Middle Grade Books with Schools of Magic

Wondering where your invite to the wizarding life has been mislaid? Can’t get enough of magical boarding schools and secret societies? Check out these ten middle grade books featuring schools of magic!

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Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

After her brother Quinton goes missing, Amari receives an invitation from him to join the mysterious Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. She thinks she can discover Quinton’s whereabouts if she accepts, but first she will have to pass three trials–and prove to the supernatural world that she is no threat, despite possessing illegal magic. Things become even more complicated when Amari learns that an evil magician has risen again, and he has plans to infiltrate the Bureau.

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Callum Hunt does not want to be a magician. His father has warned him about their evil ways. But even though he tries to fail the entrance test to the Magisterium, he still gets admitted and soon is training under a renowned magician. But are the magicians as corrupt as his father says?

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Every four years, two children disappear from the village of Galvadon, whisked away in the night by the School Master. The villagers believe the children attend the School for Good and Evil, where one child learns to become a fairy tale hero and the other a fairy tale villain. Sophie longs for the day the School Master comes to take her away to attend the School for Good, where she will wear beautiful gowns and meet her own prince. She assumes Agatha, the weird girl who lives by the graveyard, will become a witch. But when the School Master comes for the children, he drops Agatha in the School for Good and Sophie in the School for Evil. How can Sophie correct this mistake and end up where she truly belongs?

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand dreams of attending the prestigious Arcanum Training Institute, which previously had accepted only Marveller students and not Conjurors like herself. So, when the opporunitey comes, she seizes it–only to realize that not everyone wants her there. Ella will have to avoid all the whispers and stares if she is to succeed. But things only become more complicated when a notorious criminal escapes from a Conjuror prison, and the Marvellers start pointing at Conjurors like Ella.

A Taste of Magic by J. Elle

Twelve-year-old Kyana has just discovered she is a witch! That means she gets to attend Park Row Magic Academy–until the funding runs out. But she and her classmates cannot afford the fees at the fancy magic school. So Kyana hatches a plan to enter a baking competition and win the money the school needs to stay open.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster’s life changes forever the day a boy appears and reveals that she’s an elf and that she can learn to control her Telepathetic abilities if she leaves her world behind to train at a magical academy.  But even as Sophie delights in the wonders of her new world, she worries about her past.  Why was she sent to live with humans?  Why is she capable of things no other elf can do?  And why does she seem to remember things she’s never learned at all?

Oneyka and the Academy of the Sun by Tolá Okogwu

Oneyka never knew she was magic. Not until the day her hair comes to life and saves her best friend from drowning. Then, her mother reveals that Oneyka is one of the Solari, a group of magic people in Nigeria. Suddenly she is training at the Academy of the Sun. What is the truth and what is a life?

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman

Skandar Smith dreams of leaving the Mainland to join the Island as a unicorn rider. All he has to do is pass the Hatchery exam, and he will be one of the chosen few to travel to the island and hatch a real, life unicorn. But not the type of unicorns people on the Mainland thought were cute (and imaginary). Real life unicorns are vicious, violent creatures who can control the elements, and share that magic with their bonded riders.

But the Hatchery exam does not go as planned, and Skandar finds his world shrinking–until a stranger knocks on his door at midnight and smuggles him onto the Island. People are disappearing, and a mysterious figure known as the Weave is stealing unicorns. And Skandar might be the only one who can save the Island.

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow has been told all her life that she is cursed and must die on her eleventh birthday. Instead, however, a bold and brilliant man named Jupiter North arrives, chased by hell-hounds, to whisk her away to the magical world of Nevermoor. The catch is, Morrigan is not meant to be there at all. To stay, she will have to earn a place in the prestigious Wundrous Society, comprised of members who each possess a remarkable talent. But Morrigan does not believe she has any talent at all.

The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu

In Illyria, only boys can become sorcerers and wield the magic that holds back the dread. So no one thinks anything of Marya Lupu, whose brother is the only one deemed to have a future. But then Marya finds herself at a school full of girls–Dragomir Academy–where they work for a sorcerer and learn startling truths about their country.