Boarding schools book series in reading order

by Enid Blyton

by R.A. Spratt

by Ally Carter

by Sophie Cleverly

by Maureen Johnson

by Seanan McGuire

by Brittany Cavallaro

Enid Blyton

957 books• 42 series

Enid Blyton (11 August 1897 to 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer and one of the best-selling authors of children's literature, with more than 600 million copies sold and translations into ninety languages. Blyton wrote on education, natural history, fantasy, mystery and biblical stories. Noddy, the Famous Five, the Secret Seven, the Five Find-Outers and Malory Towers are the best-remembered Blyton books, and St Clare's, Mary Mouse and Toyland Stories are also listed. The catalogue opens with The Enid Blyton Book of Fairies (1924), and The Naughtiest Girl in the School (1930) and The Adventures of the Wishing-Chair (1937) follow. Titles dated after Blyton's death also appear, up to Stories of Wonders and Wishes (2023).

R.L. Stine

589 books• 64 series

Robert Lawrence Stine, born October 8, 1943, is an American novelist who writes horror fiction for children. Goosebumps, the series Stine created, sold more than 400 million copies in 35 languages and grew into a franchise of two television series, video games, comics and two feature films. Fear Street, Stine's horror sequence for teenagers, passed 80 million copies and was adapted for film. Stine has been called the Stephen King of children's literature. The listing runs to 590 titles, from How to Be Funny (1978), published as Jovial Bob Stine, to How to Train Your Dummy, scheduled for 2027.

Jenny Nimmo is a British children's author, born in England on 15 January 1944, who has lived mostly in Wales for four decades. Jenny Nimmo's output covers fantasy and adventure novels, chapter books and picture books. The Magician Trilogy (1986-1989) draws on Welsh myth, and Children of the Red King (2002-2010) follows schoolchildren with magical powers. The Snow Spider, first of the Magician books, took the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and the 1987 Tir na n-Og Award. The catalogue lists 65 books from The Bronze Trumpeter (1974) to Secret Creatures (2020).

Maureen Johnson

23 books• 4 series

Maureen Johnson writes young adult fiction, much of it mystery. Born in 1973, the American novelist has 23 catalogued books running from The Key to the Golden Firebird (2004) to The Velvet Knife (2026). Three series anchor the list: Truly Devious, Shades of London and Little Blue Envelopes, the last opening with 13 Little Blue Envelopes (2005). Boarding schools, murder, ghosts and grief recur across the books. Johnson co-wrote the holiday romance Let It Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle, and contributed novellas to the anthologies The Bane Chronicles, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy and Ghosts of the Shadow Market.

Cecily Von Ziegesar

34 books• 5 series

Gossip Girl (2002) opens Cecily von Ziegesar's catalogue and is the series she is best known for. Thirty-four titles are listed between 2002 and 2020, including You Know You Love Me (2002), All I Want is Everything (2003), Because I'm Worth It (2003), I Like It Like That (2004), Nobody Does it Better (2005) and Nothing Can Keep Us Together (2005). The It Girl, Gossip Girl: The Carlyles, the Gossip Girl manga graphic novels and a set of standalone novels divide the rest, ending with Cobble Hill (2020). Teenage girls, wealth, private and boarding schools and dating run through the subjects. Von Ziegesar is American and was born in 1970.

Gordon Korman

119 books• 22 series

Gordon Korman is a Canadian writer of children's and young adult fiction whose books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list. The catalogue holds 119 titles, from This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall! (1977) to Sleepless (2026). Subject tags cover schools, friendship, humorous stories, adventure, mystery and detective stories, and shipwrecks. Series headings include Swindle Mysteries, Masterminds, Everest, Dive, Titanic, Ungifted and the Monday Night Football Club. Gordon Korman remains actively publishing.

Mercedes Lackey

230 books• 52 series

Valdemar, a country in the world of Velgarth, is the setting for many of Mercedes Lackey's interlinked fantasy novels and trilogies. Lackey, an American writer born on June 24, 1950, brings human and non-human protagonists from many cultures together in the Valdemar books. A second Lackey setting resembles Earth but hides populations of elves, mages, vampires and other mythical beings. Bedlam's Bard follows a young man who works magic through music, SERRAted Edge features elves who race cars, and the Diana Tregarde thrillers star a Wiccan fighting evil. Arrows of the Queen (1987), Arrow's Flight (1987) and Arrow's Fall (1988) are among the listed titles, and Elemental Masters and Five Hundred Kingdoms are further series.

Ally Carter

29 books• 8 series

Spies, thieves and boarding schools furnish Ally Carter's fiction for young readers. The Gallagher Girls series, set at a school that trains teenage spies, runs from 2006 through Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover and Only the Good Spy Young. Heist Society turns to con artists, Embassy Row to diplomatic intrigue, and Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor to a mystery for younger readers. Thirty titles make up the catalogue, which began with the adult novel Cheating at Solitaire (2005).

Gail Carriger

37 books• 13 series

Gail Carriger is an American author of steampunk fiction. Carriger's 37 catalogued books span 1999 to 2024 and cover the Alexia Tarabotti, Finishing School, Custard Protocol and Delightfully Deadly series, plus a Parasol Protectorate manga line and titles issued as G.L. Carriger. Werewolves, vampires, London society and etiquette run through the work, and Carriger remains actively publishing.

Jennifer Estep writes fantasy across 76 catalogued books published between 2007 and 2027. Magic, assassins, psychic ability and boarding schools recur through the subject headings, in urban and paranormal registers. Estep's series include Elemental Assassin, Mythos Academy and Mythos Academy: Colorado, Crown of Shards, Gargoyle Queen, Black Blade, Bigtime, Galactic Bonds and Section 47, beside standalone novels, short fiction and non-fiction. The list runs from Karma Girl (2007) to Queen of Foxes (2026), and Only Bright Destinies is announced for 2027.

Lisi Harrison

41 books• 10 series

Lisi Harrison is a Canadian author of young adult fiction, known for three series: The Clique, Alphas and Monster High. The Clique (2004) opens a catalogue of 41 titles, with middle schools, cliques, friendship and competition in the subject tags, and monsters, boarding schools and prejudice beside them. Graphic novels, a Clique Summer Collection and the Graveyard Girls follow. Two Truths and a Lion (2023) is the most recent title.

Ridley Pearson

56 books• 11 series

Ridley Pearson, born March 13, 1953, is an American author of suspense, thriller and adventure books, several of which have made The New York Times Best Seller list. The catalogue lists 56 titles, opening with Never Look Back (1985) and Blood of the Albatross (1986). Undercurrents (1988), Probable Cause (1990) and The Angel Maker (1993) are among the earlier books, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure (2026) is the newest. Series include Boldt & Matthews, Walt Fleming, Risk Agent, Lock and Key, Steel Trapp and Kingdom Keepers. Subject tags name Lou Boldt, Daphne Matthews and police psychologists, alongside children's fiction and fantasy.

Claudia Gray

38 books• 13 series

Claudia Gray is the pen name of Amy Vincent, an American novelist working in science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, cozy mystery, paranormal romance and young adult fiction. Evernight, one of the series Gray is best known for, is also the title of the first catalogued book (2008); Stargazer (2009), Hourglass (2010) and Afterlife (2011) follow. Gray's Star Wars novels include Lost Stars, Bloodline, Leia, Princess of Alderaan, Into the Dark and The Fallen Star. The 38 listed books also cover Firebird, the House of El Trilogy and Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney, and the newest title is The Fatal Unpleasantness at Netherfield (2026). Vampires, boarding schools, witches and ghosts are recorded subjects.

Robin Stevens writes historical murder mysteries for children, and the catalogue counts 17 books from 2014 to 2023. Murder Most Unladylike (2014), also titled Murder is Bad Manners, is the first. Arsenic for Tea, First Class Murder, Jolly Foul Play and Mistletoe and Murder followed, and The Body in the Blitz (2023) is the newest. The Wells and Wong Mysteries, the Ministry of Unladylike Activity and the mini mysteries make up the Stevens series list, with schools and friendship among the subjects.

Charlie Higson

35 books• 7 series

Charlie Higson, born 3 July 1958, is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer who has also written and produced for television. Higson is the author of The Enemy, a young adult post-apocalyptic series, and wrote the first five Young Bond novels. King of the Ants (1992) opens the catalogue of 35 titles, followed by Happy Now (1993), Full Whack (1995) and Getting Rid of Mister Kitchen (1996). The Dalek Factor (2004) appears next, then SilverFin (2005), Blood Fever (2006), Double or Die (2007) and By Royal Command (2008). Spies, zombies, survival and London appear in the subject tags.

Anthony Horowitz

106 books• 23 series

Anthony Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter, born 5 April 1955, who specialises in mystery and suspense. For children and young adults Horowitz created Alex Rider, a 14-year-old British boy who spies for MI6, along with The Power of Five (titled The Gatekeepers in the US) and The Diamond Brothers. The catalogue holds 106 Horowitz books from Enter Frederick K. Bower (1978) to A Deadly Episode (2026). Other listed series include Detective Daniel Hawthorne, Susan Ryeland, Groosham Grange and the Pentagram Chronicles. Horowitz is still publishing.

Ruth Ware

13 books• 4 series

Ruth Ware is the pen name of Ruth Warburton, a British author born in 1977. The 13 Ware books catalogued here run from In a Dark, Dark Wood (2015) to The Woman in Suite 11 (2025), taking in The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016), The Death of Mrs. Westaway (2018) and The Turn of the Key (2019) along the way. Subjects attached to the books include psychological thrillers, suspense, murder, female friendship and investigation. Ware's series are Lo Blacklock, standalone novels and a set of short stories and novellas.

V.C. Andrews was the name used by Cleo Virginia Andrews (June 6, 1923 to December 19, 1986), an American novelist best known for Flowers in the Attic (1979). That novel led to four sequels and two film adaptations. The publisher never classed the books as Young Adult, yet their young protagonists have drawn teenage readers for decades. After Andrews died in 1986, a ghostwriter first hired to finish two incomplete manuscripts went on publishing new books under the V.C. Andrews name. The catalogue carries 108 books under that name from 1979 to 2025, across series such as Dollanganger, Casteel, Cutler, Landry, Logan and De Beers.

Alan Bradley (October 10, 1938 to May 18, 2026) was a Canadian mystery writer and the creator of Flavia de Luce. The Flavia de Luce series began with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009). Bradley's 18 catalogued books start earlier, with the non-fiction Ms Holmes of Baker Street: The Truth About Sherlock (1989), and end with Numb Were the Beadsman's Fingers (2026). Murder, investigation, girls and England are among the subjects.

P.G. Wodehouse

145 books• 13 series

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (15 October 1881 to 14 February 1975) was an English humorist, one of the most widely read of the 20th century. Wodehouse created Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves, the talkative Psmith, Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle circle, the Oldest Member with golf stories, and Mr. Mulliner with tall tales. Born in Guildford, Wodehouse attended Dulwich College. The catalogue records 145 books from The Pothunters (1902) through 2019, including school stories, the Jeeves, Psmith, Ukridge and Uncle Fred series, short stories and non-fiction.

Seanan McGuire

160 books• 32 series

Seanan McGuire, born January 5, 1978, is an American writer and filker known for urban fantasy. McGuire writes science fiction and horror as Mira Grant, and the Up-and-Under children's portal fantasy series as A. Deborah Baker. McGuire received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2010, and the work has earned the Alex, Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards. The catalogue records 162 titles, starting with Rosemary and Rue (2009) and A Local Habitation (2010), with A Divided Duty (2026) the newest and A Song of Sugar Sparrows due in 2027. Series include October Daye, InCryptid, Wayward Children, Newsflesh, Velveteen, Alchemical Journeys and Parasitology.

Richelle Mead

42 books• 10 series

Richelle Mead is an American fantasy author, born November 12, 1976, known for the Georgina Kincaid, Vampire Academy, Bloodlines and Dark Swan series. The catalogue lists 42 Mead books from 2007 to 2018. Succubus Blues and Vampire Academy both appeared in 2007, followed by Frostbite, Shadow Kiss and Storm Born in 2008. Subjects include vampires, demonology, alchemists, magic and high schools. The Emerald Sea (2018) is the newest title, and the listing is likely complete. Glittering Court and Age Of X are among the other series.

Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 to 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, critic and short story writer. The speculative fiction of Diana Wynne Jones for children and young adults is usually called fantasy but draws on science fiction ideas such as time travel and parallel universes, along with realism. The Chrestomanci heptalogy, the Dalemark Quartet, the Moving Castle trilogy, Dark Lord of Derkholm and The Tough Guide to Fantasyland rank among the best-known works. The catalogue lists 61 books, from Changeover (1970) and The Ogre Downstairs (1974) to The Islands of Chaldea (2014). Magic, witches and wizards run through the subjects.

Libba Bray

14 books• 4 series

Libba Bray (Martha Elizabeth Bray, born March 11, 1964) is an American young adult novelist. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Going Bovine, Beauty Queens, The Diviners series and Under the Same Stars are among Bray's books. A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003), Rebel Angels (2005) and The Sweet Far Thing (2007) are catalogued, along with Going Bovine (2009), Beauty Queens (2011), The Diviners (2012) and Lair of Dreams (2015). Supernatural events, boarding schools and psychic ability appear in the subjects, and Radio Free Texas (2026) is the newest title.