If You Love that Back to School Feeling, Read These Books

New season, new book recs!

Ah, September. Cardigans and crunching leaves. Fresh school uniforms and brand new notebooks. A chance to reset. As I’ve grown into adulthood, none of the newness of autumn has left me — though it was always strange for me in DC when autumn felt warmer than the summers I was used to, and Americans drank Pumpkin Spice Lattes and put on knee-high boots in the same temperatures which, back in May, would have had them reaching for suncream and lounging in swimsuits by a pool. I am going to miss “fall” in DC the most, as I always knew I would. But I also love the Englishness of autumn and the memories and nostalgia it brings back.

If you, too, are sometimes nostalgic for school, why not pick up one of these books?

Freshers, by Lucy Ivison and Tom Ellen

Oh my goodness, I loved this. It brought my university days back on a visceral level — I found myself thinking about the particular smell of the banister up to my first-year room in a way I hadn’t in years. It’s populated with fun characters and made me laugh and cry and cringe so hard in one particular chapter that I almost screamed.

(Note: the American version is called Freshmen, but honestly, I’d recommend just getting hold of the original British book — this one is so steeped in British uni culture that it won’t make much sense as an Americanised edition. Even the solo cups on the front cover are all wrong.)

The Gilded Years, by Karin Tanabe

Here’s what I wrote about DC author Karin Tanabe’s third novel in Washington Life back when it was published: The Gilded Years “is based on the true story of Anita Hemmings, the first African American woman to attend Vassar, in the class of 1897, by passing as white. It’s an engrossing read, populated with fascinating characters. Anita herself is bright and endearing, and her privileged, pretentious roommate, Lottie, is larger than life in all the best ways that a character in a novel can be.”

The Miss Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum

I loved this little gem of a novel-in-stories about a seventh grade teacher and the students she encounters. It’s beautifully written with astute observations about life.

Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld

I loved Eligible, American Wife and, especially, Rodham (one of the only books to succcessfully hold my attention in 2020), and I know Curtis Sittenfeld’s debut novel is beloved by many. It’s described as “an insightful, achingly funny coming-of-age story as well as a brilliant dissection of class, race, and gender in a hothouse of adolescent angst and ambition.” Sounds pretty irresistible!

Side note: I really like the way British publishing has redesigned the cover so that it matches her other books.

Want more?

More back-to-school-ish books can be found here (US) and here (UK).

Feedback is welcome on the format of this newsletter, and please feel free to comment with the thing you love, so I can recommend relevant books for you!

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