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Today Tonight Tomorrow (2019)
7.3/10on Open Library
Published
Rowan and Neil have spent high school turning test scores and student elections into a running contest. When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has one more shot at beating him in a Seattle-wide senior class game. This is the lightest read here for anyone who’s wondered what a rivalry might look like when the school stops keeping score.
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Huda F Wants to Know? (2025)
8.0/10on Open Library
Published
Huda’s junior-year plan leaves room for clubs, volunteering, the ACT, and a scholarship essay. Then her parents announce their divorce, and her grades start to slip. The third Huda F graphic novel is a good pick for a reader who wants jokes alongside an honest look at how little a school planner can do when life at home changes.
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Grapefruit Moon (2023)
Published
At an elite private school in Belfast, Drew wants a route to university and feels pressure to go along with the powerful students who set the school’s social rules. Wealthier Charlotte has room to ask whether she even wants the future they’re all being steered toward. The two viewpoints make it possible to see who can afford to resist and who has more to lose.
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You Should See Me in a Crown (2020)
10.0/10on Open Library
Published
Liz’s plans for college and its orchestra depend on financial aid. When that falls through, the scholarship her Indiana school gives its prom royalty sends her into a popularity contest she never wanted to enter. The romance and the campaign give this one a lighter touch while Liz works out what affording college might ask of her.
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If You Could See the Sun (2022)
8.1/10on Open Library
Published
Alice’s scholarship to a Beijing international boarding school still leaves tuition her parents can no longer pay. When she gains the power to turn invisible, she charges classmates for information she can get unnoticed. A supernatural setup makes the consequences bigger, but the detail that matters is simple. Getting in and being able to stay are two different problems.
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It's Kind of a Funny Story (2000)
4.0/10on Open Library
Published
Craig works his way into a selective Manhattan high school and finds the pressure harder to live with once he’s there. A mental health crisis takes him to a hospital, where he has time to question the future he had planned. The humor makes a heavy story about depression and suicidal thoughts more approachable, especially if the school part that feels familiar is the fear of falling behind.
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The Ivies (2021)
8.0/10on Open Library
Published
Olivia is a scholarship student among girls who treat getting into elite colleges as a competition they can manage by controlling who applies where. Put this in the thriller pile for its murder plot. The pressure behind it is quieter and recognizable, especially the difference between competing with wealthy friends and having their resources.
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (2017)
8.3/10on Open Library
Published
Julia wants to write and go away to college, which runs against what her family in Chicago expects after her sister’s death. An English teacher offers help with her application. It’s a small gesture with real consequences in a story where deciding to leave is only part of figuring out how to go.
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Goodbye, Perfect (2019)
Published
Just before the GCSE exams, Eden discovers that her high-achieving best friend Bonnie has run away with their music teacher. Their friendship gives this novel a way to look at how much adults and classmates can miss when someone keeps doing well at school. It’s a heavier read that deals with an abusive imbalance of power alongside the pressure to seem fine.
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Blue Period 1
Yatora already knows how to get good grades. Once a painting pulls him into art, he has to start learning what it takes to get into a competitive Japanese art university. Start with this volume if you want a school story where being good at the old work gives a student very little practice at being a beginner again.
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We Regret to Inform You (1920)
10.0/10on Open Library
Published
Mischa’s grades and test scores seem to tell a clear story until every college she applies to turns her down. What starts as a funny, horrified round of second-guessing becomes a mystery about her transcript and the admissions process. It’s a brisk choice when you want a book that lets a capable student get angry and ask questions.
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Solo (2025)
Published
Daisy’s Leaving Cert year in Ireland already asks her to look ahead. A breakup distances her from the classical music that usually grounds her, and her father’s illness pulls her attention home. The short verse gives her room to hesitate, which suits a reader who wants a school-year story where figuring out the next step takes longer than a timetable allows.
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Your Time Is Up (2024)
Published
Zaina sits down for an A-level math exam hoping to make her father proud. One student is missing and what happened the night before keeps pulling her attention away from the paper. Pick it for a fast thriller that uses an exam clock to make every minute of divided attention feel expensive.
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500 Words or Less (2018)
Published
Nic Chen starts writing college application essays for classmates to change how they see her. Getting inside their stories also shows her how much work goes into looking like the person an admissions office wants. The verse lets a reader move quickly through a book that keeps asking what gets lost when a whole life has to fit on a page.
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