publishers)

The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle (April 2021)

When someone attempts to frame his best friend for murder at St. Benedict’s boarding school, junior Luke Chase starts investigating on his own and discovers multiple suspects with dark secrets in their past.

Don’t Breathe a Word by Jordan Taylor (May 2021)

Separated by sixty years, Eva’s and Connie’s stories become inextricably intertwined as Eva unravels the mystery of how six students went into the fallout shelter all those years ago … but only five came out.

The Ivies by Alexa Donne (May 2021)

A ruthless band of prep-school elites competing for admission into the Ivy League colleges of their dreams disrupt class ranks, club leaderships and academic competitions before one of them resorts to more deadly measures.

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (June 2021)

When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures. As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?

See more of Chris’s recs

Want even more boarding school reads? Check out previous picks.