8 Brilliant Dark Academia Books by Authors of Color

Flatiron Books steadfast of Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

We’re kicking things disconnected with a fashionable YA! Ace of Spades is a suspenseful and thrilling caller that talks astir institutionalized racism. The communicative follows the lone 2 Black students astatine the elite Niveus Private Academy. Their names are Chiamaka and Devon, and they’re some being targeted by an anonymous texter that wants to exposure their secrets. Devon would alternatively support his backstage photos, well, private. And Chiamaka doesn’t privation anyone to cognize the lengths she’ll spell for what she wants. But this Aces is retired to get them, and Chiamaka and Devon volition person to enactment unneurotic if they privation to instrumentality him down.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

You mightiness deliberation Legendborn is much of a phantasy novel, which it is. But with its world setting, concealed societies, and immoderate acheronian twists and turns it decidedly falls into acheronian academia territory. The communicative follows Bree Matthews, who conscionable joined a residential programme astatine UNC–Chapel Hill. But her archetypal nighttime connected campus, she witnesses a demon onslaught immoderate students, and the Legendborn nine members who hunted them down. One of them, Merlin, tried and failed to hitch Bree’s representation — which unlocked her ain powers and kick-started her epic adventure.

The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Jesse Q. Sutanto is simply a large enigma writer, and this peculiar YA of hers is decidedly worthy of this list. In The New Girl, Lia Setiawan conscionable won a assistance for the prestigious Draycott Academy. She feels retired of spot successful her caller school, but she’s determined to marque the astir of it. But Draycott is not what Lia imagined, arsenic she realizes erstwhile she arrives connected her archetypal time and sees field information forcefully removing a miss from the schoolhouse grounds. Draycott is afloat of secrets — including a blackmailer, a not-so-golden boy, and a corrupt teacher — and they’ll soon instrumentality a deadlier turn.

If You Could See The Sun by Ann Liang

This acheronian academia with elements of phantasy besides features 1 hellhole of an enemies-to-lovers trope! If You Could See The Sun is acceptable astatine an elite Beijing planetary boarding school, wherever Alice Sun has ever felt invisible. Except, present she’s really turning invisible! So erstwhile her parents archer her they can’t spend her tuition, Alice decides to enactment her caller powers to the trial and gain a fewer casual bucks. Her caller broadside occupation involves learning and selling her classmates secrets, which is much petty ungraded than thing genuinely criminal. But it won’t instrumentality agelong for things to escalate and instrumentality connected a overmuch darker tone.

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

How could I not see 1 of the astir fashionable acheronian academia books of 2022? Babel is a humanities phantasy that talks astir academia arsenic a instrumentality for colonization and past poses the question: is unit indispensable for change? The communicative is acceptable successful 1800s England, and it follows a lad named Robin Swift. He was orphaned by cholera successful Canton, and Professor Lovell took him to England truthful helium could go a pupil astatine Oxford’s Institute of Translation, AKA Babel. That’s wherever Robin and his cohort yet brushwood The Hermes Society — a shadowy enactment that wants to uncover and sabotage the existent intent of Babel, which is imperial expansion.

The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon

This acheronian and aggravated literate fabrication is some a emotion communicative and an exploration of spiritual extremism. The setting: Edwards University. The characters: Phoebe Lin and Will Kendall. The 2 conscionable during their archetypal period of classes, and Will instantly falls for Phoebe. But she’s grief-stricken, blaming herself for her mother’s decease — which draws her into a spiritual radical that is tied to North Korea and Phoebe’s ain family. Things instrumentality a crook erstwhile 1 of the university’s buildings is bombed and Phoebe disappears. This leads to Will becoming obsessed with uncovering her and answering the question: was Phoebe progressive successful specified a convulsive act?

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Catherine House is the benignant of publication you either hatred oregon love. It’s an atmospheric and slow-paced communicative with immaculate gothic vibes yet precise small plot. Still, it’s a large exploration and critique of higher education, which earns it its spot successful this list. The communicative follows Ines, 1 of the fortunate fewer to gain a spot astatine Catherine House. This schoolhouse of higher learning is dissimilar immoderate other, with a slayer wide arts programme and the request that each students indispensable springiness up interaction with the extracurricular world. Despite that, Ines feels close astatine location — until the school’s unsafe docket starts to surface.

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

Last but not slightest comes a thrilling fearfulness successful translation from Spanish that has immoderate superior acheronian academia vibes! Jawbone takes america to the Delta Bilingual Academy successful Ecuador, wherever BFFs Fernanda and Annelise pb their friends successful progressively unsafe rituals to a deity of their ain invention. The 2 friends are practically sisters, truthful however does Fernanda extremity up not speaking to Annelise? Even worse, however did she extremity up bound connected the level of a deserted compartment and held hostage by 1 of her teachers? You’ll person to work it to find out!